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Alcacer, Hart, Wilshere and the deadline-beating deals still to come

SoccerNews in La Liga 30 Aug 2016

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Joe Hart seeking first-team football away from Manchester City. Barcelona adding Paco Alcacer to Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. Isco escaping Real Madrid.

Though Europe’s summer transfer window is in its final hours, there is much business still to be done.

Here we look at some of the biggest moves in the pipeline before this week’s deadlines.

 

Paco Alcacer – Valencia to Barcelona

Barca’s summer-long search for a new striker led to them settling on a move for Valencia’s Alcacer, who scored 13 goals and assisted seven more in a tumultuous 2015-16 season at Mestalla.

Barca youngster Munir El-Haddadi is set to move in the opposite direction on loan.

Joe Hart – Manchester City to Torino on loan

Hart looks set to go the way of Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Bastian Schweinsteiger before him in paying the price for not fitting Pep Guardiola’s template.

Everton, Liverpool and Sunderland had been linked with domestic interest in England’s number one, but Torino have emerged as front-runners – a switch that should guarantee first-team football but will leave Hart without the chance to impress in Europe, as he has done in Champions League action for City previously.

Isco – Real Madrid to Tottenham

Shunted down the pecking order in favour of new midfield starlet, Marco Asensio, Isco could revive his career in the Premier League with Tottenham, who are keen to add a creative partner for Christian Eriksen.

Wilfried Zaha is another reported option for Mauricio Pochettino, although any deal hinges on Son Heung-min completing a £24million move to Wolfsburg, which could spark another big-money move…

Julian Draxler – Wolfsburg to Paris Saint-Germain

Draxler showed flashes of brilliance at Euro 2016 after an inconsistent debut campaign at the Volkswagen-Arena – where Wolfsburg had hoped he would fill the creative shoes of Kevin De Bruyne.

PSG are yet to add stardust to their forward ranks after Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s departure and an early-season defeat to Monaco has reportedly set the wheels in motion for a big-money raid of the Bundesliga.

Axel Witsel – Zenit to Juventus

The five-time defending Serie A champions’ pursuit of Blaise Matuidi fell through, but Juve’s attempt to replace Paul Pogba has landed on another Euro 2016 star.

A €22million fee will apparently be enough to secure Witsel, who played every minute of Belgium’s Euros campaign, scoring against the Republic of Ireland.

James Rodriguez – Real Madrid to somewhere

Another player out of favour at the Santiago Bernabeu is James Rodriguez, whose starting prospects faded under Zinedine Zidane last season and have not brightened in 2016-17.

The Premier League is Rodriguez’s likely destination due to the costs involved. Arsenal and Chelsea have been linked.

Jack Wilshere – Arsenal to somewhere on loan

The beginning of the end of Wilshere’s Arsenal career or the kick-start it badly needs? Arsene Wenger is reportedly keen to let Wilshere leave the Emirates Stadium on loan before the window closes.

A similar switch to Bolton Wanderers in 2010 helped launch the career of Wilshere, who was dropped from Sam Allardyce’s first England squad this week.

Mario Balotelli – Liverpool to… anywhere

Unwanted by Jurgen Klopp, will anyone take a chance on Balotelli?

 

Still working hard with reserve team. Top quality session today with top players. #respect

A photo posted by Mario Balotelli (@mb459) on Jul 25, 2016 at 4:17am PDT

A summer spent training with Liverpool’s youth sides and failing to get a chance to impress on the pitch has done Balotelli’s hopes of a big move no help. Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has publically expressed an interest.

Moussa Sissoko – Newcastle to… nowhere?

The unlikely star of France’s Euro 2016 final wants a move to Real Madrid or Arsenal. Neither have shown an interest, however, with Crystal Palace and Everton his most intent suitors.

A price-tag of £35million is steep for a player that has been consistently inconsistent in three-and-a-half years on Tyneside. Could four months languishing in the Championship await?

Also on the move

Schweinsteiger is free to leave Manchester United, but will refuse moves to European rivals. Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho is set to relaunch his career on loan with Stoke City his most likely destination, while Chelsea are keen on letting Kurt Zouma leave temporarily to get back to speed after a horrific knee injury.

Wilfried Bony, Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala have not made the grade at Manchester City, while goalkeeper Diego Lopez is likely to leave AC Milan after being usurped by teenage sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma.

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SoccerNews

Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.

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