CHELSEA failed to bring in Sevilla’s Jules Kounde before the transfer window slammed shut but will be looking to make moves for a defender in January.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe also failed to get his dream move to Real Madrid, with the Spanish club set to sign him on a free in a pre-contract agreement in the new year.
Real reportedly offered PSG close to £170m for the French forward’s signature, but the Parisian club failed to budge.
And clubs all over Europe will now cast their minds onto Erling Haaland, who looks set to leave Borussia Dortmund next summer.
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ALL HAIL MICHAIL
Michail Antonio has scored the most goals in the Premier League so far (4).
Aston Villa newboy Danny Ings has only managed to score two.
PJANIC ATTACK
Miralem Pjanic has unleashed a scathing attack on Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman after leaving the club to join Besiktas on loan.
The midfielder endured a horrible spell at the Nou Camp, making just six starts after joining from Juventus last summer.
Pjanic told Marca: “There was a point that I was playing less, things were getting complicated.
“And when I played it was difficult physically and mentally to be well, because it was killing my confidence, because I had no communication with [Koeman].
“It was very strange, because a coach is the one who says who plays and who doesn’t, but there are different ways to do things.
“I am a player who can accept everything but I would always like to be told things face to face. Not as if nothing happened and I was 15 years old.”
HAMMER BLOW
Jesse Lingard turned down a permanent move to West Ham to stay and fight for his Manchester United future.
Credit: Getty The England man enjoyed a stunning loan spell with the Hammers last season that thrust him back into contention for the Euro 2020 squad.
After making the provisional squad, he failed to make the final cut. But Lingard did however feature off the bench in England’s victory in Hungary.
Now, 90min.com is reporting that Lingard ‘made it clear to the club that he did not want to return to the London Stadium’.
The 28-year-old apparently ‘communicated to joint chairman David Sullivan personally’ with his intentions.
NA YOU’RE TALKING
Arsenal transfer target Andre Onana has rejected a new contract offer from Ajax and will leave for free next summer, reports say.
And reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan are in advanced talks over a potential four-year deal.
Credit: AP According to Italian journalist Nicolo Schira, Onana has decided to leave Ajax next summer for free.
The keeper has rejected a contract extension and cash-strapped Inter have decided to make the first move for the goalkeeper, offering the Cameroonian international a four-year contract.
Onana, however, hasn’t played a competitive game or trained with Ajax or Cameroon since the start of the year due to being banned for a doping violation.
LOW POINT
Nabil Fekir admits his failed move to Liverpool in the summer of 2018 was a ‘dark moment’ in his career.
Credit: Rex The France international – who at the time was plying his trade in his homeland – was on course to swap Lyon for Merseyside after Liverpool agreed a £50million deal for the midfielder.
But the deal ended up collapsing, which paved the way for Fekir to join Real Betis 12 months later for a mere £17m.
Fekir told The Times: “It was a dark moment. I saw plenty of things which weren’t true.
“It was said the knee stopped me going to Liverpool but that wasn’t true.”
REAL DEAL
Real Madrid remain the standout favourites to sign Kylian Mbappe.
That’s according to bookmakers Betfair, who’ve priced Carlo Ancelotti’s side at 1/5 to clinch his signature.
Credit: Getty Real Madrid were frustrated in their pursuit of Mbappe this summer but are expected to agree a contract with the forward with his current deal expiring at the end of the season.
PSG now risk losing Mbappe on a free transfer unless they can convince the player to sign fresh terms in Paris.
The World Cup winner has scored 135 goals in 175 games for PSG and has won three Ligue 1 titles since his arrival from Monaco.
WORK OF ART
Arsenal technical director Edu has defended the club’s £150million-plus summer spending spree.
The Gunners splashed the cash on six players, though the North Londoners’ business has been criticised with fans and pundits unsure whether the squad has been strengthened.
Credit: Reuters Asked by Sky Sports if he can understand fans being ‘underwhelmed’, he said: “Yes, I understand the reason because firstly, they have not seen the team playing together yet.
