🚨 Chelsea star UNTOUCHABLE, Arsenal and Rice almost done, Kane latest, HUGE Liverpool capture, why Man City haven't yet signed Gvardiol, and more
Today's Briefing, featuring Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, and much more!
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Today’s top stories:
Arsenal have offered the highest salary ever to an Academy player
Marc Cucurella’s agent has had his say on stories linking the player with Atléti
Josko Gvardiol latest, plus more from Liverpool, Man United, Spurs, West Ham and more!
AC Milan
Direct contacts with Valencia have taken place since Monday for Yunus Musah. Opening proposal is around €17m plus add-ons for a player who is one of Milan’s main midfield targets.
Ajax
Ajax have announced that Lorenzo Lucca’s loan deal has expired and he won’t return. There’s already a deal in place for him to join Udinese.
Arsenal
The Declan Rice deal is almost done. Arsenal and West Ham are progressing in talks to agree on payment terms/structure of the deal but it’s really, finally close now.
Pablo Marí leaves Arsenal to join Monza on permanent deal for a fee in the region of £6m.
Ethan Nwaneri has signed a scholarship deal with the club and has agreed that his first professional deal will be signed with the club when he turns 17. Contract for two and a half years and the highest salary offered to an Arsenal academy player in club history.
Aston Villa
Monchi has started to work his magic. Final fee for Pau Torres is €32.5m plus €5m in add-ons. Player will undergo his medical once he has returned from his holidays. Documents waiting to be signed by Villarreal and Aston Villa.
Despite links with Aston Villa, Ferran Torres is clear: “I can’t wait to continue at Barcelona. I’m really happy at Barça and my plan is to continue at the club,” he has said.
💬 Aston Villa are making moves in the transfer market. Are they going to be next season’s Premier League dark horses?
Atlético Madrid
Geoffrey Kondogbia has sent a farewell message to Atlético Madrid supporters ahead of his move to Marseille. Medical tests have been approved, €8m final fee and a four-year contract. Here we go confirmed!
César Azpilicueta here we go! Agreement in place for a two year contract until June 2025. Chelsea will let him leave as a free agent and documents will be ready to sign soon. Azpilicueta verbally agreed personal terms with Inter last week but the player’s family pushed to go back to Spain.
Barcelona
Despite links with Aston Villa, Ferran Torres is clear: “I can’t wait to continue at Barcelona. I’m really happy at Barça and my plan is to continue at the club,” he has said.
One player who is leaving the club is Ilias Akhomach. He’s already said goodbye to his team-mates, and will join Villarreal as a free transfer.
10 clubs in the hunt for Barça target. Find out more here.
Samuel Umtiti also leaves as a free agent after Barcelona reached an agreement for the termination of his contract.
📰 Barcelona in pole position for Arda Guler - [Sport via Football Espana]
Bayern Munich
Both Joäo Cancelo and Daley Blind have left FC Bayern as expected.
Lucas Hernández has completed his first medical session as a new PSG player and he will be unveiled next week. Fee is around €45m with add-ons, to be confirmed.
Celtic
Understand Al Ittihad have reached full agreement on personal terms with Celtic star Jota. Negotiations are now underway between the clubs on the fee as Benfica had a sell-on clause.
Chelsea
Cesare Casadei has plans to either play in the Premier League or Serie A next season. There have been four loans proposed by Championship clubs but the final decision will be made together with Chelsea.
No truth in the rumours linking Marc Cucurella with Atletico Madrid. His representative, Álvaro Dominguez, has described the stories as “fake news.”
Chelsea consider Levi Colwill ‘untouchable,’ and the club have submitted their first new, long-term contract offer to the player. Colwill wants to speak to Mauricio Pochettino after the U21 Euros before making a decision.
No issues with the Nico Jackson deal. Fee close to €37m, paid in instalments, eight year deal which is now official, confirmed.
Santos wonder kid Ângelo has completed the first part of medical tests in Brazil. He’s set to join Chelsea on a deal which will be valid until June 2029, with an option for a further season.
César Azpilicueta here we go! Agreement in place for a two year contract until June 2025. Chelsea will let him leave as a free agent and documents will be ready to sign soon. Azpilicueta verbally agreed personal terms with Inter last week but the player’s family pushed to go back to Spain.
Christian Pulisic remains keen on Milan move, and nothing has changed. Chelsea insist on €25m asking price but Milan want to pay less. Talks ongoing.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has joined Milan on a four-year deal, confirmed. €16m fee plus €4m in add-ons.
SC Heerenveen have completed the signing of Chelsea midfielder, Charlie Webster, on a one-year loan deal.
📰 Chelsea have already identified their Mason Mount replacement - [Evening Standard via CaughtOffside]
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Inter Milan
Inter have confirmed that Milan Škriniar can leave the club as a free agent, something decided in January. He will be unveiled at PSG in the next days. Here we go finally confirmed!
Talks are continuing between André Onana’s representatives and Man United, but there have been no direct approaches made to Inter at this stage.
The deal between Marcelo Brozović and Al Nassr is still on and being negotiated. Nothing has collapsed despite the reports. The player is ready for contract signing on a three-year deal.
