The summer transfer window is approaching, and there’s plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings and goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Man United looking at Ajax pair this summer
Manchester United are interested in Ajax Amsterdam duo Antony and Jurrien Timber, reports Sky Sports.
One of United’s transfer priorities this summer is a player who can fit in across the forward line — but not necessarily as an out-and-out No. 9 striker — and the Red Devils have made enquiries about Brazilian winger Antony to potentially fulfil that role.
The club had also been looking at new club-record Liverpool signing Darwin Nunez, but he is said to have never been the priority.
Former Ajax coach Erik ten Hag is familiar with both Antony and defender Timber, who United have retained an interest in while also looking at Villarreal’s Pau Torres.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is also mentioned in the Sky Sports story, but ESPN reported earlier on Tuesday that Man United and the Blaugrana are in a dispute over the fee that would be paid for the Netherlands international to move to Old Trafford.
United fear that Barca are hiking up their fee demands in order to solve their financial issues with one departure, as they are offering close to €60 million plus add-ons while the Catalans want €100m.
United’s main priority still remains the arrival of an all-purpose midfielder and Sky adds the Premier League side have other names on their transfer shortlist.
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17.37 BST: Southampton have completed a deal to sign Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, the Athletic reports. The 20-year-old reportedly will leave the Etihad for a transfer fee of £12m, which could rise to £15m including add-ons. The agreement is also reported to include a buy-back clause. The Saints are looking to replace Fraser Forster, after his departure to Tottenham Hotspur was announced last week, and the Premier League side reportedly hopes that the Republic of Ireland international will challenge Alex McCarthy as the No. 1 at St Mary’s next season.
17.00 BST: Vinicius Junior has agreed a new four-year deal with Real Madrid, according to Fabrizio Romano. The new deal will be announced in July and is set to make the 21-year-old one of the LaLiga side’s best-paid players, as Los Blancos look to reward the forward after an instrumental season. The Brazilian assisted 20 and scored 22 goals across 52 appearances, including the only goal in the Champions League final. This new deal reportedly includes a release clause of €1 billion to deter a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu before his contract expires in 2026.
16.21 BST: Barcelona’s financial vice-president Eduard Romeu has some interesting quotes about the club’s summer transfer plans.
The Catalan club are struggling with €1.2bn of debt and have had to move on a host of players to lower their wage bill in recent windows. This year, Barca have agreed free transfers for Milan’s Franck Kessie and Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen, but wouldn’t be able to register them now unless more room was made in the wage budget to comply with LaLiga’s salary cap.
Romeu said on Wednesday: “We have a wage bill of €560m and we need to lower it to €400m. With those figures we will be able to compete [in the transfer market] in optimum conditions although I believe it will be very difficult to achieve that this summer.”
15.44 BST: Erling Haaland can only get better now he’s at Man City.
Gab & Juls discuss how Pep Guardiola will develop Erling Haaland at Manchester City.
14.58 BST: Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has refused to be drawn on any transfer speculation.
Osimhen, 23, has been linked with an €80m move away from Italy, with Arsenal and Man United interested, though the Nigeria international claims he is not thinking about anything right now.
“I don’t know my future, I know anything can happen, but now I just want to go on vacation with my family, clear my head and recharge my batteries,” he told a news conference. “Then we’ll take care of the rest.
“I know there are many rumours that they would like me in Spain or in England, but I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about it now that I’m with the national team.”
14.31 BST: Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked as Paris Saint-Germain manager just months after guiding the team to the league title, sources have told ESPN.
The club is yet to announce the departure of the Argentine, but sources have told ESPN it was agreed on Wednesday morning. Pochettino had one year left on his contract.
PSG are still trying to secure the signing of their new boss. Christophe Galtier, the Nice manager, is now the front-runner and the favourite of new sporting director Luis Campos, who replaced Leonardo.
Sources have told ESPN that the discussions are positive and Galtier, who won the Ligue 1 title ahead of PSG with Lille, in 2021, is keen on the job.
14.06 BST: LaLiga has filed a complaint to UEFA against Paris Saint-Germain over an alleged breach of financial fair play rules.
In a statement released on Wednesday, LaLiga also said they had reported Manchester City to European football’s governing body in April over the same allegations.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has accused Manchester City and PSG of “continuously breaching” financial fair play rules (FFP).
“LaLiga considers that these practices alter the ecosystem and the sustainability of football, harm all European clubs and leagues, and only serve to artificially inflate the market, with money not generated in football itself,” the statement said.
