In another edition of Playing for 90’s transfer gossip column co-editor Kevin Kelly keeps you up to date with all the latest news of ins and outs from the world of the Premier League and further afield throughout the European game.
Saints Price Schneiderlin at £24m
Amidst interest from Arsenal and Manchester United, Southampton have put up a price of £24m for their midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, report the Daily Mirror. Schneiderlin, 25, has two years left on his contract and Saints believe that puts them in a strong position to command a big fee.
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Midfielder Schneiderlin wrote an explosive tweet when Saints rejected a £10m offer from Tottenham last summer but is no longer interested in following Mauricio Pochettino to White Hart Lane.
Manchester United is reportedly Schneiderlin’s preferred destination although that could depend on the outcome of United’s pursuit of Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been tracking Schneiderlin since moving to the south coast from Strasbourg as a teenager but fears being outbid by United.
Cech Out – Green in?
The Daily Star reported one of the more bizarre transfer rumours today: Chelsea will sell Petr Cech to Arsenal for £14m, and replace him with West Ham’s Robert Green. Jose Mourinho had wanted Cech to move abroad, with Paris St-Germain among several foreign clubs keen to sign him.
But owner Abramovich believes the 33-year-old deserves special treatment for his 11 years’ loyal service to the club, in which he has won every major honour, including the Champions League in 2012.
The Blues have now identified QPR goalkeeper Green as their preferred back-up for Thibaut Courtois, whose return last summer from a long loan spell at Atletico Madrid spelt the end of Cech’s reign as No.1.
City Ponder Third Sterling Bid
Manchester City are weighing up their options after their latest bid for Raheem Sterling was rejected, report Guardian Football. Manchester City bid £35 plus add ons for Sterling on Wednesday but was rejected by Liverpool, who want £50m for their star attacker.
A bid around the £50m mark and that would mean making Sterling their most expensive acquisition since Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008. The previous high was set in 2009 when Carlos Tevez joined in a deal that was initially described as being worth £25.5m, only for it to emerge it had actually cost the club about £47m.
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Meanwhile Manchester City have been informed they will have to increase their offer to Fulham for the England under-19 international Patrick Roberts. The club have made a £5m offer for the 18-year-old but Fulham want considerably more and City will have to go back with a higher offer to make the deal happen.
Gala Want Van Persie
The Manchester Evening News report that Galatasaray are interested in signing Robin Van Persie, though his £240,000 per week wages are a stumbling block. The Turks have confirmed that the Reds hitman, who’ll be 32 in August, is the figure they want to pep their spearhead for the Champions League next season having won the Super Lig.
Galatasaray’s board member Cuneyt Tanman was reported to have travelled to England recently to hold talks with Van Persie’s agent. And the Turkish champion’s manager Hamza Hamzaoglu has confirmed that they are interested in signing the 2013 Golden Boot winner.
“We want to sign players who will both improve the squad and excite our fans. No manager would be able to say no to Van Persie,” says Hamzaoglu.