The Rumour Mill
Blues rival Marseille for Ecuele Manga

The 25 year-old is captain of Gabon and, at 6' 1" tall, is compared in the Mail's report to Sylvain Distin. He was drafted in by Lorient from Angers to replace Laurent Koscielny when he moved to Arsenal three years ago.
Though reports in England indicate that Everton will offer £4.5m for the defender, Lorient's manager, Christian Gourcuff, has apparently said that Ecuele Manga will not be allowed to leave the Stade du Moustoir for less than €12.5m (~£10.5m).
Elsewhere in Ligue 1, Monaco are being tipped to land midfielder Etienne Capoue who was linked heavily with Everton in the January transfer window before David Moyes made his aborted move for Leroy Fer.
Original Source:
Daily Mail, L'Equipe
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Reader Comments
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386 Posted 21/06/2013 at 22:54:34
388 Posted 21/06/2013 at 22:54:11
389 Posted 21/06/2013 at 23:11:02
Of course a CB is high on our priority list. Jags will be 31 next season, it will be Distin's last season, Heitinger will be sold more then likely and we don't yet know if Duffy will be up to the task yet.
No way am I saying we should spend £10 million on a CB, but that position needs addressing sooner rather then later
390 Posted 21/06/2013 at 23:21:29
391 Posted 21/06/2013 at 23:28:48
392 Posted 21/06/2013 at 23:42:26
Besides bringing in quality players, we need to strengthen the depth too as our subs' bench at times has been dire. With Mucha, Hitzlesperger and Neville gone the numbers are way down.
I wonder what will happen to the likes of Vellios, Gueye and Junior, none of whom got much of a look in under Moyes.
395 Posted 21/06/2013 at 23:53:51
409 Posted 22/06/2013 at 08:25:51
416 Posted 22/06/2013 at 09:06:21
Under 20s tomorrow, do we have anyone to replace them already...
421 Posted 22/06/2013 at 10:11:23
432 Posted 22/06/2013 at 10:41:37
Mucha, Hitz and Neville have gone and Fellaini and Heitinga will probably also go, so that's possibly 5 players we will need to bring in just to keep the same squad size.
A GK is crucial now as we have no back up for Howard. At least 2 CMs are needed, one to partner Gibson and another to provide cover and competition (Gibbo will miss a chunk of the season injured). A striker is a must as we only have one senior striker at the club and need more competition in that position. If Heitinga leaves, then we also need another CB, although just for cover.
Remember we're still only in June - most of our signings will be from mid July onwards - the players are not even back from their holidays yet!
Need to stay patient for another couple of weeks - it will certainly be the most interesting transfer window we've had for many many years. .
443 Posted 22/06/2013 at 12:28:24
If Fellaini is going though, I want it done very soon – not the last day like we normally do. We need to be able to get players in and training with the existing players before the season starts.
A striker or two is priority for me. We were creating enough chances last season with the team we currently have, it was finishing those chances off which was the problem!
Then we need a midfielder, or two if we have to replace Fellaini and then it's time to look at the defence where we obviously need a back-up keeper (Smithies from Hudds?) and at least one centre back.
It should be a busy summer but it is hard to watch other clubs already doing their business as we seem to be either waiting or not getting the deals we want.
486 Posted 22/06/2013 at 16:33:12
494 Posted 22/06/2013 at 17:18:24
501 Posted 22/06/2013 at 17:43:42
518 Posted 22/06/2013 at 18:47:59
520 Posted 22/06/2013 at 18:56:53
596 Posted 23/06/2013 at 00:43:22
No-one has a clue exactly how much money we have to spend or whether Fellaini will leave, it's all just conjecture.
We'll need quite a few players in this window just to cover the players we've released, without even starting on how we can improve our first XI.
It will be an interesting couple of months for sure.
599 Posted 23/06/2013 at 02:33:17
I only ask because, in a recent radio interview, he had the same youth policy as Moyes. In fact, his parting words were, "There is no substitute for experience."
Another interesting point cropped up in the interview with our new Head of Recruitment, Ian Atkins. When asked about promising youngsters, he spoke glowingly of strength and power. Pace and technical ability never got a mention.
Let's hope Martinez is not afraid to give the smaller talented youngsters a chance. Oviedo and Junior in particular...
125 Posted 25/06/2013 at 00:51:28
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385 Posted 21/06/2013 at 22:44:58