Fabrizio Romano &#8211; CaughtOffside

Exclusive: Transfer journalist makes big prediction for the future of Erling Haaland at Man City

25-year-old tells friends he is ready to leave Liverpool in 2025, club seeking £30m for sale

Man United dealt huge blow as star who missed 56 games since Old Trafford move injured again

PSG star not happy with his current situation

It’s still early stages in this story but Milan Skriniar is not happy with his current situation at PSG regarding game time as the defender has played in just two matches this season for the French champions.

If nothing changes at PSG, he would be open to leaving the club in January, but it will depend on PSG.

Milan Skriniar is not happy at PSG. Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

If the Ligue 1 champions open the doors to a loan deal, Juventus could be interested in the former Inter centre-back and as of right now, I’m not aware of bids from Premier League clubs.

In my opinion, I don’t expect Skriniar to play much more at PSG as Luis Enrique has made his decision. This is one to watch in January.

In other news…

Liverpool’s centre-back search – Despite rumours linking centre-backs to Liverpool, I can say that I have nothing to tell you guys about this. I’d not be surprised if Liverpool decided to sign a new central defender during the 2025 summer transfer window but as of right now, there is nothing concrete regarding names. Liverpool are not in direct contact with any centre-backs.

Samuele Ricci – All is quiet around Torino’s Samuele Ricci. All the rumours linking him with a move away from Turin is just the media as English clubs have been scouting the midfielder but there have been no approaches, talks, or proposals. Torino are determined to keep him until at least the end of the season. For those who may have not seen Ricci play, I can tell you that he’s a quality midfielder, with great passing, great vision and a good personality.

The post Could Arsenal sign a new striker in 2025? Gareth Southgate latest & more – exclusive Fabrizio Romano column appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Jurgen Klopp’s new job, William Saliba transfer latest – exclusive Fabrizio Romano column

Fabrizio Romano — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 16:05:00 +0000

This article on Jurgen Klopp and more transfer news was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

New job for Jurgen Klopp!

Jurgen Klopp is back in football, but not as a manager, with the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund boss confirmed as the new head of global soccer with the Red Bull Group. Obviously we know about RB Leipzig and Salzburg in Europe, but they have many clubs around the world, and Klopp will start his new role with them from January 2025.

So, what will Klopp do in this job? He will co-ordinate everything with the managers and directors of the Red Bull clubs, helping them develop strategies to develop players, help them to work with talents, and also to sign players for the future. Klopp will be a fundamental and crucial figure to drive the future of the Red Bull Group around the world.

The agreement was done in the last 24 hours, and it includes a kind of private clause for Klopp, in case he wants to become the new head coach of the German national team at any point. Of course it’s not guaranteed that he’ll want to take this job, and Julian Nagelsmann remains in charge for now, but if that changes there is a clause that could give him the opportunity to leave his role and become Germany manager.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is back in football (Photo by Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images)

What next for Manchester City after director departure?

Another big figure in world football who’s making a move is Txiki Begiristain at Manchester City. While he’s not at the same level as Klopp as he’s not been a manager, he’s been a superb director at Man City, one of the best directors in the history of the game.

Pep Guardiola is obviously the main man at City, but behind the scenes Begiristain is the man signing all the superstars – he’s made some fantastic signings during his time there, and he’s also very highly regarded for his work at Barcelona before that.

I’m told that he will now take a sabbatical, but his intention is not to retire. We’ll see how long his break will be, but his plan is to take his time and see what other opportunities there will be in the football world.

Meanwhile, it will be time for Manchester City to find a new director of football and my information is that the big favourite for the job is Hugo Viana of Sporting Lisbon. He’s a strong candidate and has very good chances to replace Begiristain at City. He’s done an excellent job in Portugal, signing players like Viktor Gyokeres and Ousmane Diomande, so he’s a very talented director.

I can confirm that contacts are already ongoing, so keep an eye on this one as it looks like Viana has a good chance of becoming a new key figure behind the scenes at Manchester City. I rate him really highly and so I’m not surprised to be told about him being favourite for the job. Txiki Begiristain is a world class director, one of the best in history, he made incredible things in Spain and then he built this City masterpiece with Pep and Ferran Soriano, so it’s a big blow for City, for sure, but I’m also sure they know how to replace him in the best way possible.

Some fans have also asked me what this all means for Guardiola’s future, but my information is that Begiristain leaving doesn’t mean that Guardiola is also leaving. The feeling inside City is that they are confident of keeping Guardiola at least for one more season – the final approval, the final decision will be from Pep himself, but my information remains that the change in director doesn’t mean that the manager will also be leaving.

