B/R Gossip Roundup: Transfers for Paul Pogba, Juan Cuadrado and John Stones?
Juventus and Chelsea feature heavily in this week's B/R Gossip Roundup, with Paul Pogba, Juan Cuadrado, John Stones and John Terry all linked with summer moves.
You'll also find our take on the believability of Henrikh Mkhitaryan's proposed switch from Borussia Dortmund to Liverpool, Saido Berahino's future at West Bromwich Albion and all the latest on Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Mario Balotelli.
Read on for more!
Saido Berahino in Line for Tottenham Hotspur Transfer
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Tottenham Hotspur have a clear run at signing Saido Berahino from West Bromwich Albion, reported David Kent of the Daily Mail.
With Manchester City said to have cooled their interest, Kent suggested that Spurs were in pole position to sign the England international.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail's Sam Cunningham claimed that an £18 million bid had been rejected by the Baggies, who were "braced for improved bids" for the 22-year-old, per Amy Lawrence in the Guardian.
Elsewhere in the Guardian, Baggies manager Tony Pulis told David Hytner that Berahino would be able to leave the Hawthorns for the right price, "'If there's an unbelievable offer for Saido then nobody turns it down. Tottenham didn't turn it down for [Gareth] Bale, Manchester United never turned it down for [Cristiano] Ronaldo, you just don't do it,’" he said.
Whereas, on West Brom's official website, club chairman Jeremy Peace released this statement:
"We have no interest in selling Saido which is what I have told Daniel Levy.
I know we are living in an age where no club can say 'never' about the possibility of selling a player. However, the prospect of selling Saido is simply not on our agenda.
We are going forward with Saido very much in our plans and still striving to add players to improve the balance of our squad.
"
Berahino's current contract runs until 2017. He has made 83 appearances, scoring 29 goals, for the Midlands club.
Believability Meter: Medium
With so many contrasting stories about Berahino's future, this looks like a battle of wills between West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace and his Spurs counterpart, Daniel Levy.
Roberto Soldado has gone to Villarreal and Emmanuel Adebayor looks unlikely to feature for Pochettino's side again, which leaves Spurs in the market for a new striker to use alongside Harry Kane, despite bringing Clinton N'Jie in from Lyon.
Will that striker be Berahino? Probably. We don't believe that Peace will stand firm, especially if Spurs up their offer closer to £25 million.
Fenerbahce to Make 'Shock Move' for John Terry
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Fenerbahce are planning a shock move for Chelsea's John Terry, According to Sami Mokbel in the Daily Mail.
The 34-year-old played every minute for Jose Mourinho's side in the Premier League last season, en route to their title win, and appeared for a full 90 minutes in the opening fixture of the 2015/16 campaign.
However, Mourinho's decision to withdraw Terry at half-time, during the Blues' 3-0 defeat against Manchester City, has given rise to rumours linking him with a move away from the club.
As Mokbel reported, "The defender has struggled as Chelsea have won just one point from their opening two matches, the second of which was overshadowed by Jose Mourinho substituting him at half-time. The captain has a year left on his contract and Fenerbahce hope to sign him on a free transfer."
The long-serving defender signed his most recent contract extension in March—a deal designed to keep him at Stamford Bridge until summer 2016.
To date, Terry has clocked up 641 appearances over the course of his Chelsea career.
Believability Meter: Low
There is a reason that rumours like this are branded as "shock moves" and, largely, that's because they are never going to happen.
This is not the first time that we have seen John Terry linked with a transfer to the Turkish Super Lig—in 2013, he was on the radar of Galatasaray (per Martin Lipton in the Mirror) and Fenerbahce (per James Dickenson in the Express).
He inked a new Chelsea deal.
In 2014, the Champions League winner was again connected with Galatasaray (per Bill Mills in the Mirror).
He inked a new Chelsea deal.
In 2015, as we've seen, Terry is attracting admiring glances from Turkey.
Which means he'll probably (you guessed it!) ink a new Chelsea deal or—like Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and Co.—move west, into Major League Soccer.
Mario Balotelli: From Liverpool to Watford?
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Mario Balotelli has been linked with a move to Watford by Sky Sport Italia (h/t Tom Sheen in the Independent).
