10 moves that you can bet your mortgage on*!
Rickie Lambert (Southampton to Liverpool)
Something of a surprise when news of this imminent move first broke but it’s a deal that is a fairly sensible one for Brendan Rodgers to pursue.
Yes the England man is 32 but arguably he’s in the best form of his career and is a player who can offer very able back-up support for Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.
Adam Lallana (Southampton to Liverpool)
We predict that part of the reason for luring Lambert to Anfield is to help in the club’s pursuit of his Saints team-mate Adam Lallana.
Rodgers has been leading the chase for the 25 year old midfielder for some weeks but there is a good chance that Mauritio Pochettino’s move to Tottenham has led to the Northern Irishman looking to stack things in his favour having seen the north London side edge the Merseyside club in pursuit of several players in the recent past.
Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad to Arsenal)
It’s a move that could cost the Gunners as little as £3.2m and that’s a price well worth paying for a player who has matured into a very effective performer having been something of a ‘show-pony’ during his previous spell at the Emirates Stadium.
Vela has netted 15 goals in 34 La Liga starts this season and only Atletico Madrid’s Koke, Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas and Real Madrid’s Angel di Maria have provided more assists than the 25 year old.
Luke Shaw (Southampton to Man United)
This deal is almost done and dusted and will cost the Old Trafford side a small fortune and it’s something of a calculated gamble by incoming boss Louis van Gaal.
Yes the teenager has impressed over the past two seasons but any move that sees a club invest near on £30m for an 18 year old will have a certain level of risk.
Clearly Man United hope that Shaw can mature into a player who can serve them for many years to come.
Serge Aurier (Toulouse to Arsenal)
This deal has been on the cards for months, speculation becoming rife once the Ivory Coast international was pictured wearing an Arsenal shirt, and Arsene Wenger appears very keen to bring in the Toulouse man to replace Bacary Sagna.
The French right-back has publicly confirmed he is leaving the Emirates Stadium this summer and the FA Cup final win over Hull City was his last for the north London club.
Remy Cabella (Montpellier to Newcastle United)
The Magpies are closing in on a deal to sign the impressive French midfielder who is in line to replace another French midfielder, Yohan Cabaye, who’s January move to PSG was the catalyst to a shockingly poor run of form in the second half of 2013/14.
Cabella has had an excellent Ligue campaign, scoring 14 goals and providing five assists, and narrowly missing out on a spot in Didier Deschamps 2014 World Cup finals squad.
Mario Manduzkic (Bayern Munich to Chelsea)
Croatian is looking for a new club having seen the upcoming arrival of Robert Lewandowski as something of a death knell to his Allianz Arena career and we are fairly certain he is on his way to Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho is desperate to freshen up his strike-force and looks to have deals in place to bag more than just one forward this summer.
Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid to Chelsea)
Football’s worst kept secret. This move was apparently agreed some weeks ago.
The Stamford Bridge side will hope that £35m forward Costa will boost the club’s ailing attack with the 36 goal striker set to lead the Chelsea line.
The last of those 36 goals in 2013/14 came against Chelsea in the the Champions League semi-final encounter between the two sides and Costa will surely be a better fit to spearhead the Premier League side’s front-line than Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba who all failed to deliver the goods on a consistent enough basis last season.
Tiago (Atletico Madrid to Chelsea)
Some sources have claimed that a deal that would see the experienced Portuguese international move to west London has already been agreed.
The 33 year old Atletico Madrid midfielder is out of contract and is set to return to Stamford Bridge after helping his Vicente Calderon side to the La Liga title and a Champions League final this season.
Tiago spent a season at Chelsea before moving to Lyon in 2005, with Micheal Essien moving in the opposite direction, a decision Jose Mourinho has publicly admitted was a mistaken one.
Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich to Man United)
Louis van Gaal has apparently rubber-stamped Man United’s long running pursuit of Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos who is said to be unhappy with his standing within the Allianz Arena side’s salary set-up.
Currently the 24 year old earns in the region of £60k a week which is dwarfed by the sums being paid to the likes of Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze, who earn three times that sum.
The German midfielder has been in long running contract talks with his Bavarian employers but with just over a year to run on his current deal he is seemingly no nearer to reaching an agreement with Bayern Munich, which certainly opens the door to a potential move to Man United.
* whilst we are confident of these deals being concluded in the summer transfer window we’d suggest you don’t really bet your mortgage on this happening…
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