The summer transfer window is here, 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: Harry Kane reps in talks with Bayern Munich, who need to replace Robert Lewandowski
Bayern Munich have spoken to Harry Kane‘s representatives over a potential move to the club. That’s according to BILD, which reports that the England captain’s camp didn’t give a firm no over a switch to Germany, opening up the possibility of a move.
It comes as the Bavarian outfit attempt to replace Robert Lewandowski, who left the club this summer for Barcelona. The 33-year-old scored 344 goals in 375 appearances in his eight-year stint.
While Bayern have signed Sadio Mane from Liverpool, they may lack the presence left by the void of someone such as Lewandowski. Tottenham forward Kane has been touted as an option, having the experience to lead a line and the goal scoring attributes that could replace the Poland international.
The 28-year-old has two-years remaining on his contract following a failed move to Manchester City last summer. However, talks are said to be planned over a new deal that could see him stay in north London and add to his 247 goals in 385 appearances for Spurs.
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann told reporters on Friday, while in the U.S. on the club’s preseason tour: “He’s very expensive that’s the problem — but brilliant player, one of two or three who can play as a centre-forward [as well as a] No 10, but he’s very strong, brilliant with [his] head and both feet.
“He could score a lot in the Bundesliga, I don’t know the price, but it’s really tough for Bayern Munich. We’ll see what happens in the future.”
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21.25 BST: Romelu Lukaku will have the option to stay on loan at Inter Milan for a second season from Chelsea should his return to Serie A be a success, reports the Telegraph.
With two years left on Lukaku’s Chelsea contract, the Italian club might be able to sign the Belgium international on a permanent deal after two years. Lukaku’s current loan deal is worth €7m on loan for the 2022-23 season, following a return to Stamford Bridge over which he struggled to perform.
20.30 BST: Lyon have signed Argentine left-back Nicolas Tagliafico on a three-year deal from Ajax, the club announced today.
The 29-year-old has signed from the Dutch side in a move worth €4.2m. Tagliafico leaves the Netherlands after four years with Ajax, where he made 167 appearances, scoring 16 times and assisting 22 goals. He won the Eredivisie three times.
19.25 BST: Roma are interested in signing Eric Bailly from Manchester United, according to a report by The Mirror.
Bailly was the first player signed by Jose Mourinho when he joined United in 2016. At Roma, Mourinho has brought in ex-United player Chris Smalling and will look to do the same with Bailly, who has struggled to get game time at Old Trafford over his five seasons with the club.
With Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane and recent signing Lisandro Martinez ahead of Bailly in the pecking order, he would likely get more minutes on the pitch at Roma.
18.31 BST: One of the biggest transfers in South American history could be on the verge of being completed as former Liverpool, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez is set to join his first club Nacional.
Nacional fans have been running a campaign on social media called #SuarezANacional to try and persuade him to return to his homeland. The campaign moved from social media to the stadium this week as Nacional took on Cerrito at the Estadio Gran Parque Central. Amid an incredible scene of 15,000 fans wearing Suarez masks, a mosaic of the Nacional jersey with the No. 9 was unveiled and fans sung a song in his honour.
Suarez’s contract at Atletico expired this summer, leaving him free to move clubs. He has been linked with Borussia Dortmund and a host of MLS sides, but it appears as if the campaign is working, as he looks set to return to a hero’s welcome at Nacional.
17.14 BST: Neymar has reiterated his desire to stay at Paris Saint-Germain but said he is unsure what the club plans to do about his future.
Earlier this month, sources told ESPN’s Julien Laurens that PSG are open to letting him leave the club this summer with Chelsea interested in the forward.
Neymar, 30, featured in the second half of PSG’s 3-0 preseason win over Urawa Red Diamonds on Saturday. After the game he opened up about his future plans.
“I still want to stay at the club,” he said in his postmatch interview. “Until now, the club haven’t told me anything so I don’t know what their plans are for me.”
Neymar’s quotes came moments after new PSG manager Christophe Galtier told his postmatch news conference that he was unsure if the Brazil international would remain at the club.
“Neymar has been working well since the start of the season,” Galtier said. “He also seems happy to me and he is very fit. I spoke about his situation at a press conference.
“What will happen in the near future, at the end of the transfer market, I don’t know… I haven’t had an individual interview with him on this aspect.
“But he doesn’t seem unsettled to me about what people are saying about him or his club situation [with how he acts] through the training sessions and the joy he has when he trains.”