Manchester City signed Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland after paying his €60 million release clause earlier this month, while PSG renewed Kylian Mbappe’s contract in May. Mbappe, who turned down a move to Real Madrid, was reportedly given a €150m bonus to remain in Paris while Haaland’s deal, including salary and agent fees, could reportedly exceed £250m.
Tebas recently said that “no one believes” PSG’s and City’s figures.
13.38 BST: Paul Pogba has completed his return to Juventus on a free transfer after leaving Manchester United, sources have told ESPN.
The 29-year-old has signed a four-year deal at Juventus as he moves to the club for the second time in his career — he previously joined the Italian giants in 2012 from United.
Pogba enjoyed a successful four-year first stint in Turin, winning four consecutive league titles and two Coppa Italia trophies. He will also be reunited with manager Massimiliano Allegri as the club look to win their first Serie A title since 2020.
Sources told ESPN last month that Pogba was keen on a return to Juventus after turning down interest from Premier League champions Manchester City.
PSG were also a potential destination for the France international, but the departure of sporting director Leonardo and the arrival of Luis Campos cooled down the interest from the Ligue 1 champions.
13.11 BST: Newly promoted Premier League side Nottingham Forest are in talks with Manchester United over the signing of goalkeeper Dean Henderson, says Fabrizio Romano.
Henderson, 25, has barely played behind David de Gea at United and wants to move on. The England international could join Forest on loan, with an option to make the deal permanent set at £20m.
12.50 BST: Barcelona have presented new signing Pablo Torre, after beating Real Madrid to land the talented youngster from Racing Santander.
Torre is viewed as a potential future star but will initially feature for the club’s reserve team Barcelona B beginning this summer, before challenging for a first-team place in the medium term.
Barcelona stated the transfer fee was €5m with the amount potentially reaching €20m based on variables.
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder is now signed with the Blaugrana through June 2026, with a release clause of €100m.
𝐏𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/bJEREEDCKs
— FC Barcelona B (@FCBarcelonaB) June 15, 2022
12.37 BST: Manchester United are interested in FC Porto midfielder Vitinha, says A Bola.
Vitinha, 22, has a reported release clause of €40m, which makes his signing more realistic than some of the options on the market currently.
Newcastle have been linked with the Portugal international, who is said to want to play in the Premier League, but United are in pole position.
11.54 BST: Now Chelsea have a new owner, they need to bring in some defenders, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christiansen having departed, as well as uncertainty over the future of club captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
Calciomercato claims that Chelsea are keen to sign Juventus centre-back Merih Demiral, though the Italian giants want midfielder Jorginho in part exchange.
Demiral, 24, spent last season on loan at Atalanta, but they did not take up an €18m option to sign him permanently, and the Turkey international has no place in the side under manager Massimiliano Allegri.
11.00 BST: Former Man City defender Vincent Kompany is the new manager of Burnley.
New Burnley manager Vincent Kompany says he wasn’t short of offers from a range of clubs before deciding to take the job with the Clarets.
09.59 BST: Marco Asensio wants a salary increase to sign a new contract at Real Madrid, according to Marca.
The Spain international becomes a free agent in June 2023 and is considering his options. His agent Jorge Mendes will reportedly begin contract extension talks with Madrid in the coming days.
Asensio, 26, is a target of Arsenal and AC Milan but the winger’s priority is to remain at the Bernabeu stadium.
For that to happen, Asensio would like to have an increase in wages as a reward for his strong season at the club. He was Madrid’s third leading scorer this season behind Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. with 12 goals in 42 games across all competitions.
09.36 BST: Alvaro Morata will return to Atletico Madrid next month after Juventus decided not to exercise a €35m clause to sign him permanently, according to COPE.
The Spain forward has played two seasons on loan at Juve from Atletico and has one year left on his contract with the Rojiblancos.
The Turin outfit were unwilling to pay the €35m fee and were hoping to negotiate a lower amount with Atletico that could include a player exchange.
However, Atletico has no intention to lower Morata’s price and will evaluate the offers that Morata has on the table. Morata, 29, scored 12 goals and set up nine more in 48 appearances for Juve this past season.
09.11 BST: Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira has expressed his disappointment at Fiorentina’s decision not to keep him beyond this summer.
According to Torreira, there were people that acted in “a bad way” to prevent his permanent move to Florence from materialising. His agent, Pablo Betancur, recently stated that Fiorentina were unwilling to pay the wages they had previously agreed with Arsenal and Torreira.
