🚨 Benzema to follow Henderson out of Saudi? Plus watch Vinicius goal as Real Madrid thrash Barca, latest on Zubimendi to Arsenal, Man Utd star's exit decision explained, and more
Today's football headlines all in one place, featuring Real Madrid, Arsenal, Man Utd and much more!
Happy Monday folks and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)
Today’s top stories:
AC Milan
What a goal this was by AC Milan - can’t decide if the assist or the finish was better! FT AC Milan 3-1 Roma [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Ajax
Jordan Henderson remains in negotiations with Ajax, but how likely is a move? Fabrizio Romano has the latest details here.
Al Hilal
Negotiations between Al Hilal and Marseille for Renan Lodi are moving to the final stages! Discussions are well advanced on player side too. All parties hope to complete the agreement in the next days, fee will be around €20m - still being discussed. Confidence to get it done.
Al Ittihad
Anderlecht
Anderlecht have sent formal bid to Odense for Filip Helander as new centre-back. Discussions will take place in the next days.
Arsenal
Martin Zubimendi looks like the perfect signing for Arsenal but will he leave Real Sociedad? Exclusive insight from Fabrizio Romano’s column here.
Arsenal are one of the clubs closely monitoring Ousmane Diomande.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa are closing in on deal to sign 2005 born right back Kosta Nedeljkovic from Crvena Zvezda! He’s set to stay at Serbian club until end of the season. Talks at final stages for less than €9m. Villa have been scouting Kosta for long time.
Barcelona
What a strike this was by Robert Lewandowski, even if it couldn’t prevent defeat for Barcelona. FT Real Madrid 4-1 Barcelona [Pictures from SSC 1]
Xavi wants Sergi Roberto to stay and sign new deal at Barcelona. Sergi: “If the manager wants me to stay... I’m sure that we won’t have any problem to agree on new deal. I hope next season we’ll be here to speak about finals again.”
Barca director Deco: “The reality is that in this moment we are not able to sign players.”
On Xavi’s future, Deco added: “Questions about Xavi make no sense. Xavi has full confidence from all of us. This defeat doesn’t change our plans.”
Xavi: “I keep trusting the project and I keep trusting myself. We will keep going. Real Madrid deserved to win, we want to apologize to our fans. We were not at the level needed for this final.”
Bayern Munich
This Bayern Munich star is Real Madrid’s TOP target for the summer - more here from Fabrizio Romano.
Bayern director Christoph Freund on Jamal Musiala’s contract situation: “It would be great to keep him at Bayern for a very long time, he’s a special player. We want him to be one of the faces of the club and to stay for a very long time.”
More on Jamal Musiala’s future in Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive column here.
Bayern director Freund on the Nordi Mukiele deal: “Nordi is a type of player who can play right back and centre-back. He’s certainly an interesting one.”
Benfica
Alvaro Fernandez will undergo medical tests with Benfica today. Deal sealed with Manchester United on loan with buy option as Fernandez will leave Granada with immediate effect.
Bournemouth
Joe Rothwell to Southampton, a deal is set to be signed on Monday after his medical today, after a loan deal was agreed with Bournemouth.
Brentford
Brentford want to sign Sergio Reguilon on loan from Tottenham. Negotiations already took place but the final decision will be up to the player. There are more clubs interested and Reguilon will assess the situation. In any case, he’s still expected to leave Spurs in January.
Chelsea
Victor Osimhen is in the headlines again and Fabrizio Romano has responded to the latest speculation over his future here.
Chelsea are one of the clubs closely monitoring Ousmane Diomande.
Everton
Hannibal Mejbri to Sevilla - here we go! Fabrizio Romano has the details here, including why the Manchester United youngster rejected Everton in favour of a move to Spain.
Juventus
Tiago Djalo to Juventus, here we go! A verbal agreement is in place, formal contracts are being prepared then time to sign. Lille will receive a €3.5m fixed fee and 10% sell-on clause. His medical is currently booked on Wednesday, and it’ll be a contract until June 2028.
