Alvaro Morata is probably going to join Manchester United at some point this summer.
But it's probably not happening just yet. The transfer-hungry part of the Internet creaked at its hinges on Tuesday morning when it emerged that Alice Campello, Morata's wife, is now following United on Instagram.
Maybe it's a sign that a reported £70 million transfer is close. Or maybe Campello likes the social media content that United puts out. In the football supporter's world of confirmation bias, it definitely means that Morata is already a United player. Calmer folk might wait until he's "in the shirt and on the pitch," but since when was anything to do with elite-level football in the 21st century calm?
Heading north-east several thousand kilometers from Madrid to Leipzig—a 21 hour 27 minute drive, according to Google—and it's still silly season. Naby Keita is a 22-year-old Guinean midfielder who was pretty magnificent last season in a RB Leipzig team that threatened to rumble German football's established order.
Keita can do everything a midfielder needs to do very well, which is why Liverpool is reportedly interested in having him do a little bit of everything at Anfield. It doesn't hurt, of course, that in former Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool has one of the more assiduous observers of German football in the world.
But the price? Woah. The Independent claims RB Leipzig wants £70 million for Keita. The player wants to move, but Liverpool is probably going to be unwilling to pay that kind of money for an undoubted talent with only one full season in an elite European league under his belt. And Leipzig, in the Champions League for the first time, doesn't need to sell. So for now, it's a standoff.
The Ripley's Believe It or Not headline of the day, though? West Ham United wants Arsenal duo Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, according to the Daily Star, for a combined £50 million.
Hmm. That's probably not terrible value, with Giroud maybe making up £30 million and Walcott the other £20 million. It's just it seems a very West Ham thing to do, to be interested in expensive cast-offs from bigger clubs, only to turn around and sign someone like Jonathan Calleri who tries rabonas in front of an open goal. On the other hand, it's the easiest of moves for Walcott or Giroud in that they probably wouldn't have to move. And it would also be very West Ham to sign one or both of them and cope with the inevitable disappointment of two massive salaries for two players who were better a few years ago.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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