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: Arsenal eye Leicester’s Tielemans
Leicester City are still expecting a £30 million offer from Arsenal for midfielder Youri Tielemans before the transfer window closes, reports The Guardian.
The Foxes are aware of interest from Arsenal, but have not seen an offer arrive yet from Mikel Arteta’s side. Manchester United have also been previously linked with the Belgium international, who is entering the final year of his contract at Leicester.
Tielemans, 25, is expected to be involved when Leicester face Brentford on Sunday in their first match of the new Premier League campaign. Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester on Monday, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said: “Like he [Tielemans] always has been, he is the ultimate professional, a great player to work with. He hasn’t committed yet to a new contract here, but it doesn’t take away his commitment every day for the team.”
Other Leicester players linked with potential exits include James Maddison, targeted by Newcastle United, and Wesley Fofana, who remains on Chelsea‘s wishlist.
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09.57 BST: Celta Vigo are among the LaLiga clubs keen to sign Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite.
The out-of-favour striker is under contract with Barca until 2024 and previously maintained that he wanted to see out his deal. Recent reports have claimed that Barca could reach an agreement with the Denmark forward to terminate his contract. Celta and Getafe are among the clubs interested in signing the 31-year-old as a free agent.
“He is a good player,” Celta Vigo president Carlos Mourino said of Braithwaite. “He is not our first option but we are not ruling him out.”
Celta, meanwhile, have reached a preliminary agreement to sign FC Porto goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin, who should become first-choice goalkeeper.
The Argentina international is expected to arrive to Vigo this week and complete his transfer. Marchesin, 34, is set to join Celta on a season-long loan with a permanent option included in the deal.
09.26 BST: Napoli and Chelsea are closing on a loan agreement for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, according to Sky Italia.
Chelsea have reportedly agreed to let Kepa leave for Napoli on a season-long loan for an undisclosed fee and will pay 75% of his wages.
However, the two clubs have yet to reach a deal on the bonus fee. The Blues are requesting a €3m bonus should Napoli reach the knockout stages of the Champions League and finish in the top four of Serie A this season, while the Italian outfit are only willing to go as high as €1.5m.
Kepa, 27, made only 15 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea last season and is under contract with the Blues until June 2025. At Napoli, the Spaniard would replace last year’s first-choice David Ospina, who has left the club, and provide competition for Alex Meret.
Napoli are also considering Paris Saint-Germain’s Keylor Navas and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp as alternatives should they fail to sign Kepa.
08.55 BST: Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the club have sold 24.5% of Barca Studios to Socios.com for €100m to help register new signings.
Barca have spent over €150m on Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde this summer, while Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have both arrived on free transfers.
Following Laporta’s quotes, the club released a statement on Monday which read: “FC Barcelona announces the sale of 24.5% of Barça Studios to the company Socios.com for €100m to accelerate the club’s audiovisual, blockchain, NFT and Web.3 strategy.
“The sale has been made in accordance with the authorisation of the general assembly of FC Barcelona members held last Oct. 23.”
However, due to strict spending caps in LaLiga, the Blaugrana have so far been unable to register the new arrivals with the Spanish league.
Having already sold 25% of their domestic television rights to investment fund Sixth Street for around €600m, Barca hope the deal with Socios.com will further ease their financial problems.
“We’re doing our homework to be able to register players,” Laporta said after announcing the agreement Monday at the presentation of Kounde, a €55m signing from Sevilla.
08.17 BST: Nice have signed Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey on a free transfer, the Ligue 1 club said on Monday.
Details of the deal were not disclosed.
Ramsey, 31, recently left Serie A club Juventus after they terminated the former Arsenal player’s contract by mutual agreement.
08.00 BST: Christian Eriksen says his move to Manchester United has been years in the making after revealing he almost joined the club on three separate occasions while he was at Tottenham Hotspur.
Eriksen signed a three-year contract at Old Trafford this summer and made his first start for Erik ten Hag’s side in a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano in a preseason friendly on Sunday.
But the Denmark midfielder has said he could have joined the club years earlier and had conversations with United managers Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his time at Tottenham from 2013-2020.
“I’ve spoken to every manager who’s been here at Man United to see what the situation was,” Eriksen, 30, said. “But I was at Spurs at the time and I really couldn’t see myself playing in another English team at that time. I went abroad and went to Inter.
“It’s been on the books, well, not on the books but it’s been spoken about. For me, it wasn’t the [right] timing, it wasn’t there and I was at a place at Spurs for a long time and I wanted to try something abroad and I went to Inter and ended up having a lovely time.
“But then obviously something happened in the summer and that changed a bit the career path I had in mind, and then obviously to come back to Brentford first of all and then to be here is something I didn’t think could happen a year ago.”
2:35
Steve Nicol, Frank Leboeuf and Gab Marcotti discuss Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the stadium before the final whistle in a game vs. Rayo Vallecano.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Luke Thrower)
– Newcastle have made an improved offer for Leicester playmaker James Maddison, according to the Telegraph. After their initial £35m offer was rebuffed, Newcastle have reportedly returned with an improved £45m bid. The Magpies are said to believe that the 25-year-old wants to make the switch to St. James’s Park this summer.
– Galatasaray have made an offer to sign Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira on a permanent deal, reports Fabrizio Romano. The 26-year-old spent the previous campaign on loan at Serie A side Fiorentina, but a switch there failed to go through. Galatasaray are currently waiting on an agreement with both the Gunners and the player on personal terms before they can complete the move.
– AS Roma are set to announce the signing of Georginio Wijnaldum, claims Calciomercato. The report states that Jose Mourinho’s side have finally reached an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain over a transfer deal. The confirmation is set to be completed on Tuesday or Wednesday, which will see the 31-year-old Netherlands midfielder leave after he moved to the French capital on a free transfer from Liverpool.
– Alex Telles could be free to leave Manchester United in the next month, according to Fabrizio Romano. The 29-year-old made just 26 appearances across all competitions last season, with new boss Erik ten Hag looking to transform his squad in the transfer window. A number of clubs are said to be interested in a move, with Sevilla one of those linked with the left-back.
– Tottenham Hotspur are planning new talks with Roma over a deal for attacking midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, reports Footmercato. The 23-year-old has just three-years left on his deal with the Serie A side, having made 40 appearances for them over all competitions last season. The Italy international has previously been linked with a switch to north London, but it appears further talks are expected.