Transfer roundup (09/06/19) - Wan-Bissaka, Bale and Umtiti amid reports
It’s Sunday, which means another day of rumours as the summer transfer madness mounts. We round up the big talking points here, starting with more column inches for Manchester United.
Sky Sports News reported late last night that the Red Devils had seen a £40m bid for Aaron Wan-Bissaka rejected, with the Eagles demanding at least £60m for their young right-back.
It’s a position that is seen as a priority at Old Trafford and Wan-Bissaka has been identified as their number one target following a sensational first full season of senior football. The 21-year-old ranked among the top three players in the Premier League for both tackles (129) and interceptions (84).
Elsewhere the club are believed to be weighing up potential replacements for Paul Pogba, with The Mirror claiming an interest in both Christian Eriksen and Your Tielemans.
The former had a direct hand in 20 league goals at Tottenham last season, assisting 12, but has stated that he would like to leave the London outfit this summer. Tielemans, meanwhile, spent the second half of last season on loan at Leicester, who hope to make the deal permanent, but United could try to steal in with an increased offer for the Monaco man.
Finally, as far as United are concerned at least, reports linking the Manchester giants to Gareth Bale have resurfaced in the Spanish press via AS.
The Welshman is top of a list of players Real Madrid are expected to offload to cover for their already considerable spending in the transfer window having fallen out of favour, again, at the Bernabeu. Bale started 21 of 29 league appearances last season, scoring eight goals.
Elsewhere in AS, the outlet reports that Real Madrid are scheduling a second medical for Lyon full-back Ferland Mendy following doubts that surfaced over a hip problem. The £45m deal is still expected to be completed but has been delayed for the time being.
Meanwhile the same paper also reports that Atletico Madrid will reignite their interest in AC Milan playmaker Suso. The star man for the rossoneri for the last two seasons, the 25-year-old scored seven and assisted ten goals in Serie A last season.
Elsewhere in Spain, Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti has moved to dismiss reports suggesting he could leave the LaLiga champions this summer, The Sun reports.
The Frenchman had been linked to Arsenal after a frustrating season with injuries, restricting him to just 14 league appearances.
Across the North London divide, Sky Sports claim Tottenham are prepared to offer £40m for Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake with Toby Alderweireld expected to leave the Londoners.
The Dutchman hasn’t missed a single Premier League game for the Cherries since making an initial loan move from Chelsea permanent in 2017.
On the subject of the Blues, The Sun report that the Europa League champions are hoping to replace Eden Hazard with Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey, even if they have to wait until next summer to do so.
The Jamaican is valued at an eye-watering £80m, which is a hugely inflated price tag for a player who had something of a disappointing second full season in the Bundesliga. The 21-year-old scored five goals and registered only one assist having posted figures of nine and six respectively the campaign previous.
Finally (for real this time) there is a report that we can all get behind with The Sun confirming news from Italy that Gianluigi Buffon will make a romantic return to Parma to finish an illustrious career where it all started.
The goalkeeping legend has left Paris-Saint Germain after just one season, and another league title, having started 17 Ligue 1 matches. At 41, he is thought to be looking for one last move before hanging up his boots (and gloves) and a return to Serie A is among his options.
