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Gossip: Courtois 'snubs new Chelsea contract', Man Utd 'demand £45m plus Morata' for De Gea, Tottenham 'chase Balde'
If we can all agree on one thing, it’s that Chelsea are a far more enjoyable football club when they’re wracked by destabilising internal turmoil rather than when they’re winning 2-0 every week and sealing the league title.
So it’s with cautious optimism that Hot Football Transfer Gossip can report that things seems to be kicking off a little bit in the Blues boardroom.
The problem, and perversely also the solution, is that blue-eyed ball of smouldering intensity, Antonio Conte. Tactical genius he may be, but he can also be a bit narky – and he doesn’t care who he’s narky to.
Chelsea’s entire board, for instance, are said to be in a period of “mutual tension” with their manager over his decision to text Diego Costa out of his plans and therefore knock millions off the striker’s transfer value (Gazzetta dello Sport).
The Sun adds that the club are trying to “patch things up” with Costa, but Conte is “refusing to back down” and wants the combustible Spaniard “aat of my club”, Peggy Mitchell style.
Meanwhile, the Daily Record reports that Conte is “ready to quit” Stamford Bridge if they don’t deliver various “improvements to his working conditions”.
While this sounds like they’ve got him on a zero hours contract, it actually just means he wants “substantial transfer market investment in all areas of the squad”.
He is also demanding a bigger salary, full control of the academy and – most intriguingly – a “direct line of communication” to Roman Abramovich and club director Marina Granovskaia. Does this mean Abramovich doesn’t let Chelsea managers have his phone number??
To nicely top off the ‘crisis club Chelsea’ theme, the Times reports that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois – an alleged target for Real Madrid – has rejected the Blues’ offer of a new contract. He currently earns £100,000 a week but he wants £200,000, because that’s what David de Gea gets at Manchester United.
READ MORE: Messi ‘would not get into the Real Madrid team’
READ MORE: The clubs who could offer Joe Hart a Manchester escape
Smalling abandoned
The thing is, De Gea might not be at Old Trafford much longer, with the Star reporting that Jose Mourinho has agreed to sell his No1 to Real, as long as the European champions pay £100m in cash, or £45m plus Alvaro Morata (which works out at even more than £100m).
Mourinho is also said – by the Mirror – to be plotting a move for Benfica’s £15m-rated Brazilian midfielder Anderson Talisca. Hopefully he’s better value than the last Brazilian called Anderson they bought.
Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton will compete to sign Lazio’s £30m-rated forward Keita Balde, says the Mirror. The 22-year-old would apparently prefer to move to Juventus, but they haven’t made a bid, which is a shame for him.
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain have dropped their interest in Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang becuse they feel his £61m price tag is too high (Goal), West Ham have “abandoned a bid” for Man Utd defender Chris Smalling but Everton, Newcastle are West Brom “remain keen” (Star) and Liverpool are hoping to raise more than £60m by selling Mamadou Sakho for £30m, Alberto Moreno for £12m and Lazar Markovic for £20m (Times). Good luck with that, guys.
