The summer months can be arduous times for football fans, as we have to endure June, July and most of August without our doses of domestic football action. However it does bring another exciting element of the beautiful game into play, the buzz of the transfer market. The window officially opens on the 1st of July, but that hasn’t stopped deals taking place already, with the big money moves for Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones grabbing the headlines. The rumour mill is in full swing and plenty of players are being linked with moves away from their clubs, in what promises to be another summer of big spending in the Premier League.
There are three high profile players rumoured to be linked with moves away from their clubs this summer and all three have emerged as potential targets for Premier League big boys Manchester United and Chelsea. Luka Modric, Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri have all refused to rule out moves away from their current employers this summer. This has led to suggestions the players could be tempted by the prospect of joining either the English Champions or runners up from last season. So I wonder if there is a chance of any of these transfers materialising.
Samir Nasri has one year remaining on his current contract with the Gunners and while he stalls over the signing of a new deal the rumours linking him to Man United and more recently Bayern Munich are intensifying. Arsene Wenger will be doing all he can to ensure he keeps hold of his creative playmaker for next season. It may take a hefty new contract and some words of wisdom for Mr Wenger to reassure Nasri that the Emirates is where he should be playing his football.
It was only last month that Patrice Evra went public with his plea to his fellow compatriot to join him at Old Trafford and since then there has been talk of United readying a £10 million pound bid for the former Marseille man. In a recent interview Nasri didn’t rule out the possibility of playing for another English club and with Man United in need of a player of Nasri’s ilk, could the Arsenal man be set for a move north? Personally I think Nasri will sign a new deal with Arsenal, but until he commits to the club the rumours will persist.
On the white side of North London Tottenham’s exquisite Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric, has all the attributes to be the perfect signing for Man United or Chelsea. With both clubs issuing their interest in the player Tottenham have moved quickly to reaffirm their stance that the midfielder is not for sale at any price. However, the guarantee of Champions League football and a huge jump in wages is likely to be a real temptation for Modric. Although he is happy at Spurs if the bids started to come in they could well unsettle the player and we all know Spurs have bowed down to the financial power of Man United in the past with Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov. I however think Tottenham will remain defiant in their bid to stave off the advances of Man United and Chelsea and would be surprised if Modric is not running out for Spurs in August.
The third big hitter linked to both United and Chelsea is Inter Milan’s Dutch master Wesley Sneijder. Out of the players in question I think Sneijder is the most likely to make a move to one of the big two this summer. He recently committed himself to Inter, but has since spoken out about the uncertainty of his future. Sneijder would represent an excellent signing for either of these big hitters, but a stumbling block could be his huge wages, reported to be in excess of £7.5 million a year. This may rule Man United out of the chase but I’m sure wouldn’t deter Chelsea should they look to sign the £30 million plus rated midfield man.
Football being what it is means there is no way the potential transfers of either Nasri, Modric or Sneijder can be ruled out. No matter how adamant a manager may be his player isn’t leaving there is always likely to be a spanner in the works that can change the whole outlook. Although I think Nasri and Modric will remain in North London, when Chelsea and Manchester United are involved anything can happen. You can rest assured that the three players focused on in this article will get their fair share of column inches this summer. What do you think, will we see Nasri, Modric or Sneijder on the transfer merry-go-round this summer?
