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Hello and welcome to the Premier League latest transfer news and rumours of the day! The transfer window is now closed but rumour mill never stops generating stories.
With that in mind, here are the top stories of the day surrounding the Premier League.
#5 Newcastle
Newcastle United have been in the news these past few days due to the late signings they made in the window. Now, however, Guillem Balague comes up with a report that states that the former Real Madrid manager had big-money offers from China and Saudi Arabia.
However, the Spaniard rejected it to stay with Newcastle as he is happy with the signing of Miguel Almiron and would like to stay with the Magpies for a while.
"I've heard that Rafa Benitez has been approached by one club in China and another in Saudi Arabia," Balague said. "Both of them are willing to pay 10million Euros net (£8.7million), per year, for two years.
"This was about two months ago and Benitez said no. He has a five-year deal on the table at Newcastle which he has not signed, yet. With Almiron arriving, he is happier, but he would like it to continue."
Meanwhile, former Newcastle star Nobby Solano is unsure as to how good a signing Almiron could be for the Toons. His reasoning is that Almiron has only played in Paraguay, Argentina and the USA before moving to England this winter.
“He could be a great signing. At this moment we don't know how much he can help because it could take time adapt,” said Solano.
"In that way it's a gamble. The expectation may also be different because of the price tag - a record fee we are hearing out here. And Newcastle are desperate to get results. I know the way he plays and whether he suits defensive tactics I don't know.”
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#4 Big Sam has issues with Christian Pulisic deal
Former Three Lions’ manager Sam Allardyce has opined on Chelsea’s acquisition of Christian Pulisic this winter. The Blues signed the American in January but loaned him back to the Ruhr outfit for the rest of the season.
This hasn’t gone down well with Allardyce, who claimed that he is “staggered” because he can’t fathom how Chelsea allowed such a thing to happen. He believes that the Blues paid a lot of money and instead of risking him get injured at Dortmund, they should have brought him instantly.
"I am staggered and shocked. What if he does an ACL over there?”
"You invest that much money and then you have the settling in period... next season, who knows, he might come in and struggle," he said.
It seems as though Big Sam loves making mountains from molehills.
#3 Why Martial signed a new deal
Anthony Martial stalled contract talks when Jose Mourinho was the manager of Manchester United. However, after the Portuguese got sacked and replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Martial ended up signing a new deal with the Red Devils.
And now, according to manager Solksjaer, Martial was convinced to sign an extension with the help of an example of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Norwegian thinks that Martial is a superb talent and could follow in the footsteps of some of the best players to ply their trade at the Old Trafford.
“As I have said many times, I’m here to help players, to guide players until the summer and I think when you sit him down and talk to him, for example, about Cristiano’s career, what he’s made of his career and how he’s got there and we talk about all the fantastic players with the history they’ve got, I think Anthony just said, ‘If I can be a part of this I’d like to’.
“I believe and the club believes we have got a top player there.”
#2 Bakayoko wants to stay at Milan
Tiemoue Bakayoko has revealed that he would like to stay at Milan beyond this season. The midfielder is currently on loan from Chelsea after failing to settle down at the Stamford Bridge and has been decent in the Serie A under the tutelage of Gennaro Gattuso.
As a result, he wants to stay at Chelsea and also revealed that his future at Milan depends on Champions League qualification. He concluded by stating that he will start thinking about it once the season is over.
"It's my dream [to stay], the thought fixed in my mind," he said. "But I have a contract with Chelsea.
"[Milan chief] Leonardo says the deal is tied to the Champions League. I'm not in a position to talk about it. I just want to finish the season in fourth place, then we'll think about it.”
#1 London
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has stated that the Hammers wanted to sign Gary Medel in the winter window but didn’t go for him because he wasn’t available for a free transfer, like they had thought earlier.
“I am not frustrated. We didn’t have any interest in bringing a new player here unless we sold one. We were interested in Gary Medel, they told us he was free but the player was not free,” Pellegrini said.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have targeted Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur for the summer according to reports from Spain. They intend to give Spurs €120 million for the Englishman and €60 million wages to Harry Kane in a 5-year contract.
Finally, another report claims that Manchester City want to sign Luka Modric for €40 million in the summer and are willing to offer him a two-year deal.
For more Premier League transfer news and rumours, visit our EPL Transfer News page!
