🚨 Mount intervention moves him CLOSER to Manchester United, Havertz and Gundogan done deals and what it means, Liverpool target's future HINT, and more

Today's transfer round-up, featuring Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and more!

Good morning guys and welcome to another Daily Briefing! Let’s jump into the latest transfer news together, thanks as always for reading and hope you enjoy :-)

Today’s top stories:

• Mason Mount has moved a step closer to Man Utd

• Havertz and Gundogan done deals and what comes next

• Plus more on Liverpool, Newcastle and Spurs

AC Milan

• Newcastle United are stepping up their pursuit of Sandro Tonali - more on this huge deal here.

• AC Milan are now pushing to get the free transfer of Marcus Thuram done. Their proposal has been improved this week and talks will follow in the next hours. PSG and RB Leipzig remain in the race for the French forward, but Milan want to accelerate as soon as possible.

Arsenal

• Kai Havertz to Arsenal - here we go! My thoughts on this deal here.

• Two more bids lined up by Arsenal after sealing the Havertz deal, but who for, and how likely are they to go through? More info in my column here.

• Saudi clubs are prepared to pay €40m in instalments to Arsenal for Thomas Partey. He’s a concrete option for Saudi — his exit is possible as I first revealed on Sunday. There’s been no decision yet on the player side. He also has approaches from clubs in Europe. For now, there ae no new deal talks at Arsenal.

💬 Havertz is done, Partey could be on his way out - thoughts on Arsenal’s business so far?

Aston Villa

• Aston Villa remain keen on signing Pau Torres as his former manager Unai Emery has been a big fan of the centre-back since their time together at Villarreal. However, Bayern are also being kept informed on the player.

Barcelona

• Barcelona have signed Ilkay Gundogan - more on when it will be announced and what it means here.

• Barcelona director returning after his mission in Germany to seal the Gundogan deal: “This has just begun.”

Bayern Munich

• Ryan Gravenberch has dropped a hint over his future - exclusive info on what it means for Liverpool here.

• Bayern are informed on the conditions of the deal for Pau Torres, one of the left footed CB in the list in case Hernandez leaves the club. Aston Villa also remain keen on signing Pau Torres as his former manager Unai Emery has been a big fan of the centre-back since their time together at Villarreal.

• A key point on the Kim Min-jae deal: nothing will be finalised until Kim completes the military service in South Korea. Bayern have almost agreed personal terms with Kim and his agents on deal until 2028 as called last week, but there’s still nothing signed or clause triggered. Patience.

• Raphael Guerreiro will complete his medical tests today and then will be unveiled as new Bayern player on a three year contract. He agreed to join as a free agent weeks ago.

• Bayern asked about this Premier League midfielder - here’s why it didn’t work out.

Brighton

• Brighton talent Jeremy Sarmiento has agreed a new contract until June 2027, with the option of an extra year for the club.

Chelsea

• Al Nassr have reached full verbal agreement with Hakim Ziyech to join from Chelsea. Personal terms agreed - Ziyech will sign a contract until June 2026, if all goes to plan. An agreement has also been reached with Chelsea, waiting to prepare, check then sign contracts. Here we go!

• Chelsea have reached full verbal agreement with Saudi’s Al Ahli to sell goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Personal terms agreed between the club and the player, it’s set to go through if all goes to plan. Another here we go, another good sale by Chelsea.

• Al Hilal are now closing in on the Kalidou Koulibaly transfer, here we go! A verbal agreement was reached with Chelsea yesterday and he’s now expected to join Ruben Neves at the Saudi club.

• Another departure could be Callum Hudson-Odoi - more details on that here.

• Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is set to sign for Manchester City - more exclusive info and insight here.

• For now, Chelsea have rejected another Manchester United bid for Mason Mount, but he’s also made a crucial intervention that could lower his asking price - more details here.

• I understand there are no changes at this stage on Romelu Lukaku’s position. He has no intention to join Saudi clubs as he already communicated on Monday. Both Saudi clubs and Chelsea insist to convince Romelu but nothing changed from his point of view, as of yesterday.

• No changes to report on the Nicolas Jackson deal. Villarreal informed since Monday that Chelsea will meet his €35m clause. The clubs are now negotiating instalments or the possibility of loan players being included. It’s only matter of details. His contract is being prepared. Jackson will only fly to London when deal is done.