Inter CEO, Giuseppe Marotta spoke to Sky about a number of important matters: ““Manchester United confirmed to us that they’re interested in André Onana. We are waiting for an official proposal in the next days, then we will decide how to react right after. Our director Piero Ausilio is working on it but there’s still no official bid from Man United, at this stage…. We are not forced to sell Marcelo Brozović but the negotiation is absolutely on. It depends on the player, as always. We will try to discuss terms of the deal with Al Nassr again…. It seems that (Cesar) Azpilicueta is tempted by proposal from Spain [Atlético Madrid] and so he’s negotiating with them. We considered Azpilicueta as a good option but he’s focused on this bid from Spain…. Chelsea must decide what they will do with him [Romelu Lukaku], it’s normal that they can’t put him on the market and expect large fees. It’s no coincidence the offer from Saudi Arabia for Lukaku was around €50m.”
Juventus
Juve are closing in on a deal for Cristiano Giuntoli, who will become a new director of the club. He will leave Napoli after coming to an agreement to terminate his contract.
Club statement has confirmed that Juan Cuadrado has left the club and is now available as a free agent.
Liverpool
Benjamin Pavard has been linked with a move to Liverpool. Latest updates on the situation here.
Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool, here we go! RB Leipzig informed that Liverpool have triggered the release clause. €70m deal done, to be signed soon. Personal terms agreed.
Does Dominik Szoboszlai actually want to go to Liverpool? Find out exclusively which team he’s ‘very interested’ in moving to here.
Fabio Carvalho has signed the necessary paperwork to become RB Leipzig’s new signing. It’s a loan deal from Liverpool with no option to buy. Official and confirmed.
Liverpool were recently linked with Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni. Neil Jones has all the exclusive info on this right here.
Adrian has signed a contract extension and he’ll remain with the Reds for the 2023-24 season. Official and confirmed.
💬 Liverpool fans - What do you make of the Szoboszlai capture? Is this more good business for the club in your opinion?
Manchester City
Bayern Munich were recently linked with Kyle Walker? Exclusive insight from Christian Falk here.
Could Kalvin Phillips be another player to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer? More here.
Why haven’t Man City signed Josko Gvardiol yet? Latest on the negotiations here.
Pep Guardiola’s main assistant and former Global Technical Director, Rodolfo Borrell, has joined MLS side Austin FC. Official and confirmed.
📰 Man City back in the dock again over shady ‘sponsorship’ deal - [The Times via CaughtOffside]
Manchester United
What’s the latest on Man Utd’s pursuit of Kim Min-jae? Exclusive insight here.
Talks are continuing between André Onana’s representatives and Man United. More here.
Man United have announced that Marcel Sabitzer and Wout Weghorst will return to Bayern Munich and Burnley respectively.
“De Gea’s contract is due to run out but discussions remain open with the long-serving keeper”, club statement confirms.
📰 Chelsea set to rival Man United for World Cup winner - [Football Transfers via CaughtOffside]
Napoli
Juve are closing in on a deal for Cristiano Giuntoli, who will become a new director of the club. He will leave Napoli after coming to an agreement to terminate his contract.
Newcastle
Newcastle will announce Sandro Tonali as new signing this weekend. Announcement expected within 24h.
Nice
Two-year deal in place for new OGC Nice coach, Francesco Farioli. The 34-year-old Italian was wanted across Europe but has decided on a new adventure in Ligue Un.
PSG
Paris Saint-Germain are set to unveil Luis Enrique as new first team coach once an exit agreement is in place with Christophe Galtier. Here we go!
📰 Christophe Galtier detained by Police over racism allegations - [The Athletic via CaughtOffside]
Inter have confirmed that Milan Škriniar can leave the club as a free agent, something decided in January. He will be unveiled at PSG in the next days. Here we go finally confirmed!
Lucas Hernández has completed his first medical session as a new PSG player and he will be unveiled next week. Fee is around €45m with add-ons, to be confirmed.
📰 Zinedine Zidane admits he’d like to coach Kylian Mbappe - [MARCA via Football Espana]
Rangers
Rangers are close to a deal with Cremonese for their Nigerian striker, Cyriel Dessers. Documents being drafted after a final fee was agreed, here we go soon!
RB Leipzig
Fabio Carvalho has signed the necessary paperwork to become RB Leipzig’s new signing. It’s a loan deal from Liverpool with no option to buy.
Tottenham
Bayern retain an interest in Harry Kane but how much are they willing to pay? Detailed update on the negotiations here.
More here on the latest news for deals on Micky van de Ven and Edmond Tapsoba.
💬 Harry Kane has apparently agreed the move to Bayern Munich. Is this the right move for his career? Let us know in the comments!
West Ham
The Declan Rice deal is almost done. Arsenal and West Ham are progressing in talks to agree on payment terms/structure of the deal but it’s really, finally close now.
Which player are the Hammers set to miss out on? More here.
Negotiations will continue for Denis Zakaria, who is expected to leave Juventus this summer. West Ham have been interested since the end of May but there are two other clubs in the race who are also waiting on a final asking price.
How close are the Hammers to signing Edson Alvarez? Exclusive insight here.
For all the very latest transfer news, read caughtoffside.com
Happy with the Szoboszlai signing. Looks like a proper player compared to some of pools recent purchase’s. He looks good on the ball, it’ll be interesting to see where they play him. RB played him across multiple positions last year. I think RM is where he’s needed most
West Ham have to spend the Rice money wisely. Do so, and they have a real chance at success again in 23/24