“That’s one of the reasons but I think we have to see the wider context than just to see the money around it. We signed six players who are under 23, which means a lot in terms of our planning.”
ERLI MOVE
Paris Saint-Germain will move to sign Erling Haaland if Kylian Mbappe leaves the Parc des Princes next summer according to reports.
France international Mbappe told the PSG brass last month that he wants to join Real Madrid.
Credit: Rex PSG rejected £130m and £200million bids from Real for the World Cup winner, who they risk losing on a free transfer at the end of the season.
And the Parisians have reportedly identified Borussia Dortmund hitman Haaland as a replacement for the 22-year-old.
RETURN TRIP
A reminder that Manchester United still want Kieran Trippier and will reportedly make an improved offer in January.
United are believed to have seen an initial £18million bid for the defender rejected by Atletico Madrid this summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer eyes competition for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Trippier could be heading back to England in the next transfer window after a successful spell with the Spanish champions.
Credit: Getty Mundo Deportivo claims the Red Devils will go back in for the England right-back at the start of next year.
Atleti will again, however, demand Trippier’s release clause of £34m in paid in full.
A-DAM GOOD DEAL
WOLVES want to make Adama Traore their highest paid player with a new eye-watering £120,000-a-week deal.
Credit: AFP The Spain winger, 25, is set to be offered a fresh four-year contract – worth a whopping £25million and more than double his current terms – to keep him out of the clutches of Premier League rivals.
Traore, who has spent more than a year of contract wrangling at Molineux, was the subject of two summer bids from Spurs including a £30m offer.
Wolves value Traore at £50m but are willing to give the speedster more wages than Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves.
RICE HUNGRY FOR EXIT
Declan Rice is reportedly eyeing up a move away from West Ham next year in a £100million deal.
The English midfielder, 22, was linked with a switch away from the London Stadium this summer as Chelsea and Manchester United chase him.
Credit: Reuters SunSport exclusively revealed in July how West Ham planned to offer a bumper new deal.
But the midfielder is only prepared to consider an offer if it includes a release clause.
TRANSFER LATEST
Manchester United could come back in for Arsenal target Kieran Trippier in January, while Wolves have offered Adama Traore a HUGE deal to stay.
Atletico Madrid want £30million for 30-year-old England right-back Trippier – way above what it’s thought United have offered so far.
Meanwhile, Old Trafford midfielder Jesse Lingard is said to have told West Ham he did not want a move in the last transfer window.
Wolves are fighting to keep speedster Traore after rejecting two deadline-day bids from Spurs.
SunSport exclusively revealed yesterday the wideman can sign a new four-year Molineux deal worth £120,000 a week.
And Traore’s Spain team-mate Pau Torres says he turned down Spurs this summer to stay at boyhood club Villarreal.
Inter Milan have been linked with a January move for Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno.
And Manchester United centre-back Victor Lindelof insists he is happy to play LESS following Raphael Varane’s arrival – as he is more interested in team success.
CRISTIANO BACK TO WIN SILVERWARE
Cristiano Ronaldo has already issued a rallying call to his new Manchester United team-mates and told them ‘I’m here to win’.
The five times Ballon d’Or winner has made clear that he wants to bag another Premier League title, to the delight of the squad.
Ronaldo, 36, landed in Manchester on Thursday and is expected to train at Carrington for the first time on Wednesday once he completes a five-day quarantine period.
But prior to joining Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad, he has already sent his expectations via Portuguese compatriot Bruno Fernandes.
A source said: “The players are so excited about the arrival of Ronaldo. They have been given this huge boost, and they feel very confident.
“The players and coaching staff now believe they have the best squad in the league and can win the Premier League this season.
“Ronaldo has also spoken to Bruno Fernandes and told him to tell the other players that they need to win it this year.
“They need to work hard and start to believe in themselves. The players have not stopped talking about Ronaldo since he signed and they can’t wait to train and play alongside.”
