HE HAS been the outstanding player of the season so far and according to The Sunday Times Manchester City are poised to make a "huge investment" this summer in Luis Suarez, who remains the biggest threat to their title aspirations this year.
The Liverpool striker is said to be aware of the Sky Blues' interest and "will decide his future at the end of the season". City are expected to offload Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko in the off season and with the money made on those two sales, the club will make Liverpool an irresistible offer for the Uruguayan striker.
The Sunday Times points out that only last month Liverpool owner John Henry confirmed that Suarez did indeed have a "buyout clause of £40m" in his contract that Arsenal attempted to initiate last summer but which Liverpool ignored – to the alleged anger of Suarez.
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The Uruguayan has responded by signing a new Liverpool deal and scoring a hatful of goals for the Reds. However, friends of Suarez told the paper that he sees his 29 goals as "a personal revenge" on Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers. Taking a team to the brink of the league title seems like a funny sort of revenge, but there you go.
So far Suarez has given no clue to what his decision might be, it's believed a lot will rest on the wishes of his wife and what she believes is best for their young family.
Meanwhile the Sunday Times says that City are also chasing a world-class defender for next season and although Bacary Sagna is on their wishlist "no offer" has been made to the Arsenal right-back – perhaps because they're having second thoughts after another lacklustre display from Sagna in Arsenal's 3-0 thrashing at Everton on Sunday.
And have Premier League pacesetters Liverpool resigned themselves to the loss of Suarez in the summer? The Daily Star thinks so, with the paper reporting that the Reds are "watching Swiss wonder kid Michael Frey" ahead of a £5m summer bid. The 19-year-old Frey has been grabbing goals for Young Boys of Berne this season with monotonous regularity and apparently Liverpool scouts have been tailing the teenager since January.
The Star says the scouts have told Rodgers that the 6ft 2in Frey has what it takes to thrive in the Premier League although the Reds aren't the only club interested in the strapping striker. Juventus and Borussia Moenchengladbach are also circling the Swiss Under-21s star but it's said he would prefer the rough and tumble of the Premier League to anywhere else.
The Daily Mail reports that Chelsea are in danger of losing out to Monaco for the hand of Diego Costa. The Atletico Madrid frontman has long been a target of Blues boss Jose Mourinho but now the team from the French principality has muscled in on the action.
The Mail says that Monaco will offer the 25-year-old Costa a tax-free salary "understood to be £150,000 a week" and are confident they'll get their man. It won't be the first time, either, that Monaco – who are bankrolled by Russian moneybags Dmitry Rybolovlev - have trumped Chelsea in the transfer stakes: last summer they outbid the Blues for Atletico striker Radamel Falcao.
Still with forwards and Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have been told they must fork out £25m if they want to get their hands on Juan Manuel Iturbe this summer, says TalkSport. The 20-year-old winger, who is on loan at Verona from Porto, is expected to join the Italian club at the end of the season for around £12.5m says the website. It claims that the Serie A outfit will then begin accepting bids from bigger clubs and will only sell once they have doubled their money. TalkSport doesn't mention what Iturbe's current owners, Porto, think about the idea.
Finally, the Daily Mirror says that Tottenham have no intention of selling Gallic gloveman Hugo Lloris – at least not for anything less than £100m. In recent months the French international keeper has been linked to a host of clubs, including neighbours Arsenal, but manager Tim Sherwood has attempted to silence the speculation with his outrageous evaluation. "He is one of the best keepers around [so] of course, people are going to want him," said Sherwood. "Unless someone is going to spend £100m on him – and keepers do not get bought for that money – I don't think he will leave."
