Transfer talk: Douglas Costa to join Chelsea, Manchester United want Aymeric Laporte, Arsenal to sign Gabriel Paulista
The biggest transfer news and rumours on Tuesday 27 January
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea’s move for Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Douglas Costa could still go through after the Brazilian reportedly asked his club not to price him out of a move to the Premier League. According to the Daily Mirror, the Ukrainian club are demanding £30m for the 24-year-old, but he revealed himself that he has spoken to the club and asked for them to show flexibility in negotiations with the Blues.
Costa reportedly said: “I put my situation to them and they said they would try to help me. Now, we’ll see if it comes to an agreement. To play at Chelsea is a dream for any player... but really, what catches my eye is the coach [Jose Mourinho].
Another man who has appeared on the Chelsea radar is Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. The France international has been strongly linked with a move away from the Italian champions, and despite having already said that Pogba is not for sale, the club have revealed that a blockbuster offer would be difficult to turn down, reports the Metro.
With Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain also interested Juventus head coach Massimi Allegri said: “To win games, you need to have strong players, otherwise there wouldn’t be players worth 100 million euros (£75 million) and others worth five. Everything has a value in life, unfortunately, and the outstanding players are hard to replace, but things always move on in football. For now, let’s just enjoy having him.”
Manchester United face competition from Real Madrid in their bid to sign Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte. The highly-rated 20-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with United looking to address their worries in defence with a move for the France Under-21 international, according to the Daily Mail. However, with Sergio Ramos stalling on a new contract with Real, the European champions have entered the race to sign Laporte from their La Liga rivals.
Despite featuring sparingly this season, Adnan Januzaj is unlikely to leave United before next week’s transfer deadline According to Italian media outlet Foot Mercato, Januzaj’s agent Dirk de Vriese confirmed interest has come from PSG, but United manager Louis van Gaal has personally halted any potential departure – temporary or permanent.
De Vriese said: "Yes, PSG have shown themselves to be interested this winter. They directly contacted Manchester United for information. But Louis van Gaal announced that he [Januzaj] cannot leave this winter. Not as a permanent transfer nor as a loan. The coach considered him as an important player for squad. He is counting on everyone. It seems like a definitive decision, I don’t think that it can change.”
André Schürrle could be missing from Chelsea’s side that face Liverpool tonight in the Capital One Cup semi-final with a move to Wolfsburg said to be on the horizon. Schürrle was a notable absentee in the weekend’s 4-2 shock FA Cup defeat to Bradford, though it was reported at the time that he had suffered a back injury. However, The Telegraph reports that Schürrle will not play tonight as negotiations continue over his move to Wolfsburg, with the Bundesliga side preferring a loan until the end of the season with the guarantee of a permanent deal in the summer, as opposed to Chelsea’s current demand of a fee in the region of £25m.
Finally, Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Gabriel Paulista from Villarreal after the Brazilian defender secured a work permit on Monday and passed a medical with the Gunners.
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