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Football

25th Jan 2016

TRANSFER TALK: The moment of reckoning looms for floundering Louis van Gaal

Manager speak

Mikey Stafford

You can’t always get what you want.

Manchester United fans want to see their side score an occasional goal at Old Trafford, Everton fans want to see the odd clean sheet and Leicester City fans would like to see a doctor about this waking dream that will not end.

And gossip columns? Gossip columns want talk of tricky Brazilian wingers coveted by all and sundry, interesting sounding African midfielders targeted by Arsene Wenger and England internationals with inflated price tags being panic bought by anyone who lost at the weekend.

Instead what do we get? More stories about the impending doom of Louis Van Gaal. Following on from his compatriot Ruud Gullit telling BeIn Sports viewers that the United manager was ready to fall on his sword, the Sun say Van Gaal is ready to walk away, while the Star say he is set for “showdown talks” with Ed Woodward.

Given the executive vice chairman’s track record in negotiations that could see Van Gaal sign a five-year extension worth the GDP of the Great Manchester area per week. Good old Ed.

Arsenal v Chelsea - Premier League

All the while football’s most desperate man, Jose Mourinho, waits in the wings – hoping to feed on the carcass of Van Gaal’s United career, but Harry Redknapp has told the Telegraph that if United wanted the Portuguese they would have hired him by now… and no amount of love letters will change that.

Thank god for Alex Teixeira, the closest thing to a tricky winger we’ve got today.

The Liverpool Echo say there is still a massive gap between what the Reds are willing to pay for the Brazilian and what Shakhtar Donetsk are willing to accept.

The 26 year old is keen as mustard to leave Ukraine and join Liverpool, but you don’t always get what you want… particularly if Ian Ayre is leading the negotiations in Miami.
alex-teixeira

Liverpool might find most, if not all, of the £38million Shakhtar are asking for by offloading Christian Benteke after Euro 2016. The big man has not looked like a £31.5m striker since Jurgen Klopp took over but Belgium play a game to suit him and if he is not destroyed by John O’Shea and Richard Keogh the Reds might be able to find a buyer after the summer in France, reckons Bleacher Report.

According to the Guardian, former Arsenal man Gervinho is boarding a slow boat to China after Roma agreed terms with Jiangsu Suning but Antoine Griezmann has told Chelsea he is not interested in a £75m away from Atletico Madrid, so say the Express.

Even Roman Abramovich has to learn sometimes that you can’t always get what you want.

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