Guardiola is taking his time to decide at this important point in City’s project, but the club are confident and optimistic about keeping their manager, with Begiristain’s future not changing that.

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Clarification on two Arsenal exit rumours

A story that keeps coming up at the moment is William Saliba and a possible move away from Arsenal – in recent weeks we’ve heard a few times about Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, but I can honestly say I have no confirmation of any of this, including on the claim that Real Madrid contacted Saliba’s entourage.

I’m not aware of anything concrete at this stage – all I know is that Saliba is fully focused on Arsenal, while Arsenal obviously also consider Saliba as a key part of their project, nothing else.

Real Madrid are exploring the centre-backs market since the Leny Yoro case last summer, as they missed out on his signature to Manchester United, but at the moment that’s it; nothing else into those Saliba stories and I can guarantee he’s 100% focused on Arsenal now.

Some other Arsenal rumours have been circulating involving Jorginho. However, I can say that the situation is that Jorginho is only thinking about this season. It’s an important season for Arsenal, I don’t think all these links for Jorgi, Saliba etc are genuine and are good for the club… it’s only the beginning of October, the season started just 50 days ago.

Jorginho’s full focus is on present, on Arsenal, not on moving into coaching and not on making the move to Saudi.

Still nothing confirmed on Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United future

We’re hearing a lot of stories about Manchester United’s situation, but I can guarantee again that at the time of writing Erik ten Hag has still not received any communication from INEOS on his future, so he’s still preparing for upcoming games against Brentford and others – he’s fully focused on Manchester United.

We know United are discussing things internally, but at the moment there has been no communication from anyone at the club. United are having meetings, taking their time, so let’s keep following the situation and see what happens, but as of now there has been nothing communicated and so it remains business as usual, with Ten Hag preparing for the next games.

Martin Zubimendi responds to Manchester City links

Martin Zubimendi has spoken about his future in a press conference after fresh speculation – we know that he said no to Liverpool in the summer, and there’s now been talk of Manchester City looking at him to replace Rodri while he’s out injured.

At the moment, I’m not aware of any direct contacts over Zubimendi, and he’s said he’s still focused on Real Sociedad. Next summer we will see if that changes, it could be an interesting one, but for now there are no contacts or negotiations with Manchester City or anyone else, and he keeps repeating in public how happy he is at Real Sociedad.

In other news…

Victor Osimhen – There have been fresh reports about Victor Osimhen’s asking price dropping to €81m for January, but I don’t have any confirmation on this and I think in general Galatasaray should be more respected on the media. They paid important money for Osimhen on loan, it’s not even five or six games and there are already rumours about January and more. Nothing is ongoing now, for sure. In any case, there’s a new release clause into his contract if he ends up extending at Napoli as revealed one month ago so that’s the value for the future.

Randal Kolo Muani – I was surprised to see reports about PSG possibly being prepared to let Randal Kolo Muani leave this January. PSG only have Kolo Muani as a striker option right now as Goncalo Ramos is injured, so it would be crazy to discuss the exit of the only striker you have in your squad – there’s nothing into this one. If PSG wanted to sell Kolo Muani, they had offers last summer and they didn’t even consider that. Kolo Muani remains part of PSG project for this season, then next summer we will see.

Arda Guler – Despite latest rumours, no talks are taking place between Fenerbahce and Arda Guler. Also, Arda only wants to succeed at Real Madrid and he’s not considering loan proposals now. So there’s nothing into this, Real Madrid remain convinced he will find space to get more playing time in the next months as the season is still long.

The post Jurgen Klopp’s new job, William Saliba transfer latest – exclusive Fabrizio Romano column appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Karim Adeyemi to Liverpool plus more exclusive transfer news – Fabrizio Romano column

Fabrizio Romano — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 17:00:00 +0000

This article on Karim Adeyemi and other transfer news was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive updates via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

Erik ten Hag latest plus the truth about those Ollie Watkins to Manchester United stories

Manchester United had meetings yesterday, but at the time of writing I have no substantial updates on what was discussed and what it means for how the club’s plans are taking shape.

It’s a situation to follow hour by hour as it involves many people, they’re discussing several things after the poor start to the season. It includes the management, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, they’re discussing all together, so at the moment, while I’m writing this, Man United have not made any firm decision yet and Erik ten Hag remains the manager.

It’s also been reported that transfer plans for January may have come up in this meeting, but my understanding is that this will be their topic in December, not now after just eight games for sure.

