The sparkling football being played by Real Sociedad this season has not gone unnoticed by – who else? – Manchester City, who are sniffing around their attacker Mikel Oyarzabal. The 22-year-old has four goals in 10 La Liga matches this term and Sky Germany suggests City want the Spain international as a replacement for 2018’s Leroy Sané, who was a target for persistent Bayern Munich in the summer but is currently sidelined with an ACL injury.
Another striking talent rumoured – again – to be on the move out of Spain is Gareth Bale, the latest mooted destination for the Welsh forward being the Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, who tried to sign him in the summer. Bale is apparently chewing things over in London at the moment with his agent, according to the Mail.
Fraser Forster has taken a good long look at Southampton’s painfully porous defence and decided he’d rather not go back to St Mary’s but instead make his loan move back to Celtic permanent, the Scotsman suggests. “To come back to Celtic like this is fantastic so I’d never say no to this club,” the goalkeeper trilled, though the Scottish champions may find it difficult to match his reported £70,000-a-week wages.
Manchester United are never far from the Mill’s grindings, and the latest tittle-tattle has them linked with Lille’s midfielder Boubakary Soumaré, and the Lyon forward Moussa Dembélé (the former Fulham and Celtic one). They might also have Chris Smalling back in the building too, as Sky Sports says that he is expected to return to Old Trafford in the summer when his loan spell at Roma expires. United’s pursuit of Norwegian starlet Erling Braut Håland has apparently deterred Napoli from pressing their interest.
Loris Karius could yet be heading back to Anfield as Beskitas want to send him back early from his two-year loan spell in Turkey, according to Takvim.
Down in League One, the AFC Wimbledon striker’s Marcus Forss’s prolific start to the season has attracted interest from West Ham and Southampton. Forss, on loan from Brentford, has scored seven goals in nine appearances for a struggling side. And Leicester and Watford are thought to be tracking Ronald Sobowale, cousin of David Alaba, who has been taken on trial by Middlesbrough but is currently on the books of Whyteleafe in the Isthmian League South East Division.
