B/R Gossip Roundup: Edinson Cavani, Simone Zaza and Manchester United's Spending
From believable chatter to outrageous gossip, the transfer window gave us plenty of stories to chew over this summer.
Across most of Europe, the trading period will officially open for business again on January 1, but until then, the rumour mill proves that transfers are never far away as it keeps on grinding its gears and churning out speculation by the day.
With the winter months approaching, the B/R Gossip Roundup will be right here—breaking down the biggest transfer tales of the week and giving you our frank views on their absurdity or credibility.
Read on for the latest rumours about Manchester United, Edinson Cavani, Andriy Yarmolenko, Simone Zaza, Victor Wanyama and more!
Barcelona to Make January Bid for Andriy Yarmolenko
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Andriy Yarmolenko could swap Dynamo Kiev for Barcelona in the winter transfer window, according to reports.
Spanish newspaper Sport (h/t talkSPORT) claimed Barca are preparing a bid for the winger's services that will be made when club's transfer embargo is lifted on January 1.
Elsewhere, Adam Skinner reported in the Express:
"The Ukraine international has been heavily linked with Liverpool, while Everton were also thought to be monitoring his situation before the close of the transfer window.
Toffees boss Roberto Martinez is understood to have failed with a late move and the La Liga giants could now be poised to capitalise.
The 25-year-old is also thought to prefer a move to Spain over England.
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Last term, Yarmolenko notched 19 goals and 21 assists in all competitions for Serhiy Rebrov's side—a season in which he won the Ukrainian Premier League for the second time in his career.
In total, the Saint Petersburg-born player has racked up 269 appearances for Dynamo Kiev.
Believability Meter: Medium
Very successful throughout the 2014/15 campaign and out-of-contract next summer, it comes as little wonder that Yarmolenko is being linked with a move away from Dynamo.
Free to talk with other clubs in January, we could well see him on his way to Camp Nou within the next year if the mooted interest from the Catalan club turns out to be real.
As yet, it's all conjecture. There are likely to be a number of sides interested in his services when the next window opens.
A New Manchester United Deal for David De Gea?
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David De Gea's proposed move from Manchester United to Real Madrid became one of the sagas of the summer 2015 transfer window and ultimately ended in farce.
Amid much finger-pointing as to which party was at blame for the failed switch, as seen on BBC Sport, the goalkeeper remained at Old Trafford beyond the LFP's August 31 deadline.
Now, as reported by John Cross and David McDonnell in the Mirror, it seems the Old Trafford side want to offer the 24-year-old a new contract:
"Manchester United will make one last attempt to persuade David De Gea to stay at Old Trafford. ...
Sources close to the 24-year-old believe he will be offered a new deal in October—and that the Old Trafford giants will offer him more than Real were.
United don't expect him to sign a new deal but feel they have nothing to lose now that he is with them until at least January, when he can sign a pre-contract with Real if he chooses as he is in the final year of his current deal.
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At United since summer 2011, De Gea's contract will run out in 2016 as things stand.
The Spaniard, who has yet to feature for Louis van Gaal's outfit this season, has racked up 175 appearances during his time in Manchester.
Believability Meter: Low
Oh how Manchester United may wish De Gea had signed a contract extension before his deal entered its final year.
However, this is a case of too little, too late: The Premier League side should have had the foresight to ink new terms with the 'keeper long ago.
Instead, De Gea can leave next summer for nothing—nothing but a large signing-on fee that will go directly to the player himself—and even sign a pre-contract agreement with Madrid as soon as January.
Either of those things will happen, so inking a new United contract? That will not.
Ashley Cole Heading for Roma Exit
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He did not get a move this summer, but it appears Ashley Cole will soon be heading for the exits at AS Roma.
As the Associated Press recently reported (h/t Daily Mail): "Ashley Cole has been left out of Roma's squad for the Champions League and appears to be on his way out of the Serie A club. The former England defender, aged 34, joined Roma a year ago on a two-year deal but fell out of favour after only a few months."
To date, the former Arsenal and Chelsea man has made 16 appearances for the Giallorossi and has yet to feature for Rudi Garcia's side in 2015/16.
As mentioned in the Mail article, Cole has also been left out of Roma's Champions League squad and is not even included in the team's squad list on their official website.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia and relayed by Metro), the left-back turned down a deadline-day move to join Newcastle United.
Believability Meter: High
Considering Cole's absence from Roma's Serie A and Champions League squads and the arrival of fellow left-backs Lucas Digne (Paris Saint-Germain) and Emerson (loan, Santos) over the summer, his time at Stadio Olimpico looks well and truly up.
Unable to move until the January window opens, we probably won't see much of the Londoner until then.
Paris Saint-Germain Planning to Sell Edinson Cavani
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With the dust not yet settled on rumours linking Edinson Cavani with a summer move away from Parc des Princes, the striker is already being connected with a January switch.
Manchester United and Arsenal are “on alert” for the 28-year-old's services, claimed Bruce Archer in the Express.
Archer went on to report:
"Cavani was linked with Arsenal and Manchester United this summer but neither was able to secure moves.
Both clubs, however, failed to sign a top level striker with United only signing unproven 19-year-old Anthony Martial.
And reports in Spain suggest the Parisians will listen to offers for Cavani this winter.
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The Uruguay international has three years remaining on his current contract with Laurent Blanc's side, with whom he has made 100 appearances since 2013, scoring 59 goals and nine assists in all competitions.