I’ve also been asked about a story involving United and Ollie Watkins in 2023, as it’s been claimed that they decided not to sign the Aston Villa striker, focusing instead on Ramus Hojlund. My information is that they had multiple options on the table, not only Watkins, but they consider Hojlund a huge talent for the future with big potential, so their number one choice in 2023 was always Hojlund.

Was it the right decision? Personally I would not criticise Hojlund – he needs time but he’s talented and a very good player, though it’s probably true that an experienced striker next to him would have helped United.

Liverpool contract updates and the secret behind Arne Slot’s early success

Trent Alexander-Arnold remains on the list at Real Madrid, while we’re also waiting for important updates on his potential new contract with Liverpool, along with teammates Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

All three players are talking with Liverpool, discussing with Liverpool, so let’s wait and see how this negotiation will go. It’s not just about the salary, but also the length of the contract, and also the project and the direction Liverpool are going. These will all be discussed, so we’ll have to wait to see how it develops.

I keep getting a lot of questions on Alexander-Arnold in particular, and it remains the case that Real Madrid keep following the situation. Real Madrid are very well informed, but it’s still not advanced in terms of any negotiations, because the player’s priority is to discuss with Liverpool.

Elsewhere, there are positive updates as Jarell Quansah has signed a new contract, and negotiations have also started with Ibrahima Konate. He’s happy at Liverpool and Arne Slot is happy with him, so it’s looking positive, and Liverpool are prepared to offer him an important contract with an improved salary, which is obviously something Konate will look on in a positive way.

Under new director Richard Hughes, Liverpool are determined to avoid situations like the contracts of Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold happening again – important players have to sort out their contracts as soon as possible, so this is what will happen with Konate, following the deal being done for Quansah.

With the Salah situation being what it is, we’re unsurprisingly seeing a lot of Liverpool transfer rumours about new wingers. It’s true that they are watching several players, but I don’t have any concrete updates yet on specific targets, despite the links with Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi and West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus.

Karim Adeyemi to Liverpool (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Juventus wanted Adeyemi last summer, but since that moment when Karim decided to stay at Dortmund, nothing concrete happened. We’ll see what happens in the future, but for now I think it’s too early to be talking about him and Liverpool.

Similarly, with Kudus and Liverpool there is currently nothing concrete to report. There will be 100 links per day on Liverpool with Salah out of contract but Liverpool are not in discussions or planning any move yet, it’s just a moment where they explore the market and still talk to Salah about the contract. So nothing really concrete on Kudus now, it’s not an October/November topic for sure.

Finally on Liverpool, some fans have been asking me for insight into how Arne Slot has made such a strong start after the big challenge of replacing Jurgen Klopp. It’s certainly been a very good appointment – Slot has a good feeling with the players, but also he’s generally a very humble guy, and this was appreciated in the dressing room and also among the new directors.

Apart from that, he is of course very good tactically, this is not new as already at Feyenoord we could see that he was an excellent manager, but the way he’s entered Liverpool’s world has been really appreciated. This was probably the secret of this excellent start.

Paul Pogba and Juventus to negotiate termination of contract

Following the news of Paul Pogba having his drug ban reduced from four years to eighteen months, I wanted to clarify once again that it looks to be over between him and Juventus. I can confirm that both sides have decided to part ways, and now a formal negotiation will follow to terminate his contract.

Pogba feels he needs a fresh start after this difficult period, and Juventus also want to move on. They are focusing on different players, particularly young players in this new project under new manager Thiago Motta, so it’s over between Juve and Pogba, and his contract will be terminated, making him a free agent.

Pogba remains really ambitious – he wants to play, he wants to be back with the French national team, so let’s see which club will decide to give him a chance in the months ahead.

Credit to Enzo Maresca for strong start at Chelsea

It’s been a really strong start to the season for Chelsea and I think Enzo Maresca deserves credit after his arrival this summer in what was not the easiest moment. Mauricio Pochettino had also done well towards the end of last season, but the club decided to go in a different direction, though it now looks like it’s proved to be a smart call, even on an inexperienced name in his first Premier League job.

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I’m told that Maresca is having a very good impact on these players on the tactical point of view, and also the results of that have clearly been good. But most important part is the feeling he created with the players; they’re all very happy with Maresca, how direct and clear he is, also the fans are appreciating that and you can feel a different atmosphere at Stamford Bridge this season.

Full credit to Maresca for the job he’s done so far – the start has been excellent but this project is obviously a long term one, so there might still be a few ups and downs, but let’s give him time to continue his impressive work.

