Chelsea suffer transfer blow as England goalkeeper snubs them for Liverpool

Chelsea have suffered a major transfer blow as they are set to lose out to Liverpool for the signature of Stoke City number one, Jack Butland. According to Football.London, the Stoke City keeper is keen to join the Jurgen Klopp revolution at Liverpool. Chelsea had been considering Butland as a replacement for Thibaut Courtois who looks set to join Real Madrid at some point for personal reasons. However, Butland has reportedly set his sight on a move to Anfield. Liverpool have been linked with a move for a new shot stopper as Simon Mignolet and Loris karius have both come under increased scrutiny for their persistent poor showings. The Reds are preparing for a major assault on the Premier League and Champions League next season, and have been backing up their ambition with some spending in the transfer market. Bristol born Butland is one of the most highly rated English goal keeper now, he has kept 2 clean sheets in 34 games this season.

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Barcelona scared of losing their best defender to Manchester United for just £50 million

Liverpool’s £75 million signing of Virgil van Dijk has caused a major scare in the transfer market, and Barcelona are scared that they might become victims as well. According to Daily Mail the Catalans are worried that Manchester United would trigger the release clause of their star defender Samuel Umtiti. The French has been the fulcrum of their defence this season, and his form has forced Javier Mascherano to seek a move to China. The French man 24, has a £50 million release clause written into his current Barcelona deal, a sum that looked very huge at the time of its signing. However, with van Dijk’s move to Liverpool, the Catalans are now fearing for his future. Manchester United are looking for a new centre back after seeing Eric Baily injure his hamstring, and the form of new Swedish import Victor Lindelof hasn’t been consistent. Manchester City could also prise Umtiti away after losing out to Liverpool for the signature of van Dijk. The Cityzens are also looking at West Brom’s Johnny Evans and Inigo Martinez of Real Sociedad. Barcelona could consider handing Umtiti a new deal primarily to increase his current release clause.

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Liverpool set to sign top German star for FREE after beating Arsenal and Tottenham

Liverpool are set to pull off another major transfer coup just days after they signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for world record fee. According to Sun Sport, the Reds are set to snap up highly rated German youngster Leon Goretzka from Schalke 04. The midfielder is one of the most sought-after teenagers in the world right now. A dynamic midfielder, he currently has just over six months left on his Schalke deal. Goretzka is set to announce his next destination next month, but German media outlet, Bild is claiming the Jurgen Klopp have beaten all comers to his signature. The 22 years old would become the second midfielder from Germany to join Liverpool next summer, after the Reds also reached an agreement for the signature of RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita. Goretzka would also become the second Schalke player to join Liverpool for free in the past two years after Joel Matip joined the Reds 18 months ago. With Emre Can’s current deal expiring next summer, and the German unlikely to sign a new contract, Goretzka is seen as a replacement for the former Bayern Munich man. Meanwhile, Liverpool attacker Daniel Sturridge is attracting the interest of Southampton, and could join the Saints next month.

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Jack Wilshere is desperate to start contract talks with Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder, jack Wilshere is desperate for talks over a new Arsenal deal to resume. The midfielder has endured a horrific time with injuries over the past few seasons, but he has returned to shape this season, and his form is also improving. He laid on a 30 yards assist for Alexis Sanchez’s second goal in their 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on Thursday, and his manager was impressed. Wilshere has just over 6 months left in his current Arsenal deal and can start discussing with other clubs from next month, however, the England midfielder wants to remain at the Emirates. Speaking via Sun Sport after the victory over Palace, Wilshere claimed “I spoke to the boss and he said he would speak to me, so lets see. I hope the deal gets done.” Arsene Wenger is also ready for talks of a new deal and claims contract talks would get under way from next month. “The situation is we need to sit down with him at the start of January as planned. There’s no delay. “I said we would sort out his situation at the end of December and so I told him we want to meet to talk about the future.”

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Premier League target pledges his future to Real Madrid

Manchester United and Chelsea have been dealt a major blow in their quest to sign Marco Asensio. The Spanish teenager has emerged as one of the most prodigious youngsters in the world over the past two seasons. Although he signed a new six years deal with Real Madrid in September, he was reportedly at risk of getting sold as Real Madrid consider a move for Neymar. The purchase of Neymar would require a significant outlay  from Real Madrid such that they would need to sell some of their own big name stars. Asensio is highly sought-after and reports were claiming that he would be sold to bring in a huge part of the required investment. However, Sun Sport is claiming that the teenager has pledge his future to the European  champions. Speaking to a Spanish media outlet, Asensio empathies with Zinedine Zidane for the tough decision he has to make about who plays, as they have a big team with good players. He went on to clarify his position at the club by claiming he was “happy at Real Madrid.”

