The January transfer window may seem like a distant memory, but that doesn’t mean the rumour mill has shut down! Speculation over summer moves is heating up so check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.
TOP STORY: Real Madrid look to Mahrez
Real Madrid are showing an interest in signing Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez, as has been reported by Foot Mercato.
The Algeria international has been impressive for Pep Guardiola’s side this term, which has captured the attention of Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.
This also comes with current wing options Eden Hazard, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr. and Marco Asensio not performing to a satisfactory level for The whites.
However, despite the interest from Madrid, it could prove very difficult to bring in the 30-year-old because of how influential he has become for City.
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LIVE BLOG
16.19 GMT: Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic has struggled this season. Would another move have been better for him?
ESPN’s newest soccer show “Futbol Americas” tackles Christian Pulisic’s conundrum at Chelsea.
15.29 GMT: Sao Paulo football director Carlos Belmonte has confirmed that they are ready to fight with other suitors for the signature of River Player star Santos Erase.
Belmonte confirms that Hernan Crespo’s new side has already made Borre a proposal but now the player has to decide whether to accept it or move somewhere else.
Meanwhile, the club chief also admitted that that want to bring in Martin Benitez from Vasco to bolster the midfield but a deal is not close at this point.
14.55 GMT: Goal says that Mallorca teenager Luka Romero is on the radar of Juventus, AC Milan, Inter and Napoli.
Romero, 16, became the youngest player to ever appear in a La Liga fixture in June 2020 when, at the age of 15 years and 219 days, he came on for the final nine minutes in the defeat against Real Madrid.
The Mexico-born midfielder, who represents Argentina at youth level and has been linked with Manchester United and Barcelona in the past, now has interest from Italy if Mallorca aren’t able to offer him a professional contract.
14.21 GMT: Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum said there is no news on any potential new deal at the Premier League champions with his contract up in June.
Wijnaldum is attracting plenty of interest as he’ll be a free agent this summer. But, talking before Liverpool’s second leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, the Dutch midfielder said there was no news over whether he’d be staying at Anfield beyond the end of this season.
“I am really happy at the club, with the team, with the fans,” Wijnaldum said. “That’s the only thing I can say. Not that I’m not happy that I have to leave or something like that… it’s not as easy as everyone thinks it is to make decisions on your future as you have to think about everything.
“First you have to negotiate with your club… it’s so difficult to deal with all kinds of things and that’s why it takes so long. The situation [with results] we’re in right now, it’s not the most important thing right now. The most important thing is to get back on track. I’m really happy here, happy with the team, fans and staff — my family’s happy but there is no news.”
13.36 GMT: The Manchester Evening News claims “Man Utd and Manchester City are two of the clubs showing an interest in Villarreal defender Pau Torres ahead of the summer transfer window.”
Torres, 24, has impressed in La Liga and the Spain international is starting to attract plenty of attention, while Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have also been linked with him in the past.
United are keen to add a centre-back and have been linked with Madrid’s Raphael varane, though Torres may be available for as little as €30m.
City will be looking for a replacement for Barcelona-bound Eric Garcia in the summer.
13.03 GMT: Which clubs will have the extra budget that sealing a place in the Champions League brings next season?
Frank Leboeuf and Don Hutchison assess the state of the race for the Premier League’s four Champions League spots.
12.07 GMT: Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool want to sign Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic, says Transfer Market.
Milenkovic, 23, is one of the top young defenders in Europe and is reportedly valued at over €40m if clubs want to take on his contract.
However, Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade says he’s hopeful of agreeing a new deal with the Serbia international.
“We are talking about it, these are situations that we will face but right now we have to think only of the pitch,” he said. “The team is responding, some results have been excellent, others less so. We just think about playing.”
11.28 GMT: France Football reports that RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate has “caught the eye”. of Chelsea.
Konate, 21, has formed a great partnership with Dayot upamecano in the centre of defence but Upamecano is departing for Bayern Munich in a €42.5m move this summer.
Arsenal have also been linked with Konate and Leipzig are looking for around €50m from clubs to sign him.
10.45 GMT: Germany manager Joachim Low will step down from his post this summer after the European Championship, it was announced on Tuesday.
Low was contracted through to 2022 but leaves a year early. The news means Germany will require a new manager to take them through to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“I take this step very consciously, full of pride and enormous gratitude, but at the same time continue to be very motivated when it comes to the upcoming European Championship tournament,” Low said. “Proud, because it is something very special and an honor for me to be involved in my country. And because I have been able to work with the best footballers in the country for almost 17 years and support them in their development.
