Transfer talk: Van Gaal mum on Welbeck; Swansea snag Spurs’ Carroll on loan

Louis van Gaal refuses to confirm or deny reports Danny Welbeck is headed out at Manchester United while Swansea have added reinforcements with the signing of Tom Carroll.

Danny Welbeck scored nine goals in 25 Premier League appearances for Manchester United last season. Christof Stache / AFP

Swansea City

Swansea City have signed Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tom Carroll on loan for the rest of the season, the Premier League club announced on Friday.

Carroll has played seven Premier League games for Tottenham and also appeared for them in the Europa League but has found it hard to establish himself in the first team.

The 22-year-old, an England Under-21 international, has previously been loaned to Leyton Orient, Derby County and Queens Park Rangers.

Swansea’s official website said he was available for Saturday’s league game at home to Burnley.

Swansea manager Garry Monk also believes he has more quality to call on this season – but admits he does need extra bodies to bolster his squad.

“It is different to last season. We had 25-26 senior professionals last season and now I have five or six of the Under-21s in my squad,” Monk said ahead of newly-promoted Burnley’s trip to the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

“So in terms of that there is a big difference, but in terms of the players we can bring on, it is better.

“There were players we have got rid of from last season and the players we have brought in I believe are better players.

“That is how I feel, but in terms of numbers of senior professionals we do need two or three players.

Manchester United

Louis van Gaal refused to comment on Danny Welbeck’s future as speculation mounts the striker is set to leave Manchester United.

Press Association Sport understands Welbeck, who joined United in 2007, has been told he can depart Old Trafford.

The 23-year-old England international started the majority of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, but he is unlikely to jump ahead of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in the pecking order, and is therefore free to go.

In a heated press conference at the club’s training ground, Van Gaal refused to confirm or deny the story, but the new United manager admitted he was angry that details of a private conversation he held with Welbeck had been leaked.

Van Gaal said: “The media were not in the room and I do not speak about that because that’s private.

“I know what I said to Danny and Danny knows exactly what I said to him.

“I assume that Danny Welbeck is not saying anything about our conversation and also in that conversation was (assistant manager) Ryan Giggs and he doesn’t say (anything) either, and that is the way it should be.”

The decision to allow Welbeck, a local boy who worked his way through the ranks at Old Trafford, to go will come as a surprise to some United fans, particularly as Van Gaal does not have a strong selection of strikers to choose from.

Javier Hernandez is the only other senior striker available to the Dutchman, and he has been linked with a move away from the club.

Van Gaal is determined to streamline his squad though, and it is understood that up to 12 players have been informed they could leave.

For the first time since taking over as manager, Van Gaal cut an angry figure as he addressed the media at the AON Training Complex at Carrington.

The former Ajax manager, who lost his first Premier League game to Swansea last week, has been bemused by some of the criticism he has received for a lack of transfer activity.

“Two weeks ago I was the king of Manchester and now I am the devil of Manchester,” Van Gaal said.

West Bromwich Albion

Striker Georgios Samaras has joined West Bromwich Albion on a two-year deal, the English Premier League side announced Friday.

Samaras has arrived at the Midlands club on a free-transfer after leaving Celtic in pre-season following six years with the Glasgow giants, having arrived at Parkhead from Manchester City in 2008.

However, the 29-year-old Greek is not expected to feature in Saturday’s trip to Southampton where West Brom will be looking to bounce back from their opening day defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.

“We’ve signed a player with vast experience and I’m delighted to welcome Sami to the club,” coach Alan Irvine told the club’s official website.

“He has played a lot of football at the highest levels – Champions League, European Championships and World Cups – and the feedback we’ve got on him, from people like Neil Lennon, states he thrives on the big occasion.

“He will certainly play in plenty of those in the Premier League.

“Georgios has played in big games for a Celtic team that have often had a lot of the ball and have had to work hard to break the opposition down.

“But he has also shown another side to his game in other matches when they haven’t seen as much of the ball.”

Samaras’ arrival follows that of £10 million (Dh60.9m) club-record signing Brown Ideye.

And with Victor Anichebe and Saido Berahino also in the West Brom squad, Irvine was happy with the balance of his forward lineup.

“We have now got four strikers with different qualities who can be used in different ways,” Irvine said.

“That’s great for us, because we need to have flexibility, the option to approach games in different ways and cover for injuries,” the Scot added.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the four strikers we have.”

Hannover

Hannover has signed French forward Jimmy Briand one day before their opening match in the new Bundesliga season.

Briand was without a club after his contract with Lyon expired at the end of the season. Briand has made five appearances for France.

Hannover say the 29-year-old Briand signed a one-year contract.

Hannover host Schalke in their league opener on Saturday.

Evian Thonon Gaillard

Costa Rica midfielder Yeltsin Tejeda has joined struggling Ligue 1 side Evian from Deportivo Saprissa for an undisclosed fee, the French club announced on Friday.

Tejeda has signed a four-year deal with Evian, currently bottom of the French top flight after two matches, after appearing for his country at the World Cup.

The 22-year-old holding midfielder started all five matches as Los Ticos made a surprise run to the quarter-finals in Brazil before losing to the Netherlands on penalties.

Mancheser City

New Manchester City signing Eliaquim Mangala remains unlikely to make his debut in Monday’s Premier League clash against Liverpool.

The £32m defender only joined up with the club last week and is still short of match-fitness but defender Pablo Zabaleta could be back in line to start and loan midfielder Frank Lampard is available.

Striker Sergio Aguero, who came off the bench to score at Newcastle last week, may not be ready to play 90 minutes while fellow forward Alvaro Negredo (foot) remains out long term.

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