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Gossip: Chelsea identify 'principal' targets, Man United and City set for transfer tussle, Real Madrid move for Griezmann

Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are going head-to-head, Antonio Conte is drawing up a shopping list and Antoine Griezmann has received offers.
Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are going head-to-head, Antonio Conte is drawing up a shopping list and Antoine Griezmann has received offers.

Antonio Conte’s summer shopping wish list has been revealed, but there’s an issue. It clashes with Pep Guardiola’s.

It’s an awkward situation for both men, like if they unwittingly wore the same Bermuda shorts at the beach or the same suit to the FA Cup Final (which would be especially embarrassing for Guardiola as he’d be wearing Conte’s suit while sitting in the prawn sandwich section). So as in any such clash, someone will have to change. But who?

The Mirror reports that Conte’s two principal targets this summer will be Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, for whom he has set aside £120m for a double swoop. The problem is, Van Dijk also appeared on Guardiola’s Manchester City wish list which was revealed yesterday.

In Guardiola’s favour, he has a lot more money to spend (£250m, apparently) so he could theoretically outbid the Blues for the Dutch defender, but Conte’s list is significantly shorter (just two players as opposed to Pep’s which had loads of people on it) so Chelsea’s interest might make Van Dijk feel more special.

READ MORE: Five things we learned from Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final win

READ MORE: Gossip – City set to splash £250m this summer

Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk

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Guardiola is also set to go head-to-head with Manchester United for Monaco left-back Benjamin Mendy, according to the Star.

The Frenchman will only move to a club that is in the Champions League, which again appears to give Guardiola a slight advantage over his rival Jose Mourinho.

But if Mendy is so bothered about playing in the Champions League, maybe he is better off just staying at Monaco. In fact, why don’t ALL Monaco’s players stay at Monaco?

United may also be getting jittery about their prospects of acquiring Antoine Griezmann, whose agent has revealed the Atletico Madrid forward is considering an offer from Real Madrid (Sun).

READ MORE: Why Man United owe Monaco another €10million

READ MORE: Bonucci and Sanchez critical to Man City plans

READ MORE: Agent confirms Griezmann considering two offers

READ MORE: Fabregas thinks FOUR Chelsea players should be up for awards

“We’re thinking right now about the most suitable offer. Real Madrid and other clubs are part of this thinking process,” Eric Olhats said. It might take a lot of thinking before they arrive at a decision when Man Utd seems a more attractive proposition than Real Madrid.

Elsewhere, Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez is planning to make a £10m move for 26-year-old Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney when the Mapgpies get promoted (Mirror).

Liverpool, Southampton and Bournemouth sent scouts to watch Eupen’s 19-year-old Nigerian forward Henry Onyekuru in action against Kortrijk (Mail)

And Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling appears to have got Dave Jones sacked after making an impassioned plea for the Hartlepool manager to quit live on Soccer Saturday (Northern Echo), further cementing his status as the most powerful man in football.

@darlingkevin