“I have great triumphs with them and painful defeats, but above all many wonderful and magical moments – not just winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil . I am and will remain grateful to the DFB, which has always provided me and the team with an ideal working environment. “
10.23 GMT: How much could West Ham ask clubs to pay in order to sign midfielder Declan Rice?
Gab Marcotti throws cold water on West Ham’s lofty price tag they’ve placed on Declan Rice.
09.32 GMT: Palmeiras are negotiating the signing of Nice midfielder Danilo Barbosa, according to Globoesporte.
Barbosa, 25, could join Copa Libertadores champions on loan until the end of the year, with a purchase option included in the deal.
A move back to Brazil would reportedly be welcomed by Barbosa, who has made just five appearances in all competitions this season. He joined the French club in the summer of 2018 from Sporting Braga and has a contract until June 2023.
08.46 GMT: Former Napoli captain Marek Hamsik has joined Swedish club Goteborg until the end of the season.
The Slovakia midfielder has returned to Europe after two years with Chinese club Dalian Pro where he scored five goals and set up four more in 45 appearances. He had considered returning to Slovan Bratislava, the club where he began his playing career, but has opted instead to join Goteborg.
Hamsik, 33, said on social media: “I’m delighted to be here. As everyone knows, I’ve signed a short-term contract, but I will do my best to help the team achieve success.”
Goteborg begin their season on April 10.
08.30 GMT: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said one reason Christian Pulisic hasn’t been in his starting XI is that he is “strong” coming off the bench, following his team’s 2-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Monday.
Pulisic, 22, came on as a very late substitute for Chelsea and has played just 134 of a possible 810 minutes since his former manager at Borussia Dortmund arrived to take over for the departed Frank Lampard.
“Maybe Christian’s problem is I know from Dortmund how strong he is from the bench,” Tuchel said after the match. “I think he started only in the cup game and in the end that’s my responsibility and my fault. It’s a bit unfair because I know what an impact he can have in 20 or 30 minutes. He was a bit unlucky in the last games but there’s no lack of trust or quality. He just has to be a bit patient.
‘We also have another guy I would love to mention, which is Emerson [Palmieri], who suffers from bad decisions against him from me. He does not play but he is an amazing guy who trains at the highest levels and never lets the team down with his mentality.
“This was a super hard decision today to have him out of the squad and the same with Tammy [Abraham]. It tells us we are a strong group and the guys just have to keep on fighting.”
Mark Ogden believes Thomas Tuchel will give Kai Havertz another season to prove himself at Chelsea.
PAPER TALK (by Danny Lewis)
Cavani set to join Boca
Edinson Cavani joined Manchester United on a free transfer in October, but it doesn’t seem the Uruguayan will be sticking around for very long.
That is because Ole have reported that he will be heading to Argentine giants Boca Juniors at the end of the campaign.
The 34-year-old has reportedly already decided that this will be his last season in Europe, as he looks to fulfil a childhood dream by joining Boca.
His decision was helped by a conversation with club legend and current vice-president Juan Roman Riquelme. No negotiations with United will be needed as his contract comes to an end once the season is over.
Lacazette proposed to trio of giants
Arsenal striker Alexandre lacazette is evaluating his options ahead of a possible move, reports Calciomercato.
The Frenchman’s agent has even offered him to Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, states the report.
There may be some work to be done in negotiating a deal, though, as the 29-year-old doesn’t want to take a pay cut and earns close to €6m-per-season.
Lacazette is looking for something different and Juventus are reported to be interested as well, but the report adds that now is not the time for the Old Lady to make their decision over a possible move.
Tap-ins
– Benfica have offered Diego Costa a €3m-per-year-contract to join them, as has been reported by Goal. The striker has been a free agent since he left Atletico Madrid in December and there have been links with various clubs during that time. It now seems that he will be moving to Portugal, with Benfica looking to sign him on a deal that runs for at least two years.
– Fabrizio Romano has suggested that Premier League clubs are interested in signing Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly. While the journalist doesn’t name anyone in particular, giants such as Manchester United and Liverpool have been linked with the Senegal international in the past. Anyone with interest will also receive a boost, as Bayern Munich aren’t working on a deal for the 29-year-old and Napoli are reportedly coming to the realisation they’ll need to lower their fee demands for Koulibaly.