GET YOUR PHIL
Jurgen Klopp sounded about as convinced as us when asked about the likelihood of Liverpool signing Philippe Coutinho earlier this week. And he sounded about as arsed as anyone else when Manchester United were brought into the equation.
It seems unlikely that either club will be bringing the Brazilian back to the Premier League. But the Daily Express throw in a third name that that sounds more plausible.
They say Chelsea could be willing to end Coutinho’s ‘nightmare’ of winning three trophies and scoring 16 goals in 48 games. And with Barcelona looking to raise funds to re-sign Neymar, they may be interested.
The Blues ‘have been quoted around £100m’ and ‘haven’t baulked at the fee’, despite the fact he would be their club-record signing.
So Chelsea are ‘ready to rival United’, and while Coutinho is eager to stay and fight for his place, he could contemplate a summer move.
SILVA LINING UP
To a Daily Mirror exclusive now, as Steve Bates tells us Real Madrid want Bernardo Silva. Who doesn’t?
The midfielder, rated at £70m by City, is seen as David Silva’s long-term successor. But his performances have caught the eye of Real, who will ‘spend big next summer’.
Silva may therefore be in line for talks over a new contract at the Etihad Stadium, with Pep Guardiola reluctant to lose him. They ‘are expected to open dialogue soon’ over a player Real want to take Luka Modric’s place.
MARKO THE MAN
How West Ham could have done with Marko Arnautovic instead of Andy Carroll against Bournemouth. The 29-year-old was dropped for the visit to the south coast, having made his intentions to move to the Chinese Super League clear.
But that now seems little more than a pipedream. The Hammers rejected a £35m bid from an unnamed club, adamant that the player was worth closer to £50m. They had even started identifying targets, including Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez.
Yet that will no longer be necessary. The Daily Mail report that Arnautovic’s move has ‘collapsed’ after Guangzhou Evergrande pulled out of the deal.
While ‘there had been concerns aired over the payment structure,’ Guangzhou were willing to go as high as £45m. But they have now withdrawn their interest – although the Chinese transfer window closes on February 28, so rule nothing out just yet.
AND THE REST
Chelsea’s England Under-19 forward Callum Hudson-Odoi is ready to reject the Blues’ contract offer worth £85,000 a week and hold out for a move to German giants Bayern Munich because the 18-year-old thinks he has more chance of developing in the Bundesliga… Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain’s imminent loan move to Chelsea will put the 31-year-old Argentina international among the top earners in the Premier League on £270,000 a week… Manchester City could make a surprise loan move for Schalke’s German midfielder Sebastian Rudy, 28… Real Madrid hope they can sign Belgium forward Eden Hazard for less than the 100m euros (£88m) figure set by Chelsea for the 28-year-old, whose contract runs to June 2020… Paris St-Germain and France striker Kylian Mbappe, 20, says he may be tempted by a move to Real Madrid in the future… Napoli have rejected an initial approach from AC Milan for 21-year-old Guinea midfielder Amadou Diawara, who has been linked with Tottenhamand Wolves… Inter Milan chief executive Giuseppe Marotta claims Atletico Madridcaptain Diego Godin wants to the join the Italian club. The 32-year-old Uruguay centre-back has been linked with Manchester United.