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Hot Football Transfer Gossip: Pep 'in for Icardi', PSG 'to swoop for Kante'

Stanley Accrington trawls the football media to bring you today's Premier League possibles, probables and no-hopables...

Hot Football Transfer Gossip: Pep 'in for Icardi', PSG 'to swoop for Kante'

As vultures apparently gather over the King Power Stadium ready to pick off any straggling title winners, Manchester City are preparing to spend big on overseas players who cost far more so must be a lot better.

Having watched Bayern Munich launch the ball “Allardyce-style” for the last 10 minutes of last night's Champions League semi-final exit, City fans could be forgiven for thinking “the ball with ice on” could be Pep Guardiola’s plan for blunting Vardy, Mahrez & Co next season so bringing in John Beck, Allardyce, and Jonny Wilkinson as technical directors is a logical step.

But no. According to some sources Pep might be following up his £39m signing of Aymeric Laporte by swooping for Inter's Mauro Icardi for a similar amount – plus change.

The 23-year-old Argentina striker averages a goal every two games and with Wilfried Bony almost certain to leave this summer following a miserable 18-month spell at the club, Pep could also see Icardi as the long-term replacement for Sergio Aguero who has said he will be leaving in 2017.

The “great news” for Icardi is that Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have also been "tracking" him if he fancies a crack at the Europa League - or even a possible break from European football altogether to catch up on his Game of Thrones box set.

Guardiola might also call in at Arsene Wenger's sushi-style Etihad conveyor belt to snap up Olivier Giroud, thus saving himself a few quid and handing Wenger a few more to squirrel away for another assault on mediocrity.

With Wenger also "in the hunt" for Icardi, the Argentine might have to keep the cellophane on his Thrones...

Perhaps as Pep closes in on a Bundesliga title that is ultimately as meaningful as an Eastenders plot line, he might be tempted to snap up an old charge of his from Stoke.

Ex-Barcelona playmaker Bojan Krkic would not have enjoyed life at The Britannia Stadium under “direct” ex-boss Tony Pulis but he hates it even more under “sparky” current boss Mark Hughes because he’s only started three matches in three months. Thus claims the Daily Mail

Pep just might fancy reharvesting the injury-prone trickster to fill one of many bench places that will be created by what promises to be a summer of long knives at the Etihad and Bojan could keep Giroud company in the Bony-shaped gap.

Guardiola can only dream of winning this season's Champions League but the man he is replacing is arguably just one Aguero strike away from the final.

It will be interesting to see if Manual Pellegrini resorts to “lumping it big” against Real Madrid tonight if the beautiful game doesn’t work - a la tikki takka Peppy - but with no Adebayor, Royle or Quinn to aim for such tactics would prove as fruitless as Bayern's against Atletico.

The Guardian reports that PSG are ready to start the bidding for Leicester players.

The French champions have a reported £250m war chest and are ready to swoop for N’Golo Kante, and also want soon-to-be freeman of the City of Leicester Eden Hazard and wantaway Everton striker Romeu Lukaku.

Red-card loving keeper Thibault Courtois has told Chelsea – according to Le Parisien, in French) anyway – that he will stay with them despite interest from PSG, while Watford, Tottenham and Arsenal are all apparently interested in unhappy Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe (Squawka) so he might be able to buy a house in the area and play for all three.