We’re just five weeks away from the end of the season, in terms of running a marathon – something which I plan on never doing, we have hit the offseason wall but I think there might just be some light at the end of the tunnel. So take on some fluids and prepare for the final miles as it is time for the Real Football Man review of the week.
Sound the transfer klaxon!!!
Things are happening, they are finally happening. After my gripes last week where it seemed that someone forgot to open the transfer window, the market is now thankfully open for business.
With this being such an esteemed weekly column, I’d like to think that this was the spark that lit the blue touch paper in regards to clubs finally pulling their collective fingers out and spending some of their hard-earned television money.
Whether that is strictly true or not who knows but the colour blue certainly seems the most apt for this column as Everton who are looking to spend every last penny of their transfer war chest (As an aside I love the image of a chairman handing a manager a huge chest full of money)
They have been one of the few clubs to go against the grain and actually realise the transfer window has opened, with the likes of Jordan Pickford and Davy Klassen arriving at Goodison Park but perhaps they have saved the worst for last.
That is because Wayne Rooney’s Chinese trip is going no further than the Red Dragon restaurant as the England and Manchester United record goalscorer has decided that perhaps playing in the World Cup next summer is a better proposition then playing against Beijing Quoan in the Chinese Super League.
As an aside, I watched some Chinese Super League football for the first time last weekend as there was literally no other live matches on that day and I’ve seen the future. That said if this is the future then leave me in the past because the standard of on-pitch action was awful. Not even Wayne Rooney deserves that level of sporting purgatory.
But it’s not Wayne Rooney which is the main transfer news coming out of the blue half of Merseyside. That is because it looks as if Jose Mourinho will finally get his man at the 4th, 5th, 6th…..time of asking. That man is none other than Romelu Lukaku and that man has a price of £75m
Jose Mourinho has obviously been working down the guest list after a number of names have rebuffed any offers to move to Manchester and has decided that Lukaku is going to be the marquee summer signing at Old Trafford. Ask United fans though and it is fair to say that they did not perhaps have the Belgian forward in mind to fulfill that criteria.
While on the pitch the smattering of international tournaments have come to a close and it is very much a case of Vorsprung Durch Technik (look it up) as Germany won both the FIFA Confederations Cup and the European Under 21 Championships.
Not only that but they won the Confederations Cup with almost a second string side and are also in the European Under 19 Championships right now. The future is not Chinese it’s most definitely German
P.S Arsenal have signed Alexander Lacazette, go and watch Arsenal Fan TV
P.P.S ‘Barcelona sign England international’ say the BBC Sport website with its most clickbait of clickbait headlines. Delve a little closer and the player in question is Toni Duggan. Yes somewhat surprisingly she is moving to the Nou Camp although where she will fit in an attack line of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar remains to be seen
Anyway that concludes my whistlestop tour of what has happened in the world of football, I’ll be back next week. Until then.