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Arsenal set to move for former PFA Player of the Year next month

Arsene Wenger is planning a January swoop for Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez according to Sun Sport. The Algerian winger has been on Wenger’s radar for the past two seasons, but a deal has failed to materialise. Mahrez was close to leaving the Foxes last summer, but only AS Roma tabled an official bid which fell short of Leicester’s £45 million valuation. Mahrez current deal which he signed after their Premier League winning season of the 2015/2016 season pays him around £100,000 per week and runs until 2020. The Foxes would feel they have the advantage in any negotiations here and would be looking to keep him until the summer at least. Arsene Wenger is bracing himself for life without Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean’s current deal expires in less than six months, and there are reports that they may consider selling him next month. Arsene Wenger believes Mahrez has the quality to replace Sanchez. Mahrez had informed the club that they should listen to offers for his signature last summer, it is understood that he is still open to a move to a bigger club. He has no release clause in his current deal.

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Jose Mourinho claims he knows how Manchester United can stop Manchester City

Jose Mourinho claims that spending more money would help Manchester United stop Manchester City from running away with the Premier League title. The former Chelsea boss has already spent £300 million to try to rebuild the Red Devils since he was made manager before last season, but he claims it is not enough. The Red Devils fell 15 points behind Manchester City in the title race over the weekend following a hard fought draw with Burnley. Related: Manchester United close in on signing Brazilian wonderkid The gap could have been worse had it not been for Jese Lingard’s brace off the bench which helped the them to a point after Burnley had gone 2-0 up. According to Jose Mourinho “Manchester City buy defenders for the price of strikers” When he was reminded that the Red Devils have spent roughly £300 million since he took over last year, the Portuguese was quick to play down the outlay claiming it was “it is not enough.” He further claimed that the historically big clubs are usually punished in the transfer market because of their history. According to Talks Sport, he was asked of he intended to still spend big during the January transfer windows, but the Portuguese manager left the room without answering. The Red Devils have been linked with Malcom of Bordeaux this month.

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Everton set to complete £25 million move for attacker after he passed his medicals

Everton are all but set to announce the signing of Cenk Tosun from Besiktas. The Turkish attacker has been to the Toffees’ Finch Farm training base for his medical as well as agree personal terms. The attacker’s initial transfer fee is £20 million rising to £25 million according to Sun Sport. The Toffees have been looking to sign a replacement for Romelu Lukaku who left them to join Manchester United last summer, but they have not gotten their ideal target. Wayne Rooney who returned to the club from Manchester United has been their top scorer despite playing deeper most of the time. Related: Liverpool complete £75 million signing of Virgil van Dijk Ronald Koeman splashed the cash on the likes of Sandro Ramires and Nikola Vlašić, but they have failed to fill the boot left by Lukaku’s departure, with the former already on his way out. Tosun is German born, but represents the Turkish national team. He has netted 41 times in 96 appearances for the Turkish Super Lig side, including 4 goals in this season’s Champions League. Sam Allardyce has made a good start to his reign as Everton’s new manager, but wants Tosun to reduce the goal scoring burden on Wayne Rooney.

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Liverpool complete world record Virgil van Dijk deal

Liverpool have signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for a world record £75 million. Liverpool Football Club can confirm they have reached an agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Virgil van Dijk. Full story: https://t.co/tJy9vsGOen pic.twitter.com/L17A7UwqaU — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 27, 2017 The Reds have been trying to take the Dutch man to Anfield since the last summer, however, they ran into some problems after the Saints accused them of tapping up the defender and they had to publicly apologize. Van Dijk also submitted a transfer request, but the Saints stuck to their decision not to sell him. Manchester City emerged as favourites to sign him next month after Pep Guardiola asked the Cityzens to sign the Dutch man as cover for the always injured Vincent Kompany. However, the former Celtic defender maintained that he would only join Liverpool, snubbing Chelsea and Manchester City in the Process. He has signed a new long term contract with the Reds, reportedly worth £180,000 per week, a salary that would make him the highest earner at the club. He has been given the number 4 jersey number and would join up with his new team mates on January 1st 2018. Liverpool fans have been delighted by this signing and are hoping they can finally solve their long standing defence problem.

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Arsenal’s £35 million bid for defender rejected

Arsenal would have to turn their attention elsewhere in their bid to add one more quality defender to their ranks after their approach for Medhi Benatia is turned down by Juventus. The Sun Sport is reporting that the Gunners made a bid of £35 million for the Moroccan defender, but Juve turned it down. Benatia has been the star of  Juventus’ defence this season following the sale of Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan. The Moroccan has moved ahead of another Gunners’ target, Daniele Rugani in the perking order, and the Old Ladies do not see any reason to let him go at the moment. Arsene Wenger is looking to add a few more top defenders to his team as Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi are currently the only top defenders the Gunners have, but Wenger knows in other to compete with the likes of Manchester City, they need more depth. Benatia has a good standing in European football having cut his teeth initially with AS Roma in the Italian Serie A, before another stint in Germany with Bayern Munich.

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