With prolific striker Wilfried Bony already off to Manchester City, Swansea City is looking to try and replace his goalscoring abilities, with one feeler sent out already rebuffed.
The Daily Mail has reported that Swansea contemplated signing German international Mario Gomez after Fiorentina reached out to offer his services, but the Premier League club reportedly decided they wouldn’t be able to offer Gomez the same wages or convince him to drop to a mid-table side with Fiorentina chasing European qualification.
[RELATED: Wilfried Bony completes Man City switch ]
It would have been an odd move for Swansea anyways, who would be much better served looking to repeat the Bony move by searching for an up-and-coming striker from one of Europe’s fringe leagues instead of offering their lead striker role to an injury-prone 29-year-old.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are reportedly the frontrunners for unsettled Ezequiel Lavezzi, who apparently has not only fallen out with management, but also close to being replaced. Multiple reports have Paris Saint-Germain lining up Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan, leaving Lavezzi on the outside looking in.
Lavezzi angered Laurent Blanc by missing a winter training session abroad, and returned from the holiday break late along with fellow PSG teammate Edinson Cavani. With Lavezzi already reportedly unhappy with a few things at the club, this appears to be the last straw. He has been used sparingly this season, appearing in 13 games, but making the full 90 just twice and amassing just 667 minutes of a possible 1,800. With Liverpool struggling for goals, they will hope they’re getting last year’s Lavezzi, who scored nine goals and played in 32 league matches.
The 29-year-old Argentinian would cost a reported $12 million. Liverpool tried to sign him both in 2012 when he went to PSG from Napoli, and this past summer.
Finally, the latest in the Jozy Altidore – Jermain Defoe swap has seen the latter reportedly pass his medical at Sunderland, according to Sky Sports. That would allow the swap to be completed, but Toronto FC doesn’t get the USMNT striker just yet. He still has to go through the allocation process, and while Toronto leads that race at the moment, there’s no telling if a New York Red Bulls would trade up into a higher allocation spot to trump the Canadian club.
