Ahead of the big match between Liverpool and Manchester United tonight at Anfield, we bring you the biggest stories from the transfer market which sees concrete developments in Neymar’s contract saga at Barcelona. Other major news sees Arsenal linked with a £30m move for a South American striker. On that note, here are the top transfer stories from 17th October 2016.
Neymar to sign a new 5-year contract with Barcelona
Brazilian forward Neymar is set to sign a new 5-year contract with Barcelona which will keep him at the club until 2021. Neymar has been in talks with the Catalan giants to sign a new deal for quite some time now but there was a disagreement over his updated weekly salary. Manchester United and Manchester City were keeping a close eye on the negotiations as they were interested in signing the quality striker.
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According to Marca, Neymar will sign his new contract on Friday which could see him become the third best-paid footballer in the world and his new contract could have a release clause of close to £400million.
Mauro Icardi on his way to Arsenal?
This could be the best case scenario for Mauro Icardi, who has completely fallen out with the Inter Milan fans. According to Gazzetta, Inter fans are furious with some of the quotes used by Icardi in his recently published autobiography. Following the book’s release, some of the furious Inter supporters raided Icardi’s house last night and threatened to end his life.
Citing the story, Calciomercato claims that Arsenal are ready to pounce on the opportunity and sign the South American striker in a deal worth £30million. Gunners are still looking for a long-term solution to their striker position and see Icardi as a viable option.
Dortmund CEO closes all doors for Manchester United attacker
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has not enjoyed the best of starts at Manchester United which has led some section of the media to believe that the Armenian International could soon be sold by The Red Devils. One club who have pulled out of the race are Mkhitaryan’s former employees, Borussia Dortmund.
Speaking with Kicker, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke claimed that Mkhitaryan chose to quit Dortmund in favor of United and is in no mind to welcome him back to the club if the 29-year-old seeks a return like Mario Gotze did earlier in the summer.
Luis Suarez may have cost Liverpool a quality striker
Liverpool have kept a close tab on the highly rated 17-year old striker Joaquin Ardaiz. However, Ardaiz has revealed in an interview with The Sun that despite preferring a move to Liverpool, Luis Suarez turned his head towards playing regular football for a team in lower divisions.
Ardiaz said, “When I spoke to Suarez he told me it was good I was playing for the Under-20s. He said he was convinced I’d play for one of the top teams in Europe if I worked hard every day at my game.”
Chelsea to sign the highly rated striker for £35m?
Chelsea have joined the race to sign the highly-rated striker Andrea Belotti, according to reports from The Sun. Belotti is tied to Torino until 2020 and could reportedly command a fee of more than £35m. Chelsea are willing to match the price tag as early as in January and are keen to sign the young striker to provide competition for the likes of Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi.
Manchester United to re-sign their former hero?
To wrap up our daily transfer round-up, we bring to you the craziest story of the day which sees Javier Hernandez linked with a shock return to Old Trafford two years after being sold by Louis Van Gaal.
According to Daily Mail, United are prepared to pay as much as £40 million for Hernandez who has enjoyed a flying start to the 2016/17 season. Since his move to Bayer Leverkusen, Hernandez has been in fine form which has tempted his former club to make a January bid for his services.
Jose Mourinho sees Hernandez as the perfect fit to United’s playing style who could score goals with his clever movements and the service he will get from the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Valencia and Inter Milan are also interested in signing the Mexican striker during the upcoming January transfer window.
