Football transfer rumours: Lucas Biglia to Manchester United?

Unlike the Rumour Mill, bookies don’t get much wrong so it’s probably worth pointing out that they’ve taken a machete to the odds againstJonny Evans joining Everton. Having started just 14 games for Manchester United last season, the Northern Irishman doesn’t appear to have the backing of Louis van Gaal and a “flood” of money (£10? £20?) means the central defender is now odds on to join the Toffees, having previously been linked with a move to Arsenal or West Brom. Exactly how crippled by a gambling addiction does one have to be before betting on what Evans will do next becomes an attractive punting proposition? With a spare parking space and dressing room peg likely to be freed up at the United training ground, it’s small wonder that mutterings from the continent say Lazio defender Lucas Biglia’s move to Old Trafford is a done deal.

Tottenham Hotspur seem determined to hog a goodly portion of today’s Rumours, having nosed ahead of West Brom and West Ham in the race to make Breel Embolo a Premier League player. The £10m-rated 18-year-old Basel striker already has three caps for Switzerland and scored twice against Lucerne over the weekend, as Tottenham scouts nodded approvingly, licked their pencil nibs and wrote things like “strong”, “fast”, “versatile” and “born on St Valentine’s Day in Cameroon then moved to Switzerland when he was six” in their notebooks. Other strikers being linked with moves to Spurs? Manchester United’s Javier Hernández, West Brom’s Saido Berahino and Lyon’s Clinton N’Jie. It’s almost as if they don’t want Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado, eh?

Young Master Embolo isn’t the only Swiss international making his way to Blighty. No less a luminary than Xherdan Shaqiri is expected to pitch up in the Potteries today to finalise his £12m switch from Inter to Stoke City after passing his medical yesterday. Despite sitting through the decidedly moribund spectacle that was Stoke’s defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday, the midfielder has either run out of other options or liked enough of what he saw to remain enthused about the prospect of joining Mark Hughes’s growing collection of exotic signings at the Britannia. He will become the club’s record signing, barring any last minute hiccups.

Out of contract midfielder Joey Barton is expected to cough for the doctors at West Ham before inking a deal that will ensure he remains a Premier League player. With the volatile Slaven Bilic as his manager, what could possibly go wrong?

Chelsea are reported to have completed the £17m transfer of rampaging Augsburg left-back Abdul Baba Rahman, who will provide back-up for César Azpilicueta now that Filipe Luís has returned to Atlético Madrid. Elsewhere in Stamford Bridge, bean-counters are waiting for their Everton counterparts to reject their £30m offer for John Stones, before faxing over another offer of £30m and 1p.

A couple of Liverpool stalwarts look to have touched the famous old “This is Anfield” sign for the last time. Spanish full-back José Enrique is wanted by West Brom, while Brazilian midfielderLucas is available to anyone with a spare £8m, following a rumoured bust-up with Brendan Rodgers following his omission from Liverpool’s match-day squad against Stoke on Sunday. Diamond geezer Alessandro Diamanti, formerly of West Ham and currently a Guangzhou Evergrande striker, will be shining bright in the Premier League once again when he joins Watford on loan.

Meanwhile in the Championship, Blackburn Rovers like the cut of Reading midfielder Hope Akpan’s jib and plan to make him a fixture at Ewood Park, while Nottingham Forest skipper Henri Lansbury is on his way to Turf Moor to discuss personal terms with Burnley after the two clubs agreed a £4m fee, a club record for the Lancashire club.

And finally, the uncertainty over Manchester United’s goalkeeping situation has left Sam Johnstone in limbo. Having been overlooked for selection when Sergio Romero got the nod for United’s win against Spurs on Saturday, the 22-year-old has confessed that he doesn’t know whether or not he’ll be returning to Preston, where he spent last season on loan, until various other plates stop spinning.