Louis van Gaal has said he wants to act quickly in this summer’s market and it looks like one of is targets is already positioning himself for a move to Old Trafford
Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi has told Valencia he wants to leave the club and his agent, Eugenio Lopez, told Spanish radio that “Nicolás is happy at Valencia and with the fans but he’s got an option to improve on a professional level. Nico is going to do everything [possible] to leave. There are a lot of conversations with clubs that want Otamendi. Nicolás loves everything at Valencia but, if the chance arose to leave, he’d do everything possible to make it happen.” The 27-year-old has a reported buyout clause of €50million but Van Gaal would hope that Otamendi’s desire to leave the club could see the Spanish accept a much lower fee. (Guardian)
A couple of world-class midfielders look set to snub moves to the Premier League this summer. Paul Pogba is the apple of every top club’s eye at the moment, with former club Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain all ready to pounce should he confirm he is ready to leave Juventus. But the France international is prepared to turn those offers down and wait for the chance to move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid. (L’Equipe)
And if Pogba does leave, the Turin giants will turn to Sami Khedira to fill the void in midfield. The German is out of contract in Madrid and is in high demand but the 28-year-old will accept a net annual salary of €4million to move to the Serie A chanpions. (One World Sports)
Meanwhile, PSG will attempt to hide their disappointment at missing out on Pogba by bringing Xavi back to European football. The Barcelona legend has joined Qatari club Al-Sadd but the French champions think they can lure the 35-year-old to Paris on a year’s loan (Le Parisien)
Back to the Premier League, and Morgan Schneiderlin could be the latest figure of hate in north London if he snubs Tottenham in favour of a move to Arsenal. The French midfielder is ready to leave Southampton but said that if he does move on it will be to ‘a club that plays better than Europa League’. (Mirror)
Tottenham do look likely to win one transfer battle, though, with boss Mauricio Pochettino set to beat Liverpool to the signature of Burnley full-back Kieran Trippier, who is available for just £3.5million after his side’s relegation to the Championship. (Telegraph)
Lastly, Radamel Falcao is hoping to hang around in English football for another season. The Monaco forward, and Manchester United loan flop, has told Chelsea he is prepared to slash his bloated £265,000 weekly wage to move to Stamford Bridge. (Mirror)
