It’s not easy being Manchester City. First, financial fair play rules prompted them to sell young players at prices no one can believe and now their search for yet another midfielder can not simply be resolved with brute fiscal force. Pah.
But here we are. For some reason, City ended their interest in West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá, so are now focused on Eberechi Eze and Matheus Nunes. Problem being, Crystal Palace would like to keep the formerwith Wolves are unlikely to release the latter unless offered a significantly inflated fee. Pep Guardiola is, the Mill understands, outraged at this failure of the footballing universe to sanction his precise whims, so plans to thcream and thcream until he’s thick by way of revenge.
Across Manchester, United are still stringing Sofyan Amrabat along in case it turns out they can neither attract nor afford another midfielder. Happily for them, this cunning tactic is working because no one else has the slightest interest in taking the player, but the Mill has every confidence in United’s ability to set up an auction with themselves, then overpay.
Also in northern Italy, Juventus are still trying to sign Romelu Lukaku, whose deadly finishing is exactly what they need in those tricky home games against Monza, Empoli and Frosinone. The problem Juve have is that they cannot pay the £35m Chelsea are asking without first selling Dusan Vlahovic. Should it prove impossible to strike a deal, the Blues will honourably exhort Lukaku to move to a Saudi Arabian club, any Saudi Arabian club – despite his clear desire so not to do.
A player who does look like realising his lifelong Saudi Pro League ambition is Arsenal’s Nicolas Pépé. Having turned down the chance to sign for Besiktas, he is now straight out of options, so will take his signature duck-inside-and-lamp-over-the-bar trick to whichever legendary outfit suddenly can’t live without it.
Across London, Lazio no longer want to sign Hugo Lloris, Tottenham’s Welsh goalkeeper, having decided that dropping crosses and fumbling in any shot sent from 18 yards or more is quite the “profile” that they’re after. Spurs, meanwhile, are going to offer Nottingham Forest £50m for Brennan Johnson who, despite his surname-as-first-name shtick, is not American. Fringe players might be offered as part of the deal and Forest fans are doubtless excited by the unique skills Davinson Sánchez, Pierre-Emile Høbjerg and Stuart Nethercott could bring to the City Ground.
Further east, West Ham remain in talks with Ajax over Mohammed Kudus who is, presumably, hoping something better comes along in the meantime. Chances are, though, that he signs for roughly £40m plus add-ons, because scrapping for somewhere between eighth and 14th in the Premier League is now preferable to contesting the Dutch title. West Ham are, at least, in the Europa League, so have sensibly looked at Sevilla and will now sell David Moyes’s vision to Youssef En-Nesyri by writing a succession of noughts on a piece of paper.
And finally for today, Brentford have submitted an improved bid for Nico González, Fiorentina’s Spanish winger. The player, though, has decided he prefers Florence to Chiswick Roundabout – though retains a general interest in gyratory systems.