Fenerbahce

• Paris Saint-Germain are not in for Arda Guler at this stage. No negotiations are taking place despite reports. Fenerbahce met with the player and his father today in order to find a way to keep Arda at the club for one more season.

Juventus

• Juventus and Olympique Marseille have now signed the contracts for Arkadiusz Milik to make his loan move permanent - it’s been completed and sealed as expected. Milik joins Juventus on a permanent deal for €6m plus €1m add-ons.

Liverpool

• Ryan Gravenberch has dropped a hint over his future - exclusive info on what it means for Liverpool here.

• Meanwhile, guest columnist Neil Jones has more on Liverpool’s targets in midfield and defence here.

💬 Who should be Liverpool’s next priority in the transfer market?

Manchester City

• Bernardo Silva has not made any final decision on his future yet. PSG consider Bernardo priority target and Saudi clubs are pushing, a move to Barcelona now looks difficult due to FFP. The decision will be up to Bernardo — but negotiations with Man City won’t be easy as they still hope to keep him.

• What does the Mateo Kovacic deal mean for Declan Rice? Full details here.

Manchester United

• Manchester United will bid again for Mason Mount - here’s why a deal now looks more realistic.

Newcastle United

• Newcastle United are stepping up their pursuit of Sandro Tonali - more on this huge deal here.

PSG

• Paris Saint-Germain’s buy back clause for Xavi Simons is just €6m! It can only be activated in July, from 1 to 31st. Still, the final decision is ONLY up to the player. He’s waiting to hear from PSG. Elsewhere, Manchester United, Arsenal, Brighton, Spurs, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have also asked to be informed on his situation.

• Paris Saint-Germain are not in for Arda Guler at this stage. No negotiations are taking place despite reports. Fenerbahce met with the player and his father today in order to find a way to keep Arda at the club for one more season.

Real Madrid

• It’s finally official: Toni Kroos has signed a new deal at Real Madrid valid until June 2024. This has been on the cards for some time as it was already completed in March. Kroos stays, which was the desire of both Carlo Ancelotti and Florentino Perez.

• Real Madrid closing in on the signing of Vinicius Tobias in 24 hours thanks to their excellent relationship with Shakhtar Donetsk. He’s set to renew his loan with Real until June 2024 for a €500k fee, with a €15m buy option, not mandatory.

• Dani Ceballos will sign new contract with Real Madrid this week, final details pending then it will be done. The decision was made last week.

Roma

• AS Roma are closing in on a deal to sign Diego Llorente from Leeds as talks are moving to final stages, with personal terms already agreed.

• Roma have also agreed on a £9.5m deal to sell Justin Kluivert to Bournemouth — plus £850k add ons. It now depends on personal terms.

• Official, confirmed. AS Roma have completed the Evan Ndicka deal on a free transfer — five year contract signed. He said: “This club’s history and prestige made me want to come to Rome, which is a fantastic city that loves and lives for football.”

Southampton

• Russell Martin has been officially confirmed as Southampton’s new manager as they prepare for life in the Championship. He joins on a three-year deal. He said: “It’s privilege to accept this opportunity, a club with such a long/rich history. My aim is to get this club back in the top flight.”

• Why isn’t Saints star Romeo Lavia a top target for Liverpool? More exclusive insight here.

Tottenham

• Understand Tottenham have started concrete contacts to be informed on Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba as a target at centre-back. He’s been on their list for a long time, and Spurs are now exploring conditions of the deal on both player and Bayer 04 side. Nothing advanced yet, but Tapsoba is keen on the move.

• Tosin Adarabioyo is another option being considered by Tottenham as a new centre back signing as he has decided to leave Fulham this summer.

• Tottenham keep working on a new goalkeeper signing, with David Raya a top target and personal terms agreed, but Brentford’s £40m asking price is still considered too high.

• Tottenham are also assessing other options for a new signing in goal. Guglielmo Vicario is emerging as one of their top targets after some superb form in Serie A with Empoli. There’s also Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili, with contacts on player side to be informed on deal conditions.

• UPDATE: Tottenham have reached an agreement on personal terms with Guglielmo Vicario on a five year contract valid until 2028. An official bid for the player to Empoli should come soon.

• Tottenham are still pushing for James Maddison, but could they face competition for his signature? More here.

West Ham

• There are no doubts on West Ham appointing Tim Steidten as their new technical director — it will be completed soon, it’s been done since last week. He was also wanted by Tottenham after looking for a new challenge in the Premier League.

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