While they may not be everyone’s cup of tea, Newcastle’s owners are certainly grist to the Rumour Mill’s … er, mill with the endless churn of content they continue to generate giving us no end of material with which to fill each day’s allocation of tittle-tattle for your reading pleasure.
Yesterday we brought you news that Atalanta had rejected their £25m offer for Duván Zapata and 24 hours later it is reported they’ve agreed personal terms with the Colombian striker’s team-mate Robin Gosens. The German left wing-back is believed to be open to a move to Tyneside, which is no great surprise given Newcastle are prepared to triple his wages. It remains to be seen if Atalanta will be prepared to sell him. In other left-back news, the Geordies are also sniffing around Bayer Leverkusen’s 21-year-old Dutch defender Mitchel Bakker, while the name of Fenerbahçe centre-half Attila Szalai also features on their extremely long January shopping list.
Spanish newspaper Nacional claim Real Madrid have accepted a £33m (rising to £41m) bid from Newcastle for Eden Hazard, but say the former Chelsea winger has turned his nose up at the prospect of a move to the struggling Premier League club. Currently plying his trade at Adana Demirspor, Mario Balotelli might not consider such a move beneath him. “Newcastle United were considering signing Balotelli, but so far they have not made us an offer,” said the Turkish outfit’s chairman Murat Sancak. “There is an exit clause in his contract. I will not tell you the number.”
Arsenal’s hopes of signing Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic in the current window look to have been dealt a significant blow, with reports from Italy suggesting the 21-year-old is hell-bent on going to Juventus and has already agreed personal terms with the Serie A club.
Anthony Martial’s mooted loan move to Juve also seems to have hit the skids, after transfer rune-reader Fabrizio Romano revealed they are unwilling to meet the financial terms – a sizeable fee and all the player’s wages – laid out by Manchester United. Along with United, Juve are giving Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Swiss defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria the glad eye in a situation that could make or break Arsenal’s chances of bringing Arthur Melo to north London from Turin.
Leeds United have had an initial bid of £15m for American international Brenden Aaronson rejected by RB Salzburg but remain hopeful of luring the midfielder to Elland Road before the end of the month. Meanwhile at Villa Park, Steven Gerrard could use his increasingly apparent pulling power to stage a reunion with another former Liverpool team-mate, Luis Suárez, when his contract with Atlético Madrid expires in June. The Uruguayan striker is believed to be enthused by the prospect of a summer move to the West Midlands and has already rejected overtures from a trio of Brazilian clubs in Palmeiras, Corinthians and Atlético Mineiro.
Brentford’s audacious bid to land free agent Christian Eriksen could be scuppered by Tottenham Hotspur or Newcastle, who are also interested in offering the Danish midfielder a return to the Premier League. Meanwhile at Turf Moor, Burnley continue to be linked with extremely tall replacements for the recently departed Chris Wood, but are predicted to be unsuccessful in any attempt to land Christian Benteke from Crystal Palace or Richard Osman from House of Games.
And finally, the Athletic’s man on the Watford beat reports the club are on the verge of making their fourth signing of the current window after agreeing a £3.5m fee with Bordeaux to secure the scrawl of Samuel Kalu. Absent from his country’s Africa Cup of Nations squad, the Nigerian winger is expected to cough for the Hornets’ medical team later today.
