the Daily Briefing - Deadline Day update! Douglas Luiz, Memphis Depay, Arthur, and more
My special second transfer round-up as we edge closer to the transfer deadline, featuring Douglas Luiz to Arsenal, those Memphis Depay to Chelsea links, and more.
Welcome back guys, here’s my special edition second Daily Briefing as things move quickly on Deadline Day - enjoy! :-)
This afternoon’s top stories:
Douglas Luiz is pushing to be allowed a move to Arsenal
Aubameyang to Chelsea and Alonso to Barcelona - here we go!
Arthur is on his way to Liverpool on loan
AC Milan
Sergino Dest is currently undergoing first part of medical tests as new AC Milan player. Barcelona were ready to let him go. He joins on an initial loan with a permanent buy option.
Arsenal
Arsenal are in talks over signing Douglas Luiz. He wants to leave Aston Villa, so personal terms won’t be an issue, but discussions taking place over £20m fee.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has signed a new contract until 2024 with Arsenal before moving on loan to Southampton.
There’s no Arsenal bid for Mykhaylo Mudryk - Shakhtar Donetsk expect him to stay, they’ve also rejected other offers. Arsenal have held an interest, but nothing more concrete so far.
Aston Villa
Leander Dendoncker is on his way to Aston Villa - it’s a done deal. £13m fee agreed, with his medical taking place this afternoon.
Barcelona
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks set to leave for Chelsea, with Marcos Alonso moving to Barcelona as part of the deal.
Hector Bellerin to Barcelona is on - he’ll join until 2023 after an agreement to terminate his contract at Arsenal.
Despite reports to the contrary, Memphis Depay is now closer to staying at Barcelona rather than leaving.
Chelsea
Chelsea and Barcelona have finally reached an agreement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The fee will be €14m, plus Marcos Alonso moving in the opposite direction. Aubameyang will be in London tonight and sign a two-year contract with the option of one more.
Despite reports, my understanding is that there are no advanced talks over Memphis Depay - Aubameyang remains Chelsea’s priority. As I said earlier, though, Depay is one to watch on Deadline Day - find out more here.
Kenedy is in Spain ahead of a possible move to Valladolid. His agents are working on the deal with the La Liga club.
📰 In other news, Chelsea are turning their attention towards Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez after completing the Aubameyang deal (Tom Roddy, Times)
Espanyol
Martin Braithwaite is having a medical with Espanyol as he looks set to terminate his contract with Barcelona and move on a free transfer. He’ll sign a contract until 2025 with Barca’s rivals.
Everton
Everton submitted a formal bid of £25m plus £5m in add-ons on Wednesday for Joao Pedro: Watford have turned the offer down - they have no intention to let him go.
Fulham
Layvin Kurzawa has signed his contract as a new Fulham player. He’s joining on loan from PSG - it’s now a done deal.
Daniel James is set to join Fulham on loan from Leeds. Tottenham were also interested, as I revealed earlier.
Former Arsenal and Chelsea star Willian is another incoming player for Fulham - he’s just signed a contract with the club and it’s a done deal.
📰 In other news, Cedric Soares had been targeted by Fulham, but looks to be leaning towards staying at Arsenal as he looks to fight for his place (Football London)
Getafe
Jordan Amavi to Getafe, deal done. He’s flying to Spain in the next few hours to sign the contract after a move to Olympiacos fell through a few days ago.
Inter Milan
Inter Milan are set to seal the loan signing of Francesco Acerbi from Lazio. It will include the option to make the transfer permanent, but has no effect on the future of Milan Skriniar.
Leeds
Leeds are set to sign Bamba Dieng from Marseille for €10m - he joins as a replacement for Daniel James, who is moving on loan to Fulham.
Cody Gakpo was a target for Leeds, but he’s now set to stay at PSV. Leeds could try again for the Dutch winger in January.
Leicester City
Official, confirmed. Wout Faes joins Leicester on permanent deal from Reims as the club’s replacement for Wesley Fofana.
Leicester are also still working on a deal to sign Jeremie Boga from Atalanta.
Still no update on Youri Tielemans - I’m not aware of a bid from a mystery club. Personally, as I wrote earlier, I think he could have been perfect for Liverpool.
Liverpool
Arthur to Liverpool - here we go! He’s flown to the UK for his medical, with contracts all signed for loan deal valid until June 2023, with no purchase option.
Manchester City
Done deal, officially confirmed - Manuel Akanji has completed a transfer to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund for a deal worth €17.5m.
Sam Edozie and Juan Larios are going to join Southampton, as first revealed yesterday - now medicals ongoing for both. Both players have buy-back clauses inserted into the deal by Manchester City.
Manchester United
Erik ten Hag is convinced Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at Manchester United - exclusive insight here.
Tahith Chong to Birmingham City is a done deal. He’s set to take a significant pay cut to leave Manchester United permanently, with a medical scheduled.
Nottingham Forest
Official, confirmed: Willy Boly has completed a move to Nottingham Forest on a permanent deal from Wolves.
RB Leipzig
Official: Josko Gvardiol has extended his contract with RB Leipzig until June 2027, with Chelsea’s €90m bid turned down yesterday. There wasn’t enough time to complete the agreement, so talks for Gvardiol to Chelsea in 2023 will continue in January.
Official, confirmed. Abdou Diallo is joining RB Leipzig on loan from PSG, with the option to make the deal permanent for €25m.
Southampton
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has completed his medical to finalise a move to Southampton. He’s joining on a season-long loan with the option to make the move permanent.
Southampton are in talks to sign Maxime Lacroix. It won’t be easy but negotiations are ongoing between Southampton and Wolfsburg.