The penny has dropped for Arsène Wenger. No more tight purse strings. No more thrift. No more own-brand bottles of fizzy pop that he tells himself taste just like the real stuff even though he knows in his heart of hearts that each sip is a lie. Yep, Arsenal are going to splash the cash in January like they’ve never splashed the cash before.
Wenger is keeping an eye on the wantaway Barcelona midfielder Sergi Samper and is ready to pay the £8.5m it’ll take to get the 20-year-old out of the Camp Nou. Another £13m will head to Celta Vigo in exchange for Nolito, the Spain striker. And the Gunners will have to pay around £10m if they want to get their hands on Dynamo Moscow’s Aleksandr Kokorin. Which they do.
Elsewhere, Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool revolution will begin with the signing of the Dortmund defender Neven Subotic in the January transfer window. But he faces a battle to hold on to Philippe Coutinho – Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in the Brazilian and are ready to go mano-a-mano in a £30m transfer tug of war.
Sunderland want former USA! USA!! USA!!! coach Bob Bradley to be their manager. Because hey why not?
(Fun fact: when the Mill types “I want a” into Google, the suggested completions are: I want a baby, I want a boyfriend, I want a door, I want a divorce and I want a new job. Babies, boyfriends, divorces and employment opportunities are all understandable. But doors? Who gets themselves into a situation where they’re in want of a door? And if you do want a door, wouldn’t you search for “Door shop” or “10 best doors”? “I want a door?” Do you? Do you really? Well, you’re going a funny way about it.)
Anyway, when Mauricio Pochettino types “I want a new playmaker for my Spurs midfield” into Google, Lille’s Sofiane Boufal is the first result.
And Aston Villa will move for Wolves striker Benik Afobe in January.