🚨 [FREE] Liverpool ADVANCE on Ekitike deal, Chelsea eye £80m PL star, Arsenal agree striker deal, major Spurs boost, & more

Jul 18, 2025

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Good morning everyone and welcome to your *FREE* Friday edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)

Today’s top stories:

Arsenal are still working on the final details of the Viktor Gyokeres transfer during talks in London, with negotiations ongoing over the add-ons in the deal. (Fabrizio Romano)
Arsenal are understood to be preparing an opening offer of €80m for Rodrygo Goes, but Real Madrid want €100m and the player also has numerous other suitors. (Mark Brus, CaughtOffside)
Arsenal have agreed deal to sign Will Wright, the 17-year-old striker from Salford City. Documents are now being prepared, with the Gunners winning the race despite interest from several other clubs. (Fabrizio Romano)

Nicolas Jackson has emerged as a top target for Aston Villa, with his former manager Unai Emery keen to work with him again. (Dharmesh Sheth, Sky Sports)

Barcelona are now also working on signing Rayan Bardghji - the younger brother of Roony. He’s on Barca’s list as he’s out of contract at FC Copenhagen. They’re trying to tie him down to a new deal, while other clubs are also interested. (Fabrizio Romano)

Erik ten Hag on Antony and Bayer Leverkusen links: “He has great quality. I signed him twice. He was like a son to me, he still is a son to me. We’re not interested in him at the moment, but we’ll see what happens in the future.” (Bild)

Chelsea are eyeing Kim Min-jae from Bayern Munich this summer, with some talk of a possible swap deal between the two clubs becoming a serious option. (Tuttomercatoweb)

Nicolas Jackson has emerged as a top target for Aston Villa, with his former manager Unai Emery keen to work with him again. (Dharmesh Sheth, Sky Sports)
Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell is expected to become a top priority transfer target for newly-promoted Leeds United this summer. (Football Insider)
Chelsea are eyeing Kim Min-jae from Bayern Munich this summer, with some talk of a possible swap deal between the two clubs becoming a serious option. (Tuttomercatoweb)
Morgan Rogers to Chelsea could be one to watch as he’s now reportedly their top target for the rest of the summer, though Aston Villa want as much as £80m to let him go. (Sun)

Milan Skriniar is making Fenerbahce his clear priority while club to club talks remain ongoing. Discussions continue to take place over his transfer fee. (Fabrizio Romano)

Galatasaray and Napoli are now at the final stages of negotiating the Victor Osimhen transfer deal after positive talks yesterday. Galatasaray look set to pay €40m for him now, and a further €35m by the end of 2026. They also won’t be able to sell Osimhen to other Italian clubs for two years. (Fabrizio Romano)

Inter Milan have informed Atalanta that they’ve made a €40m opening bid for Ademola Lookman. However, for now Atalanta are insisting on a fee of at least €50m. Lookman wants to leave and hopes the club will facilitate his exit but there’s currently no green light for him to join Italian clubs for €40m. (Fabrizio Romano)

Liverpool are advancing in talks to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt. He wants to move to Anfield, so personal terms won’t be an issue. Fee likely to be in the region of €80m. (David Ornstein)
Hugo Ekitike has already agreed a six-year contract with Liverpool after also rejecting an offer from Manchester United. (Fabrice Hawkins)
Liverpool have a strong interest in Rodrygo Goes, who is increasingly likely to leave Real Madrid this summer and who could be an ideal replacement for Luis Diaz if he leaves. (Mark Brus, CaughtOffside)

Freddie Lawrie has passed his medical with Manchester City. The Under-17 England captain has now joined Manchester City from Aston Villa on a long-term deal. (Fabrizio Romano)
Done deal: Sverre Nypan’s move to Manchester City has now been officially announced by the club.

Manchester United were also in for Hugo Ekitike, but have been rejected as talks now advance with Liverpool. (Saikat Chatterjee, CaughtOffside)
The feeling remains among sources at Eintracht Frankfurt that Man United could still join Liverpool in the race to sign Ekitike. (Fabrizio Romano)
Ollie Watkins could be another striker option for Manchester United this summer, with the Aston Villa front-man said to be open to a move to Old Trafford. (Give Me Sport)
Erik ten Hag on Antony and Bayer Leverkusen links: “He has great quality. I signed him twice. He was like a son to me, he still is a son to me. We’re not interested in him at the moment, but we’ll see what happens in the future.” (Bild)

Galatasaray and Napoli are now at the final stages of negotiating the Victor Osimhen transfer deal after positive talks yesterday. Galatasaray look set to pay €40m for him now, and a further €35m by the end of 2026. They also won’t be able to sell Osimhen to other Italian clubs for two years. (Fabrizio Romano)
Done deal: Napoli have officially confirmed the signing of Noa Lang, who joins from PSV Eindhoven.

Newcastle have now left the race to sign Hugo Ekitike. They’re focusing on different targets after a bid for Ekitike was rejected by Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this week. (Fabrizio Romano)

Newcastle want Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez as an option up front after leaving the race to sign Hugo Ekitike. (Bild)
Newcastle look to have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher. (Football Insider)

RB Leipzig are working on a deal to sign Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian midfielder Marlon Gomes. An initial bid has been made and Shakhtar have rejected it, though Leipzig are expected to return for the highly-rated 21-year-old. (Fabrizio Romano)

Roma are now getting closer to the transfer of Brighton striker Evan Ferguson. The agreement is moving quickly towards the final stages, with Ferguson keen on the move to Roma. (Fabrizio Romano)