Football transfer rumours: Real Madrid to sign Petr Cech from Chelsea?

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/08/the-rumour-mill-real-madrid-petr-cech-chelsea

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Liverpool’s hopes of replacing big-name striker Luis Suárez with his slightly less bitey Monaco counterpart Radamel Falcao has hit the buffers now that the lank-haired Colombian striker seems to have decided to join his compatriot James Rodríguez at Real Madrid. The Spanish side also have their eye on Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who has no desire to kick his heels on the bench now that it’s apparently become apparent his manager José Mourinho prefers the cut of Thibaut Courtois’s gloved-up jib. Should Real make an offer for Cech, Chelsea will ask them to get involved in some kind of swapsies involving French defender Raphaël Varane.

In other Liverpool news, Brendan Rodgers is pondering what to say to Daniel Agger when the pair sit down to discuss the Danish centre-half’s future at Anfield. Despite his slightly intimidating haircut and all those tattoos, Agger is a sensitive soul, who is rumoured to have wept and been consoled by team-mates following an emotional dressing room exchange with Rodgers during Liverpool’s recent pre-season tour. Let him go to Barcelona, Brendan.

Here’s a sentence the Rumour Mill thought it would never type: Leicester City are trying to sign Argentinian international Esteban Cambiasso. Good luck to them. The former Internazionale midfielder is without a club and Nigel Pearson is prepared to offer him £5m over two years to sign for the Premier League newbies.

Having failed to convince Manchester United to part company with Marouane Fellaini, Napoli will now try to prise Brazilian enforcer Lucas Leiva away from Liverpool. In nearby Manchester, Louis van Gaal is counting out £30m from his change jar in order to purchase Roma’s Morocco international centre-half Mehdi Benatia.

The in-no-way tedious Sami Khedira-to-Arsenal business the Rumour Mill thought it had put behind it for good could be a runner again, and the Gooners are also keen on securing the scrawl of teenage PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who would cost them £8m before being farmed out to Gillingham or Peterborough on loan. Arsenal are also giving Manchester City centre-back Matija Nastasic the glad eye, but will have to compete with the flirty-come-hither looks of a certain Italian Old Lady.

Parma’s French winger Jonathan Biabiany is one of many players named in transfer tittle-tattle that the Rumour Mill has never, ever heard of, but that won’t stop Stoke City, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion duking it out in the battle to convince him to sign on the dotted line. If we’re being honest, we’re not familiar with Diafra Sakho either, but Big Sam wants the Metz striker in his side by next weekend and will pay £3.5m to bring him to Upton Park.

Everyone liked Juan Cuadrado’s hair at the World Cup, which probably explains why Manchester United are preparing to cave in and give Fiorentina the £36m they want for their star winger. Meanwhile at the Britannia, the word “audacious” is being bandied about in relation to Stoke’s hopes of bringing Dynamo Kiev winger Andriy Yarmolenko to the Potteries. Among the thoroughly disillusioned regulars at Villa Park, the word “meh” is almost certainly being bandied about in relation to Aston Villa’s hopes of bringing Valencia full-back Aly Cissokho to the Midlands.