Torreira, 26, enjoyed a successful season on loan with the Italian club and the Viola had an option to sign Torreira for €15m at the end of the season. However, Fiorentina opted not to exercise that option and the player, who has one year left on his contract with Arsenal, will return to London next month.
The Uruguay international wrote a farewell message to the Viola fans on Instagram, which read: “I want you to know that I did my best to continue being part of this club, but unfortunately there were those who, acting in a bad way, according to my understanding, managed to prevent this from happening and that is why I have to leave.
“Thanks to your trust I was able to find the continuity and level I wanted. I owe that to my teammates and all the fans who gave us energy game by game. I wish you the best for the future. They will have one more fan cheering from wherever I have to be.”
08.55 BST: Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has made it clear that he wants to leave the club, though Bayern have been digging their heels in given his contract doesn’t expire until 2023.
Lewandowski, 33, is one of the best strikers in the world and Bayern are keen to offer him a new deal, but the Poland international says his career in Munich is over and that he wants to move on.
Bild reports that Bayern may accept that if an offer of €40m arrives this summer, with Barcelona and Chelsea linked with his services.
08.17 BST: Real Madrid have just spent €80m to sign AS Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, but Spanish radio station Cadena SER claims they are pursuing a deal for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham in the summer of 2023.
Bellingham, 18, is considered the best young midfielder in the world and Los Blancos believe him to be the perfect long-term replacement for 36-year-old Luka Modric.
The England international can’t move to Madrid now as the club have filled their non-EU quota already, but Brazil winger Vinicius Jr. may get a Spanish passport in the next year, opening up one of the spots.
Bellingham has a contract at Dortmund until 2025 and a fee of €90m is being talked about, though that seems remarkably cheap for such a talent.
08.00 BST: ICYMI – Liverpool have announced the signing of striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica in a deal worth up to €100m that would break their transfer record.
Benfica confirmed on Monday that an initial fee of €75m had been agreed with Liverpool, with €25m in potential add-ons.
“I’m really happy and delighted to be here at Liverpool. It’s a massive club,” Nunez told Liverpoolfc.com. “It’s a pleasure to be here in Liverpool and I’m very happy to be a part of this great club.
“I’ve played against Liverpool and I’ve seen them in lots of games in the Champions League, and it’s my style of play. There are some great players here and I think it’s going to suit my style of play here. As I say, I’ve watched quite a lot and it’s a very big club and I hope I can give everything that I’ve got in order to help the team.”
Steve Nicol and Ian Darke detail why Darwin Nunez would be the perfect signing for Liverpool.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)
– Manchester City are hoping to make £200m this summer, reports The Telegraph, which states that the Premier League champions could offload Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Yangel Herrera, Morgan Rogers, Gavin Bazunu and Pedro Porro. Arsenal have been heavily linked with Jesus, while Sterling could be heading to Chelsea. One player that City hope to sign is Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
– Paris Saint-Germain are hoping to sign Internazionale centre-back Milan Skriniar and have offered Thilo Kehrer as part of a deal worth €60m, writes Calciomercato. However, it is likely the Ligue 1 champions will need to revise their offer if they are to bring in the Slovakia international, as Inter want close to €100m. And while the Serie A side are willing to negotiate, they will not accept any deal including a player.
– Questions surrounding Paul Pogba‘s next club have been floating around seemingly almost as long as he’s been at Man United. But those questions could soon be answered, according to Foot Mercato. The report says the France international has signed a contract that will see him return to Juventus in a deal that it will keep him in Turin for four years.
– Juventus are interested in signing Bologna forward Marko Arnautovic, according to Calciomercato, which adds that the Austrian wants to move but Bologna intend to keep him. The Serie A giants see Hellas Verona’s Giovanni Simeone and Marseille’s Arkadiusz Milik as alternatives if they are unable to bring in Arnautovic.
– Marseille are hoping to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel as a replacement for Boubacar Kamara, as reported by L’Equipe. Kamara has already signed for Aston Villa as a free agent and Witsel also has a contract that is culminating this summer, with Marseille having already started discussions.
– Middlesbrough’s Djed Spence favours a move to Tottenham, reports The Athletic, with his permanent departure this summer seeming inevitable. The England Under-21 international right-back spent last season on loan with Nottingham Forest and helped them earn promotion to the Premier League, but the lure of Champions League football could see him move to North London.