The post Karim Adeyemi to Liverpool plus more exclusive transfer news – Fabrizio Romano column appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Transfer news: Ten Hag’s Man United future, Haaland Barcelona links, Chelsea plans & more

Fabrizio Romano — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 17:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive transfer news via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

Paul Pogba is back, but could be set to leave Juventus

One of the big stories of the last couple of days is that Paul Pogba is set to return to professional football. Pogba had been given a four-year drug ban, but he was always training and keeping himself fit because he felt, in private, that he was sure the ban would be reduced.

And now we can confirm that Pogba’s ban is going to be reduced, from four years to eighteen months. This means that, having already served one year of the ban, from January he can resume training with Juventus; from March, he can begin playing games again, at club level, or for his national team.

However, the internal feeling at Juventus is that they are convinced of their decision to part ways with Pogba. Juve were waiting for an official statement on Pogba’s ban, and now that it’s here, their feeling remains to reach an agreement with Pogba to terminate his contract.

So, Pogba could be available on a free transfer from January, or from March when he can start playing in games again. His contract is expected to be terminated, this is Juventus’ intention, and then let’s just see how these conversations will go and what kind of options Pogba will have on the market.

Obviously we wish Pogba all the best as he’s closer to returning to football – an important moment in his career and his life, but let’s keep an eye on this situation as there’s a strong possibility that he will be available on the market as a free agent very soon.

A big weekend for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United

It’s a big weekend ahead for Manchester United. Remember what I told you at the start of the week – it’s a crucial week for Erik ten Hag, whose side drew 3-3 with Porto in midweek. It was a strange game, with Man United going 2-0 up, then 3-2 down, but fighting back for the draw, so a confusing result.

Now today they take on Aston Villa in the Premier League and it could be a big one for the future of Ten Hag. INEOS want to see a reaction – Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken publicly to say that he likes Ten Hag but it’s not his decision. The reality is that they are discussing this internally, and they want to see the reaction of the team today, they want to see results, and so today’s game could be really important for the future of the manager.

Erik ten Hag Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Internal talks are ongoing, and results will be important, but as well as that they want to see the right reaction in the eyes of the players, the body language, and things like that. Let’s see how the Villa game goes, let’s see what INEOS make of it, and also how key figures like Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox will decide to act on the future of Ten Hag.

Staying with United, some fans have asked me about the reports in the Swedish media linking the Red Devils with Hammarby’s 18-year-old talent Bazoumana Toure. However, my understanding is that there is nothing concrete happening at the moment, it’s just normal scouting activity.

For sure, Toure is a very interesting and promising talent so obviously clubs are following him, but not only United – it’s more than ten clubs sending their scouts to follow him, so at the moment it’s just a case of clubs monitoring the player and it’s too early to mention things about his future.

No panic at Arsenal despite Antonio Rudiger’s comments about signing William Saliba

Antonio Rudiger gave an interesting interview talking about his favourite centre-backs, and he had some kind words for players like William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Virgil van Dijk. Then when he was asked which centre-back he would want to sign for Real Madrid, he immediately said Saliba.

This caused a bit of panic among some fans, but I can say there is absolutely nothing going on with Saliba and any other club. Back in the summer we had rumours about Saliba and PSG, and about Spanish clubs, but the reality is that he never considered leaving Arsenal. He extended his contract in summer 2023, and he remains very happy with life at the club, it’s fantastic for him there.

Saliba can see the ambition under manager Mikel Arteta, and he can see how important he is in the project. His contract is still long, and at the moment there are no conversations with any other clubs, so the appreciation of Rudiger is nothing to worry about – it’s obvious that Saliba would have admirers from other big players as he’s one of the best centre-backs in the world, but it’s a compliment for the player, but nothing more than that. Saliba is very happy at Arsenal and they are very happy with him, so the intention is to continue together for the long term.

Will January be busy for Chelsea?

It’s been a strong start to the season from Chelsea after another busy summer, so what can we expect from the Blues in January? After so much work on changing this squad and investing in young players, fans have asked me if it could be busy again for Chelsea when the window re-opens in the winter.

For now, however, I don’t predict January to be a busy month for Chelsea. There could be outgoings as it remains the case that Ben Chilwell can leave, and it’s the same for Carney Chukwuemeka. But I don’t expect many other movements as they’re quite happy with the squad and with the performances now.

Let’s see, because in December they will assess and decide, but in terms of outgoings I don’t expect many players to leave. The current feeling is very positive so Chelsea’s full focus is on developing the current players.

