Summer Transfer Gossip: Wayne Rooney, Bernard, Cesc Fabregas

Sam TigheJul 21, 2013

Welcome to today's daily gossip column, featuring the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Which clubs are sniffing around Roberto Soldado to solve their striking issue?

Where does Brazilian wunderkind Bernard's future lie?

Which club could be looking to bail Pepe out of his Real Madrid pickle?

Read on for answers to these and more!

Cesc Fabregas

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According to Paul Hetherington of The Daily Star, the bid for Cesc Fabregas has been upped.

With Manchester United extremely keen on the Barcelona product, they've returned with an improved bid of £35 million—£10 million more than the original offer.

There's still no indication of whether Fabregas wants to leave Barcelona, but the departure of Thiago Alcantara does at least clear a little more space in the first-team squad.

Tito Vilanova, a huge advocate of Cesc's abilities, has resigned as manager. Does that have an effect?

Roberto Soldado

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Joe Bernstein of The Daily Mail believes Tottenham are set to turn their attentions to Roberto Soldado after missing out on Christian Benteke.

The Valencia striker has long been mooted as a potential target, but according to Ben Jefferson of The Express, sporting director Braulio Vazquez says Los Che have not received any concrete bids as yet.

The rumoured fee is around the £18 million mark—decent value and good business, but perhaps Burak Yilmaz is the man to look at instead.

Bernard

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Arsenal are in advanced talks with Atletico Mineiro for a deal with Bernard, according to John Drayton of The Daily Mail.

The Brazilian playmaker, who captured the hearts of many spectators at the 2013 Confederations Cup despite playing very few minutes, is the subject of a £21 million bid.

Bernard can operate inside as a No. 10 or out on either flank, potentially giving Arsene Wenger great flexibility across his forward line in a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 hybrid formation.

According to Bleacher Report's Ross Dunbar, he'd be a stunning acquisition.

Pepe

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Paul Hetherington of The Daily Star suggests Manchester City will spend £22 million to bring Pepe to the Etihad Stadium.

Central defence is a position Manuel Pellegrini must address following Kolo Toure's exit to Liverpool, and having worked with the Portuguese aggressor at Real Madrid, he knows his game extremely well.

Pepe has fallen down the pecking order at the Santiago Bernabeu following the rise of Raphael Varane.

Wayne Rooney

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Jason Burt and Mark Ogden of The Irish Independent believe Chelsea are lining up a whopping £40 million bid for Wayne Rooney.

The BBC confirmed Manchester United had rejected the initial offer—believed to be around the £25 million mark—and explicitly stated he is not for sale, via The Manchester Evening News.

Still, on paper it appears the Rooney saga can only end one way, and Chelsea are one of the only clubs in the world that can afford to take on his wage packet.