Football transfer news

?Aston Villa assistant head coach John Terry has signed an extension to keep himself at the club until 2021, and put to bed any rumours linking the former Chelsea man with a move back to Stamford Bridge.

With all the talk surrounding Chelsea preparing an offer for Frank Lampard to take the reins in London, Terry had been heavily linked to be his number two, or even his replacement at Derby County.

??The 38-year-old played a vital part in ?Villa’s promotion back to the Premier League this year, after helping manager Dean Smith guide the Villans to ten consecutive wins in the Championship and a fifth-place finish. They then went on to beat Lampard’s Derby 2-1 in the play-off final.

Manager Smith told Aston Villa’s ?official website: “I am really pleased that JT has extended his current deal as he is a pleasure to work with. We have had a successful start to our Villa coaching careers and JT has been instrumental in joining myself, Richard O’Kelly and Neil Cutler.

“He has complimented the team that we have and I have no doubts he will go on to be a top manager in the years to come.”

Terry enjoyed a stunning career at Chelsea, winning the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League, as well as the FA Cup and League Cup, so a rumoured move back to the Blues was inevitable. 

However, after pledging his loyalty to Villa for the time being, Terry wrote on his Instagram page: “I’m delighted to have extended my contract at Villa. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed assisting, working and learning from the gaffer, Richard and Cutts, and look forward to doing so for the season ahead.

“Now tougher challenges are ahead as we focus on making our mark on the most competitive league in the world.”

Aston Villa’s first match back in the Premier League since the 2015/16 season is a tricky away fixture at Tottenham on August 10.

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?Manchester United want every player under the sun. We’ve already established that.

But three of their transfer targets for this summer, out of a grand total of 1,042 at last count, were also wanted by Jose Mourinho while he was in charge of the club. The club are still chasing them based on his recommendation – apparently.

Mourinho was sacked in December following a defeat at Liverpool, and while a big part of the reason why he melted down at ?United was that he couldn’t sign the players he wanted, it seems as though the profile of some he was targeting were actually along the lines of what United now consider good business.

So who are the players? Well, it’s not Daniel James – he’s probably too short and too low profile for the Special One (right?) and even while ?United close in on Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he doesn’t feature on the list either.

The ?Sun reports that ?Harry Maguire – we all know too well that United were chasing the Leicester man last summer – is the primary name on the list. Maguire has been the subject of interest from both United and City, but neither side so far has been able to reach an agreement with his current club Leicester.

Maguire was one of 54 centre halves United tried to sign last summer, and even while Mourinho has left the club, their interest remains. Again, this is according to the Sun’s report.

As for the other two? Have a look over at West Ham. Issa Diop – believed to be an alternative central defensive target to Maguire – is one of the names, but the Hammers aren’t too keen on selling him. Declan Rice is the other player, but the London club’s stance is similar.

On Diop, the report says that Mourinho was kicking himself that he didn’t spot the abilities of the Frenchman before ?West Ham signed him for £22m last summer. Weird, really, as you don’t ever hear about Jose Mourinho admitting he was wrong about something…amirite?

Mourinho was so impressed with Diop that ?he even called him a “monster” (in a positive way). He criticised the club’s scouting department (fair, probably) and it resulted in the club closely monitoring Diop for the remaining months of last season before making an approach for him.

They initially tried offering Phil Jones in exchange, plus cash. Best of luck with that.

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?Ousmane Dembele will remain with Barcelona for the 2019/20 campaign after club officials informed the winger he does, indeed, have a future at the Camp Nou.

There has been speculation that the Frenchman could leave Catalonia this summer following a testing couple of seasons, as the 22-year-old struggled to rediscover the blistering form he showed at Borussia Dortmund. His first year was truncated by injury problems, whilst Dembele looked short of confidence for large periods last term.

Nevertheless, it appears the player will have at least one more campaign in red and blue, with ?Mundo Deportivo reporting that the Blaugrana board have decided not to sell their €105m man.

It had ?previously been reported that Dembele had been offered to ?Liverpool in an attempt to raise funds at ?Barça, a deal which would help finance moves for Antoine Griezmann and Matthijs de Ligt.

However, that seems to be false in light of a meeting between Dembele and representatives from the La Liga champions, in which board members confirmed the ex-?Dortmund star is a part of coach Ernesto Valverde’s plans.

