Yahoo Sport 
Hot Football Transfer Gossip: Toure, Hazard, Rodriguez, Dembele, Mourinho
The problem with China and the MLS and Qatar and Saudi Arabia is that, while they provide a nice little payday for the footballers that venture there, they deprive English fans of witnessing some of the world’s best players see out the twilight of their careers at small clubs. In the old days, Bobby Moore went to Fulham and Bobby Charlton went to Preston, but we’ll never see the like of that again. And no, Kevin Nolan playing for Leyton Orient doesn’t count.
But it appears from today’s Hot Football Transfer Gossip that there is one man who is set to buck the trend. A world class star, of advancing years, past his peak but still an exceptional talent, who is set to snub Sven Goran Eriksson’s Chinese Super League and David Beckham’s American whatevers to stay in good old England. And that man is Yaya Toure.
The Mirror reports that the Manchester City midfielder, widely expected to leave the Etihad this summer when his contract expires, is “very happy in the UK” and wants to stick around. Regrettably, this isn’t a cue for fans of Preston and Fulham to get excited, because the Mirror is quite adamant that Yaya wants to remain in the Premier League. But that will still be a refreshing change from him being transferred to Jiangsu Suning and never doing anything interesting again. All this news comes courtesy of “a source close to the player”. We’re assuming it’s Kolo.
Is James Rodriguez as good as Eden Hazard? This is a question for Chelsea chiefs to ponder, according to the Sun - which claims that Real Madrid are set to offer the Colombian to the Blues in a direct swap for the Belgian.
The answer to that question, based on this season’s form, is that James Collins is as good as Eden Hazard, let alone James Rodriguez. But the Colombian has also had a lacklustre season in Spain and, although Madrid officials apparently believe this could be a “deal that suits everyone”, Chelsea will be mindful that last season’s star player could - and probably will - suddenly become brilliant again at some point (as soon as he signs for Madrid, presumably).
In a worrying development for football commentators, there is another Dembele on the scene - although as least this one isn’t called Mousa (or Moussa). Rennes “wonderkid” Ousmane Dembele is a £27m target for Manchester United, according to the Daily Mail, although the Red Devils could have a little bit of competition from Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, Cologne, Espanyol, Malaga, Fiorentina, Celta Vigo and Lorient. Oh, and Nantes.
Finally, the Sun claims that Pep Guardiola is “spooked” by the prospect of Jose Mourinho becoming United manager and has been “asking friends to find out if the Special One has a deal with the Reds”. Can you let us know if you find anything out please, Pep? Cheers.
