Football transfer rumours: Alexis Sánchez to leave Arsenal?
After all our talk to the contrary, Mats Hummels didn't go to Manchester United, although he probably wishes he had as it would have precluded the need for him to stand on a fence attempting to placate an angry Borussia Dortmund fan who looks a bit like Major Arnold Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark after Borussia Dortmund's latest Bundesliga embarrassment on Wednesday. Despite what we had you believe might happen, Graham Dorrans didn't go to Norwich City and for the second consecutive window, Carlton Cole didn't go to West Bromwich Albion, in a non-deal one Baggies fan of the Rumour Mill's acquaintance has hailed as one of the most astute bits of business ever not conducted by the club. Emmanuel Adebayor did not go to West Ham or Queens Park Rangers and is also believed to have turned down a move to Qatar that would have netted him £130,000 per week, more than double his salary at Tottenham Hotspur, for whom he has scored two goals in 15 matches this season. Having not gone to Everton on loan on Monday, we're happy to report that others are now reporting that Adnan Januzaj could make a summer move to ... Everton. Louis van Gaal is eager to offer him in a summer swap for Killybegs native Séamus Coleman. Alternatively, the Dutchman could opt to use the young winger, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Thursday, as a makeweight in a deal to bring the Paris Saint-Germain central defender Marquinhos to Manchester United. The Athletic Bilbao president Josu Urrutia has confirmed that his club might be interested in signing the Chelsea full-back César Azpilicueta or his Arsenal counterpart Nacho Monreal in the event of either becoming available. Both players hail from Pamplona and (may have) spent their formative years running with the bulls in the historical capital city of Navarre, which makes them eligible to play for a club that operates a strict policy of signing only players born in or around the Basque Country. "There was interest from Athletic in players, although it was focused on [the Real Madrid midfielder Asier] Illarramendi," said Urrutia of his club's lack of January activity. "There are not so many players: Illarramendi, Raúl García, [Nacho] Monreal, [César] Azpilicueta. "We have to be aware, monitoring whether they continue at their clubs, it's because they are interesting." The aforementioned Illaramendi is also the subject of speculation linking him with a return to his boyhood club Real Sociedad, while Arsenal and Liverpool have been keeping an eye on the 24-year-old. The Slovenian goalkeeper and penalty-saving specialist Samir Handanovic wants to leave Milan and, having failed to secure a mooted move to Roma in recent weeks, might find himself the subject of a bidding war between Manchester United and Liverpool. Both Premier League clubs are understood to be big fans of his Handy-work. If you're an Arsenal fan, steer a wide berth of the Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo, who report Alexis Sánchez is miffed at being usurped by Santi Cazorla as top dog at the Emirates and may agitate for a move elsewhere during the summer. And in managerial news, Pep Guardiola is wanted by both Manchester City and the Qatar national football team, while Steve Bruce has gone from being touted as a possible Manchester United or England manager to second behind Paul Lambert in the Premier League Sack Race betting. Despite having barely warmed his seat in the Bolton dugout, Neil Lennon is being mentioned as the Hull City manager's possible replacement.