More Stories / Latest News

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In other news…

Erling Haaland – Barcelona have been linked with Manchester City’s star player in the Spanish press, but my honest feeling is that predicting what Barca will do now for summer 2025 would be completely made up stuff. It will depend on Financial Fair Play and on how this season goes. It’s still early October. At the club, they’re absolutely not working on this kind of big deals for summer 2025 now. Haaland is only focused on Man City, there’s nothing concrete ongoing at all – I can guarantee that.

Merlin Rohl – I’ve seen the stories about Liverpool’s interest in Freiburg’s Merlin Rohl, but at the moment I don’t have confirmation on Liverpool working on this deal. Liverpool’s focus is currently on different areas, but also for Rohl at the moment there are no concrete contacts ongoing. Richard Hughes has fantastic knowledge of talents so I’m sure he’s monitoring many players but that’s it now.

Matias Soule – It’s been a difficult time for Matias Soule, who has been criticised in the Italian press while results for Roma are not what many will have expected. My feeling is that he needs time and I’d be optimistic because he’s a very good talent, with huge potential and Roma invested a lot on him. No time for panic or to mention other clubs, it’s six or seven games – give the lad some time to adapt, develop, show his skills. It’s been difficult start for Roma in general as they’ve already changed the coach, not only for Soule. I’m sure Roma still trust Matias for the long term.

The post Transfer news: Ten Hag’s Man United future, Haaland Barcelona links, Chelsea plans & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Transfer news: One stays and one goes at Chelsea, Partey to remain at Arsenal and more

Fabrizio Romano — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 18:00:00 +0000

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Ben Chilwell will move in January but Josh Acheampong is staying at Chelsea

Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

It’s too early to comment on where Ben Chilwell will end up next. This is gonna be a topic for December because now it’s still quiet.

Chilwell is training at the best level possible to help Chelsea and to be as professional as usual. There are no contacts ongoing with any club yet, but the plan is for Chelsea to sell/offload Chilwell in January, that’s true.

Staying with the Blues, there’s no “situation” at all with Josh Acheampong.

He’s a Chelsea player, considered part of the project and an important talent, and he’s also really appreciated by Enzo Maresca and his staff.

No story, no talks with Newcastle or any other club, nothing.

Acheampong is one of the players trusted by Chelsea and there are no movements ongoing.

Thomas Partey expected to remain at Arsenal

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Another player I expect to stay at his club at least until the end of the season is Thomas Partey.

There are no movements planned for January

For the summer, we will see; no decision has been made yet on his contract situation, but I’m not aware of any contact with Atletico or Barca for the January window.

Villa’s whole structure benefits Unai Emery

(Photo by Cameron Smith/Getty Images)

Unai Emery is a fantastic coach, but it’s the entire structure that has helped Villa get where they are now.

Monchi as director, his right hand Damia Vidagany… they’re supporting Emery’s ideas in the best way possible.

So you’ve a top coach, a board doing an excellent job, and this is the secret. How coordinated they are, how good the structure is…

They really trust each other.

Nothing in Frenkie de Jong to United/Chelsea rumours

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

There are no movements expected in January for Frenkie de Jong despite contractual rumours in the Spanish media, it’s completely quiet. There’s nothing in it.

He’s still very happy at Barcelona and fully focused on recovering his best form after the injury.

All the rest – Chelsea, Man United – is just speculation, nothing else. I repeat, no transfer movements around de Jong.

Gleison Bremer is out for the season but Juve won’t replace him until January

Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images

It’s a sad day for Juventus.

Although it was an amazing night for them in the Champions League against Leipzig, there was a very serious injury to Gleison Bremer.

A torn ACL and meniscus means that the season is over for a fantastic player.

He will be back stronger I’m sure, but for Juventus it means some kind of emergency option for the centre-back position.

Obviously they have Gati and Kalulu and they can maybe adapt Danilo, but they need one more centre-back.

There were rumours about Sergio Ramos, because he’s probably the biggest name on the free agents market available right now.

What I can tell you is that the current position of Juventus is to not go and sign any centre-backs.

No contacts are taking place yet, Juventus will take their time, it happened not even 20 hours ago… no rush, no panic.

So, despite the stories surrounding Ramos and any other centre-backs, Juventus will consider entering the market in January but not before.

They will discuss options with Motta and pick the best one.

Nico Paz continues to shine and Real Madrid hold all the aces for his future

Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images

Nico Paz has been called up for the first time for the Argentinian national team.

Lionel Scaloni, the head coach of Argentina, was monitoring him, and he also had a direct call with Cesc Fabregas who spoke really highly of the former Real Madrid player.

He’s doing fantastic this season at Como in Serie A. Goals, assists… one of the best talents we can see in the league at this moment.

