Coaches sweat over last-gasp transfers
Print Edition
With just over a week to go until the British transfer window closes for four months, several Premier League clubs are steeling themselves to resist raids on their young stars from bigger rivals.
The managers of West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Southampton, to name but three, fear new bids for players they have insisted they want to keep.
And all three have criticized the way the window will still be open four matches into the new Premier League season, which started a week earlier than usual because of next summer’s European Championship finals.
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman described the September 1 deadline as “crazy” and said it should be on August 1, before any matches are played.
He is concerned about speculation linking his Senegalese winger Sadio Mane to Manchester United. After Southampton’s 0-0 draw at Watford on Sunday he insisted “nobody is for sale”.
One of the problems has been that playing three or four games while the window is still open enables rich clubs to identify weaknesses in their squad, sometimes caused by additional injuries or suspensions.
And, the first three league games have exposed Tottenham Hotspur’s over-dependence on striker Harry Kane and manager Mauricio Pochettino confirmed last week he wanted another forward.
Without naming West Bromwich’s England Under-21 international Saido Berahino, who is widely believed to be the main target, the Spurs manager said that “maybe in the next few days we can strengthen the team a little bit more”.
The continuing rumors about Berahino, however, annoyed manager Tony Pulis, who left him out of Sunday’s 2-3 home defeat by Chelsea.
“Saido’s a great lad but this can be disruptive,” he said.
Everton, meanwhile, has been aware for some time of Chelsea’s interest in young England defender John Stones.
Everton’s captain Phil Jagielka, who plays alongside the 21-year-old Stones, said before Sunday’s 0-2 defeat by Manchester City that the present system led to uncertainty and “unsettles people”.
“I cannot get my head round why it works the way it does,” he added.
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