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Gossip: Real Madrid 'want £80m Martial', Alexis 'to replace Neymar at PSG', Chelsea 'target Butland'
Manchester United were widely mocked when they paid £57m for unproven French teenager Anthony Martial in 2015. Then he was brilliant and United were widely applauded for having the foresight to pay £57m for an unproven French teenager. But then Martial went a bit rubbish and United were, once again, widely mocked for having spent £57m on a player who had been a) merely a teenager b) completely unproven and c) French.
And now? Well, it seems that £57m deal is starting to look like pretty good business again.
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The forward, who is now 21, partially proven and still French, has been quietly rebuilding his reputation this season, despite not being one of Jose Mourinho’s favourites. And according to the Sunday Mirror, his form (or, more accurately, his potential) could earn him a move to Real Madrid.
The tabloid claims the European champions are ready to “rock” United by making an £80m offer for Martial this summer. It’s unclear whether they mean rock in a negative sense, like an earthquake, or a positive one, like the Backstreet Boys. Either way, the Red Devils could make a tidy profit on the £57m man (or, more specifically, the £36m rising to £57.6m man).
PSG leading race for Sanchez
It’s equally unclear how Real are planning to accommodate both Martial and Neymar in the same attack, as the Sunday Mirror says Zinedine Zidane’s side are also targeting the Brazilian superstar.
The world’s most expensive player is apparently “certain” to quit Paris Saint-Germain for the Bernabeu next summer. In the meantime, PSG are tipped to bring Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez to the Parc des Princes in January after seeing off competition from Manchester City.
The Gunners will attempt to replace the Chilean – not for the first time – with Thomas Lemar. The Mail on Sunday says Arsene Wenger will make a renewed January attempt to sign the Monaco winger, who Arsenal were recently said to have “given up on”.
This time Wenger will not offer “anywhere near” the £90m bid the Gunners made in the summer, with Monaco’s Champions League exit having hit their bargaining abilities hard.
Draxler set for Premier League move
Another France-based winger in Arsenal’s sights is Julian Draxler, who the Sunday People says will be the subject of a transfer tug-of-war between the Gunners and Liverpool. The German has fallen out of favour at PSG following the arrival of various expensive attackers and could be sold to ease the club’s Financial Fair Play concerns.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are lining up Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland as a potential replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who is “stalling” over a new contract.
The Mail on Sunday says the Potters would demand in excess of £30m for the 24-year-old. Not that the Blues will mind – they spent more than that on Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Elsewhere, Tottenham are eyeing Bologna’s 23-year-old left-back Adam Masina as a replacement for Man Utd target Danny Rose (Mirror), Newcastle are keen to secure a loan deal for current Red Devils left-back Luke Shaw (People) and unemployed survival specialist Sam Allardyce declares on the back page of the Daily Star Sunday that, “at the moment, going back into a football isn’t on the agenda”. He’s clearly got something bigger planned. Hollywood? Strictly? Running for President of Zimbabwe?
