Chelsea battle
Chelsea would be a good fit for Declan Rice but the West Ham star may have to decide between the Blues and the two Manchester clubs, claims former Hammers winger Matt Jarvis.
“He’s a very talented young player who’s obviously playing week in, week out at West Ham and also playing for England,” Jarvis told talkSPORT. “He’s really got on to the scene and doing extremely well.
“He’s obviously going to want to continue to improve and it’s just whether he feels if it’s the right time for him if he wants to move on or not.
“I think Chelsea are a club who are going in the right direction under Lampard.
“The youngsters are getting their opportunities, so it would be a good fit for him to go in with a few other youngsters.
“He’s a really important figure at West Ham. He’s come through the youth team, he’s got great potential and he’s showing it now.
“It’s really hard to put an exact figure on it. Obviously West Ham won’t want to let him go as he’s an integral part of their team, so they’ll be expecting, if bids are coming in, that they’ll have to be a lot higher than the usual one.
“He’s young and he’s playing for England already; you’ve got to be looking at probably above £50m in this [market].”
Ed Woodward confident of signing
Manchester United supremo Ed Woodward is growing increasingly confident he can sign Atletico Madrid star Saul Niguez, reports say. But the Spain international won’t come cheap with the Red Devils facing having to pay an eyewatering £135million in order to bring the playmaker to Old Trafford.
Manchester United have been tipped to sign Saul in the past, with the playmaker becoming a vital player for Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid over the years.
And, now, the Daily Star say Woodward is convinced he’ll land his man when the transfer window reopens at the end of the season.
United are still expecting Paul Pogba to leave Old Trafford, with Real Madrid and Juventus both eyeing the 27-year-old.
And Saul is seen within the club as the perfect player to replace the 2018 World Cup winner.
Harry Kane signing backed
Manchester United signing both Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish would help persuade Harry Kane join them as well, claims former Tottenham striker Darren Bent.
“He said something I was quite intrigued by, ‘if we’re not progressing as a team’,” Bent said on talkSPORT.
“But I’m not quite sure what he means by progression because let’s be honest, I don’t think they’re going to win the league next year, I don’t think they’re going to win the Champions League.
“So if they were going to win the League Cup, is that in his eyes progression to keep him there for another five, six years? I’m not quite sure.
“Where does he go then? The question is what club? I think there are about five or six out there that would take him. Not right now [can I see Kane joining another Premier League club].
“You’d have to say Liverpool no, quite set with their front three, Manchester City no, Manchester United potentially, especially with the way they’re going, especially if they add, there’s talk about Grealish and Sancho.
“[Kane] might look at that situation and go ‘play with Marcus Rashford as well?’, he might look at that situation and that to me looks very, very appealing.
“Looking at the situation, looking at Manchester United, it’s whether they can afford him.
“They probably could but it’s whether they can afford him, Grealish and Sancho all in the same window – I don’t think that’s going to be possible.
“So I can see him going abroad but for his own ambition as well, where are Spurs going?
“I can see him giving it another year and then making a decision.”
Antoine Griezmann update
Manchester United have told Barcelona they are no longer interested in signing Antoine Griezmann after the La Liga giants offered their striker to two clubs.
Spanish outlet Ok Diario report the forward has been offered to United and Paris Saint-Germain.
But the Red Devils have come back with a firm no as they want to use all of their financial muscle in capturing Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.
The 19-year-old England international will likely command a fee in excess of £100million which would leave them little change for Griezmann.
Barcelona’s best hopes of offloading the World Cup Winner will be to PSG.
