🚨 Are Arsenal's title dreams over? Plus 'here we go' for Man City, possible pay CUT for Man Utd star, Chelsea striker links, Liverpool exit & more
Today's football headlines, featuring Arsenal's defeat at Fulham and transfer updates from Man Utd, Chelsea and more!
Good morning everyone and happy new year! Welcome to the first Daily Briefing of 2024 - thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy! :-)
Today’s top stories:
Arsenal
Bukayo Saka scored the opener for Arsenal on what ended up being a disappointing day for them at Fulham. Are they still in the title race? FT Fulham 2-1 Arsenal [Pictures courtesy of Sky Sports]
Declan Rice: “There’s no need to panic, there’s still so many games to go and we need to stay positive. This is not the time to be negative. We’ve got a great manager, a great set of players and we will keep going.”
Mikel Arteta laid into his players after the defeat, saying: “Today was our worst game of the season. The pace, the purpose we have in attack, defensively we were second best, we could not dominate and had issues because of that.”
What do recent results mean for Arsenal’s title hopes? Fabrizio Romano has his say here.
Mohamed Elneny is attracting concrete interest from Trabzonspor but also more clubs are keen on signing him. Besiktas, Galatasaray and Saudi clubs are all exploring the conditions of the move.
Eddie Nketiah is being linked with West Ham, with David Moyes said to be a big fan of the Arsenal striker.
Atalanta
Isak Hien to Atalanta looks set to go through for an €8m fee to Hellas Verona. The Swedish centre-back has medical tests booked for today. Siren Diao is also moving as part of the deal.
Barcelona
Marcos Alonso will undergo surgery on the problems in the lumbar region of his back that have kept him sidelined in recent weeks. Barcelona’s full-back is currently out of contract in June 2024 with option for one more season.
Barnsley
Portuguese talent Fabio Jalo will sign new deal at Barnsley despite interest from several clubs, agreement reached. Clubs in Premier League and Serie A wanted but Fabio Jalo will sign new contract at Barnsley as he wants to play regular first team football.
Brighton
Simon Adingra: “Rumors of Brighton holding me back from AFCON are completely false. I could not be more motivated than I am to represent my nation and make my people proud. To play in the AFCON on home soil with the Ivory Coast would be a dream come true. I cannot put into words the pride it would give me to take to the field in front of my nation. I am working extremely hard every single day to recover from my injury, make no mistake that I will do everything in my power to be ready to help my country go all the way. I appreciate the strong support from the Ivorian Federation, from Brighton and from all my fans, happy new year, May 2024 be even better.”
Chelsea
Chelsea seem to be showing a growing interest in Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, who is very highly regarded by Mauricio Pochettino - more here from Simon Phillips Talks Chelsea.
However, Fabrizio Romano expects Lautaro Martinez to commit to Inter with a new deal - more details here.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht midfielder Hugo Larsson is on the radar of several top clubs as he’s doing fantastic in his first season in Bundesliga. Still only 19 years of age, top clubs are keeping close eye on him, though there’s no chance for a January move but bids could arrive for him in the summer transfer window.
Fulham
This was a superb flowing move by Fulham as they started their comeback against Arsenal. FT Fulham 2-1 Arsenal [Pictures from Sky Sports]
Inter Milan
Could Chelsea sign Lautaro Martinez or does his future lie at Inter?
Inter are closing in on deal to sign Tajon Buchanan from Club Brugge as talks advance. The agreement is imminent with Inter director Ausilio on it. The final fee will be around €7-8m. Deal could be completed and sealed by next week.
Liverpool
Fabio Carvalho has returned to Liverpool early from his loan spell at RB Leipzig — the club decided to recall Fabio two weeks ago.
Luton Town
Tom Lockyer statement on his health. “I would just like to say that I am doing very well and feeling very much myself after the cardiac arrest I suffered in Bournemouth. The reason I’m doing so well is all down to the heroic actions of the players, staff, doctors and paramedics. I feel thankful that this happened to me surrounded by these heroes. They saved my life. I will never forget what you did for me. While I’m sad not to be involved, I feel full of pride watching the boys carry on the battle without me. The fighting spirit I’ve seen in the last three games has given me a much needed lift. I will be doing whatever I can in whichever ways are possible to help the Gaffer and the Club. In what capacity that is remains to be decided as I’m due to meet with specialists in the new year.”
Manchester City
Claudio Echeverri to Manchester City, here we go! Documents are being exchanged between City and River Plate to seal the agreement. The 2006-born Argentinian talent will stay at River Plate until December 2024 then he will travel to Europe. It will be a six year deal for Echeverri.
Manchester United
Raphael Varane may have to accept a pay cut or leave on a free in June - more exclusive info here from Fabrizio Romano.
Monaco
Monaco are closing in on deal to sign Thilo Kehrer from West Ham for the January transfer window. The deal is at the final stages between the two clubs.
Napoli
Napoli and Udinese are in negotiations over Lazar Samardzic, as talks continue. The agreement between clubs is getting closer, player’s father will come to Italy soon to discuss more details with Udinese.
Newcastle United
Nice
Nice are one of the clubs pushing for Kristoffer Velde from Lech Poznan after 10 goals and 5 assists so far this season. Florent Ghisolfi and Francesco Farioli admirers of Velde and hope to secure a loan with an option in January.
PSG
Paris Saint-Germain are still expected to proceed with Gabriel Moscardo deal despite surgery needed and three months out. More to follow this week in terms of plans for Moscardo deal — after further talks to take place soon.
Nuno Mendes hopes to return from injury in February - this is the plan on the player’s side, and for Paris Saint-Germain too. Based on how recovery will continue in January, PSG will decide whether to sign a new left-back or not.
Southampton
Southampton are among the clubs interested in signing Liverpool’s Fabio Carvalho on loan after his return from a spell at RB Leipzig - more info here from Fabrizio Romano.
Standard Liege
Former Spurs player Romain Mundle could return to England as several Championship clubs have highlighted a strong interest to sign him on loan from Standard Liege. Swansea City are pushing for the deal whilst Standard are assessing the current situation.
Tottenham
Richarlison is really on form now, with five goals in his last five games for Tottenham, including this clinical finish against Bournemouth yesterday. FT Tottenham 3-1 Bournemouth [Pictures from Spurs official X]
Tottenham have agreed personal terms with Radu Dragusin on a long term contract. Negotiations are ongoing with Genoa, who want a €30m fee, while Spurs want to spend around €25m. Talks progressing.
What else can we expect from Tottenham in the January transfer window?
Pape Sarr will sign a new long term deal at Tottenham, done and set to be sealed! It’s all done. Agreement reached - the deal will be valid until June 2030, six year and half contract. An official announcement is expected soon.
Initial feelings are optimistic for Pape Sarr after his injury, it’s not expected to be something serious. More tests to follow, but Pape’s still expected to travel for AFCON with the Senegal national team.
West Ham United
Monaco are closing in on deal to sign Thilo Kehrer from West Ham for the January transfer window. The deal is at the final stages between the two clubs.
Eddie Nketiah is being linked with West Ham, with David Moyes said to be a big fan of the Arsenal striker.