Transfer Gossip: Everton hijack Chelsea's Vardy move, Arsenal target £75m Asensio, new Liverpool Coutinho deadline
It’s unlikely there will be any scenes from Leicester’s 2016/17 or 2017/18 seasons in Jamie Vardy: The Movie, which is still apparently in production. The film has the perfect ending in the Foxes’ title triumph – a tear rolling down Robert de Niro’s face as that Italian opera singer belts out Nessun Dorma at the King Power Stadium before the credits roll.
But movies, just like football, are a cynical business. So what about the sequel?
No one’s going to watch Vardy: The Movie II – The Mid-Table Obscurity Years. If the franchise is going to survive, Vardy needs to do something more interesting with his life. Such as marry a pop star, or rob a bank, or take part in an intergalactic battle against some evil aliens.
Or, failing that, he could just sign for Everton.
The Sunday Mirror reports that the Toffees have made a shock £40m offer for Vardy in a move that would kickstart a new chapter in the striker’s career and possibly provide enough material for another film.
Manager Ronald Koeman has apparently identified the 30-year-old as the “last piece of his jigsaw” as he aims to gatecrash the Premier League elite in classic underdog style.
Alternatively, Vardy is also reported to be the subject of a £40m bid from Chelsea, and there is always dramatic stuff happening there. Either way, it’s good news for Hollywood.
Tedious transfer sagas
By contrast, no one would watch a movie about Arsenal’s pursuit of Thomas Lemar and Virgil van Dijk this summer. The Sun on Sunday reports on the latest tedious twist in this tale, which is that the Gunners are willing to wait “until next season” to sign the pair.
Slightly more interesting is the Sunday Express’ suggestion that Arsene Wenger may be willing to splash out £75m on the Real Madrid midfielder Marco Asensio, even though this seems highly unlikely to be true.
Speaking of tedious transfer sagas, the Daily Star Sunday says Philippe Coutinho will stay at Liverpool and complete his dream move to Barcelona next summer instead.
However, Spanish website Onda Cero claims the Reds have set Barca a Monday deadline (i.e. tomorrow) to agree a fee for the playmaker. This is not to be confused with the similar deadline they set last week, or the actual transfer deadline which is next week.
Elsewhere, Monaco are hoping that Real Madrid reignite their interest in Kylian Mbappe to prevent him making a £166m move to Ligue 1 rivals Paris Saint-Germain (Sunday Telegraph), Manchester City are close to completing a £30m deal for West Brom’s Jonny Evans, with Eliaquim Mangala moving to the Hawthorns in part-exchange (Sun on Sunday)
And Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho has had a “rethink” about his move to West Ham after seeing his prospective employers plummet to the bottom of the Premier League table (Sunday Times). He surely must have had some previous inkling that the Hammers were rubbish?
