by Lee Hurley

Real Madrid will launch a bid to sign Laurent Koscielny after they confirm Rafa Benitez as their manager on 3rd July according to the Daily Star.

Where do you even start with a rumour like that, a rumour that has spread so far now that I was first alerted to it by a site in Brazil?

Well, first you compose yourself after laughing so hard you pee yourself a little and then you apply basic logic.

Firstly, how do the Daily Star know which players a manager, who hasn’t even been announced yet, will want to bring to Madrid? Reading the actual article they offer nothing of substance to back up their claims, and even in the title they say that Benetiz ‘could’ launch a bid ‘if’ he’s made manager. Solid stuff right there.

They’ve also managed to tie it in with Arsenal’s alleged interest in Karim Benzema and boom! We have a rumour.

Of course, it would be a foolish manager that didn’t fancy having the Frenchman lineup in his squad but ‘wanting‘ and ‘getting‘ are two very different things.

It’s hard to see Koscielny wanting to go anywhere and while we know the Spanish giants can turn most heads, having just picked up his second trophy in two years and been a rock in the side, it’s hard to see him wanting to leave.

Thomas Vermaelen’s departure for Barcelona was much more understandable, he had, after all, lost his place at Arsenal.

Arsenal also don’t need to sell players any more, especially their best ones, and unless the player himself agitates for a move, it would certainly be a matter of principle for the club to hold on to their top names, of which Kos is certainly one.

While Kos leaving to sign for Madrid would not be the biggest shock in the world, it certainly would be a big one nonetheless.

Fear not. We can’t see it happening, but we also don’t expect the talk to die down anytime soon.