Happy hump day Manchester United supporters! Just a week and a day until the summer transfer window closes; which means just 11 days until the season opener at Old Trafford versus Chelsea FC.
Here are the links to the latest regarding the pursuits of Sporting CP midfielder Bruno Fernandes and Leicester City central defender Harry Maguire. Still nothing even remotely close to definitive to report on either situation there. However, we do have a few mews and transfer gossip items, so let’s dive right in and get started.
Poor Eric Bailly, the Ivory Coast international had just returned from a knee injury that kept him out of the Africa Cup of Nations this summer. And what happens? He suffers another knee injury in Shanghai in Thursday’s International Champions Cup (a preseason friendly with an awesome brand name) win over fellow PL big six side Tottenham Hotspur.
It’s a really serious setback and he’ll be out for at least four months. You got to feel for Bailly, major injuries have been a big part of his time at United.
Is the Romelu Lukaku for Paulo Dybala swap really going to happen?
Well, it’s on the way, but there are still hurdles to clear according to Sky Sports. It’s much more than just transfer gossip now, as Sky is a very trusted and credible outlet.
Their Italian bureau reports that an agreement has been reached in principle and now it’s up to the two clubs to finalize everything.
On paper, it’s certainly a deal that would make sense for both clubs, Juventus and United, but there is still the business end of things to work out, and there could be some sticking points.
Plus, you still have the Inter Milan factor.
Don’t expect new Inter manager Antonio Conte to just let his club give up on the striker that he’s already wanted without a fight. So it should be an interesting last week of the silly season to say the least.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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