However, Real Madrid have included two clauses into the contract with Como; one is a 50% sell-on clause in case of a future move, with the other being a buyback clause as internally at Real Madrid they believe that Nico Paz is too important for the future of the club.

At Real Madrid of course they have many fantastic players, so there was no space for Nico Paz, but the club only accepted his sale on those conditions, and they remain in control of his destiny.

Let’s see how this situation will develop.

Jhon Duran was really, really close to Chelsea last summer

Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

Jhon Duran is one of the best young strikers in Europe in this moment, but he’s almost never starting for Aston Villa.

Every time he enters the pitch he’s making an impact, scoring impressive goals and what he’s doing is fantastic.

Against Bayern he scored the winner on an historical night for Aston Villa, but Jhon Duran was actually really, really, really close to becoming a new Chelsea player at some point over the summer transfer window.

It was before the beginning of the Euros. In that moment, early June, Chelsea and Aston Villa almost agreed on every part of the deal, which included Conor Gallagher.

He was a priority target for Unai Emery and for Aston Villa but the real issue in this story was Conor Gallagher rejected the move. Particularly because of the timing as he wanted to represent England.

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The deal collapsed, but Jhon Duran was a really strong candidate for Chelsea.

Let me also say credits to Villa, because when West Ham and other clubs wanted to sign the player, the club always said £50 million pounds or nothing.

They rejected several approaches, several proposals for £42m plus an academy player, £42m plus a sell on clause… several proposals from other clubs, but Villa decided to keep Durán.

Not an easy decision to make because there was important money on the table for a player who is not a regular.

Real Madrid still attentive to Trent

Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

And then guys today, after many rumours from Spain, I keep receiving many of your questions on Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In Spain we heard about supposed contacts with Real Madrid but let me tell you that the situation has not changed.

Real Madrid maintain their interest in Trent’s situation and what I’m told is that, as of today, they are not negotiating with him. They are not discussing terms of contracts, not discussing salary and not discussing the project.

So we are not at the advanced or concrete stages of the story.

The interest of Real Madrid is something I’ve been mentioning to you for months, since March, and that interest is still there. They appreciate the player and they are always super attentive to top players in general, especially if they are out of contract.

Liverpool are the priority though, they are talking to Trent and are going to have more conversations with him, so let’s see what’s going to happen.

The post Transfer news: One stays and one goes at Chelsea, Partey to remain at Arsenal and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Transfer news: List to replace ten Hag doesn’t exist, Saliba happy and more

Fabrizio Romano — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 18:00:00 +0000

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William Saliba remains happy at Arsenal

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Although William Saliba will always be appreciated because of his immense talent, there’s nothing in a rumour that Paris Saint-Germain could make a big offer for his services at this stage, to be fair.

There has been no approach from PSG, no proposal, no talks.

Saliba is a crucial player for Arsenal so I don’t think there could be anything for Saliba to even consider soon.

He’s very happy at Arsenal and there’s nothing ongoing with any club – no idea where these PSG stories are coming from.

Chelsea have enough keepers… don’t need Hermansen

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Chelsea will not sign goalkeepers in January according to their current plan, so the information concerning Enzo Maresca moving for his Leicester keeper, Mads Hermansen, is false.

They already have many in that position with Jorgensen, Sanchez, and also Penders for the future.

So, it’s already set for the goalkeepers future at Chelsea and I’m not aware of negotiations with any other GK in the market so far.

Keep an eye on Almiron in the January window

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I can confirm guys that, yes, there was MLS interest in Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron last summer. Saudi clubs also appreciate him but didn’t send any bid.

Negotiations could follow in January, but for now there are no talks ongoing as it’s still October, too early.

I’d keep the doors open to Almiron’s exit in January based on proposals received because he’s not an untouchable player at Newcastle.

There is no list to replace ten Hag at Man United

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I’ve seen the stories but guys, no, I can’t confirm there is any list for managers to replace Erik ten Hag at the moment.

I can guarantee that Man United are not talking to any manager now, because they want to see the team’s performance against Porto and Aston Villa before making any decision.

So, all links with all managers… nothing confirmed so far.

Also, there is nothing at all in the Inzaghi rumours as he’s fully focused on the project at Inter. I’ve honestly no idea where this is coming from.

Leny Yoro was convinced by Man United promise

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It did seem that Leny Yoro would be signing for Real Madrid at one stage, but, for sure, Man United presented a long term project with him as a regular starter.

Important player status immediately, complete trust for the long term and of course an important salary were also factors in how Man United signed Leny Yoro.

