Chelsea bid for Vlahovic rejected
Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera has revealed that Chelsea made their first offer of €60 million (£51.5 million) for Dusan Vlahovic. However, Juventus, Vlahovic’s current club, rejected the bid.
The Turin-based outfit is holding out for a substantial fee of £77 million to consider parting ways with the 23-year-old Serbian forward. Chelsea’s pursuit of Vlahovic has been met with competition, as Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich have also entered the race to secure his signature.
Arsenal closing in on Rice and Timber
According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are entering the final stages to sign West Ham’s midfielder Declan Rice. The Three Lions’ starlet has been a in-demand player in the summer window with Man City and Arsenal competing for his signature. But Arteta’s 105m bid ended City’s hopes of signing Rice and the Gunners are touted to close the payment agreement with West Ham very soon.
The North London club are also scheduled to sign Dutch player Jurrien Timber from Ajax in the upcoming days with green light also being given to his deal by both the parties.
Barcelona interested in Fenerbahce’s Guler
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed his club’s interest in Fenerbahce starlet Arda Guler. The Turkish international is one of the highly-rated teenagers in Europe – with the 18-year-old scoring a wonder goal for his country against Wales in a European Championships qualifier last month.
“He is a very young player, it is true that our scouts have been following him for a long time and many big clubs in Europe want him. We are talking to Fenerbahce,” Laporta toldTV3.
Man City ignored advice to sign Sadio Mane after being urged by Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure has revealed that Manchester City ignored his calls for Sadio Mane to be snapped up when the Senegalese star was shining at Southampton. Mane eventually secured a big-money move away from St Mary’s, but that deal – which was struck in 2016 – took him to Anfield and Liverpool rather than the Etihad Stadium.
The hard-working winger would go on to become a Champions League and Premier League title winner with the Reds. Those qualities could have benefited City had they heeded the advice of Ivorian superstar Toure when he was performing at the peak of his powers.
City legend Toure has told BBC Match of the Day Africa: Top 10: “I always wanted to play with him [Mane]. When I was at City, at the time when he was at Southampton, I highly regarded him and I was asking some of my superiors to just sign him. But in the end it just didn’t happen. After that Klopp had the eyes to get him and now look what he did for Liverpool, he was brilliant. I like him, I like him as a player.”
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