Louis van Gaal - Getty Images
Paper Round: Manchester United set for £200m spending spree
United to splash cash again: Most papers report that Manchester United will go on a mammoth spending spree this summer in a bid to emulate Real Madrid. Depending on which publication you read, the expenditure could be anything from £100m (Sun, Telegraph, Independent) to £135m (The Times), £150m (Guardian, Mirror, Mail, Express) or even £200m (Daily Star). Names on Louis van Gaal's wish list revealed by those publications are: Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin, Borussia Dortmund and Germany centre-half Mats Hummels, Southampton and England right-back Nathaniel Clyne, Aymeric Laporte of Athletic Bilbao, goalkeeper Victor Valdes, Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman, Germany midfielder Marco Reus, Bayern Munich pair Arjen Robben and Mario Goetze, Barcelona full-back Dani Alves and Radamel Falcao, who is currently on loan at Old Trafford. Van Gaal will be given licence to spend significant funds at the end of the summer to overhaul his squad and compete with the likes of Real Madrid in the transfer market.
[ALL UNITED'S TARGETS PROFILED]
Paper Round's view: While the actual figures vary wildly, the fact that every paper has broadly the same story suggests that Van Gaal will indeed have pots of cash to spend in the summer, whether it is 'just' £100m or the slightly unbelievable £200m. Which is bad for some current United players, who must be fearing for their jobs, and rival clubs, who can possibly sense some momentum building in the red half of Manchester. Such expenditure, though, can only be positive for United - the team, not necessarily the club - especially if they can emulate the likes of Real Madrid, whose galactico spending policy looks like reaping rewards this season.
- - -
Godin 'not joining United': But hold your horses. On the same day Diego Godin is being included in that list of United targets, the Daily Mail reports that the Atletico Madrid defender will not be sold to the Old Trafford club. That's according to his coach Diego Simeone, who is adamant the Uruguay centre-back will not leave Madrid, even for 20m euros.
Paper Round's view: Godin reportedly has a £28m release clause in his contract with Atleti which means that it doesn't matter too much how Simeone feels - if the player himself fancies a move to Old Trafford, there will be nothing stopping him. Yet there has been no indication of Godin agitating for a move - he won the Liga title last year and his side are currently in third place this season - and all signs point to him being perfectly happy where he is. So perhaps this is one name Van Gaal can scrub off his list straight away.
- - -
Spurs to undergo January overhaul: Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has been given the green light to conduct an overhaul of his squad next month, reports the Daily Mail. The paper claims that the club are preparing for one of the busiest January transfer windows in their history with Espanyol defender Hector Moreno on their radar and Barcelona youngsters Sergi Samper and Adama Traore also being watched. Spurs will also bid to sign Southampton forward Jay Rodriguez while the likes of Paulinho, Vlad Chiriches, Aaron Lennon, Andros Townsend, Mousa Dembele, Emmanuel Adebayor and Jan Vertonghen have their futures all in doubt.
Paper Round's view: This might not quite be on the same scale of United's expected spree, but if Pochettino sets loose some of the dead wood that has been accumulating at White Hart Lane over the past couple of years, there will certainly be a fresher feeling to his squad come the end of January. Their defeat to Chelsea at the weekend was expected and despite the run of three wins prior to that result, it's clear that Spurs do need a revamping of their playing staff, although some may doubt the wisdom of on overhaul in January, when the best players are usually available in the summer.
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment