Dele Alli signed a new five-year contract at Tottenham Hotspur in January, and then a new six-year-one in September, so it could not possibly be anyone associated with him who has put about today’s story that Paris Saint-Germain are ready to offer him an enormous pay rise in order to lure him to France. But somehow the Daily Mirror has got wind of a plot by the Parisians to offer Spurs £50m for the pleasure of driving the midfielder’s wages even higher.
What is more, the Mirror say that Real Madrid are also eyeing up Alli. Fortunately, Alli seems a level-headed enough sort of chap to not let such speculation distract him, despite being unbalanced enough, when in a penalty area, to be knocked over by an imperceptible gust of wind.
Speaking of which, Everton are contemplating making an offer to Manchester United for Ashley Young. The loss of Yannick Bolasie to serious injury has forced Ronald Koeman to draw up a wish list of new wingers and he has narrowed it down to about 186 names. Young is on there, and so is his United team-mate Memphis Depay, along with Leicester City’s Demarai Gray and Watford’s Nordin Amrabat.
Eveton aren’t only hunting wingers, of course, they are also plotting a swoop for Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini and keeping tabs on Monaco’s 17-year-old striking prodigy Kylian Mbappé, who’s also being monitored by Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United. And even West Ham are watching the youngster, just in case they decide to deviate from the policy they tried last summer, which is possible, because signing mostly rubbish players hasn’t worked out.
Real Madrid have told Borussia Dortmund to let them know if they want to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Julian Weigl or Ousmane Dembélé. Dortmund don’t, at the moment.
Leicester’s Leonardo Ulloa is considering the merits of some fascinating project proposals from Chinese clubs. So is Carlos Tevez, who, at 32, is nearing the end of his time at Boca Juniors.
Chelsea, Spurs and Juventus have had scouts watching 19-year-old Atalanta midfielder Franck Kessié. And now that everyone knows that, there will be many more scouts at his next game.
Finally, Branislav Ivanovic has let it be known that he will not leave Chelsea in January. His recent performances, indeed, have confirmed that he is going nowhere fast.