Football transfer rumours: PSG's Marquinhos to join Manchester City?

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - As you well know, the Mill is made of stern stuff. The Mill does not get all teary eyed just for nothing but the Mill had a moment last night. Watching the nostalgia-laced documentary about Euro 96 the Mill was in floods. It just couldn't believe it. Steve Howey was in the England squad. So many questions. So little answers.

Howey, of course, was at Newcastle at the time and cost Manchester City a pretty penny at £2m in 2000 but that's nothing compared with the £21m they are ready to splurge on Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. This one has been doing the rounds for a while but Pep Guardiola is finally going to get his man and is looking to add PSG's Marquinhos to his defensive ranks, too.

More surprising perhaps is that Guardiola is not among those managers interested in signing the man dubbed as the next Neymar. No pressure then Gabriel Barbosa. Wonderfully nicknamed Gabigol, Barbosa has been doing the goals for Santos so well that he's earned a Brazil call up aged just 19 and so Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and PSG and in hot pursuit.

José Mourinho, you see, has taken considerable umbrage that he is not interested in young players, although the Mill isn't sure spending loads of money on it counts as a youth policy, especially when Marcus Rashford has just been given a ringing endorsement by Pele, despite the Brazil legend admitting he has never seen him play. Hmm. Anywho, also on Mourinho's shopping list is Bordeaux's 19-year-old attacking midfielder Adam Ounas.

Tug of war news now and Tottenham have entered the race to sign Dortmund'sHenrik Mkhitaryan, a development that will not go down well at Arsenal who have been monitoring the Armenian international's failure to agree a new deal in Germany. Call the Mill skeptical, but this one smells like a ploy for a couple more zeros on his current pay packet and of more immediate concern to Spurs will be Hugo Lloris's refusal to sign a new contract.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are also in the market for a 19-year-old. This one is currently strutting his stuff at Anderlecht and goes by the name of Samuel Bastienand is likely to cost them £4m.

Elsewhere, James Chester is thinking up jumping ship to Swansea to team up with his fellow Wales defender Ashley Williams while Middlesbrough want Martin Skrtel. To do what exactly, the Mill has no idea.

Oh, and Adebayo Akinfenwa is now convinced WhatsApp isn't working.

Source: The Guardian.com