Wednesday Hoddle of Coffee, Transfer News and Notes, July 19, 2017

I don’t have a long enough take on the Eric Dier news from yesterday to make a column of it, but I did want to note one thing that is encouraging.

Often in the past when a top club has been linked with a player for as long and consistently as United has been with Dier, something starts to crack: A player talks to the press, rumors get out about him being unhappy behind the scenes, the player may even demand a move. We saw it with Berba, Modric, and Bale. Kyle Walker’s departure was less acrimonious than that but the signs I’m describing were still there in a more muted form.

None of that happened here. Dier never talked to the press, there wasn’t any kind of story that was obviously planted by an agent... nothing. That’s almost certainly a good sign. Whether it’s Dier being happy, Levy holding the line, or Poche running a very tight ship (or all three!) it’s hard to see this news as anything but a very good sign for how the club will hold onto its key players.

Onto the News

Joe Hart is on his way to West Ham on a loan.

Riyad Mahrez is now willing to accept a move to Roma. WHHYYYYYYYYYY

This take from Into the Calderon on Atletico’s summer seems exactly right to me.