🚨 West Ham's Durán bid rejected, Flick coy on Williams, Fenerbahçe land En-Nesyri, , Smith-Rowe close to Fulham and more

Plus all of the other transfer stories making the news in the world of football...

Good morning! Welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing - all your essential football news in one place, delivered ad-free and straight to your inbox. Thanks for reading, and enjoy! :-)

Today’s top stories:

• DON’T MISS Fabrizio Romano’s latest column!

• 🎧 LISTEN: The Debrief Summer Transfer Mailbag Special

• Ansu Fati could still have a future at Barcelona

• Plus more from Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid

AC Monza

• AC Monza have agreed a deal to sign Daniel Maldini from AC Milan on a permanent move. He’s the replacement for Andrea Colpani who’s joining Fiorentina on a €4m loan move plus €12m buy option clause.

Al Ettifaq

• Al Ettifaq are working on a deal to sign Marek Rodák, interest concrete and talks taking place for former Fulham GK. He could be the next player to join manager Steven Gerrard and his backroom staff.

Arsenal

• Emile Smith-Rowe, getting closer and closer to joining Fulham. Arteta: “There are things happening in the background at the moment. We decided the best thing to do was to keep him away from the game.”

• Everything points to Arsenal beating Barcelona to midfielder transfer [Sport]

• Arsenal have still not presented any official bid for Mikel Merino as their focus was on sealing Calafiori deal. Formal contacts for new midfielder will start in the next days with Merino in the list, approaches took place on player side. More to follow.

• Despite reports, still zero talks or contacts between Inter and Arsenal or Inter and Jakub Kiwior’s camp. No agreement, no negotiations so far.

AS Monaco

• Maghnes Akliouche will sign a new deal at AS Monaco, done and agreed. Understand contract will be valid until June 2028 as part of Monaco young talents project. It will be official this week.

• George Ilenikhena is a new AS Monaco player on an €18m deal plus €2m add-ons to Royal Antwerp. Exclusive story, confirmed.

AS Roma

• AS Roma and Juventus will hold final contact to seal Matias Soulé deal details. Agreement reached on Wednesday on a €26m fee, €2m easy add-ons and €2m difficult add-ons, 10% sell-on. No distance, no doubts. Clubs discussing add-ons payment terms then… here we go.

• Artem Dovbyk gives initial green light to AS Roma project, open to joining the club. Negotiations with Atlético Madrid still at same point… while AS Roma have been pushing with Daniele de Rossi, crucial. AS Roma will follow up with an official bid to Girona.

• Soulé is De Rossi’s link to break the glass ceiling [Football Italia]

Aston Villa

• Unai Emery has a dream signing in mind for Aston Villa. Who is it? Fabrizio Romano has more.

Atlético Madrid

• Atlético Madrid are still negotiating contract terms with Artem Dovbyk and his camp. Agreement in place with Girona for €40m package add-ons included since Monday, not yet on player side. Two clubs have made contact with Dovbyk’s camp to be informed, including AS Roma.

• Aston Villa in talks with Atlético Madrid for João Félix [Sport]

Barcelona

• Hansi Flick: "Ansu Fati made a great impact, I was very happy with him. Now he's injured but we will wait for him to come back stronger, for sure."

• Hansi Flick on Barça and Nico Williams: “He’s not our player. Nico Williams is under contract with another club and I can’t say anything.”

• Barça president Laporta when asked about the Nico Williams deal: "Our financial situation has improved a lot. We're close to normality. Today, Barça can sign big names as we did our job. We will clarify our financial situation soon."

• Hansi Flick on Sergi Roberto: “He’s NOT a Barça player, as things stand.” Sergi Roberto is not expected to sign a new deal at Barça after Flick’s arrival and is already exploring other options. He’s available as a free agent.

• Hansi Flick: “When Gavi is on the field, he is on fire! He wants to return, but we must give him time and take care of him. He is doing well, he is a professional player and everyone will help him come back. Let's hope he plays 10/15 more years for Barça.”

• Barcelona receive much needed good news ahead of US tour [FC Barcelona]

• Al Hilal have approached Barça for Vitor Roque, as Saudi media report — he’s on club shortlist for this summer. Vitor Roque and his camp have to decide what they want to do as Barcelona could be open to selling Roque. It could be key step for FFP but depends on Vitor.