Manchester United
Rasmus Hojlund powered in this superb early goal for Manchester United, but it wasn’t enough to help them to the win. FT Man Utd 2-2 Tottenham [Pictures from Sky Sports]
Hannibal Mejbri to Sevilla - here we go! Fabrizio Romano has the details here, including why the Manchester United youngster rejected Everton in favour of a move to Spain.
When asked if Jadon Sancho needed to apologize to return to the Manchester United squad, Erik ten Hag said: “Yes, we have said that before. But I don’t want every time to return to that point...Jadon knows what he should do, we have made that clear. Let’s stop the discussion.”
Still, Ten Hag also seemed to hint at a way back for Sancho at United, saying: “We have had issues all the way through… his stay here at United so far is not a success. I wish him the best of luck at BVB. I hope, we hope, he's doing very well there, he will be successful and then we will see what is going to happen.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe: “Man United stake is the most exciting thing I’ve done. Deal will not be completed before early, mid February. Yes, I’ve also met with Erik ten Hag. January signings? No comment.”
Alvaro Fernandez will undergo medical tests with Benfica today. Deal sealed with Manchester United on loan with buy option as Fernandez will leave Granada with immediate effect.
Mateo Mejia has signed for Sevilla on a four year and half deal, valid until 2028. It’s all done with Manchester United and it will be official next week.
Marseille
Negotiations between Al Hilal and Marseille for Renan Lodi are moving to the final stages! Discussions are well advanced on player side too. All parties hope to complete the agreement in the next days, fee will be around €20m - still being discussed. Confidence to get it done.
Napoli
Victor Osimhen is in the headlines again and Fabrizio Romano has responded to the latest speculation over his future here.
Olympiacos
It’s all done and sealed between Chiquinho and Olympiacos. Agreement done on three year contract. He’s joining the club from Benfica as free agent in June, as revealed
PSG
Lovely play by Kylian Mbappe here to set up this goal for Bradley Barcola. FT Lens 0-2 PSG [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Paris Saint-Germain and Corinthians exchanged documents for Gabriel Moscardo deal on Thursday but there’s still no signature as some details are missing. Moscardo is waiting for the saga to finish as soon as possible as he agreed terms with PSG in December; just waiting to sign.
Real Madrid
This goal got Real Madrid on their way to a 4-1 win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. FT Real Madrid 4-1 Barcelona [Pictures from SSC 1]
Vinicius Junior: “I did the Siu celebration for Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s my idol. I’m so happy with this team, we’re doing special things at Real Madrid and Saudi people always show me their love.”
Florentino Perez: “Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid? This is not the day to comment on that topic. Real Madrid are enjoying these players.”
This Bayern Munich star is Real Madrid’s TOP target for the summer - more here from Fabrizio Romano.
Sevilla
Hannibal Mejbri to Sevilla - here we go! Fabrizio Romano has the details here, including why the Manchester United youngster rejected Everton in favour of a move to Spain.
Mateo Mejia has signed for Sevilla on a four year and half deal, valid until 2028. It’s all done with Manchester United and it will be official next week.
Southampton
Joe Rothwell to Southampton, a deal is set to be signed on Monday after his medical today, after a loan deal was agreed with Bournemouth.
Tottenham
Tottenham didn’t take long to find their equaliser in the second half as this powerful Rodrigo Bentancur strike drew them level - but should Andre Onana have done better? FT Man Utd 2-2 Tottenham [Pictures from Sky Sports]
Brentford want to sign Sergio Reguilon on loan from Tottenham. Negotiations already took place but the final decision will be up to the player. There are more clubs interested and Reguilon will assess the situation. In any case, he’s still expected to leave Spurs in January.
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Artur Victor Guimaraes has joined Zenit Saint Petersburg from Palmeiras - the deal has now been officially confirmed.