Southampton have slapped a whopping £70million price-tag on their sought-after skipper Virgil van Dijk . Liverpool and Manchester City are among the clubs battling to sign central defender Van Dijk, who has also been linked with Arsenal and champions Chelsea , in the upcoming transfer window. But the Saints are ready to play hard-ball to keep the 25-year-old Dutchman, who only signed a new six-year contract last summer. Van Dijk is currently rehabilitating after missing the final four months of the season with an ankle injury.
BREAKING NEWS!! Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has said he would "listen" if Real Madrid offered him a deal, but added that he could stay with the Blues "for many years". Hazard, who has broken his right ankle while training on international duty with Belgium, has been heavily linked with the Champions League winners. "We all have dreams. It could be Spain, it could be staying with Chelsea," he told the Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper. "But it's not something I'm thinking about right now. We'll see." (BBC Football website article) This is about as clear a "come and get me" please as you are likely to hear from any player, this Summer. How long has Hazard got left on his contract? Can he buy himself out, yet?
Eden Hazard: "I’ve spent five years here, I know everything about the club, "Even if I’m still only 26 I have a lot of experience now. I started playing at 16 in France so I’ve been professional for 10 years. "I like it here because it’s a family club. I have a lot of friends and we all talk to each other. In terms of games and experience I’m one of the oldest players and that’s good. "This is my second home and I’m happy at Chelsea. I just want to keep going, maintain this intensity and continue to win trophies."
@Ginger Marks Yes, it is true that there is more to the story than I posted, but I was interested mainly in the "come and get me!" please that he made to Real.
We're after Gylfi Sigurdsson, supposedly. Would be the perfect addition to our side. An Okazaki upgrade that we've been desperate for, we need a player with his work rate to provide space for Vardy but one who actually scores goals, makes assists and can stay on his feet when running in s straight line. They're after 30m and, frankly, I'm amazed nobody has signed a cheque for him yet.
I hear what you're saying, Akky. The reason I refer to it is because Hazard - along with the likes of Sanchez, Mahrez, Ozil, Alli, Eriksen, and a handful of others - are going to be the main talking-points, this Summer.
Manchester City have held talks with Tottenham and are confident of completing a £40m move for 27-year-old right-back Kyle Walker. (Daily Star)
Yeah, he wasn't at his best for us, but I always put that down to the manager not having properly utilised his skill-set. Gylfi is a playmaker and needs a bit of freedom to express himself. He had the bad misfortune, when with us, to be playing along side Bale, and you cannot really have two play-makers in the same midfield, since one of them has got to be a bit more structured. He did much better for Swansea. He'd be a pretty decent replacement for Mahrez, I would have thought.
Yeah, we're kind of expecting this to happen. I think the £40m might be a bit light, for an English international on a fairly long contract. Especially as we don't need to sell.
It's not a matter of if you want to sell but more of a matter of him telling you he won't play unless you agree to sell. But £40 M for a 27 year old is about the best price you'll get.
He would be in terms of becoming our main playmaker but we'd still look to replace Mahrez with a new winger. Would like to see us test Southampton for Redmond, I think he's got a lot to offer and I think he's ready to mature into a fine Premier League winger.