Bournemouth

• Dean Huijsen to Bournemouth, here we go! Verbal agreement in place on €18m deal plus sell-on clause for Juventus. Huijsen has agreed on a long term deal. Juventus plan to bid for Jean Clair Todibo as soon as Huijsen deal is signed.

• Bournemouth have booked medical tests for Dean Huijsen on Saturday with documents review to follow. Juventus will receive €15m fixed fee, €3m add-ons plus sell-on clause.

Chelsea

• Fiorentina have made contact with Chelsea for Cesare Casadei, with the club expected to decide if they want to advance in talks this week. There are 3/4 clubs keen on signing Casadei.

• Si Phillips has done a brilliant deep dive into Chelsea’s performance against Wrexham, the current keeper situation, Chalobah’s poor treatment and more.

• Fabrizio Romano has an exclusive update on Chelsea’s potential moves for Victor Osimhen and Villarreal’s Filip Jörgensen.

Como

• The deal between Como and OM for Pau López has collapsed and it’s definitely off after conditions were changed while exchanging documents. Former Inter GK Emil Audero will sign in as new Como GK on Friday. Pau López, still out of OM plans and expected to leave.

Crystal Palace

• Crystal Palace got green light from OM president Pablo Longoria to final proposal worth €15/16m total package for Ismaïla Sarr. Sarr will travel to London to undergo medical tests and sign a five year deal, fully agreed as reported days ago. Here we go.

• Roma open to making transfer move for Crystal Palace star [CaughtOffside]

Everton

• Jesper Lindstrøm has completed medical tests at Everton and he’s now set to sign the contract to join from Napoli.

Fenerbahçe

• Fenerbahçe confirm Youssef En-Nesyri deal done with Sevilla and signed on player side. Contract until June 2029 and one more huge signing for José Mourinho.

Fiorentina

• Fiorentina are closing in on a deal to sign Andrea Colpani from Monza, loan fee around €4m plus buy clause around €12m. Final details being sorted then Colpani will join Fiorentina. Daniel Maldini, expected to be his replacement at Monza from AC Milan.

Fulham

• Ryan Sessegnon signs a two year deal with option for a further season at Fulham, story confirmed, here we go! Fulham are also working to advance in talks to close Emile Smith-Rowe deal with Arsenal.

Inter Milan

• Alessandro Bastoni’s agent Tullio Tinti: “Man City asked for Bastoni years ago, recently Real Madrid did the same. Inter want to win and they’re not gonna sell their top players like Bastoni.”

Juventus

• Thiago Motta on Federico Chiesa: “For now he’s a Juventus player, then we will see…” Juventus plan remains the same: club and manager both approved Chiesa’s exit for this summer. Juventus want Chiesa to leave the club in order to make a profit.

• Banned Juventus star Paul Pogba: “It’s difficult to be honest” [Forbes]

• Negotiations between Karim Adeyemi’s camp and Juventus continue, after direct contact exclusively revealed on Wednesday. Discussions ongoing over contract terms, salary and more. Juve will prepare opening bid to Borussia Dortmund right after.

Las Palmas

• Oli McBurnie has signed in as a new Las Palmas player on a free transfer.

Liverpool

• Arne Slot was asked about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s current contract situation by reporters ahead of their pre-season game against Real Betis in Pittsburgh [pictures from Sky Sports]:

• It comes in the wake of Trent Alexander-Arnold being spotted going for dinner with Jude Bellingham [pictures from BackGrid]:

• Fabrizio Romano has an exclusive update on the Trent Alexander-Arnold situation and the status of Real Madrid’s interest.

• Virgil van Dijk replacement will cost £50m [Football Insider]

Manchester United

• What’s the latest on Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s proposed move? Is Bayern’s Noussair Mazraoui still an option to replace him? Fabrizio Romano has an exclusive update.

New York Red Bulls

• New York Red Bulls agree a deal to sign 28 year old former Everton midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin. Contract until December 2026 plus option for a further year. Gbamin, ready for MLS move despite talks with Espanyol, Angers, Nantes and Metz.

OGC Nice

• Official, confirmed. Jonathan Clauss signs for OGC Nice on a €5m deal plus €1m add-ons to OM.