WENGER BACKS WORLD CUP EVERY 2 YEARS
Ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ramping up the push for a World Cup every TWO YEARS.
And Wenger has drafted a plan to see ALL tournament qualifiers players in a single elongated window every October.
Frenchman Wenger, now Fifa’s head of global football development, has been a strong advocate of world chief Gianni Infantino’s new masterplan.
That will see the World Cup becoming a biannual tournament, effectively from the 2026 event, due to be staged in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Wenger has embarked on a series of interviews across Europe, with the latest coming in L’Equipe.
The 71-year-old said: “The principle would be a grouping of qualifiers every year and, at the end of the season, a major competition, World Cup or continental championship.
“Between the two qualifying windows, the player would stay in his club all year.
“There must be less of a mix in the calendar between periods of club and international football, and therefore fewer trans-continental trips for the players, for example.”
WOLVES’ RECORD OFFER TO KEEP ADAMA
EXCLUSIVE: Wolves are set to offer Adama Traore a £25million golden carrot to sign a new four-year-deal worth a hefty £120,000 a week, writes GRAEME BRYCE.
After more than a year of contract wrangling, the long-standing deal Wolves offered Traore last October remains unsigned as the Spaniard stubbornly refuses to commit his long-term future to the club.
Now, after rejecting two deadline-day bids from Tottenham – including a £30 million bid to re-unite Traore with his former boss Nuno EspIrito Santo – Wolves are set to dramatically raise the stakes.
They are willing to make the 25-year-old speedster the highest paid player at Molineux, ahead of Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves, to keep their £50million-rated asset out of the clutches of their Premier League rivals.
And they will step up talks with Traore over the next few weeks, once he returns from Spain’s upcoming world cup ties against Georgia and Kosovo over a double-your-money-deal.
Traore currently earns around £55,000-a-week but Wolves are willing to more than double it, rather than watch their attacking asset’s value decrease as his current deal runs down.
The powerhouse forward has entered the final two years of the five-year-contract he signed when he arrived from Middlesbrough in a then club-record £18million move in August 2018.
Wolves’ failure to make any deadline day signings – despite head coach Bruno Lage’s pleas for three or four ‘top quality,’ additions – went down badly with frustrated Wolves fans.
RON’S ‘STILL IMPROVING AS A FINISHER’
Manchester United legend Denis Irwin claims Cristiano Ronaldo is still “getting better” as a goalscorer – aged 36.
Former Republic of Ireland full-back Irwin agrees the returning superstar has changed his game in recent years, having been more of a dashing wideman than central forward in his first United spell of 2003-9.
But he told Sky Sports of last season’s to Serie A marksman: “He is a fantastic goalscorer, he always has been and he always will be, and he is getting better and better in that respect.
Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd “People might question him because he is 36 but he has really looked after himself, you can tell that.
“I know Mother Nature catches up with you, I know the Premier League is the most physical league in the world for me, it is 90 minutes of pace, and he is not the same type of player he was going back to when he first joined United, in the first part of his career.
“But he will certainly score goals in the Premier League this season and I think the United fans are excited about him coming over.
“We remember he gave six great years, he went from being a boy to a man and he has gone on to do great things at Real Madrid and Juventus, with different techniques and different qualities in each league.”
YES – BUT WHO’S THE BETTER PLAYER?
Arsenal’s £50million summer signing Ben White could prove better value in central defence than new £42m Manchester United recruit Raphael Varane over the next four years at least according to the tweet below.
But no financial predictions can replace the basic question: Which of them is and will be the ‘better’ player?
That’s without even considering other issues, such as how they gel with team-mates and tactics, plus their facts and figures ON the pitch.
French World Cup winner Varane, 27, has the greater pedigree after ten years with Real Madrid.
But White, twice capped by England, is four years younger.
Gunners’ fans, though, will want to know if has the stature, mentally as well as physically, to help Mikel Arteta’s men recover from opening with three straight Prem defeats – including conceding nine goals.
