With Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic signed on for a whopping $65 million, Manchester City aren’t about to stop their summer spending spree. Now Benfica’s Argentine winger Eduardo Salvio is next on their list. The right midfielder would cost a cool $37.5 million and City are tight-lipped on his acquisition. But Benfica are already lining up a replacement for the attacker, who played in 51 games last season and scored 10 goals and added an impressive 13 assists. If City want production from their wide men, Salvio would be a superb buy. Young, energetic and eager to attack from wide areas, he would fit in perfectly with Manuel Pellegrini’s new attacking mantra at Man City. The revamp continues.
All has been quite down at White Hart Lane for a few weeks, but Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas could be set to swoop for Valencia forward Roberto Soldado. The Spanish international striker has been chased by Tottenham for some time, and it’s believed that AVB has upped his bid to $30 million for the 28-year-old forward after Soldado impressed at the Confederations Cup. He’s captained cash-strapped Valencia for the past few seasons, scoring 81 goals in 141 games. Prolific, hungry and a leader. Exactly what Spurs need. But will Soldado leave his hometown club for London?
Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina could be coming to the end of his Anfield career, with former manager Rafael Benitez hoping to take him to Napoli. Reina, 30, has spent eight seasons with Liverpool but after Brendan Rodgers signed Belgian international Simon Mignolet over the summer, Reina’s time as first-choice ‘keeper for the Reds looks to be over. A great shot-stopper and good with his feet, Reina would do well in Serie A. But some high-profile mistakes have slipped into his game over the last two years, raising question marks over the Spanish international’s future. Reina wouldn’t want to sit on the bench at Liverpool. Adios, Anfield.
And the Liverpool exodus looks set to continue, as Danish central defender Daniel Agger could be on his way to Barcelona. The aggressive 28-year-old is hugely admired by Barca boss Tito Vilanova and after the Spanish side won’t get Thiago Silva, they’ve turned to a $18 million move for Agger. Superb in the air and good on the ball, Agger overcame a shaky start at the beginning of his Reds career to become a regular. Liverpool are short of defenders after Jamie Carragher’s retirement so they won’t to lose Agger. But if Barca come calling, what can you do?
Several Premier League teams are lining up bids for FC Porto’s Christian Atsu. The 21-year-old Ghanian has left Porto’s preseason tour of Holland and Everton and Spurs are both monitoring the situation. Liverpool are also said to be interested, as Atsu looks to leave the Estadio do Dragao. He only has one year left on his deal and could be snapped up for less than $10 million, as Porto want to cash in rather than lose him for nothing. The skillful winger could fit in at any of the aforementioned clubs, but Everton could perhaps be the best fit as they lack pace going forward from wide areas. Atsu could be a bargain and Roberto Martinez is the master at finding those.