April 2016 - Soccer Wiretap

Juan Cuadrado Returns To Juventus On Loan

Aug 31, 2016 8:10 PM

Juan Cuadrado has secured a return to Juventus on a loan deal running until 2019.

Juve will pay a loan fee of €5 million a season, though they have the right to sign the player outright for a total fee of €25 million. A further €4 million is payable in add-on clauses.

Cuadrado's return to Italy has been completed after prolonged talks between Chelsea, Juventus and the player's agent Alessandro Lucci, despite manager Antonio Conte's attempts to convince him to stay at Stamford Bridge.

Liam Twomey/ESPN

Tags: Chelsea, Juventus, Loan, Misc Rumor

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Spurs Beat Out Everton For $39.4M Moussa Sissoko Transfer

Aug 31, 2016 8:08 PM

Tottenham Hotspur won out over Everton to sign Moussa Sissoko on a £30 million ($39.4 million) transfer with Newcastle United.

Rafael Benítez’s Championship side is holding a £31 million profit from a transfer window in which they signed 12 players.

Sissoko cost Newcastle only £1.8 million.

Although Real Madrid, Internazionale, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Spurs, Everton, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich expressed interest, no one offered more than £15 million until Wednesday.

Louise Taylor/The Guardian

Tags: Everton, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Mario Balotelli Goes To Nice On Free Transfer

Aug 31, 2016 6:17 PM

Mario Balotelli has completed a permanent transfer from Liverpool to Nice.

Nice have signed the striker on a free transfer to end his two-year stint with Liverpool.

Balotelli returned to AC Milan last season on loan.

Nice recently had 80 percent of the club bought out by Chinese and American investors, with club president Jean-Pierre Rivere believing the club "will scale new peaks and will continue to grow," due to the injection of new resources.

"We are very happy to welcome Mario," Rivere told the club's website. "We hope that at Nice, in a family atmosphere, he'll rediscover his enjoyment of the game."


Glenn Price/ESPN

Tags: Liverpool, Nice, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Isco Decides To Reject Spurs Move, Stay With Real Madrid

Aug 31, 2016 1:52 PM

Isco has confirmed he will stay with Real Madrid as he's refused a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were lining up a loan with a buy option for Isco.

Isco instead will compete for a starting spot with Casemiro and James Rodriguez.

Lucas Navarrete/Managing Madrid

Tags: Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Loan, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Georges-Kevin Nkoudou Bought By Spurs From Marseille

Aug 31, 2016 1:50 PM

Georges-Kevin Nkoudou has been bought by Tottenham Hotspur from Marseille for £11 million with Clinton Njie going the other way on a loan.

France under-21 international Nkoudou joined Marseille from Nantes in a £1 million deal last summer and scored five goals in 28 Ligue 1 appearances last season.

Nkoudou is Spurs' third signing of the summer after midfielder Victor Wanyama from Southampton and striker Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar.

Dan Kilpatrick/ESPN

Tags: Marseille, Tottenham Hotspur, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Chelsea Agrees To Buy Back David Luiz From PSG For $44.6M

Sep 1, 2016 1:22 PM

Chelsea has agreed to buy David Luiz back from Paris Saint-Germain for $44.6 million.

Luiz was sold two seasons ago in a deal worth £50 million if various add-ons were triggered.

Antonio Conte pivoted to Luiz after they were unable to sign Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly or Alessio Romagnoli at Milan.

ESPN

Tags: Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Jack Wilshere Agrees To Loan With Bournemouth

Aug 31, 2016 1:45 PM

Jack Wilshere will join Bournemouth on loan and hopes to revive his career under manager Eddie Howe.

Wilshere's decision came after a day of speculation over his future had followed Arsenal's sanctioning of a temporary move.

Wilshere met Bournemouth officials including Howe on Tuesday, and also held a similar meeting with Palace and manager Alan Pardew.

Mattias Karen/ESPN

Tags: Arsenal, Bournemouth, Loan, Misc Rumor

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Chelsea In Advanced Talks With PSG On David Luiz

Aug 31, 2016 1:47 PM

Chelsea are in advanced talks to bring back David Luiz to the club from Paris Saint-Germain.

Luiz was sold two seasons ago in a deal worth £50 million if various add-ons were triggered.

Antonio Conte pivoted to Luiz after they were unable to sign Napoli’s Kalidou Kouliably or Alessio Romagnoli at Milan.

An initial offer worth £30 million was quickly rejected by PSG, who were initially adamant the player would not be sold in this window. Yet that stance has since softened as the deadline approaches. PSG is seeking £38 million from Chelsea for Luiz.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Tags: Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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EPL Clubs Struggling To Get Rid Of Unneeded Players Due To High Wages

Aug 30, 2016 9:27 PM

Certain highly paid Premier League players who don't fit a manager's plans have begun to have difficulty leaving.

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Joe Hart fell out of favor with Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola respectively but each make more than £200,000 per week.

