Arrivals
Yesterday the English page for Bayer 04 got us all guessing what the away kit will look like. Not to be outdone, Rubin Kazan's Twitter account dropped an even bigger bombshell regarding the transfer of Sardar Azmoun, writing the following series of emojis: "Soon, suitcase, money, timer, eyes", tagging Zenit in its comment. Rubin Kazan should earn 20% of the sale should it happen. This afternoon however delivered news which dealt a blow to hopes of signing the Iranian. Bobsoccer.ru, a football news site which is close to Zenit, claims that there has been no official offer made for the player and the reason for Azmoun not flying with the squad for Rostov should be because he is considering the option to extend his contract. But can you really trust this? We already know Azmoun's contract length, salary and even the bid amount, which supposedly doesn't exist, from the mouths of all the reliable journalists. Zenit should also be tracking Andrea Belotti, a player who would surely not arrive without someone of Azmoun's stature leaving. There is a lot of smoke around so there will be a fire.
According to Sky, Leverkusen should have entered the race for highly promising Juventus defender Merih Demiral. Given the Italian giants value their player between €35m and €40m, it isn't likely that we would be able to afford the fee, with a loan with no option to buy being the most likely scenario available to us. It isn't likely that this happens though in any instance unless there is a sensational departure from Tapsoba as if you believe it, Hincapie should sign on Monday therefore completing our defensive setup. Dortmund are the major challengers for the young Turk.
RMC Sport mention Bayer 04 among a number of clubs which have enquired about the availability of 17-year-old St Etienne midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath. However the likelihood of any movement this summer is slim with a contract extension until 2025 in the pipeline. Atalanta are said to be preparing an offer of €10m but it would take a 'substantial' offer for the French club to budge.
Departures
Aston Villa have officially announced that Leon Bailey will wear claret and blue next season 'subject to the player completing a medical and finalising personal terms'. This means that contrary to reports that personal terms had been agreed and the fee was still contentious, it is actually the other way around, meaning that Rolfes and co have achieved a transfer fee equal to or above market value which was their clear objective - according to The Athletic, it should be in the region of £30m. With this rush of income, maybe now we can push on and make the last few signings we need to finally be ready for the season ahead.
The mysterious unnamed Portuguese club that has been courting Wendell has been revealed. It is Benfica according to Record.pt. Should Alejandro Grimaldo leave Lisbon, they would want him as a replacement. That being said, there might already be a need on Benfica's left side as Nuno Tavares moved to Arsenal earlier this month. We hope to gain €5m for him.
About the away jersey
When I saw it for the first time I was honestly so impressed. Jako have done really well for us this year, producing the best looking kits we have arguably ever seen. I am happy that we did not resort to going full retro by bringing out a blue jersey as I remember the last one we had and it was awful. The black and red trim on the sleeves and collar along with the side stripes add a little flair and the subtly striped Bergische lion is a nice touch even though I cannot really see it myself. Do I really want to spend £200 on football shirts though? I already have a Wirtz home kit. I might wait a little longer to make my decision as who knows how good the third kit will be.
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