Football transfer rumours: Kyle Walker to Manchester United?

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/19/football-transfer-rumours

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Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kyle Walker is being linked with a summer move to Manchester United, with Louis van Gaal believed to be a big fan of the 24-year-old’s work. United are understood to have made discreet enquiries about the availability of a versatile player Van Gaal believes could more than hold his own in a traditional back four, or as a wing-back in a five-man midfield. With a whopping four years left on his contract at Tottenham, Walker would cost any suitors the thick end of £20m. Walker’s Southampton counterpart Nathaniel Clyne is also being mentioned as a target for United, although the Saints chairman, Ralph Kreuger, has said contract talks with the player are continuing. Well, sort of said. “I cannot talk specifics,” he said. “I can only talk philosophically but we have made big progress in January and we are on the way.”

Marseille striker André-Pierre Gignac is in popular demand, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool all understood to be eager to sign the Frenchman this summer. Resigned to losing their star striker, the Ligue 1 side will replace him with Juve’s Fernando Llorente, although the Spaniard has also been mentioned in conjunction with a move to Arsenal or Spurs after failing to impress in Turin.

Paris Saint-Germain winger Ezequiel Lavezzi’s failure to nail down a regular starting berth in Laurent Blanc’s squad has enabled him to become a Rumour Mill fixture in recent months, with Liverpool and Arsenal having been mentioned as potential suitors. Sadly for both Premier League clubs, the Argentinian has dropped a strong hint that he’d quite like to re-sign for Napoli and link up with his old mucker Gonzalo Higuaín, should the Serie A side find themselves in a position to rustle up the necessary cash. “I miss Italy,” he told Sky Italia. “Me paired with Higuaín? Why not. If I went back the first choice would be Napoli, we’ll have to see if I want to. I’m at PSG now, at the end of the season we’ll see what happens.”

Lyon defensive midfielder Maxime Gonalons has been scouted to within an inch of his life by assorted Arsenal employees and they are finally ready to bid £15m for the services of a man who has also featured on the radars of Tottenham and Napoli.

Having popped up in Tuesday’s Mill on the back of some loose talk about him perhaps pitching up at Old Trafford, the £5m-rated Brazilian teenager Kenedy is today the subject of speculation regarding a possible move from Fluminense to Chelsea.

Further north, it’s getting towards that time of year when Yaya Touré and his representatives start muttering about how unloved and unappreciated they are and according to the London Evening Standard, the Ivorian may agitate for a move to Internazionale this summer. Roberto Mancini has made no secret of his desire to be reunited with the midfielder and said earlier this week that “Serie A needs players like Yaya so that it can go back to being one of the best leagues, if not the best, like it was 15, 20 years ago.”

Meanwhile at Milan, Nigel De Jong is cautiously optimistic Manchester United will give him a gig once his contract with the Rossoneri expires this summer, although he’ll be welcomed at Ajax should his Dutch compatriot Luis van Gaal decide against bringing him to Old Trafford.