Darragh MacAnthony EXAMINES if Spurs TARGET Marcus Rashford & REACTS to Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea!

Now let's talk about Marcus Rashford, shall we? Speaking about overpaid players. 325 grand a week there or thereabouts when he goes back to Manchester United. Obviously he was on loan at Barcelona. Last season they've signed Anthony Gordon. They've now announced the signing of Karim Adeyemi as well from Borussia Dortmund. So it doesn't look like Rashford is going to get that dream move to Barcelona. I'm told there's interest from Turkey but he's not particularly keen to make that move. I wouldn't be. What happens to Marcus Rashford? If you were in charge at Manchester United, would you try and reintegrate him? Or has there been too much water under that particular bridge? Bearing in mind that he's still got quite a hostile relationship with the hierarchy. Yeah, the problem you're going to have is the minute he has a few bad games and he gets taken out of the team then comes the sulking, all the issues, all the backbiting, the stuff coming out by agents, brothers, family, all that. I think United want to move on. He's obviously on a hefty wage. I'm amazed Saudi haven't come in. I'm amazed he hasn't gone out to Saudi. I think he'd want to. Again, Saudi pay a lot more than £300,000 a week for a player who's obviously playing for England and still in his prime. I'm very surprised Barcelona didn't do the deal. But then again, I expect them to do well at Barcelona. Most average wingers would do well out there, the team they have. I don't know where he goes. If you were Spurs, would you go for him? That's the one that keeps nagging away in the back of my mind. We'll take him for a loan. And if he plays 23 games, we'll obviously pay this fee and that fee. What United are going to have to probably end up doing is recuperating as much of that fee back and all the loan fees they've had the last two seasons and the next two seasons. So, I'm thinking Spurs. They've got a few more experienced Premier League players they've signed. And does Irby, the type of manager that feels he can fix players? I'm not sure he'd put up with it. And then you'd worry about the London life, wouldn't you? So, there's all those things. Rashford is incredibly talented. And you look at him and go, what are you doing with your career? You should be dominating. You should be dominating World Cup. Even that World Cup, he comes on, doesn't he, the first game. Scores a brilliant goal against Croatia. Arguably England's best performance in that second half. He played a part of that. Starts the next game. Thinks the place out. And then never really gets his place back. Anthony Gordon becomes de facto left winger, not just for England but for Barcelona as well. And the place was there because Gordon wasn't good in game one. And it was there to be won. And you just look at Rashford and you go, you've got all the tangibles to be world class. What is the matter with you? But again, I would say, he's been on nearly half a million pounds a week since he's, what, 23? Is it again too much too soon? And I also, and you sort of alluded to this when it comes to parenting. But it's not just about parenting, is it? It's about the inner circle. Correct. And I wonder if Marcus Rashford has the right people around him. The right people advising him off the pitch. I would agree. I know he probably doesn't. No, I would agree with that. And I'd always say, I'd look at, say, an Ivan Toney who played for us. And I would say his dad ruled him like an iron fist. Yeah. You know, with his family, with Ivan, whatever else. So... As clearly Bellingham's dad does, whether you like that or not. And the mother. And the mother, you know what I mean? And I look at that and I go, again, we talk about good parenting. I'm not having to got Rashford's parents. But Ivan Toney, his dad, you know, helped make him a Premier League star. As well as Peterborough and Brentford. And obviously they make a lot of money in Saudi. So really, I don't know. It's a real conundrum. And I guess it's like, what do you do with a problem like Marcus? Time to talk transfers now, but a busy 24 hours in the window. Maxence Lacroix undergoing a medical at Chelsea. We broke the news on TalkSport last night. That move from Crystal Palace to Chelsea is close. We understand the fee will be in the region of £52 million. That seems like decent money for Crystal Palace. Great business. 26-27, good player. He's a Premier League star. Didn't cover himself in glory in that first place game against England. Sitting in the first half. No, I get that. But they're very experienced. Obviously, for Chelsea, it's what they need. They've been crying out for a little bit more experience at the back. Particularly Premier League experience. Great business by Parish again. I'm sure they'll reinvest the money. They'll probably buy a couple of £25 million defenders from summer. And sell them for £70-80 million in two years' time. So, that's the cycle. That's the way it works. Yeah, they're trying to sign Matt Seamer, a centre-back from Augsburg, over in Germany, to replace Lacroix. But it looks like their asking price has gone up on the back of this £52 million that Palace have got for Maxence Lacroix. Quite normal. You know, when you're selling players, you're trying to do secret deals beforehand. You're trying to hold up those deals to happen. And then you get killed when it comes out publicly. So, because everyone thinks that you've basically got Bruce's billions. So, that's sometimes the timing of getting deals done. But Parish and Palace have been doing it so well the last few years. So, I'm sure they'll definitely bring in a couple of good replacements. Which means on those two deals alone though, Morgan Rodgers and now Maxence Lacroix, two proven Premier League players, £169 million that Chelsea would have spent. Yeah, but they've brought in over £100 million, haven't they? What was Cucurella? What was Garnaccio? What was the fellow who went to United? They've brought in like, pretty much... Yeah, so actually... So, what they've spent, they've brought in. I mean, we all like to go on about Chelsea with their signings. But I think what they do really well, £300 million last year they brought in. I think they're one of the best clubs in the world at basically regenerating the wealth of player trading. So, they've done it really well. And yeah, good recruitment for Chelsea this summer. Yeah, I think Axel