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The Premier League transfer window is officially open again and that means one thing: transfer reports are going to start kicking up a few notches.
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Here’s a look at some of the latest gossip from around the PL…
Harry Maguire is a wanted man, with both Manchester clubs set to battle out to sign him for $100 million this summer. If that fee is north of $100 million it means Maguire will become the most expensive center back in history and eclipse the fee Liverpool paid to sign Virgil Van Dijk in January 2018.
A report in the Daily Mail claims that Man City are the frontrunners as Maguire, 26, is seen as the number one replacement for legendary center back and captain Vincent Kompany who has left the club at the end of his contract.
Maguire’s ball-playing ability from defense and his penchant to stroll into midfield with the ball suits Pep Guardiola‘s playing philosophy perfectly. John Stones was supposed to be the man filling that role, but Kompany and Aymeric Laporte were the go-to partnership this season with Stones and Nicolas Otamendi the odd men out.
Even with Kompany’s departure, City don’t really need another center back as Tosin Adarabioyo (he spent the 2018-19 season on loan at West Brom) could make the step up as a fourth-choice central defender.
Maguire signed a new contract last summer after prolonged interest from Manchester United, as the former Sheffield United and Hull City player underlined his meteoric rise with a superb tournament for England at the 2018 World Cup last summer.
Unlike some of City’s other defenders, Maguire wants to defend first but then has the ability to turn defense into attack with one surging run. United’s need for a commanding center back is far greater than Man City’s but if you are Maguire, how do you turn down the chance to work for Guardiola and a team who plays a style that perfectly suits your own game?
Arsenal are said to be back in for Yannick Carrasco.
The Belgian winger, 25, has spent the past 18 months playing for Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang but told the Sun Arsenal were interested in signing him in January, along with a “lot of teams in January giving me the chance to go back to Europe” but the club didn’t want to sell him.
Carrasco, who arrived from Atletico Madrid in February 2018, wants to move back to Europe this summer if the right opportunity crops up.
“All that you want is to be close to your family, and to go back to Europe is a good solution. I’m OK here, the club is good with me, the players and fans also are nice with me. But you know, when you are far from your family, and I think I can do good things in the European game, I am thinking it’s a solution if I can go back.”
Do Arsenal need another winger? The form of Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been up and down in Unai Emery‘s first season as Arsenal manager, while Mesut Ozil no longer seems to be played out wide. Carrasco is available to play anywhere across the frontline but is most comfortable as a left winger and that is an area where Arsenal need some reinforcement.
He spoke about his ability to defend as well as attack and that is something which will be music to the ears of Emery as he aims to strike a better balance in his team which conceded 51 goals in the Premier League in 2018-19 to finish in fifth place.
Signing Carrasco, or other players of a similar ilk, is determined by one thing: qualifying for the UEFA Champions League by beating Chelsea in the UEFA Europa League final in Baku on May 30.
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