Welcome back to Last Word On Football’s round-up of the latest transfer rumours. In this edition, we take a closer look at the reports linking Wilfried Zaha with a return to Manchester United, and whether Liverpool could add another attacking outlet to their already terrifying trio.
Latest Transfer Rumours
Wilfried Zaha on Manchester United Radar Again
Wilfried Zaha has already moved from Crystal Palace to Manchester United once in his career. The move didn’t pan out for the Ivorian, who saw limited playing time at Old Trafford during the David Moyes/Louis van Gaal eras, and he was swiftly moved back to South London.
Now, the Sun’s Dan King is reporting that United are preparing a deal of around £70 million to bring Zaha back to Manchester. It’s a massive increase on the £10 million the Red Devils paid for a young Zaha back in 2013, but it’s relative to the forward’s rise since returning to the Eagles after only two years with United.
King’s report states that United are crying out for pace and creativity. The latter may be a problem at the moment given their trouble with scoring goals in comparison to recent seasons, but pace shouldn’t be a problem with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and particularly Dan James in the side.
Liverpool Could Add Another String to Their Bow
Liverpool’s attacking force of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah is a truly frightening proposition to face. The trio are among the best front-threes in the world, and may be regarded as the best by many. However, if one of them is injured or needs a rest, where do the Reds find their back-ups?
Divock has been somewhat of a super-sub in 2019, scoring the late winner against Everton, a brace against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals when starting in place of the injured Firmino, and notching the winner in the eventual final against Tottenham Hotspur. Xherdan Shaqiri has also provided adequate back-up since joining from Stoke City.
Now though, Billy Hawkins of TalkSport is reporting that the Reds are chasing Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser. The Scot has made over 170 appearances for the Cherries since joining them when they were a League One side. The deal may appear underwhelming on first sight, but Liverpool fans don’t need reminding of the last time they signed a Scotland international from one of England’s supposed ‘weaker’ sides. Besides, Fraser was second in the assists table for last season, behind only Eden Hazard, and is out of contract at the end of this campaign, meaning Bournemouth would either have to agree a new deal with him or sell him before he can leave for free.
The report also suggests that Liverpool could involve Harry Wilson in the deal. The Welshman is currently on loan at the South Coast club from the Reds.
Tottenham Could Spring Memphis Depay Surprise
According to the latest transfer rumours from the Mirror’s John Richardson, Tottenham Hotspur are planning a surprise £50 million bid for Lyon winger Memphis Depay.
The Dutchman has already featured in the Premier League during a difficult spell with Manchester United between 2015 and 2017 but has been revitalised since moving to Ligue 1.
While Depay operates as a winger usually, he also has the ability to play up front, which could mean Spurs’ days of not having sufficient back-up for Harry Kane are over. Equally, Kane has not been receiving the required service this season, indicative of Spurs’ lowly position in the table, so maybe a freshening up of the personnel is in order.
The price has risen considerably from the £15 million that Lyon gave Manchester United to take Depay off their hands, and they’ll also find that United inserted a buy-back clause into the deal, according to Richardson. If that is the case, it will be down to whether United want to try their luck with Depay again as to whether Spurs get their deal done.
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