Five days and counting until the start of World Cup 2018 and the clock is already well and truly ticking!
Of course, the transfer window is open for two months, but much of the SBOBET smart money suggests clubs who get deals done before the start of a major tournament—and not in the post-World Cup rush—often fare better.
If that is the case, then the giants of English football, Manchester United and Liverpool, seem well positioned.
Jose Mourinho delved into the market twice in quick succession to agree on deals to sign Brazilian midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk and young Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot from Porto.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp has added Monaco midfielder Fabinho and RB Leipzig enforcer Naby Keita to their ranks.
There were also strong suggestions they could be joined by French international Nabil Fekir until Lyon’s president said talks between the clubs had broken down—for now at least, although there is one report which suggested that was because of concerns following a medical.
Stoke’s Swiss playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri, who is now available after the club’s relegation to the Championship, is also tipped to move to Anfield.
Emre Can, of course, is off to Italian champions Juventus; and it’s likely departures will follow at both Liverpool and Manchester United once the new men arrive.
Elsewhere, newly promoted Wolves are reportedly about to strengthen their goalkeeping ranks with the acquisition of Portugal’s Rui Patricio who has parted company with Sporting Lisbon—that could be a quite a coup.
Staying in the Midlands, 2016 champions Leicester have already added Jonny Evans to their defensive armoury, strengthening a rearguard which already comprises captain Wes Morgan and World Cup-bound Harry Maguire.
With Aston Villa failing to get promoted and in financial trouble, the name of Jack Grealish is appearing more and more each day in football news and rumours.
Both Spurs and Fulham, the side which defeated Villa in the Championship play-off final, are being linked with the talented 22-year-old.
Talking of Fulham, if they want to keep Serbia frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic—who spent the last few months of the season on loan at Craven Cottage—it may be about to get tougher.
That’s after the Newcastle man netted a hat-trick in Serbia’s final warm-up game.
Remember, have a good World Cup and the prices just keep on rising and rising.
A number of names continue to be linked with Arsenal. Following new boss Unai Emery to the Emirates could be Paris Saint-Germain’s Yacine Adli and Borussia Dortmund’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
It’s actually been reported elsewhere that the latter deal is all but done.
Across north London, after England captain Harry Kane signed a new deal with Spurs, there are reports Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli will soon follow. That is surely music to the ears of Mauricio Pochettino, who signed an extension as Tottenham manager just days before Zinedine Zidane stepped down as Real Madrid coach.
We’ll leave the final word to Huddersfield Town who have, somewhat under the radar, brought in Monaco defender Terence Kongolo.
He has signed a four-year deal after spending the second half of the season on loan—a player who, according to manager David Wagner, has the ‘Terrier spirit’ in his DNA!
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