With the summer transfer window closed and the international break upon us, most Premier League clubs are in the process of reflecting on the deals they did or didn’t make.
One of the standouts for Manchester United was a switch that broke down, with David De Gea’s proposed move to Real Madrid faltering at the final hurdle.
Red Devils team-mate Juan Mata has spoken out about his compatriot’s mindset after a transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu fell through.
Meanwhile, the war of words between Tottenham and West Brom over the North Londoners’ attempts to land Saido Berahino continue, with Daniel Levy having his say on Spurs’ ‘pragmatic’ transfer approach.
Mata backs De Gea to bounce back
Accusations have flown back and forth between Manchester and Madrid over the last 24 hours in a bid to explain just why David De Gea is not the next Galactico.
Regardless of the blame game, the Spanish goalkeeper is still part of the Old Trafford squad and will be for the next couple of months.
It will be very interesting to see if, and at what point, the former Atletico Madrid man is brought back into the first-team fold by Louis van Gaal.
Team-mate and countryman Juan Mata has been upfront and open about his friend’s arduous last couple of days and believes De Gea will come back stronger from it.
“His hunger and professionalism are intact,” the 27-year-old is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
“He seems the same as ever to me, calm and relaxed.
“It’s been a manic few days for him, he’s my friend and I’m there for him for whatever he needs. Right now he’s focused on the two upcoming games for the national team; being here will do him good and he’s going to be as professional as he has been throughout his career.
“His personality will help him. He manages to play even better in moments of maximum pressure and stress. His personality will help him on and off the pitch.
“We all know what a great goalkeeper he is and he would make any team in the world better. The fans will get behind him and so will the team.”
Sergio Romero did not cover himself in glory in United’s 2-1 defeat to Swansea recently and as such most United fans will surely want to see De Gea reinstated.
Levy makes veiled statement
Saido Berahino is another man left at his current club after a failed move to Tottenham, with bitterness between the Spurs and West Brom as a result.
Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace has hit out at Daniel Levy over Spurs’ late attempts to sign the Burundi-born forward, with talk that the White Hart Lane side proposed staging their payments and only offering £5 million up front.
Spurs have reacted by stating that their offer reached as high as £25 million, and Levy has made a thinly veiled comment, clearly with West Brom and Peace in mind.
“There is hardly a transfer concluded across Europe which doesn’t include staged payments,” he declared in a statement on the Tottenham official website.
“This is particularly so when significant amounts such as £20m-£30m are involved – players don’t come cheaply these days.
“We never make anything public, particularly in the best interests of the players involved. Making aspects such as transfer requests public is wholly disrespectful to a player.”
Berahino hit out on social media after being denied a switch to White Hart Lane, claiming he would not play at the Hawthorns again.
Spurs have been left short of strikers following the failure to land Berahino, with Harry Kane the only recognised number nine at the club.
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