Transfer news UPDATES: Pochettino to Chelsea EXCLUSIVE, THREE Arsenal failures, Man Utd target speaks out
Posted Sunday, February 03, 2019 by Express.co.uk
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All of the latest from the Premier League and beyond with fallout from the January window and plans being devised for the summer by the likes of Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool
Pochettino to Chelsea EXCLUSIVE
Chelsea could join the race Manchester United and Real Madrid into tempting Mauricio Pochettino into quitting Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is already under pressure after only a season at Stamford Bridge following an alarming dip in form.
And he has had text messages from Roman Abramovich to explain the dip and could be sacked if he doesn’t deliver Champions League football.
That will mean they start the search for another manager and they were interested in Pochettino last summer before opting for Sarri who got his side off to a good start.
Abramovich can expect to run into strong opposition from Daniel Levy with the Argentine still having four years left to run on the contract he signed last May.
It could cost him upwards of £50 million in compensation and even then it might not be enough to get his man if Levy decides to dig his heals in.
Transfer news LIVE: Mauricio Pochettino wanted Tottenham to make signings in January (Image: GETTY)
Bakayoko revelation
Tiemoue Bakayoko says it would be a dream to stay at AC Milan and not return to Chelsea.
“Staying at Milan is my dream and the fixed thought in my mind, but I have a contract with Chelsea," he said.
“Right now I just want to finish the season in the top four. After that we’ll think about it.”
Milan can sign the midfielder for £30.7m (€35m) this summer.
Transfer news LIVE (Image: GETTY)
Cahill decision
Chelsea star Gary Cahill might have snubbed Fulham because he reckons Maurizio Sarri is on thin ice, Stephen Warnock claims.
Warnock told 5Live: “The players are coming out now and challenging Sarri whereas they didn’t challenge Pep, they agreed with everything Pep said because they knew it was the right thing to do.
“Now with Sarri, when we go back to the Gary Cahill incident at this moment in time, he must be sat there thinking, ‘I’m not going because I’m getting a sense of something in this changing room that the players are not having this’.”
Cahill snubbed Fulham and Juventus in the January transfer window.
Transfer news LIVE: Eden Hazard (Image: GETTY)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should not get the Manchester United job full time even if he can lead his side to a top-four finish in the Premier League, claims Paul Ince.
Chris Sutton asked Ince on BT Sport Score: “If he [Solskjaer] gets into the top four, should he get the job?”
Ince replied: “No I don’t believe he should. I think he’s up there, I think he’s got to be on Edward Woodward’s mind. But I also think someone like Pochettino will be also.
“We’ve spent three to four years, maybe longer, with [Louis] Van Gaal, [Jose] Mourinho, just wasting time.
“The next man we get in has to be the right man. People will say it’s hard to say who’s the right man until he actually gets in there.
“People say to me ‘why would you want Pochettino? He’s not won anything’.
"That’s a poor, poor remark that he’s not won anything. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s not won anything.”
Bold Hazard claim made
Maurizio Sarri should fire shots at Eden Hazard every week, Pat Nevin has joked.
Sarri singled out the Belgium international after their 4-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
Hazard netted twice in Chelsea’s 5-0 win against Huddersfield on Saturday - and Nevin says Sarri could be behind his fine performance.
“Hazard has been brilliant today particularly in this second half,” he told the BBC.
“He is at a very difficult angle for the goal, maybe the manager should have a dig at him every week because he has reacted superbly.”
Transfer news LIVE: Coutinho could return to the Premier League (Image: GETTY)
Batshuayi claim made
Chelsea loanee Michy Batshuayi might end up bagging more goals than any other Blues striker this term, Pat Nevin claims.
“Michy Batshuayi is a fantastic goalscorer,” he told the BBC.
“I am not sure about his overall play but he could end up scoring more goals than any Chelsea striker this season!”
Batshuayi completed a deadline day loan switch to Selhurst Park after failing to impress Maurizio Sarri.
Tottenham told the one signing they need
Tottenham must splash out on another striker in order to reach the next level, claims former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas.
"They’re one player away [from being able to win the Premier League]," Jenas said. "And that one player is very difficult to find. It’s somebody to support Harry Kane.
"Is there a better version of Fernando Llorente to come in if something happens to Harry Kane? I’m sure they’re out there looking.
"You know like Gabriel Jesus went to City as a very young, very big prospect. That’s what [Tottenham] need to find. That type of player that is young, prepared to sit underneath Harry Kane, but he’s going to be a big one."
Transfer news LIVE: Jermaine Jenas has identified the transfer Tottenham must seal (Image: GETTY)
Arsenal transfer theory revealed
Arsenal may have missed out on a deal for Christopher Nkunku because of Sven Mislintat’s strained relationship with Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel, says BBC Sport transfer guru David Ornstein.
"The latest understanding is that Thomas Tuchel has vetoed it," Ornstein said. "He doesn’t want it to happen, he wants Nkunku to be available to him to play, he’s got a lot on the line.
"There is also some politics at play of course. There was a tempestuous end to the relationship between Tuchel and [outgoing head of recruitmen] Mislintat [at Borussia Dortmund].
"[Nkunku] will need to agree a new contract at PSG to protect his value in the summer."
Paul Pogba reacts to Man Utd exit
Manchester United star Paul Pogba is sorry to see Marouane Fellaini leave Old Trafford.
The midfielder has penned an emotional farewell to the Shandong Luneng new boy.
"My bro I wish you all the best in your new club," Pogba wrote. "I’m gonna miss you here man thanks for all the advice, for your help.
"Only [a] few real brother in football and you are one of them. Love my bro."
Transfer news LIVE: Paul Pogba has sent an emotional message to Marouane Fellaini (Image: GETTY)
Transfer news LIVE: Manchester United are interested in Benfica prospect Felix (Image: GETTY)
Man Utd target speaks out
Manchester United transfer target Felix has opened up after the Red Devils and Liverpool were named among the clubs interested in signing him from Benfica.
"I’m not scared by the numbers being bandied about, the illustrious comparisons proposed by the media or interest from the biggest clubs on the planet," Felix said.
"If anything, I’m flattered. That’s today’s football for you and players need to take note of it. I’m a professional and I’m so lucky to be advised as well as I have.
"I have a dad, Carlos Sequeira, who was a player, is a PE teacher and worked as an fitness coach, so he knows very well how things are in our world."
THREE Arsenal failures
Arsenal tried to snap up Ivan Perisic, Yannick Carrasco and Christopher Nkunku but their financial situation put paid to the prospective deals.
Bleacher Report reckon Inter Milan called off talks on Perisic because Arsenal would not buy him permanently or commit to a summer transfer.
Dalian Yifang, meanwhile, deemed the loan fee suggested by the Gunners for Carrasco too low to sanction a January move.
Paris Saint-Germain also had reservations about how much Arsenal were offering to take Nkunku, so that switch did not happen either.
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