As the report claims:
"Watford owner Giampaolo Pozzo is interested in the striker, who has scored just four goals for the Reds since making a £16 million move to Anfield last summer.
The Italian is no longer a part of Brendan Rodgers' plans at Liverpool and no other Premier League club is currently linked to the striker, who reportedly wants to stay in the Premier League.
The former AC Milan and Manchester City striker is also drawing interest from Serie A side Sampdoria.
"
Balotelli joined Liverpool last summer from Milan, following a season-and-a-half at San Siro, and has struggled in his second stint in England's top flight.
The former City man scored just one Premier League goal for Liverpool in 2014/15, with a total of four in all competitions across 28 games.
The Italian was also linked with Fiorentina last month, as reported by Paul Gorst in Metro.
Believability Meter: Low
It seems unlikely that the Hornets would be willing to take a gamble on Balotelli this summer, and manager Quique Florez has insisted that he has no interest in the Italian (per Joe Short in the Express). The striker has failed to impress on Merseyside and does not represent good value for money, even at a reported £7 million.
Watford have plenty of attacking options in Troy Deeney, Odion Ighalo, Matej Vydra and Fernando Forestieri and they have already brought in nine new faces and three players on loan during the window (per Transfermarkt).
What's more, Balotelli is in line to receive a six-figure "loyalty bonus" if he remains at Anfield beyond September 1, per Andy Hunter of the Guardian. Our guess is that he's staying.
Juventus Chasing Juan Cuadrado
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Speculation concerning Juan Cuadrado's Chelsea future intensified this week when the Blues announced the arrival of Pedro from Barcelona.
Cuadrado has been unable to force his way into Jose Mourinho's starting XI since his move from Fiorentina last February.
In light of Pedro signing for the Premier League side, the Mirror's Darren Lewis reported:
"Juan Cuadrado is expected to be the player sacrificed by Chelsea following the arrival of Pedro - with Juventus interested.
Pedro is expected to complete his £22 million move to join the Champions on a four-year deal later today.
Colombian Cuadrado was signed from Fiorentina for an initial £23.3 million in January. But he has failed to settle and has been agitating for a move for several weeks.
Chelsea have long maintained that the 27-year-old would only be allowed to leave if they recouped what they paid for him.
"
Cuadrado played just 316 minutes of Premier League football in 2014/15 and, so far, has appeared for 27 minutes of the current campaign.
Believability Meter: Medium
Formerly of Udinese, Lecce (loan) and Fiorentina, a move back to Serie A would probably appear inviting to Cuadrado, now that Pedro is in town.
There have already been plenty of arrivals in Turin this summer, in the shape of Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic, Sami Khedira, Roberto Pereyra, Alex Sandro and more. However, with big names like Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo all gone, it feels like Juve's shopping is not yet complete. Domenico Berardi’s departure to Sassuolo does also leave the Old Lady in need of reinforcements on the right wing, for which the Colombian is perfectly suited.
The summer saw gossip connecting Chelsea's Mohamed Salah (now on loan at Roma), Oscar and Willian to Juve (per Darren Lewis in the Mirror). Perhaps, in Cuadrado, we have a rumour that will actually turn out to be true.
If forced to make a call, we'd wager that the 27-year-old will go on a season-long loan to Massimiliano Allegri's side before September 1.
Liverpool Targeting Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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Liverpool will make a bid of £15 million for Borussia Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan, claims Adam Skinner in the Express.
The attacking midfielder joined BVB in summer 2013, after spending three years with Shakhtar Donetsk and, as Skinner writes, "has long been on Liverpool's radar and was thought to be close to a move to Anfield before his switch to the Bundesliga giants."
The 26-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to the 2015/16 season under new Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel, scoring four goals and registering two assists in three Europa League qualifiers, scoring once and setting up another in the DFB Pokal and adding a further two goals in the Bundesliga season-opening 4-0 win against Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Armenian has also been linked with Juventus, per Simon Rice in the Independent, who reported that Liverpool have had a bid accepted by Dortmund.
Mkhitaryan has two years remaining on his contract at Signal Iduna Park.
Believability Meter: Low
It may be early days, but it looks like Mkhitaryan could thrive under Tuchel at Dortmund—far from the substitutes bench, where he often started games in 2015 under former manager Jurgen Klopp.