“There are a handful of teams in the Premier League who are under a lot of pressure to buy players,” said José María Cruz, the chief executive of the Spanish team Sevilla. “They pay a lot of money, and so they need an immediate return on that investment: They need the players to perform straightaway.

“If they do not, they are already looking for a replacement after three or six months. But trying to offload the players who are no longer wanted is very complicated because the salaries are so high. They are not realistic for most clubs in Europe.”

“They are paying crazy wages for mediocre players,” Christian Heidel, the longtime sporting director at German club Mainz, who is now with Schalke, said before he changed teams last year.

“They will struggle to get rid of those players in the future. They buy more players every year, and the squads will become too big. They will end up spending more on redundancies than they do on transfers.”

Rory Smith/New York Times

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Sergio Aguero Expected To Miss Manchester Derby

Aug 30, 2016 9:19 PM

Sergio Agüero has been charged with violent misconduct and will miss the derby with Manchester United if found guilty.

Aguero appeared to elbow Winston Reid late in the match.

“Off the ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match officials are referred to a panel of three former elite match officials. Each panel member will review the video footage independently of one another to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence.”

The statement added: “For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision of the panel must be unanimous.”

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Tags: Manchester City

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Arsenal Confirm Signings Of Shkodran Mustafi, Lucas Perez
Shkodran Mustafi will improve Arsenal's central defense while Lucas Perez gives them another attacking option.

The Guardian

Serge Gnabry To Join Bayern From Arsenal On Permanent Transfer
Bayern will immediately loan Serge Gnabry out to Werder Bremen.

Valentin King, Davis VanOpdorp/Bavarian Football Works

Gareth Bale Seeks $19M Per Season In New Contract Talks
Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil both recently left Real Madrid after their agents sought improved deals.

Lucas Navarrete/Managing Madrid

Chelsea Close To $26.8M Transfer With Fiorentina For Marcos Alonso
Marcos Alonso, who previously played for Real Madrid and Bolton, would give Antonio Conte an upgrade at left-back.

Fabrizio Romano, Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Valencia Receives Munir El Haddadi On Loan With Buy Option From Barca
Munir El Haddadi will receive the No. 9 shirt vacated by Paco Alcacer.

Luis Sancho de Rosa/AS.com

Diego Costa Admits He Wanted To Return To Atleti
Diego Costa was sold by Atleti to Chelsea during the 2014 summer and helped them win the Premier League in his first season.

Mayca Jimenez/AS.com

Paco Alcacer Sold By Valencia To Barcelona For $33.4M
Paco Alcacer will be Barcelona's fourth attacking option behind Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Moisés Llorens, Juan Jiménez/AS.com

Wayne Rooney Confirms 2018 World Cup Will Be Final England Tournament
Wayne Rooney is England's leading goalscorer with 53 in 115 appearances.

Press Association

Arsenal Hope To Loan Out Jack Wilshere
Arsene Wenger has no plans to sell Jack Wilshere as both sides realize he would benefit from a loan move.

Mattias Karen/ESPN

Jonathan Kodjia Joins Villa From Bristol City For Championship Record
Jonathan Kodjia has joined Aston Villa from Bristol City in an £11 million deal that could rise to £15 million.

Press Association

Lionel Messi, Barcelona Discussing Contract Extension
Lionel Messi is under contract until 2018 but Barcelona would like to extend his deal.

FourFourTwo

Leicester City Finalizing Adrien Silva, Islam Slimani Transfers
Leicester will pay a combined $65.4 million to Sporting for Adrien Silva and Islam Slimani.

The Guardian

Samir Nasri Likely To Leave City For Besiktas
Samir Nasri joined City in 2011 from Arsenal.

Jamie Jackson, Fabrizio Romano/The Guardian

Joe Hart Agrees To Loan Deal With Torino
City and Torino are both contributing to Joe Hart's salary of around £135,000 per week.

Jamie Jackson, Fabrizio Romano/The Guardian

Dortmund Unlikely To Sell Christian Pulisic To Liverpool
Christian Pulisic faces tough competition to get regular game time this season, with the likes of Marco Reus, Andre Schurrle, Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor currently ahead of him.

Glenn Price/ESPN

Southampton Signs Sofiane Boufal From Lille For $27.5M
Sofiane Boufal scored 12 goals in all competitions in his first full season with Lille as they finished fifth in Ligue 1 and reached the final of the Coupe de la Ligue.

Press Association

West Brom To Sign Nacer Chadli From Spurs For Club-Record $17M
Nacer Chadli's pace and creativity are expected to give Albion a lift after a frustrating summer in the transfer market.

Stuart James/The Guardian

Joe Hart Considering Loan Move To Torino
Joe Hart is considering a loan move to Torino now that he's become Manchester City's third option in goal.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Sergio Aguero To Miss World Cup Qualifiers With Calf Injury
Sergio Aguero suffered a calf injury during Manchester City's 3-1 win over West Ham.

ESPN

Zidane: James Is Going To Stay With Real Madrid
James' future with Real Madrid has been uncertain despite signing him in 2014 for $89.8 million.

Ben Hayward/Goal.com