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You wait all summer for some central defender news, and then two come along at once! Just as we were reeling from the shock — BANG! — that Phil Jones will be with Manchester United for the foreseeable future, all of a sudden — KAPOW! — out of nowhere comes this fat, juicy slice of gossip pie.
BREAKING: Sky Sources: Sergio Ramos tells Real Madrid he wants to leave & join Manchester United. #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) June 29, 2015
That's according to Graham Hunter, who tends to be one of the more reliable voices on Spanish football in the English media. Hunter was speaking to Sky Sports News, who followed that up with this ...
BREAKING: Sky Sources: Manchester United bid £28.6m for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) June 29, 2015
... though that might well be last week's news.
Whether this amounts to a formal transfer request isn't quite clear. But perhaps we can move this transfer in a little closer, from "exceptionally unlikely" to "quite unlikely". Hell, we've had good weather. Let's nudge it to "in the balance". You deserve it.
Update! Here's the man himself. Hunter. Not Ramos. That would be silly.
No question #Ramos told #Madrid he wants out now. Nor that he told them he only wants #United. What #Madrid do now is up to them
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) June 29, 2015