16.29 BST: Eden Hazard‘s three years at Real Madrid have been disrupted by injuries but, he tells ESPN, he feels fully fit and ready to thrive next season.
As Real Madrid begin their preseason tour of the United States — staying at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hills Hotel, and training at the UCLA campus — Hazard spoke to ESPN’s Mauricio Pedroza about his hopes for this season and why he isn’t ready to give up on making his time at the club a success.
– Hazard talks to ESPN about his injuries, Real Madrid future
1:28
Eden Hazard speaks about potentially joining MLS and his hopes for this season with Real Madrid.
15.43 BST: Brighton & Hove Albion are refusing to budge on their asking price for Marc Cucurella after rejecting a “laughable” bid for the left-back from Manchester City, The Athletic reports.
The Premier League champions made an opening offer of £30m last week, which was dismissed out of hand by the Seagulls, who want £50m for the former Barcelona defender.
The report adds that talks remaining ongoing between the two clubs, although it is unlikely that City will match Brighton’s valuation of the 24-year-old, who is being targeted to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko following his transfer to Arsenal.
14.56 BST: Chelsea are close to sealing the transfer of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde after beating Barcelona to his signature, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Barcelona and Chelsea’s transfer business has been heavily intertwined this summer. Barca have already signed defender Andreas Christensen from the Premier League side on a free transfer and are trying to bring in Blues captain Cesar Azpilicueta (see 09.51 BST), while they also won the battle for the signature of Leeds United winger Raphinha.
On top of that, the two clubs have been competing for Kounde but, according to the Telegraph, Chelsea almost have a deal in place after agreeing a £55m fee with Sevilla and offering the 23-year-old France international a five-year contract.
14.10 BST: Cristiano Ronaldo would be interested in joining Atletico Madrid this summer as he’s “desperate” to give himself a chance of winning the Champions League this season, according to the Daily Mail.
Ronaldo, 37, had asked agent Jorge Mendes to help him find a way out of Manchester United, and would risk the ire Atletico’s fans –who haven’t forgotten his exploits with rivals Real Madrid — to make it happen, the newspaper reports.
Ronaldo spent nine years with Real and had an antagonistic relationship with Atletico’s supporters during that time, regularly being whistled at their Metropolitano Stadium.
Atletico would need to make room in their squad and on their wage bill to make such a deal possible, with the departures of multiple players required to accommodate Ronaldo, even if the player accepted a significant cut in salary.
– Marcotti: Why Ronaldo should quit United for Real Madrid (again)
13.24 BST: Several clubs in top leagues across Europe are interested in 16-year-old Portuguese wonderkid Roger Fernandes, according to Diario AS.
Winger Fernandes, who plays for Braga, has already broken records as the youngest goal scorer in the club’s history and the second-youngest to feature in the Europa League.
AS reports that Atletico Madrid would be willing to offer three players in exchange for Fernandes, with Newcastle United, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax also all keen.
12.57 BST: Brahim Diaz has said he’s “happy, both personally and professionally” at AC Milan as he prepares to spend another year on loan at the club.
Diaz helped Milan win Serie A last season, scoring three goals in 31 appearances in his second year in Italy.
The club have the option to make his move permanent, while parent club Real Madrid also retained the right to bring him back in 2023 if they choose to do so.
“I want to give my all for (Milan) and keep growing,” Diaz told AS in an interview on Saturday. “It’s been great. We knew we had a very talented squad and that it was possible to make history (winning the league) and in the end we did it.”
12.11 BST: Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has told ESPN that he would like to stay at the club for the rest of his career.
De Gea, 31, is preparing for his 12th season at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag is the eighth manager he has worked under in that time.
The Spain international almost joined Real Madrid in 2015 but, he told ESPN’s Rob Dawson during a wide-ranging interview in Perth during United’s preseason tour of Australia, he is set on finishing his playing days at Old Trafford.
Yeah, if it’s possible, of course,” De Ge said. “If they let me stay here, I will stay here, for sure. I’m really comfortable, really happy and hopefully, before I leave, we can win something.
De Gea has a contract until 2023 with the option of another year, but talks are yet to open over a new deal.
“I haven’t talked with anyone yet, but of course I would be really happy to be here for as long as they want, because I want to be here for more years,” he said.
11.24 BST: The problems that have held up the arrival of Nahuel Molina for Atletico Madrid have now been resolved, Marca reports, with the deal set to be made official in the next few days.
