The sight of Frank Lampard in a Manchester City shirt is getting ever closer.
The former Chelsea midfielder will not join New York City FC until early next year and needs to find a club on loan to keep his fitness up.
Enter Manchester City, and the lure of the League Cup and ten minutes off the bench here and there in the Premier League.
City, of course, are owned by the same group as the new MLS franchise so this makes a strange kind of sense – we just think it’ll be strange to see the 36-year-old line out against his former club when then play each other in September at the Etihad.
Meanwhile, the signings of Lampard and Eliaquim Mangala will signal the end of City’s business in this window, according to reports. They’ve been quieter than most.
Lavezzi prefers Turin to Merseyside
Those Ezequiel Lazezzi to Liverpool rumours look to be dying a death no sooner than they had started, with the Paris Saint Germain attacker preferring a move to Juventus.
Lavezzi was seen as the ideal alternative to Loic Remy following the collapse of the Frenchman’s move to Anfield, but Brendan Rodgers could now be forced to look elsewhere.
Barcelona step in for Cuadrado to leave United disappointed
Much like the school jock who steps in to sweep the girl away from the nerdy lad with all those quality booksmarts, Barcelona are flexing their considerable muscles and making eyes at Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado.
The 26-year-old is also a target of Louis van Gaal at Manchester United but is thought to prefer the option of going to Spain, where he hasn’t a snowflake’s chance in… well… Spain of getting into the team ahead of Messrs Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Rakitic, Pedro et al.
In other Barcelona-related news, it seems a straight battle between them and Brondby to land Liverpool’s Daniel Agger, understood to be surplus to requirements at Anfield after the signing of Dejan Lovren.
Anything else?
Newcastle have given up hope of signing Loic Remy… Tottenham are in talks with Villarreal’s £21million-rated Argentine defender Mateo Musacchio… Sunderland have told Connor Wickham he needs to sign a new deal soon or risk being sold… Bayern Munich want Southampton goalkeeper Artur Boruc as back-up to Manuel Neuer.
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