These reasons were the key for Yoro to decide to accept Manchester United’s offer despite Real Madrid’s strong interest.

Man City not looking at Samuele Ricci at present

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At this stage, I don’t have any information on Manchester City working on a deal for Torino’s Samuele Ricci to replace Rodri. Nothing at all so far.

No contacts are taking place, it’s all quiet on this one.

City will decide what they want to do to replace Rodri over the course of the next months, and closer to January.

In other news…

Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

In England and in Europe, one of the big topics of every single summer transfer window – when you talk to agents, players, directors of football, CEO’s, presidents and managers – is… why is the transfer window still open while the first games of the season are taking place?

There is some huge news to tell you about this, however.

The Premier League clubs are prepared to push hard to get the summer transfer window from 2025 closed on the day before the beginning of the Premier League season. So, sometime around mid-August.

This is the plan, not only in Premier League, but from what I’m told, also for all the other European top leagues.

From what I’m hearing, it all started with Serie A pushing the other leagues last summer to follow suit.

La Liga decided not to proceed at that point, and so what happened is that obviously all the other top leagues had to be on the same page to avoid a problem. If all the leagues were going to close the market around mid-August, and La Liga still opened until the end of August, it was a big danger for all the other leagues, obviously.

Now the top leagues are talking to fix the new date of the summer transfer window in 2025, with all the clubs pushing in the same direction.

If you want my personal opinion, guys, credit to Serie A. I have to say that it’s really important because they started this, but also credit to the Premier League, because now they are pushing ahead with this possibility.

This will be a big change in terms of timing, because obviously many clubs will start planning for their signings earlier, but in my opinion, this is the best solution possible.

The post Transfer news: List to replace ten Hag doesn’t exist, Saliba happy and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Transfer news: Murillo will be expensive for Chelsea, ten Hag still retains United backing and more

Fabrizio Romano — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 18:00:00 +0000

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Murillo would be very expensive for Chelsea

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So guys, I’ve seen the rumours about Murillo and Chelsea, and what I can say is that Chelsea are following several players in the centre-back position but no talks taking place yet.

There are so many links but there’s nothing concrete or really advanced now.

Also, Murillo would be very expensive for any club as when Juventus thought about him last summer, Nottingham Forest didn’t want to open the doors for him to leave.

Chelsea will look for Chukwuemeka solution in the new year

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Sticking with Chelsea, Carney Chukwuemeka is still not playing. Why?

Enzo Maresca has always been very honest and clear with his players, and has never hidden things, even when he speaks to the press in public.

Maresca clarified that the plan this summer for Chelsea was for Carney to leave, but only to a club that would give him a good opportunity.

A club where he could play 38 games, not moving to a club where he was not going to be a regular starter.

This was why Chelsea rejected many approaches from Milan and others during the summer transfer window.

Carney ended up staying of course but he’s not playing, so the club will look for a solution in January.

The player wants to play and Chelsea don’t want him to stay out of the squad for too long, so work is in progress already.

Akliouche not moving to Newcastle in January

Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images

I don’t have information on Newcastle actively working to sign Maghnes Akliouche or starting any sort of negotiation.

It’s definitely too early to understand what’s gonna happen next summer. For January, no movement is expected and it’s understood that he will stay at Monaco.

In the summer, we will see; but at the moment nothing to report.

Rodrygo is still only focused on Real Madrid

Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

It’s difficult for me even to comment the Rodrygo and Darwin Nunez rumours, guys…

I don’t even know where these links are coming from. Nunez to Atlético Madrid, Rodrygo to Liverpool… trust me, now it’s all completely quiet.

There are no negotiations or talks for these players, Nunez is completely focused on Liverpool and Atlético just spent €75m plus add-ons on Julian Alvarez two months ago.

Rodrygo also extended his Real Madrid contract less than one year ago and he’s only focused on Real Madrid.

That’s it, nothing more to say.

On Atletico Madrid, they also consider Samuel Lino a crucial player for them, so I don’t think there’s any possibility for an exit and for sure there are no concrete talks or discussions taking place.

I don’t think there’s any chance for Lino to leave Atletico Madrid in January, he’s a crucial player for Diego Simeone and for Atleti’s project.

Antoine Griezmann to MLS is a possibility in 2025

Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Antoine Griezmann decided to announce he is retiring from the French national team earlier in the week.

It’s an historical moment for France, because he’s been one of the best players for them in recent years. A fantastic, fantastic player who won the World Cup with them.

What I want to tell you about this and about Griezmann is something I already told you last summer. You remember we had rumours about Griezmann and the possibility to leave Atlético Madrid.

