Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir is free to leave the club, his manager has said. Jean-Michael Aulas has previously discussed negotiations with Liverpool, which collapsed after the two clubs could not agree a fee, and has spoken of long talks with Jose Mourinho, who might be in the market for a forward. His manager Bruno Gensio said: “He has expressed his desire to play at another level. We will need to set a date.” Which suggests the club are prepared for an exit upon his return from international duty with France in the World Cup.
And Manchester United have now completed the signing of Lee Grant from Stoke City. It’s lovely to see Stoke relegated, because they have been proto-Brexit for years, and a horrible club to watch. No longer do we have to care about Charlie Adam or Glenn Whelan. No longer do we have to care about wet Wednesdays there. It’s a gift for Grant to be free of all that, and we can look forward to - after his superb performances against United in the past - now suddenly turning absolutely awful in the middle of an injury crisis.
Sam Johnstone has done one to West Brom for £6.5m.
Marcus Rashford displayed balls of nerves last night against Colombia, as he smacked in his penalty for England in the World Cup first knockout round. That’s nice enough, but it means we are yet to find out which United player will be held responsible for the team’s exit in controversial circumstances.
Manchester United were set to be offering absolutely silly money to players under Louis van Gaal, and that is coming back to bite them in the hole. Daley Blind and Matteo Darmian remain at the club not because of the asking prices as much as the huge wages they are currently on. Blind is too slow to be of use, but clearly there is a decent player in Darmian somewhere.