Molina was Atletico’s first choice signing at right-back this summer, but negotiations have been held up by the details of the deal which will see central defender Nehuen Perez join Udinese as part of the move.
Udinese will receive €10m, plus €5m in variables, with Perez valued at another €10m, in a deal worth a total of €25m.
10.38 BST: Barcelona and AC Milan are both interested in signing Aston Villa’s young attacking midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka but could be forced to wait until next summer, The Athletic reports.
Chukwuemeka, 18, scored three goals as England won the European Under-19 Championship in Slovakia earlier this summer.
The Villa academy graduate has one year left on his contract, leading to interest from top clubs in England and around Europe.
However, Villa are demanding a fee of around £20m for a player who would only cost around £400,000 in compensation if he moves once his deal expires.
09.51 BST: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he is a “little bit” annoyed by Barcelona for the handling of their pursuit of defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
The Chelsea captain, 32, has a year remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge, but wants to move to Camp Nou this summer.
However, Tuchel does not think that Barca are offering Chelsea what the Spain international is worth, leading to the issue becoming drawn out as the new season approaches.
When asked by reporters on Friday if the saga was annoying for him, Tuchel replied: “Maybe a little bit.”
He added, when asked about Azpilicueta’s future: “It’s a tough question because I am not sure if I want to give Azpi what he wants. At some point it is about what we want. I just made the comparison about how much we fought for [Kalidou] Koulibaly, who is a national team player and roughly the same age.
“He is a hugely important player for Napoli but we have a Spanish international who is the captain at Chelsea. I see him maybe at the same level but Barcelona don’t see him on that level. So I am not sure if I want to give him what he wants as he is a huge player.
“We don’t think so much about other clubs. The focus is on us and what we need. I said that to him and I say it to you that I understand on a personal and a career level. But I am not only in this role to give him what he wants. I am a manager for Chelsea who wants to do what’s best for Chelsea. “He doesn’t like it but he understands. It is tough for him because the other club is permanently on him. On September 1 when things calm down, then he can play on his highest level.”
09.00 BST: Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder has told ESPN that winger Antony is set to remain at the club despite interest from Manchester United this summer.
Antony has been linked with a reunion with his former Ajax coach Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford but a deal between both clubs has failed to materialise.
Speaking to ESPN Netherlands on Friday, Schreuder said it is unlikely that the 22-year-old would leave the Dutch champions.
“I really think he will stay,” Schreuder said. “Of course, we have sold a lot of players now. That has not happened in recent years.
“We have also bought players. But we have sold so many players that I assume nobody will leave.”
When asked if he has agreed on a dateline to allow players to leave, he replied: “No, we did not discuss that. But we do talk to each other daily.
“I assume that no one is leaving. If we sell one more key player, it wouldn’t be good for us.”
PAPER GOSSIP
– Cesar Azpilicueta‘s move to Barcelona has been worked on for some time now, but Sport say that the Spaniard’s switch to the Nou Camp is “imminent”. It states that the 32-year-old has already agreed personal terms and that the two clubs are close to agreeing a fee of roughly €5 million plus add-ons.
– Another exit could soon come from Chelsea as well — Sky Germany say that Thomas Tuchel is looking to move on striker Timo Werner this window. The 26-year-old made just 21 Premier League appearances last season, scoring four and continuing his tough streak since the roughly £50m transfer in 2020.
– Staying on the theme of Barcelona and Chelsea, it appears as though the Blues have managed to beat the Blaugrana to the signing of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde. This has led to the LaLiga side opting for an alternative, with Mundo Deportivo saying that is Athletic Bilbao’s Iñigo Martínez. Contact is said to have been had between the two team’s presidents and with only one-year remaining on the player’s deal, he could make the switch.
– Arsenal have offered a new long-term contract to winger and academy graduate Bukayo Saka, according to the Daily Mail. The 20-year-old has impressed since his breakthrough at the club, reportedly drawing interest from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City with just two-years remaining on his deal. However, the Gunners are hoping to tie him down to a longer one, fending off interest while increasing his salary to match his current status in the squad.
– Brighton and Atalanta are showing interest in Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares, reports Fabrizio Romano. The 22-year-old joined the Gunners last summer, but struggled when called upon in Kieran Tierney‘s absence. The latest addition of Oleksandr Zinchenko has prompted a possible loan move, with Atalanta said to be leading the race.
