Saturday’s Gossip tells us Ilkay Gundogan has picked his next club, Sean Dyche has decided to replace Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and N’Golo Kante has received a ‘blockbuster’ contract offer.
GUNDOGONE
One of the best free agents on the market this summer is Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan, who Pep Guardiola is reportedly desperate to keep hold of. The German has scored a number of crucial goals for the Cityzens during his time at the club and he will be hoping to play a huge part in an historic treble win.
Lifting the Champions League trophy on June 10 may be Gundogan’s final act as a City player, however. He is attracting interest from Barcelona, who are absolute sluts for a free transfer, and Arsenal, who are managed by former City assistant manager Mikel Arteta.
A move to Barcelona is edging closer, with Spanish outlet SPORT claiming that Gundogan has been ‘convinced’ by their three-year contract offer and promises of a starting role and being registered amidst the Catalan club’s financial troubles, which is the bare minimum a player should expect, really. The report says the deal to sign Gundogan is ‘practically finished’ with the signing ‘very close’ despite big interest from the Gunners and Manchester City’s hopes of striking a contract extension.
It is claimed that Gundogan has agreed to lower his salary, which is unusual for a free agent but has been granted ‘a long-term contract that guarantees him to finish his professional career at the highest level’ in return. Barcelona boss Xavi played a huge part in negotiations, the report claims. He helped convince the City midfielder to join despite a ‘powerful economical offer’ from Arsenal and Guardiola’s bid to keep him.
TAMMY ABRAHAM TO SAVE GOAL-SHY EVERTON
Everton have struggled for goals amidst Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury concerns and they are now ready to beat Aston Villa to the signing of Roma striker Tammy Abraham, according to The Sun.
Abraham will apparently be available for a very decent fee with the Italian outfit ‘in danger of breaching Italy’s strict FFP regulations’, meaning Jose Mourinho is willing to listen to offers in the summer.
Calvert-Lewin has been unavailable far too often and Sean Dyche has lost patience, making the signing of a new No. 9 a priority. The report claims the Toffees will table a £27million bid for Abraham, which is a very low fee considering he was rumoured to be worth around £80m this time last year. Roma’s financial troubles and the England striker’s poor form in front of goal this term appear to have completely obliterated the Serie A club’s asking price.
Aston Villa are also keen but Everton are looking to make a bid as soon as possible in order to beat Unai Emery’s side to the player’s signature. It is noted that Chelsea, who sold Abraham to Roma in the summer of 2021 for around £35m, have a buy-back option worth £68m, but Mauricio Pochettino has ‘no plans’ to bring him back to Stamford Bridge.
YOU KANTE TURN THAT DOWN
Another huge name available for nothing this summer is N’Golo Kante, who could leave Chelsea after seven years at Stamford Bridge. A contract extension seemed unlikely, then it looked like it was on the cards, and now it looks unlikely once again. Arsenal have been linked with the Frenchman, but those rumours are probably bullsh*t.
Paris Saint-Germain have been interested in signing Kante for a long time, with the player reportedly not keen on a return to his home country. A report from 90min says PSG still like the 32-year-old, while there s also interest from Serie A. The main focus of the report is on a potential move to Saudi Arabia, however.
Kante has ‘received an approach’ from Saudi Arabia after talks over a new Blues deal ‘stalled’ once again. The middle eastern country has been eyeing lots of big names after luring Cristiano Ronaldo, with talk of Karim Benzema leaving Real Madrid to go to the same league as his former teammate, while there are massive hopes of bringing in Lionel Messi, who is an ambassador for the country.
A new Chelsea contract is definitely not off the table as Kante ‘considers all his options’, meaning he could decide to accept the ‘blockbuster’ offer from Saudi Arabia. Pochettino is set to sit down with the former Leicester City midfielder, but given the player’s injury problems over the past two or three years, he would be a mad man to turn down that sort of financial security if the offered contract from Saudi Arabia is for the long term. Saying that, Kante has probably earned enough money to survive.
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