Dembele in turn revealed his desire to stay at the club he joined from BVB in 2017, for whom he has scored 18 goals in 65 appearances in all competitions.

So, does that settle this miniature transfer saga? There were glimpses of his enormous talent last year, though the World Cup winner also frustrated with some underwhelming performances. Still, he is clearly a talented individual, who could develop into a formidable player with the right coaching.

Barça certainly have a reason to keep him, then, and it’s pretty understandable for anyone to want to be at the Camp Nou given the majesty and power of the club.

Moreover, the requisite fee to take him off of Barcelona’s hands is gonna be steep. We’re talking nine-figures, a sum that most rivals wouldn’t consider paying for a man who is yet to prove that his fitness issues are fully behind him.

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?Barcelona’s record signing Philippe Coutinho has cast doubt over his future at the club, admitting that he doesn’t know if he’ll still be in Catalonia next season.

The former Liverpool star has been unable to find his feet since arriving at the club in a deal worth up to £140m last year, making 76 appearances where he’s most prominently featured on the left wing.

Coutinho has been at the centre of speculation linking him with a move away for a number of months, and the 27-year-old has added even more fuel to the fire by admitting he doesn’t know what the future holds at Camp Nou.

“I don’t know if I will continue at Barcelona,” Coutinho said, quoted by Marca. “Nobody knows about the future, and right now I am focused on playing with my [national] team [at the Copa América].”

Coutinho has already ruled out a move to Manchester United due to his past on Merseyside, while a rumoured switch to join Chelsea will be impossible to complete until their transfer ban expires in 2020.

Most recently, however, the Brazil international has been linked with a swap deal to Paris Saint-Germain which would see Neymar – the player that Coutinho replaced at Barcelona – move in the opposite direction.

However, the Catalan press have categorically ruled out Neymar’s return during this transfer window, with Barcelona already committed to spending close to £80m on Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong and Atlético Mineiro’s Emerson, who has spent the last year on loan in La Liga.

Big spending rivals Real Madrid are suggested to be interested in capitalising on Barcelona’s position by putting themselves in the race for Neymar’s signature, but even if there was any truth to those rumours, UEFA’s Financial Fair Play would surely halt it in its tracks.

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?Jorginho’s agent Joao Santos has sought to open the door to the transfer speculation room by stating ‘anything can happen’ in the transfer window with regards to his client’s future.

The Italian midfielder only joined Chelsea last summer from Napoli, having been Maurizio Sarri’s key target when he took charge of the club after joining from the same Serie A side.

A key component of ?Chelsea’s ‘Sarri-ball’ play, the style implemented by their now departed coach, Jorginho has come under scrutiny from some sections of the Blues support, for, well, not doing very much. 

Nevertheless, there are some who appreciate his worth in the side, acting as the pivot of their midfield, and rumours had emerged Sarri may seek to be reunited with his former star in Italy, or a possible return to ?Napoli.

Despite only joining the club last summer on a five-year-deal potentially rising to £57m, his agent Santos has played the age-old trick of suggesting there might be a potential Stamford Bridge exit on the cards. Using the phrase jumped upon most within football media, he suggested despite his client being happen in London, some things are never sure.

“Chelsea have a four-year contract with the lad. We’ll wait a few days to figure out whether there is any truth in this interest,” Santos said of a potential return to Gli Azzurri, via the ?Mirror.

“His past at Napoli won’t be an issue, because Jorginho is a professional. Right now, Jorginho is happy at Chelsea. He found a great atmosphere and we can’t really say that he’d like to go elsewhere, but anything can happen on the transfer market. We’ll wait and see…”

While Jorginho may well covet a move to join Sarri back in Italy at Juventus, the move seems an unlikely one at best.

Firstly, Chelsea have a transfer ban, so it would be complete suicide to sell without the option to buy a ready-made replacement. Secondly, Chelsea have no obligation to sell. Jorginho signed a five-year-deal just last summer and it would surely take an offer well in excess of the fee they paid last summer to see him leave. Given Juventus’ financial situation, this seems an unlikely option for them.

The Mirror’s claim that Jorginho ‘is ready to quit’ is simply unfounded, and nothing more than wild speculation.

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