Said to be a "prime target" for Liverpool two years ago, as seen in the Guardian, the Merseyside club have obviously been tracking the attacker for some time.
The interest may be real, but the move is probably not going to happen.
We predict that this will be the season Mkhitaryan makes himself a household name at BVB.
Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela: Going Nowhere
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela will not leave White Hart Lane this summer.
This follows rumours linking the pair with a move to Serie A champions Juventus.
Lamela has failed to live up to the hype that accompanied his £25.7 million switch from Roma to Spurs in 2013, where he has 45 Premier League outings to his name and has been regularly linked with a move away from north London.
When discussing the 23-year-old this week, Pochettino said (as relayed by Jack Pitt-Brooke in the Independent), "Lamela is part of my plans for the team. We need Lamela to show his real quality, and we hope that this is the season he really shows his quality."
With three years remaining on his existing deal, Eriksen has impressed since swapping Ajax for the English top flight two summers ago, racking up 65 league appearances and registering 17 goals and 12 assists.
Of the Denmark international, Pochettino added, "He is happy here. He has a contract here. We keep the best players for the present and the future, to be a good squad in the next few years to fight for the top four—and win the Premier League one day."
As reported by the Daily Mail's Matt Barlow, Juventus have been linked with a string of midfield targets this summer, including Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, Bayern Munich's Mario Gotze, Oscar, Juan Cuadrado and Ramires from Chelsea, not to mention Schalke's Julian Draxler.
Believability Meter: High
Juventus have had an active summer of arrivals and departures, but it appears that they are searching for further midfield talent.
It looked like Draxler was the answer at one stage, but the rumours have now moved on to include the likes of Eriksen and Lamela.
It's highly unlikely that the Premier League side would consider letting Eriksen leave, as he truly is one of Pochettino's best players, but it's easier to imagine Lamela departing.
Having shone for Roma already in Serie A and still struggling to make an impact with Spurs, should he go out on loan, or be sold, we don't think too many eyebrows would be raised.
However, as mentioned elsewhere in this slideshow, we think that a Chelsea-to-Juve loan is what may happen with Cuadrado and—as the title of this slide suggests—we think Eriksen and Lamela are going nowhere.
Chelsea to Make £100M ‘Swoop’ for Paul Pogba and John Stones
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Chelsea are ready to spend £100 million on Juventus' Paul Pogba and Everton's John Stones, claimed David Woods in the Daily Star this week.
Jose Mourinho's side have been linked with Stones for much of the summer and have reportedly had multiple bids turned down for the defender, as seen on BBC Sport.
Gossip linking Pogba with a move to Stamford Bridge is relatively new, but the Frenchman was being linked with Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid earlier in the window (per Mike Keegan in the Daily Mail).
As Woods reported:
"The Blues will sign midfield superstar Paul Pogba from Juventus if the Italians are prepared to let him go for £60m.
And Jose Mourinho's champions are also set to splash out £40m in a third attempt to land Everton centre-back John Stones. …
Abramovich has set a £60m limit on 22-year-old Pogba, which would top the club record fee of £50m paid to Liverpool for striker Fernando Torres in 2011.
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Elsewhere, Italian journalist Tancredo Palmeri (h/t the Express' Bruce Archer) insists that an £86 million bid has already been made for Pogba.
Pogba joined Juve in 2012, signing for the club on a free transfer from Manchester United. The 22-year-old’s current contract runs until 2019.
Stones also has four years left on his existing Everton deal, the 21-year-old joined the Toffees in January 2013 from Barnsley.
Believability Meter: Low (Pogba) to Medium (Stones)
Chelsea have not enjoyed a perfect start to the season, which has undoubtedly encouraged transfer rumours, both old and new. Also, as the B/R Gossip Roundup likes to remind you, "exclusives" from the Daily Star should be greeted with a healthy amount of cynicism.
Everton have resisted all approaches for John Stones so far but, as Chelsea's bids creep up in value, it may not be so easy to hold out. This leaves us fairly certain that the London club will snag the young Englishman before the window closes.
In terms of Paul Pogba, we just can't see this one happening. Juve have already seen a host of players depart and, despite their new signings, we can't see the star midfielder following them out of Turin.
Pogba was also recently handed the club's iconic No. 10 jersey (per Goal.com), which—we think you'll agree—is pretty huge.
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