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, goings and, of course, done deals!
LIVE TOP STORY: Gomez in Man City’s sights
Manchester City are close to signing Anderlecht left-back Sergio Gomez, reveals Fabrizio Romano.
City boss Pep Guardiola initially planned to loan the 21-year-old defender to LaLiga side Girona, who are part of the City Football Group, but he is considering keeping Gomez as part of the first-team squad at the Etihad Stadium.
The transfer fee is believed to be in excess of €10 million, with the discussions now at an advanced stage before he heads to Manchester for a medical. Gomez was a standout performer in the Belgian First Division last season, contributing to 17 goals in 39 appearances.
Man City have been on the lookout for a new left-sided defender after they parted ways with Oleksandr Zinchenko, who joined Arsenal for £32m in July. The Blues wanted Marc Cucurella, but they failed to meet Brighton & Hove Albion‘s asking price for the defender, who ended up joining Chelsea in a £63m move.
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11.41 BST: Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
The 29-year-old has a year left on his contract at Atletico Madrid and has spent the last two seasons on loan at Juventus.
The club were in talks with Bologna about a deal for former Stoke City and West Ham United striker Marko Arnautovic but sources have told ESPN the Italian side’s demands scuppered any hope of an agreement.
After withdrawing their interest in Arnautovic, United remain in the hunt for a striker who would be happy with a place on the bench to offer a different option to Cristiano Ronaldo and Anthony Martial.
Martial is injured and Ronaldo is not yet match-fit after missing most of preseason because of a family issue, forcing Ten Hag to start with Christian Eriksen as a false No.9 for the opening-day defeat to Brighton.
11.05 BST: Serbian winger Filip Kostic is expected to undergo a medical with Juventus on Wednesday ahead of his €17m transfer, add-ons included, from Eintracht Frankfurt, Tuttosport reports.
Kostic, 29, was left out of Eintracht’s squad for Wednesday’s European Supercup against Real Madrid with the Bundesliga side confirming the player’s imminent departure.
Kostic, who scored 33 goals and set up 64 more in 171 games for Eintracht, is set to sign a three-year deal with Juve.
Juve have signed this summer free agents Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria as well as Gleison Bremer from Torino.
10.32 BST: Villarreal expect to receive a big offer from the Premier League for teenage winger Yeremy Pino, according to El Periodico.
Pino is one of LaLiga’s most promising players and is under contract with the Yellow Submarine until June 2027. Last season’s Champions League semifinalists are prepared to let Pino leave this summer if the right bid comes along.
Arsenal and Liverpool have reportedly shown an interest in the 19-year-old, but no offer has been made so far. Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is an admirer of the Spain international and reportedly requested his signing in the previous transfer window.
Pino has an €80m release clause and Villarreal would only be willing to let him go for a minimum fee of €45m.
09.59 BST: Fiorentina have rekindled their interest in signing Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, according to Sky Sports.
The Argentina international spent the second half of last season on loan at Villarreal from Tottenham and impressed.
Lo Celso, 26, has reportedly agreed terms to join Villarreal this summer but the Spanish club has not been able to finalise the deal because of LaLiga’s financial fair play rules.
Fiorentina have now entered the race to sign long-term target Lo Celso, and are willing to pay €2m to sign Lo Celso on a season-long loan and include a €20m buy option.
09.27 BST: England international and Euro 2022 winner Rachel Daly has signed for Aston Villa from the Houston Dash for an undisclosed fee.
Daly started all six games for England in this summer’s European Championship, including the final when the Lionesses beat Germany after extra time to win their first ever major trophy. While Daly operated at left-back for England, Villa signaled they they plan to utilise her further forward when the Women’s Super League gets underway next month.
Daly, who previously had spells in England with Leeds United, Lincoln Ladies and West Ham United, was drafted No. 6 overall in the 2016 National Women’s Soccer League college draft. The 30-year-old made 116 appearances for Houston in all competitions, scoring 42 goals and adding 12 assists, helping the team to win the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.
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08.43 BST: Former Arsenal winger Willian is considering an offer to join Fulham just one year after returning to his native Brazil, ESPN Brasil has confirmed.
Willian, 34, re-joined Brazilian side Corinthians last summer after eight seasons playing in the Premier League. The former Chelsea and Arsenal player has struggled to make an impact at Corinthians and could leave the Sao Paulo club in the coming days as talks with Fulham intensify.
Willian started Corinthians’ 1-0 defeat against Flamengo in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals on Tuesday, and with the club knocked out the chances of Willian leaving have now increased.
Under contract with Corinthians until December 2023, Willian is keen to return to London for safety reasons. The player and his family have reportedly receiving persistent threats on social media from furious Corinthians fans every time the team loses.
08.00 BST: Man City have denied reports that they have agreed a transfer fee with Barcelona for Bernardo Silva, reports the Daily Mail.
It had been suggested that City had accepted £46m for the Portugal international to head to Camp Nou.
Silva, 28, has a transfer value closer to £80m, so City will not allow the midfielder to leave for little more than half that amount.
However, last week coach Pep Guardiola hinted that Silva might not be at City after the transfer window closes on Sept. 1.
“Of course I want Bernardo to be here but I don’t know what is going to happen, honestly I don’t know,” Guardiola said. “What will happen will happen and if in the end he has to leave it’s because football is like this and I won’t be a person to stop the desires of the people. When you are a football player it is so short.”
Barcelona already face a race against time to be able to register all of their new signings for the start of LaLiga next weekend, sources have told ESPN. LaLiga informed Barca this week they will need to pull a fourth financial lever if they want to have everyone available to face Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Aug. 13.
PAPER GOSSIP
– Memphis Depay looks to be edging closer to an exit from Barcelona, with Juventus discussing a two-year contract for the 28-year-old forward, writes Fabrizio Romano. While he scored 12 goals in LaLiga last season, Depay is one of the players that the Blaugrana are aiming to offload this summer. It is reported that Tottenham Hotspur have no interest in his services, despite previous links suggesting that a move to north London was possible.
– Sergio Busquets has accepted a new deal that will see his wages restructured, reports Marca. With Barcelona looking to find resolutions in their race to register their new signings, the 34-year-old midfielder is the latest veteran to agree to a new contract that will assist the Blaugrana with their financial difficulties. It is understood that while his salary will remain the same, Busquets will see his payments deferred as well as receiving instalments over the course of the season.
– Eintracht Frankfurt have identified Eric Ebimbe as a replacement for Filip Kostic, reveals Foot Mercato. With Juventus closing in on a move for Kostic, the Bundesliga side have moved fast to ensure that they don’t struggle to find an alternative before the transfer window closes. A transfer fee of around €10m is understood to have been agreed between Die Adler and Paris Saint-Germain, with the 21-year-old winger set to sign a five-year deal.
– Giovanni Simeone shone in Serie A last season and caught the attention of Napoli, who are now understood to be closing in on a deal for his services. That’s according to Gianluca Di Marzio, who writes that the 27-year-old striker will join on loan for €3.5m, with the deal including an option to make the move permanent for a fee of €12m. While starring for Hellas Verona last season, Simeone scored 17 goals in 35 appearances.
– Barcelona midfielder Nico Gonzalez is close to securing a loan move to Valencia, reports Mundo Deportivo. The 20-year-old will sign a new contract at Camp Nou through to 2024 before sealing a short-term move to Los Che. Gonzalez made 27 appearances in LaLiga last season.