Believability Meter: Low
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is already into the final year of his contract with the Ligue 1 title holders and is very likely to move on next summer, which would make Cavani the main striker at PSG.
There's little in the way of evidence to suggest the French club really want to sell Cavani, who has featured in every minute of Ligue 1 football so far this term, bagging two goals in four games.
This story strikes us as nothing more than a page-filler. Expect a lot more of such Cavani talk between now and January.
A New Southampton Contract for Victor Wanyama
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Southampton are hoping to tie Victor Wanyama down to a new five-year deal, Darren Lewis has claimed in the Mirror.
This follows a summer in which the 24-year-old was strongly connected with a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Now, it seems the St. Mary's side want to keep him out of Spurs' clutches by offering him a new deal.
As Lewis reported:
"Mirror Sport understands the north Londoners are set to return for the 24-year-old in the winter transfer window as Mauricio Pochettino sees him as the man to protect his back four.
The Saints may also need to launch a charm offensive with Wanyama as the furious Kenyan is understood to have told friends he has no intention of extending his current contract which has just two years left to run.
But Southampton executive director Les Reed said: 'We'd like to tie him down for another five years.Whether that's possible or not, I don't know, but the opportunity is there to do that.'
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Elsewhere, as Simon Jones wrote in the Daily Mail:
"Victor Wanyama has no plans to extend his contract at Southampton despite the club proposing a new five-year deal.
The Kenya international saw Southampton block a move to Tottenham on Monday but the White Hart Lane club may resurrect their attempt to buy him in January.
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Wanyama has made 68 appearances in all competitions for Southampton since his switch from Celtic in 2013. Twenty-four of those games were under Mauricio Pochettino, who is now manager at Spurs.
Believability Meter: Low
It’s hard to believe Wanyama will be tempted to pen a new contract with the Saints if rumours of his refusal to enter into recent negotiations are true and as strongly willed as reported, per Jones in the Daily Mail.
Of course, he could change his mind, and it would not be the first time we've seen a Premier League footballer make a complete U-turn on a contract decision.
If forced to make a call, we’d imagine the Kenyan will stay at Southampton beyond January 2016 before making a move elsewhere next summer.
Mass Spending Is over at Manchester United
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Following a summer of comings and goings at Old Trafford that equalled a net spend of £43 million, we are told the days of mass spending at Manchester United are over.
As reported by David McDonnell in the Mirror:
"Louis van Gaal has been told the days of mass spending sprees on a glut of players are over at Manchester United.
United spent £112million on six players this summer, to add to the £150m outlay this time last year on the same number of new faces.
Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sergio Romero and Anthony Martial were all brought in to strengthen Van Gaal's squad.
But the Red Devils insist they will not be buying so many players in transfer windows going forward.
Instead, they will instead restrict themselves to three or four new faces and a natural evolution of the squad.
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Angel Di Maria, Javier Hernandez, Nani, Jonny Evans and Robin van Persie all departed Van Gaal’s side this summer. According to the Mirror, £115 million was spent and £72 million was received in the red half of Manchester this summer.
Believability Meter: Low
Louis van Gaal still has plenty of work to do on his United squad, which remains in need of a striker, a central defender and a top-class goalkeeper to replace David De Gea if and when that day finally arrives.
The club's transfer actions in the summer prompted much head-scratching, certainly in attack, considering 19-year-old Anthony Martial's £36 million arrival and the departure of Adnan Januzaj (on loan to Borussia Dortmund) and Javier Hernandez (Bayer Leverkusen) followed on from Van Persie, Di Maria and Falcao’s exits. Let's not even go into the confusion that reigned concerning the side’s goalkeeping situation.
When the next window opens, there will be a multitude of names linked with United, and the club will be forced to pay a premium for new players in January and summer 2016. Other clubs know they are flush with cash from the Adidas sponsorship deal, not to mention the incoming windfall from next season's TV rights.
Mass spending is over at Old Trafford? We'll believe it when we see it.
Simone Zaza: Juventus to Arsenal in January
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Simone Zaza could be on his way to the Premier League in January, with Arsenal said to be keen on securing his services.
As Michael Butler reported in the Guardian's Rumour Mill, based on chatter originating on Sky Italia, Arsene Wenger’s side are considering a bid for the striker, following a reported initial summer approach that was turned down by the Serie A side.
As Butler adds, "A January loan move isn’t out of the question, either, provided the Gunners (or indeed anyone else) are prepared to pay the Italian’s wages in full plus a £1.4m sweetener to Juve."
Zaza finally joined Massimiliano Allegri’s side on July 7, following two years spent at Mapei Stadium with Sassuolo.
Sold by Sampdoria to Juventus in 2013, he joined Sassuolo a day later as part of a co-ownership deal and has yet to play for the Old Lady.
The 24-year-old notched 12 goals and three assists last term for the Neroverdi.
Believability Meter: Low to Medium
It's been a summer of change in Turin, with Zaza just one of many new arrivals at Juve. Let's make no bones about it, the Italian is far from being a first-choice centre-forward in Allegri's XI, with fellow newcomers Pablo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic ahead of him in the pecking order, as well as Alvaro Morata.
It's fair to assume Zaza will be sent out on loan at some point this season to receive regular playing time, and the links with Arsenal have probably been strengthened following news of Danny Welbeck's injury problems.
Do we think he's on his way to the Emirates Stadium on a permanent deal? No. But maybe a loan deal will be in the offing.
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