Football transfer rumours: Barcelona to sign Juan Mata?

Once Mata is safely ensconced inside the Camp Nou, Barcelona will move quickly to sell Thiago Alcântara to Manchester United, David Villa to Tottenham, Christian Tello to someone and overrated timewaster Alexis Sanchez to the local scrapyard, before heading off to Paris to nab Thiago Silva, which will also spell trouble for Chelsea. If Barcelona get what they want then PSG will need a new centre-back and they believe David Luiz, who they value at £35m, is the man to fill that hole.

Not that PSG always get what they want – they've been thwarted in their attempt to appoint Tottenham's André Villas-Boas as their new manager and have instead turned their attention to the Russia manager Fabio Capello, whose contract has a £3m buyout clause. It's a totally rational way of going about your business: if rejected by a young up-and-coming Portuguese manager, then clearly the response should be to chase a 67-year-old Italian who hasn't managed a club side since 2007. They'll be after Joe Kinnear next.