As it’s the day after the closure of the transfer window, the Mill feels a little like a scribe who has been asked to write a preview of Gitanos FC’s next fixture. Gitanos, of course, have been going through something of a barren spell of late, having not played or even been heard of since that loss to Uxbridge in the first round of the 1873-74 FA Cup. Off licking their wounds somewhere, no doubt, but someone’s going to feel the backlash one of these days, you wait and see.
Perhaps Gitanos are shacked up in a remote part of Brazil, in which case they get a chance to swap grievances with Diego Costa. Mind you, his mood could still change for the better because the Spanish window is still open for another few hours so Atlético Madrid could reach an agreement with Chelsea for his liberation. That also means, of course, that Barcelona have another few hours to find someone willing to take their money, with Liverpool having so far fended of their interest in Philippe Coutinho, just as Juventus turned noses up at their offer for Paulo Dybala. Now there are suggestions that if Barcelona fail in a last bid for Coutinho, they’ll resort to Mesut Özil. So this window could still get better/worse (delete as appropriate) for Arsenal.
Liverpool and Juventus are indirectly locking horns with each other, too, as the Italians have let it be known to Emre Can that they are willing to offer him a new home if he decides not to extend his contract at Anfield. Meanwhile, there’s talk that Liverpool will make another attempt to sign Virgil van Dijk in January, in the hope that Southampton’s fury has subsided by then and the Dutchman has not been completely put off. Olivier Giroud would be an Everton player now if it were not for his partner, according to, um, Charlie Adam.
The Stoke midfielder told TalkSport that “I heard his partner refused the deal. The deal was nearly done, he wanted to come, but I heard it was his girlfriend or wife that turned it down.” Perhaps she’s not convinced by Ronald Koeman’s cautious brand of football? Meanwhile, there are whispers that Frank de Boer will be invited to leave Crystal Palace before they even contest another match, as a post-transfer window debriefing at the club is expected to veer into a wider discussion about the direction that club is heading in, which appears to be different to the way De Boer is wandering.