According to Goal.com’s Bruno Andrade, the president of Brazilian giants Santos is currently in England negotiating with both Chelsea and Leicester City over the possible transfer of two current Olympians.
First, Modesto Rome has apparently visited London to negotiate the departure of Thiago Maia to Stamford Bridge. The 19-year-old has been brought up through the Santos youth system and made his senior team debut this past February. He has been a critical part of the Santos squad this season (which started in May), logging 1,345 of a possible 1,350 minutes until he had to leave for the national team’s Olympic camp.
According to the report, Chelsea has been in talks with Santos for a few weeks about the possibility of bringing Maia in, although the teenager is not entirely convinced leaving his current club is the best decision at this point.
Leicester City, meanwhile, has made a late push for fellow 19-year-old winger Gabigol. While previous interest from the Blues has died out, he reportedly already has an offer in hand from Juventus and another could come soon from Inter. With this in mind, it makes the Foxes’ approach all the more intriguing. Is Leicester preparing for the departure of Riyad Mahrez? The two play primarily on the right side, so it would fit the story.
More likely, the Foxes flagged Gabigol late thanks to his current hot streak. He’s cemented a spot in the Santos first team thanks to a run of five goals in his last eight Serie A appearances, and also has two in his last four appearances for the Brazilian senior side, including one in the Copa America Centenario against Haiti. He’s struggled alongside Neymar and Gabriel Jesus in the Rio Olympics. Can Claudio Ranieri beat two Serie A giants to a bright, young talent?
West Brom has struggled mightily in the transfer window, being linked with seemingly everyone but coming up short every time. So who is their next reported target? Watford frontman Odion Ighalo is the marked man, with Sky Sports reporting that the Baggies are going after the Hornet striker following the breakdown of a deal for Diafra Sakho.
They have plenty of competition, however, with Crystal Palace and Stoke City also apparently submitting bids.
Everton is targeting Crystal Palace pacey winger Yannick Bolasie, according to multiple reports, although the two sides seem to be quite far off in their valuation of the player. Everton reportedly submitted a bid Monday of $23 million, but that was rejected, according to a report in The Guardian. Palace reportedly wants as much as $39 million for the 27-year-old Congolese international.
Bolasie has become a critical part of the Eagles squad. Last season, he struggled to produce goals, but was never dropped until a calf injury forced him to the sidelines. Bolasie scored just five goals last season, but it’s the four assists that were even more worrisome. Crystal Palace might have a tough time justifying their price tag based on his numbers last year. However, it does seem that Bolasie fits the counter-attacking style of Palace much more than the more straightforward, through the middle approach Everton has taken in recent years.
The Guardian suggests that with the addition of Andros Townsend at Palace, manager Alan Pardew could afford to part with Bolasie to secure the funds for a play at Liverpool striker Christian Benteke.