Let’s discuss this again in 2025…!
RONDON: RAFA CHANGED ME
New Everton striker Salomon Rondon has hailed Rafa Benitez for “changing my mentality” in the 31-year-old’s two previous spells under the Spaniard.
The former West Brom star told evertontv: “Rafa changed the vision I have of football because the team is the most important thing for a club and the players.
Credit: Getty “His management of the team is special because, in some games, you have to do extra work, or work really hard to get the points.
“He showed to the players, you can go to the limits.
“I enjoy playing for Rafa a lot because he is the manager who changed my mentality and how I see the game, what he needs from me to help the team and my team-mates.”
CELTIC COULD FORM THE THE KYLE HIGH CLUB
Celtic are looking up in the world with reported interest in Britain’s tallest footballer – Solihull Moors’ 6ft 9ins striker Kyle Hudlin.
It surely wouldn’t take a sky high bid to land the 21-year-old, although he only joined his National League side on a two-year deal from Sunday football in October 2020.
NINTCHDBPICT000673426050-1Credit: Getty Football Insider suggest Celtic scout Andy Thorne has watched Hudlin this season.
And back in January SunSport reported just how ambitious he is after an incredible rise over the past year.
He said then: “I am enjoying life at Solihull right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have aspirations in England and in the Champions League.
“I don’t want to run before I can walk and I understand how high the jump is to that level, but I want to make that jump.
“If all goes well I will be playing in the EFL soon.”
PAU REBUFFED SPURS
Spain centre-back Pau Torres says he rejected Tottenham this summer to stay at boyhood club Villarreal.
The LaLiga club reportedly accepted a £43million bid from Spurs for the 24-year-old.
And 14-cap Torres said: “I was told there was interest in me from another club, which was Tottenham.
“However, I was very clear in what I wanted to do. I took the decision [to stay at Villarreal] calmly.”
“It was the best decision for me and what I wanted to do; staying with my boyhood club and with an exciting season ahead with big goals and big challenges to achieve.”
Credit: Getty UTD ‘BACK IN FOR ARSENAL TARGET TRIPPIER’
Manchester United are tipped to re-open their hunt for Arsenal target Kieran Tripper in January.
United bid £18m for Atletico Madrid’s England right-back shortly before the transfer window shut on Tuesday, Sport1 journalist Patrick Berger claimed.
And Arsenal too were understood to have monitored the 30-year-old over the summer.
Credit: Getty Now Mundo Deportivo say ‘Manchester United are expected to return to the fray’ when the January transfer window re-opens.”
LINGARD ‘WANTED TO STAY AT UTD’
Jesse Lingard made it clear to West Ham he’d prefer to fight for his place at Manchester United, 90min claim.
The England midfielder, 28, was reportedly wanted by the Hammers in August following his loan success there last season.
Credit: Getty CLUBS QUEUE FOR CITY WHIZKID DELAP
Championship clubs are queuing up for Manchester City whizkid Liam Delap.
That’s according to Football League World, who suggest Middlesbrough, Millwall and Stoke fancy a January move for the striker, 18.
Credit: Getty RON IS ED OVER HEELS AT RECLAMING NO7 SHIRT
Cristiano Ronaldo has thanked Edinson Cavani for the “incredible gesture” that allowed him to reclaim the Manchester United No7 shirt.
Credit: AFP or licensors The Premier League let Cavani take outgoing Dan James’ No21 top – with incoming old boy Ronaldo restored to 7.
The Portugal superstar, 36, said: “I wasn’t sure if it would be possible to have the number seven shirt again.
“So I would like to say a huge thank you to Edi (Cavani) for this incredible gesture.”
UTD TO NAB ARSENAL WHIZKID
Manchester United are tipped to sign one of the country’s top defensive prospects after he left Arsenal.
Harrison Parker, 15, had “all the top clubs in England chasing him” – according to Rising Ballers.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
