Superstar unwanted XI that’s up for sale this summer

Posted Friday, July 19, 2019 by Foxsports.com

Many superstars from top European clubs are currently available for a transfer but because of their quoted asking price, hefty wages and in some cases their temperament, no club has made a move for them so far this summer. So, here is an XI comprising of such players.

Goalkeeper

Keylor Navas

Keylor Navas helped Real Madrid win a hat-trick of Champions League but he was demoted to the club's second-choice goalkeeper after Thibaut Courtois's arrival last summer.

Navas is 32-years-old so it makes perfect sense to use Courtois as the first choice goalkeeper even though the Costa Rican hasn't put a foot wrong. Real Madrid also have the promising 20-year-old goalkeeper, Andriy Lunin, as a backup option but the problem is, they've not been able to offload Navas yet.

There aren't many top clubs except for maybe PSG that needs a world-class goalkeeper at the moment.

Fullbacks

Danilo

Since leaving Porto in 2015, Danilo has won ten trophies including two Champions League and Premier League titles each. However, at both Real Madrid and Manchester City, he has been a backup player.

Kyle Walker is 29-years-old and Manchester City were looking at future replacements for him and their main target was Joao Cancelo of Juventus. However, they've not been able to pursue this transfer because they've not been able to offload Danilo.

It is rumoured that City even offered a cash plus player deal for Cancelo involving Danilo but the Serie A side turned it down.

Danny Rose

Danny Rose has played close to 200 games for Spurs and was their starting left-back under Mauricio Pochettino for a long time. In fact, he played the full 90 minutes in the final of the Champions League last season. However, Spurs are now looking to sell the 29-year-old.

Rose was left out of the Spurs team that traveled for preseason but so far, no club has made an effort to sign the England international. At present, none of the Premier League big six need a left-back or can sign him because of their rivalry or a transfer ban.

Centre-backs

Shkodran Mustafi

Mustafi isn't a big superstar like the other players on this list as his frequent mistakes for Arsenal have maligned his name in the last couple of years but the fact is he's a World Cup winner.

Last summer, Inter Milan wanted to sign him but because of Arsenal's lack of depth in the center-back department, they kept him. This summer, they are open to selling him but the player's stock has plummeted so much that no club wants to make an offer.

Jerome Boateng

Jerome Boateng was a crucial part of Bayern Munich's treble-winning side but in the last couple of years, injuries and form have troubled him. In fact, he spent most of last season as a backup to Niklas Sule and Mats Hummels.

Boateng is still only 30-years-old and may have a couple of good years left in him. At Bayern, he will not get the playing time he craves as they've signed Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard this summer.

The World Cup winner was offered to clubs such as Man Utd, PSG and Napoli but he's still at Bayern and he will most probably be there for the upcoming season.

Midfielders

Radja Nainggolan

It was only a year ago that Inter signed Radja Nainggolan from Roma. The Belgian was expected to make a huge impact and help Inter bridge the gap to Juventus but instead, he had a debut season to forget.

With Antonio Conte now at the helm, Nainggolan has become dispensable and Inter reportedly even offered him in exchange for Romelu Lukaku. However, he's still at the club and the club had to take him on their preseason tour after they were unable to find suitors.

Philippe Coutinho

The fact that Barcelona are open to selling Philippe Coutinho is one of the worst kept secrets of the summer. The Brazilian's first full season with Barcelona was a poor one and it looks like Barcelona are eager to cut their losses and part ways with their club-record signing.

Coutinho has been linked with a return to Liverpool but so far, no reliable outlets have confirmed Liverpool's interest. It is also reported that Barcelona will use him as a makeweight in their pursuit of Neymar but so far, there has been no indication that PSG are interested in him.

Wingers

Alexis Sanchez

Manchester United made Alexis Sanchez one of the highest-paid players in the world back in January 2018 and also stopped him from joining their rivals Manchester City. He was expected to add some spark to their drab attack but he proved to be the exact opposite.

Sanchez has only found the back of the net five times in 47 appearances for the club and has also struggled with injuries in the last year. His form could be a matter of confidence as he's performed quite well for the national team.

The Chilean will be sold if an appropriate offer or even a club that can afford his wages shows interest but so far no club has stepped up and shown the willingness to take that gamble.

Gareth Bale

It has been six years since Gareth Bale made his then world-record transfer to Real Madrid and since then he has won several trophies including four Champions League titles. Bale scored the winner in two finals, a penalty in a third and his goal in the final of 2018 was arguably the greatest goal in the final of the tournament.

Despite Bale's impressive goals and assists return for the club, he hasn't been a regular starter for the club under Zinedine Zidane. In fact, Zidane left him on the bench in the final La Liga game of the 2018/19 season even though the Los Blancos lost the game.

Bale turned 30 recently but he still has a couple of good years left in him. However, Real Madrid won't sell him cheaply which rules out a lot of clubs from the equation and even fewer clubs can afford to pay his wages. As a result, the Welshman is still at Real Madrid and will have a tougher job now that Real Madrid signed three more forwards in the summer.

Strikers

Mauro Icardi

Mauro Icardi is Inter Mila's eighth highest goalscorers of all time having scored 124 goals in 219 games for the club in six seasons. He has even won to Serie A Golden Boot with the Nerazzurri but the relationship between the player and the club broke down last season.

The Argentine had a fallout with the fans of the club a few years ago and last season, he fell out with the management which resulted in him being stripped of the captaincy. He has been left out of Inter's squad traveling for preseason and that's an indication that there is no return for him.

There is interest from Juventus but they aren't willing to spend more than €40 million but Inter want at least €60 million. The two clubs may come to an agreement before the transfer window ends but as of now Icardi is stuck at Inter.

Andre Silva

Andre Silva was expected to be Portugal's solution for their striker woes after impressing with Porto but since his move to Milan in 2017, his form has fallen off a cliff. He scored only twice for Milan in 24 Serie A games in his debut season before spending last season on loan at Sevilla.

At Sevilla, he started well but he ended the season with only 11 goals in 40 games across all competitions which convinced Sevilla not to use the option to purchase him for €35 million.

The Portuguese international was linked with a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier but he's still a Milan player with not even a genuine rumour linking with another club. He won't be getting much playing time at Milan as he has to compete with Krzysztof Piątek and Patrick Cutrone.