West Ham United want £60m for Marko Arnautovic

Manchester United were rumoured to have an interest in Napoli midfielder Jorginho, the Italian international. It appears that the interest has been hopeless for a while now, though, as United signed Brazilian international Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk instead. It seems that Manchester City have emerged as favourites for Jorginho, with a transfer to the Premier League champions looking imminent, according to this story in The Telegraph.

Eric Cantona one said he’d not go to Old Trafford while the Glazers were in charge, because they are such deeply unpleasant people. However, he has compromised that stance and last night he took part in a friendly game. The match was for Soccer Aid, a charity, so it’s less of a betrayal and more of an inevitable compromise that ends up being made to benefit people who need help.

United are apparently in the market for a back-up striker, and boss Jose Mourinho has decided that the best way to provide an alternative for Romelu Lukaku is to sign Marko Arnautovic from West Ham United. The 29-year-old played for Mourinho at Inter Milan, albeit briefly. The move looks destined to fail, though, with West Ham asking for £60m for the player. Given he isn’t actually that good at football, it would be something very bizarre if a move was completed by United for next season.

Nothing that has that much to do with football or even United, but Neville Southall comes across as an excellent human in this interview in the Guardian, and also in his dealings on Twitter. It’s humbling to see a man who is genuinely decent, and there is a lesson for all of us that fail to meet similar standards in our life.

And lastly, it seems increasingly likely that Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale will not be moving on this season.