Di Sassi was offered to Palace as part of those conversations. Doesn't necessarily look like that will happen. Charlie Cresswell, England under-21 international, playing over in France. Another player on Palace's radar. Could be a good move. Yeah, again, I think what, in the £20 million bracket, £20-25 million. So, Palace, even after they lost Dougie Friedman, who was a brilliant, you know, technical arranger. I think so, yeah. And I presume he'll eventually come back once he does his three years. He was linked with Spurs, wasn't he? He was, because he's top class at his job. But like I said, Paris, the owners there, they've been doing it so long, it's second nature to them, isn't it? So, they've got a great academy, really good set-up. So, it doesn't surprise me. What I like about them as well, they don't stand in a player's way if they get the right deal. My fans will go on me all the time. We sell players, we do it. Every football club sells players. And we always say, particularly if you're not one of the big dogs at the top of the table, you're not going to stand in someone's way as long as your price is met. But you can use that to your advantage, can't you, for your Crystal Palace? Because you can help attract players and say, look, look at the career progression. Mark Gay, he's gone to Manchester City. As long as they realise they're coming to win. At least say he's going to buy Munich. Get it. We've been faulted where players come to Peterborough as they get their move. No, players come to Peterborough, win a promotion, then get their move. Right. So, you still need the right mentality, and it comes down to that character change. You don't want someone coming in like a train station and sitting here for five minutes. You want them coming with the idea, hey, we're coming to win, improve, and then the rest takes care of itself. Bruno Gimaraes from Newcastle to Arsenal. It's the story that won't go away. If the offer is not in yet from Arsenal, it will be shortly, as we understand it, in excess of £70 million. What's the magic number? I mean, they're talking about £100 million. They're comparing it to finale, but because of the age, you're pretty clear. Yeah, I think someone corrected me earlier. Bruno's 28 going on, 29 this season. The magic number is probably 80 plus 20. So, it's an 80 guaranteed fee, and you'd have £20 million on Champions League, Premier League success, which Arsenal probably have no problem paying. So, for that, then you're getting a truly wonderful, you know, very experienced Premier League player who would improve Arsenal. Do you think he's got the mobility to go and play? I always worry. You watch him from Brazil with your pal Casemiro, no? And it's like two Alphalas in midfield at times. That was a massive issue for Carlo Ancelotti. And it's never been highlighted to me as much when I watched him with Casemiro. When I've seen him play for Newcastle with Tonali and others in there, he doesn't look like that. So, he needs runners in and around him. So, probably. But he's still got that speed of thought on his head. He's still, he's that type of player as well, who I think will play probably till he's older. So, I think it's a really, really solid signing for Arsenal. And that's the market they're in now, where they're going to pluck the best players off other teams in the Premier League, and they're going to have to pay premium prices. They did make a signing yesterday, Arsenal, because of course they missed out on Morgan Rodgers, but yeah, from Club Brugge, Christos Zollis. Mad statistics. £38 million. He was at Norwich a few years ago, and didn't pull up any trees. I mean, he's gone away and obviously matured as a player. Arsenal are quite excited by this signing. It's a strange career path, isn't it? To go from Norwich to Belgium, and then suddenly join the Champions. That's modern day football. Belgium have got a reputation for rebuilding players' careers. It's happening a lot. We had a bid for a player from Belgium, for one of our players on the list at the moment. So, he was close going to Belgium. So, it's one of those places where you go there, and you have a good year, and suddenly you're back in the big time. And fair play to the boy. How much did Arsenal pay for him? €40 million guaranteed, or was that €36 million? Did Norwich ever sell on in that? What they've got from the Belgian club, they sold them to. Would it filter down, potentially? Oh yeah, if it's in there, it should filter down. So, at least Norwich will make a few quid. But yeah, interesting. He looks like the Leandro Trossard replacement. Yeah, and to be fair, is Trossard now gone? Has he signed? Turkey's done, yeah. I mean, for what was he, 32? I mean, they had a couple of great years out of Trossard. So, I think, you know, what I always say, no one to call a time. And I think they've picked it perfectly there with Trossard. And I'd say there's probably another, what, four or five Arsenal want to move on. And you have to do that, don't you? I mean, I'll go back to... Oh, absolutely, freshen things up. Yeah, I'll go back to the season when United won the double, when Fergie seemed to have a brain freeze, and he got rid of Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, Andre Konchalski. It's all in one window. Everyone thought he was bonkers. Blocking people. Obviously, the kids come in. Loved it. I'm not saying Arsenal are going to do that, but it is a skill, isn't it, to be able to regenerate from a position of power? 100%. If you sell well, you've got to recruit well then as well. And unfortunately, in a modern day now, it's transfers are just an everyday occurrence. So, you know, I still have, what, another four signings to make in the next, like, two weeks. So every club's going to be the same. Top level, lower level. What about this one? Because we've been talking about too much, too young. Chelsea in a pre-agreement to sign a 15-year-old... America. ...from the MLS. Promising Youth International. Benji Flowers from FC Dallas. Love Dallas, by the way. What do you make of that? A pre-agreement for a 15-year-old. Fantastic. But they've got a top academy. 2.6 million euros. That would have paid. Wow. I don't... And actually, the fee could go up to as much as $10 million. He's obviously very talented. And America now is obviously, now they are creating some talented young players. You've seen that in the lower US teams, under 18s and 16s. So I'm not surprised more Premier Leagues don't do the same.