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: Milan still keen on Ziyech
AC Milan haven’t given up hope of signing Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech but still prefer a loan with the option to make the move permanent, according to Calciomercato.
The current priority of the Serie A champions is to bring in a centre-back and midfielder, but Ziyech would be seen as the cherry on the cake for their transfer window.
Charles De Ketelaere has completed his move from Club Brugge to the Rossoneri, and while that won’t stop Milan aiming to bring in Ziyech, it does determine how they will go about it.
Ziyech is very open to joining Milan and would even be willing to lower his current wage, worth over €6 million-per-year.
The two clubs remain at loggerheads as Milan want an option clause but Chelsea prefer an obligation to permanently sign the Moroccan after the loan spell.
All of this has resulted in a wait for Ziyech to leave Stamford Bridge, which could even leave the former Ajax Amsterdam man looking at options elsewhere.
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LIVE BLOG
11.23 BST: Rennes are on the verge of agreeing a deal for Paris Saint-Germain youngster Arnaud Kalimuendo, L’Equipe reports.
Kalimuendo, 20, came through the ranks at PSG and has spent the last two seasons on loan at Lens, scoring 21 goals in 65 appearances for them. With PSG well-stocked in attack, the France Under-21 forward looks set to move to Rennes in search of playing time.
Rennes have been looking to strengthen their front line, and L’Equipe say they are close to finalising an agreement for what would be a €25m deal for Kalimuendo. They finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season but began this campaign with a 1-0 loss to Lorient on Sunday.
10.46 BST: Chelsea face competition to sign Inter Milan teenager Cesare Casadei, according to Sky Sports.
French club Nice is ready to make a bid to sign midfielder Casadei while Italian side Sassuolo are also in the race. Unlike Chelsea and Nice, Sassuolo are willing to include a option for Inter to re-sign him into the deal.
Casadei has been promoted to the first team this summer. He impressed with the reserves, scoring 13 and setting up four more in 29 league appearances last season.
The 19-year-old, who has represented Italy at youth level, is under contract with Inter until June 2024.
10.09 BST: Serbian winger Filip Kostic has arrived in Turin to undergo a medical with Juventus ahead of his €17m transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 29-year-old was left out of Eintracht’s squad for Wednesday’s European Super Cup defeat to 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.
Filip flies in! 🛬👍 pic.twitter.com/xPVeLV8lxa
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) August 11, 2022
09.25 BST: Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insists the club will not make any further signings in this transfer window.
Madrid wrapped up most of their summer transfer business early, bringing in Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger while offloading several unwanted players.
“The only thing I can say is that we start a new season on Sunday with great enthusiasm and we’ve not looking to bring anyone else in at the moment,” Perez said after Madrid’s 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to win the UEFA Super Cup in Helsinki “[Carlo] Ancelotti is managing the squad really well and that’s a part of having a successful season.
“I’m not worried if [Karim] Benzema’s goals dry up because we’ve got so many forwards that it won’t be noticed. I believe he deserved the Ballon d’Or last year and it’s already unquestionable this year. No one doubts it now.”
– Kirkland: Real Madrid start season right where they left off with Super Cup win
08.42 BST: Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott is in line for a new contract at Anfield, The Times reports.
Elliott, 19, only signed a five-year deal last summer, but will be offered improved terms to reflect his growing status at the club.
The England U21 international made four appearances at the start of last season before suffering a dislocated ankle against Leeds that ruled him out until February, after which he played a handful of games from February onwards as Liverpool managed his recovery.
However, after a full preseason Elliott came on as a substitute in both the Community shield and Saturday’s 2-2 draw at former club Fulham. With injuries to Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be relying on him a lot more in the coming weeks.
08.00 BST: Frenkie de Jong‘s agents have arrived in Barcelona amid continued uncertainty over the midfielder’s future at the club, with Manchester United and Chelsea still pursuing his signing.
Ali Dursun and Hasan Cetinkaya, who also represent Barcelona striker Martin Braithwaite, flew into the city on Wednesday and are expected to hold talks with the Catalan club in the coming days over both of their clients.
De Jong’s future has been the subject of much attention throughout the summer. ESPN revealed in July that Barca had agreed a fee of around €85m with United, including add-ons, while Chelsea are also interested. However, the player has so far preferred to remain at Camp Nou.
Barca, meanwhile, have told De Jong that if he wants to stay, he must reduce his salary, although sources have told ESPN he is reluctant to do so at this stage. Sources confirmed to ESPN earlier this week that Barca sent a letter to De Jong’s camp in July warning that the contract renewal he signed in 2020 under the previous board had alleged irregularities.
Sources close to the player said the contract is legal and claim the letter that Barca sent was intended to put pressure on De Jong to either accept a move away or agree a wage reduction.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)
– Newcastle United could consider a move for Chelsea and United States winger Christian Pulisic, according to The Athletic. This comes with the Magpies also monitoring the situations of Blues duo Callum Hudson-Odoi and Conor Gallagher ahead of a possible loan.
– Chelsea are ready to sign Frenkie de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang if Barcelona allow the pair to leave, reports Sky Sports. The Blues are willing to match the £72m that Manchester United had offered Barcelona for De Jong’s transfer. The Dutchman’s agents have arrived in Barcelona earlier Wednesday amid continued uncertainty his future.
– Internazionale see Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo as a replacement for Milan Skriniar if the Slovakia international leaves, according to Foot Mercato. They could also look at Borussia Dortmund‘s Manuel Akanji, Atalanta‘s Merih Demiral and Fiorentina‘s Nikola Milenkovic.
– Manchester City are keen on signing Borussia Dortmund left-back Raphael Guerreiro, reports Sky Sports, who add that City also have VfB Stuttgart‘s Borna Sosa on the list of players they are looking at. Fabrizio Romano adds that City are near a deal for Anderlecht‘s Sergio Gomez, who could be then loaned out to LaLiga side Girona.
– Everton are switching their attention to FC Salzburg midfielder Mohamed Camara after being unable to bring Idrissa Gueye back from Paris Saint-Germain, reports The Daily Mail. Camara has also been followed by Leeds United and Newcastle in recent months but Salzburg have resisted any offers so far.
– Hector Bellerin is still working on a way to leave Arsenal for Real Betis after enjoying a positive loan spell with the Spanish side last term, reports AS. However, it could prove difficult for the move to be completed as Betis are already struggling to register players due to financial issues.
