Jordan Henderson has had enough of “growing the game” in Saudi Arabia, and apparently wants to come back to England. After six months of earning £350,000 a week playing for a mid-table Saudi Pro League side in Al-Ettifaq, Henderson has reportedly put out feelers to see if there would be any takers in the Premier League, with Chelsea mooted as a potential destination.
I know what you’re thinking. Chelsea? Surely with FFP, they can’t afford Henderson’s salary? He’s 33, for goodness sake. Chelsea? They already have Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Conor Gallagher and Roméo Lavia as holding central midfielders. Why would/could they sign him? Because: modern football, baby.
It certainly doesn’t look like Henderson will return to Liverpool, with Jürgen Klopp quizzed about the possibility on Sunday after the FA Cup third-round win at Arsenal. When asked if he has had any contact with the England midfielder, Klopp responded: “He didn’t call me! We spoke actually, but not about that. So really nothing to say about that.”
Perhaps PSG’s performance in the French Cup – 9-0 winners over sixth-tier side, Revel, on Sunday! – will convince Kylian Mbappé to pack in all this exit chat and stick around for a few more Ligue 1s. Or perhaps not. Mbappé, who scored a hat-trick in that drubbing, in on the verge of agreeing a deal with Real Madrid, according to reports in France. But the Times think Premier League clubs are still in with a sniff. Ah, nobody knows, do they?
In case you didn’t know, it’s #MowbrayMonday. Which is a short way of saying Birmingham have appointed Tony Mowbray as their new manager, announcing the news with a delicious hashtag. “Tony is a widely respected figure in the game and brings a wealth of Championship experience,” explained Garry Cook. Not quite the welcome that Wayne Rooney received from Cook – “when the opportunity presents itself to appoint a manager who shares your ambition and is both a student and a great of the game, then you act” – but I’m sure Tony is pleased to be in the hot seat.
According to Spanish media, Barcelona have been offered the chance to sign Jesse Lingard, which is sort of like Danny Dyer offering to star in the new Martin Scorsese flick. Sure, Danny seems like a nice bloke and certainly is very good at what he does in 2000s geezer films and recent popular soaps, but probably wouldn’t be the first choice to be cast in a film about Native American people in 1920s Oklahoma. But then again, just to spite the Mill, Lingard would probably play very well for Barça, and Danny would probably do just fine, so maybe it’s a good idea after all. Lingard, without a club since leaving Nottingham Forest in the summer, has also been linked with a free transfer to Everton.
The bad news for Chelsea’s WSL title tilt is that star striker Sam Kerr has been ruled out for at least the rest of the season with an ACL injury. The good news for Blues fans is that Nathalie Björn, the Sweden international defender, is set to join after Chelsea met Everton’s release clause – could this be Emma Hayes’ final signing as manager?
Chelsea’s men’s team are also targeting a defender, Athletic Bilbao’s Aitor Paredes to be precise, although the Spanish side are reluctant to part with their homegrown academy star. A bid north of £20m could be enough to tempt Athletic, though.
Kai Havertz is a very good footballer. But wow, the boy can’t shoot (even that Champions League final goal was a bobble), which is a bit of a problem for Arsenal, who can’t hit a barn door at the moment with Gabriel Jesus sidelined and Eddie Nketiah out of form. But manager Mikel Arteta looks like he’s going to have to plough on with what he’s got. That means no Ivan Toney, and no Victor Osimhen.
“At the moment, it does not look realistic,” the Arsenal boss said when asked about the possibility of signing a new striker this month after the defeat by Liverpool. “What my job is, and what we have to do is improve our players and try to get better results with the players we have.”
One of the very tedious accounting details of FFP is that homegrown players represent ‘pure profit’ if they are sold, hence speculation that Chelsea might be keen to offload Gallagher, despite their stand-in skipper being one of their best players this season. Newcastle are now getting in on the act, with Sean Longstaff, boyhood Magpies fan, the latest to be pushed towards the door.
