🚨 Declan Rice to Arsenal - here we go! Plus Mason Mount announcement, more Chelsea sales, key Liverpool updates, exciting Barcelona signing, and more
Today's transfer round-up, featuring Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and more!
Good morning guys and welcome to my latest Daily Briefing, brought to you ad-free and straight to your inbox as always. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! :-)
Today’s top stories:
My EXCLUSIVE column on Declan Rice, Christian Pulisic and more
Ben Jacobs’ guest column on Andre Onana, Romeo Lavia and more
AC Milan
Christian Pulisic really wants a move to Serie A and AC Milan are expected to bid again for him - full exclusive details here.
Arsenal
Declan Rice to Arsenal - here we go! Full details here.
William Saliba will sign an official new long term contract with Arsenal very soon. It’s just a matter of time - an agreement was sealed one month ago. It’ll be a deal until June 2027 with the option for a further season.
Granit Xhaka is waiting for Arsenal’s final green light to make his move to Bayer Leverkusen. A deal has been in place since May as Xhaka only wants Bayer and Xabi Alonso is waiting for him.
How will Arsenal get the best out of Kai Havertz? Insight from Ben Jacobs here.
Are Arsenal winning the transfer window so far? My thoughts here.
📰 Arsenal are interested in Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong (Bild)
💬 Is Declan Rice really worth £105m? Does this signing make Arsenal title favourites?
Atletico Madrid
Caglar Soyuncu arrived in Madrid yesterday to complete his move to Atletico as a free agent - it’s done and sealed, with a contract until 2027 agreed back in February.
Barcelona
Vitor Roque to Barcelona, here we go! Brazilian gem born in 2005 will play for Barca. An agreement is fixed as Barca and Athletico Paranaense are checking all contracts and documents. The current plan is for Vitor to join Barca in January 2024. Deco was crucial for this deal, but it’s also the case that the player only wanted to join Barca. He’s expected to have a €1bn release clause.
Barcelona are finally set to unveil Inigo Martinez as a new signing. The defender signed a two year deal signed months ago. He joins on free transfer from Athletic Bilbao. An agreement was sealed back in April and is now set to be announced.
Bayern Munich
Giorgi Mamardashvili is a concrete target for Bayern Munich. Personal terms won’t be an issue as the Valencia goalkeeper is keen on the move. The deal now depends on the two clubs, with talks expected soon. There has also been interest from English clubs in Mamardashvili.
Brentford
Official, confirmed. Nathan Collins has joined Brentford on club record fee — deal worth £23m. Collins has signed a six-year deal, with club option for an additional two years. “He’s perfect player for us,” Thomas Frank said.
Chelsea
Christian Pulisic could be on his way to a new club - full exclusive details here.
Hakim Ziyech has dropped an intriguing hint over his future - full exclusive details here.
Conor Gallagher is another Chelsea player attracting interest - more here.
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Inter Milan
Davide Frattesi to Inter, here we go! Deal in place, verbal agreement reached on €25m fee with Sassuolo plus Mulattieri included. Frattesi agreed personal terms with Inter weeks ago on five year deal, and it’s now done and sealed. He’ll be the replacement for Marcelo Brozovic and is set to take the number 16 shirt.
Inter have decided to approach Chelsea again for Romelu Lukaku. Negotiations will restart in the next days, after Inter closed the Frattesi deal. Talks will take place around a loan with a mandatory buy option - but it’s still at the early stages.
Leeds United
Official, completed. Leeds Utd appoint Daniel Farke as the club’s new head coach on a four-year deal until 2027.
Liverpool
Liverpool have been in contact with the agents of Romeo Lavia for two weeks — still ongoing. He’s high on the Reds’ list, considered as a ‘top talent’ in his position. Sources expect Liverpool to open talks with Southampton soon — as there will likely also be competition from Arsenal and Chelsea.
Important clarification on Thiago Alcantara Saudi links here.
Are Liverpool winning the transfer window so far? My thoughts here.
💬 What further signings and sales do Liverpool need in their midfield rebuild?
Lyon
Lyon midfielder Thiago Mendes, set to leave Lyon and Ligue 1 in order to join Qatari side Al Rayyan. A total agreement is in place on a permanent deal, with medical tests scheduled on Wednesday.
Manchester United
When Mason Mount’s Manchester United transfer could finally be officially announced.
Manchester United hoping to get this signing done for under £42m - more here from Ben Jacobs.
📰 Andre Onana is ready to reject interest from Saudi Arabia to join Man Utd (90min)
Newcastle United
Are Newcastle in for Conor Gallagher? Full details here.
Newcastle are in the market for a left-back - more from Ben Jacobs here.
PSG
Christophe Galtier’s contract has been terminated, pending PSG statement. This formal step was the final one needed in order to unveil Luis Enrique as their new head coach.
PSG are very happy with the Cher Ndour deal as many clubs wanted him but he’s set to be unveiled as a new PSG player soon. A contract until June 2028 was agreed almost one month ago, as previously revealed.
PSV
Ricardo Pepi will undergo medical tests in the next hours as a new PSV player — a deal has been in place with Augsburg since last week. All documents are set to be signed, official statement to follow.
PSV manager Peter Bosz: “I spoke to Xavi Simons — it was a good, positive conversation. But at the end, he will decide by himself”.
PSG want to trigger Xavi Simons’ €6m buy back clause. There are many other clubs also keen on signing Xavi. PSV, meanwhile, are hoping to keep hold of him. Ultimately, Xavi will be the only one who decides.
RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig have agreed personal terms with Lutsharel Geertruida, top target as new CB. Negotiations continue with Feyenoord, it’s not an easy one but talks are ongoing to ty to agree on the fee. Official bid, 100% submitted as exclusively revealed last week despite denials. Leipzig will push again.
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti will become the new Brazilian national team head coach starting from June 2024. CBF president Ednaldo just confirmed that Ancelotti will be new manager of Brazil “starting from Copa America 2024”. Carlo will respect his contract at Real Madrid.
Is Jude Bellingham the signing of the transfer window so far? My thoughts here.
Real Madrid have made an improved bid for Arda Guler - full details here.
Southampton
Derrick Abu joins Southampton as free agent after Chelsea deal expired, official and completed. “I’m grateful to the club for everything they have done over the years for me,” the 2003 born fullback has posted as his farewell message.
Tottenham
Manor Solomon will have his medical with Spurs on Thursday - no issues, it’s just been rescheduled. He will also sign his contract this week as documents have been checked. Deal done.
Micky van de Ven’s camp told Wolfsburg of the player’s strong desire to join Spurs. Negotiations are underway between the Tottenham and Wolfsburg, he’s among the club’s top targets, as I revealed last week.
Official, confirmed. 15 year old top talent Mikey Moore has signed a new deal until 2026 at Tottenham, as initially revealed ten days ago. It’s a huge one for Spurs as he was wanted by several clubs around Europe.
Wolfsburg
I understand Wolfsburg have signed all the documents for the Tiago Tomas deal. It’s done and sealed. The final fee will be €9m plus €1.5m in add ons, and his contract will be valid until June 2028.
For all the very latest transfer news, read caughtoffside.com
Declan Rice news is awesome - what a statement by Arsenal, long time since I've been this excited by how the team is developing.
Is the only news we have on Chelsea about outgoings? Why have we screwed this up so badly? Why did we go so crazy in January? Is Boehly just a complete idiot? I sort of gave him the benefit of the doubt in January - surely he had a plan - but it seems not!