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22 May 2014
DONE DEALS
Nathanial Knight-Percival [Peterbrough – Shrewsbury Town] Free
Phil Bardsley [Sunderland – Stoke City] Free
Marc-Andre ter Stegen [Borussia Monchengladbach – Barcelona] £9.7m
Ben Hamer [Charlton – Leicester City] Free
Sean Rigg [Oxford United – AFC Wimbledon] Free
Michael Aggazi [Cagliari – AC Milan] Free
Danny Hollands [Unattached – Portsmouth] Free
Sebastien Jung [Eintracht Frankfurt – Wolfsburg] Free
On a day of few transfer shocks, perhaps the most significant deal today can be seen to be the confirmation of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s move to Barcelona. The talented young goalkeeper has signed a five-year contract, and he will no doubt play a significant part at Barcelona next season, with current No. 1 Victor Valdes expected to move on.
Other notable deals include the confirmation of Wolfsburg’s signing of Sebastien Jung on a free transfer, who was linked with multiple Premier League clubs, including Arsenal; and Stoke City’s signing of former Sunderland full-back Phil Bardsley on a three-year deal. The signing of Jung will be considered a coup amongst followers of the Bundesliga, and Bardsley’s signing doesn’t look too bad either; the Englishman has bags of Premier League experience, and has popped up with the odd goal or two for Sunderland this season.
Moving on, there have been a number of free transfers today, perhaps the most notable of which is Michael Aggazi’s move to AC Milan, where he will act as a back-up goalkeeper. Ben Hamer has joined recently-promoted Leicester City amidst speculation about the future of current No. 1 Kasper Schmeichel, and experienced midfielder Danny Hollands has joined up with Portsmouth on a two-year deal. Other deals include Nathanial Knight-Percival’s free transfer to relegated Shrewsbury Town, and former Oxford City player Sean Rigg’s transfer to AFC Wimbledon.
RUMOURS:
There have been a number of entising rumours circling around today. Yaya Toure’s agent has said that his client would be open to staying at Manchester City, should the club offer him a coaching role when he retires; in other words, this whole saga was simply in order to ensure the guy still has a job after he hangs up his boots. The Daily Mail have reported that Manchester United have agreed a £20m deal for Toni Kroos, reports which have been backed up by the Bayern Munich president’s insistance that the club will not offer Kroos any more money than they already have – it looks as if this surprising deal may go ahead after all.
The Daily Mirror reports that Liverpool have made a discreet approach over the signing of Barcelona winger Pedro, who Barcelona would be willing to sell for the right price; Arsenal are also known to have an interest in the Spaniard. Other reports suggest that Manchester City may be willing to ditch transfer plans for Porto’s Eliaquim Mangala, and instead move for Roma centre-back Mehdi Benatia. Also, there have been some developments with regards to the goalkeeping situation at Arsenal; Swansea are reported to have taken an interest in out of contract Lukasz Fabianksi, whereas Arsene Wenger is believed to be keen on signing Cardiff City’s David Marshall for £6m.
Liverpool’s hopes of signing Southampton’s Adam Lallana have been dashed, with reports suggesting that Southampton are asking for a £25m fee, whereas French midfielder Moussa Sissoko wants to quit Newcastle United. Additionally, Arsenal are plotting a move for Serge Aurier, should Barcary Sagna depart for Manchester City as expected; the young Toulouse full-back has already expressed his desire to play for the Gunners. A couple of rumours flying around about two Mexican strikers: Mexico’s national team manager has suggested Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez should quit Old Trafford for regular first-team football, whereas Carlos Vela has suggested it would be stupid of Arsenal not to resign him. Another reported transfer target of Manchester City’s is FC Porto defensive midfielder Fernando, who they tried to sign in January.
There have been some rumours suggesting Gervinho is not happy about not being offered a new deal at Roma, alerting several clubs over his £18m release clause. Swansea City are back in for Standard Liege striker Michy Batshuayi, who could cost £2.5m. One blow to Louis Van Gaal is the revelation by Ezequiel Garay’s agent that the highly-rated defender is set to join Russia’s Zenit St-Petersburg. Newcastle United have been linked with Lazio centre-back Stefan Radu, who was previously linked with Manchester United and Tottenham. One of the bigger developments in Spain is Cesc Fabregas’s potential transfer away from Barcelona, with boss Luis Enrique stating ‘we not taken any decisions’.
Finally, I’m going to end with a rather hilarious statement from Manchester United flop Bebe: ‘Now my objective is to go back to Manchester United to try and convince the new coach that I have a chance in the team’. Good luck with that one Bebe.
If you have any thoughts about these rumours, be sure to leave a comment!
