Rumour Reel: Man City jump for Jesus while Arsene eyes Blind
Published:
Robbie Purves | June 20, 2016
Despite the summer window officially opening on July 1st, clubs are already chasing down their transfer targets one by one as they look to complete some of their business while Euro 2016 hots up.
City to jump for Jesus
According to reports, the battle lines have been drawn between Manchester City and Barcelona for a player labelled the ‘next Neymar’ – and, as we all know, a player coming out of Brazil with a huge reputation doesn’t always live up to his billing.
The report says the 19-year-old Gabriel Jesus has two release clauses in his contract. One that allows the player to leave for £27.8m, and another that would see him sold for a reduced fee, if any of City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, PSG or Real Madrid offer the amount.
Jesus could be the answer to the Etihad outfit’s prayers, and inject the team with some much needed fresh blood. He is pacey, creative and possesses immense dribbling ability. However, Pep Guardiola has only has offered £16.7 million for the Palmeiras forward and will need to stump up a little more to seal his signature.
Kovacic Kop-bound
Reports suggest that Liverpool are in a battle to sign the Real Madrid midfielder for €30m. The 22-year-old Croatian is out of favour at the Bernabeu, a year after moving from Inter Milan for €31 million.
Nevertheless, he remains one of the hottest young prospects in Europe. The versatile midfielder can play a number of roles, and would walk straight into a starting berth at Anfield. Kovacic is a superb all-round player and could be the linchpin on which Jurgen Klopp’s side operate – he would provide creativity and drive from midfield.
Arsene eyes Blind
Arsenal are reportedly motoring Daley Blind’s predicament at Man united. The Dutch utility man is still unsure where his future lies with Jose Mourinho, as he doesn’t exactly fit the profile of the manager’s usual defenders.
Ball-playing Blind has formed a formidable partnership with Chris Smalling since his arrival from Ajax in the summer of 2014, and has caught the eye of Arsene Wenger.
The Arsenal boss is looking to fill some of the defensive cracks that opened up during their recent campaign, and reportedly sees Blind as the man to arrive and solidify the defence.
Speaking on his future, Blind said: “We will have to wait and see whether anything changes for me. I might not be as big as Pepe, but I think I have shown in the Premier League that I can hold my own defensively. We conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League and I think we got the most clean sheets.”
Blind would certainly fit into Arsenal’s slick passing style of play, and could help Arsene push the Emirates outfit one place higher than their second paced finish this term.