Olympic Games Football Results - Women

• Canada vs New Zealand: 2-1

• Nigeria vs Brazil: 0-1

• United States vs Zambia: 3-0

• Germany vs Australia: 3-0

• Spain vs Japan: 2-1

• France vs Colombia: 3-2

Olympique Marseille

• Olympique Marseille consider Pau López out of Roberto de Zerbi’s project and they keep working on his exit. Como deal completely OFF after request to cover part of the salary rejected by OM plus player side final decision after one season loan, rejected too.

• Olympique Marseille are pushing in talks to sign Valentín Carboni from Inter. He’s currently closer than their other top target in separate deal, Eddie Nketiah. Talks underway on a loan with buy option clause worth £36m and buy-back clause for Inter, keeping control of the player.

• Olympique Marseille have sent a first proposal to Freiburg for 2002 born RB Kiliann Sildillia. Understand Kiliann has already agreed on terms with OM, he wants to go to Marseille. Talks already took place with Mehdi Benatia and Roberto de Zerbi.

Paris Saint-Germain

• Paris Saint-Germain are closing in on the João Neves deal! New, positive round of talks again on Thursday. PSG want to get it sealed next week. Details of package being discussed after €70m fee + players to include for Benfica, like Renato Sánches. Here we go, expected soon.

RB Leipzig

• RB Leipzig remain extremely confident and optimistic on the Xavi Simons deal. He’s expected to stay at the club for one more season, as called two days ago.

Real Madrid

• Real Madrid have reached an agreement in principle with Ferland Mendy over a new deal. Agreement valid until June 2027 plus option for one more season. Final details being sorted then time to sign all the documents soon.

• Carlo Ancelotti was crucial to get Ferland Mendy new deal done as Real Madrid manager strongly wanted him to stay. Ancelotti considers Mendy as underrated, excellent player.

• Club blocks Real Madrid move for centre-back target [Diario AS]

Rennes

• Rennes have made contact with Fabrício Bruno’s camp as Brazilian defender has been included in the shortlist. Talks continue for Leo Østigard to join from Napoli. Difficult one for Bruno as a deal already collapsed with West Ham.

• Désiré Doué has not decided his next club yet. Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern remain in the race with their proposals on the table.

Shabab Al Ahli

• Sardar Azmoun has agreed to join Shabab Al Ahli in UAE, agreement also in place with Bayer Leverkusen. Exclusive details: €5m package for Bayer Leverkusen and medical tests on Monday in Dubai. Deal closed by Epic Sports, set to be signed. Here we go.

Strasbourg

• Guela Doué has signed his long term contract as a new Strasbourg player from Rennes. €6m fixed fee, €2m add-ons. Chelsea are NOT signing Doué and loaning him to Strasbourg. It was never the case. Doué joins directly Strasbourg. Official statement to follow.

Stuttgart

• Enzo Millot could leave Stuttgart this summer as several clubs are showing concrete interest. He’s now at the Olympic Games while clubs are aware of an undisclosed release clause into his contract but are willing to pay above the clause, similar situation to Mac Allister last year.

The Debrief Podcast

• The Debrief Summer Transfer Mailbag Special - This week, Angus is in London and Ben is on tour with Chelsea in the United States. They hit on the very latest from around the transfer world, along with Fabrizio Romano, who answers your questions.

• To have your questions read during the pod, make sure to subscribe to The Debrief Substack and follow the prompts each week.

Tottenham Hotspur

• Yang Min-hyuk to Tottenham, here we go! Deal completed for 2006 born winger from Gangwon FC. First part of medical tests already booked and then he will sign a long term deal at Spurs, as reported on Wednesday. He’s expected to join Spurs from January 2025.

• England international has his heart set on a summer transfer to Tottenham [talkSPORT]

West Ham United

• West Ham improved their bid to Aston Villa for Jhon Durán but understand Villa rejected £32m, Lewis Orford and a sell-on clause as it’s still not enough to meet the £40m valuation wanted by Villa. Negotiations continue as Durán wants West Ham, up to the clubs.

• West Ham are trying to work on the Noussair Mazraoui deal too. West Ham also asked about the Artem Dovbyk situation in recent days but now it’s between Atlético and Roma.

• West Ham battling to land AC Milan duo and Chelsea star [CaughtOffside]

Wolfsburg

• Wolfsburg agree deal to sign 16 year old talented winger Saido Baldé after he left Hamburg.