I always told you, this summer he’s not leaving, but from 2025 or 2026 keep a close eye on him again to MLS.

Griezmann to MLS remains a strong possibility for the future. There are already conversations ongoing, and we know many French players are there including Olivier Giroud and others.

The decision not to play for the national team anymore means he can put his full focus on Atlético Madrid. There are several reasons behind the decision, and so we respect that.

Let’s see what’s gonna happen there.

Lewandowski a big factor in Barça’s Szczesny capture

Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images

So the news reported last week is now confirmed. I told you Monday, Monday. Monday is going to be the day for Wojciech Szczesny at Barcelona, and he was there.

He decided to accept their proposal last week, a one-year contract with a salary that is going to be way lower compared to what he received in terms of net salary in recent years.

But he wanted to accept because this is a big opportunity.

He retired in the summer but as I told you, he didn’t want to retire. He wanted to play one more season and then retire in 2025 but there were no big opportunities for goalkeepers this past summer, so Szczesny decided to leave professional football.

When Barcelona called and when Robert Lewandowski called – because Lewandowski was also a factor – calling him and telling him about the project they have at Barcelona for the season and the feeling the players have with Hansi Flick, Szczesny decided to say yes.

He took 24 hours last week with his family, with his agents, then he accepted the contract. He will compete for the No.1 spot with Inaki Pena and will play when Flick thinks it’s appropriate.

At the end of the season, Mark-Andre ter Stegen is expected to return.

Ten Hag still supported by Man United board

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

It’s been a disaster recently for Manchester United.

In general, the beginning of the season for United has been really poor, and so what’s the situation now?

First of all, let’s clarify that on Monday, Erik ten Hag arrived at Carrington really early in the morning because he wanted to talk to the team. He wanted to clarify his ideas and wanted to analyse the game against Tottenham.

There are some situations he wanted to clarify in terms of tactics, but also regarding motivation. This is what was crucial for the manager.

The management and the board are not considering to fire Erik ten Hag today or tomorrow despite the result at the weekend, that’s not part of the plan.

But, what’s important to say is that the pressure and the tension is growing.

The club can see that the situation is not developing or improving but at the moment their position remains to trust in Erik ten Hag. For sure, the next games are important for his future.

The board want to see how the squad will react in this difficult moment, what kind of performances there will be and also how the players will react in terms of motivation, because to many people at Manchester United, the feeling was that the reaction to the difficult moments recently was not what’s expected from elite players wearing an important shirt like United’s.

This is a results industry, and the next few are going to be so important for the long term future of Erik ten Hag at Man United.

Steidten is backing Lopetegui all the way

West Ham decided all together about their managerial appointment of Julen Lopetegui.

Steidten, Sullivan, all together with Lopetegui since day one. They also coordinated in the transfer market with Lopetegui.

All the rumours that Steidten advised Sullivan that Lopetegui wasn’t the man he wanted is just considered speculation.

Several sources have confirmed this to me, so they’ve been all on the same page for months.

The post Transfer news: Murillo will be expensive for Chelsea, ten Hag still retains United backing and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Transfer news: When to expect Osimhen to Chelsea “developments”, transfer blow for Liverpool & more

Fabrizio Romano — Sun, 29 Sep 2024 17:25:00 +0000

Osimhen and Lukeba to Chelsea transfer rumours – what’s really going on?

I’m aware there continue to be plenty of stories about Victor Osimhen’s future after a crazy summer that saw him make the surprise move to Galatasaray despite the strong interest from Chelsea and other clubs. I’ve been asked about reports on Osimhen possibly moving for just £40m this January, with Chelsea said to be working on this deal behind the scenes.

However, I can honestly say that nothing is happening now regarding Osimhen. I’ve said many times recently that Chelsea’s interest remains and they still like the player, but there are no negotiations ongoing and it would be disrespectful for Galatasaray as they paid important money to land Osimhen on loan. So it’s all quiet for now, and once we get closer to January we will see the developments.

Another striker update is that Dusan Vlahovic could sign a new contract at Juventus despite links with Chelsea in the summer. I’m told it was never a concrete possibility as it was never a priority for the Blues, who were looking for different players.

Juventus also didn’t want to sell Vlahovic and now there are already discussions about a new contract for the Serbian striker. With Federico Chiesa, Juve were clear with the player that they didn’t have him in their plans anymore, and so he left to join Liverpool, but with Vlahovic it’s a different story – they want to extend the contract and they have announced publicly that a deal will be done, so the plan is to reach an agreement with Vlahovic and his agents.

Another player being linked with Chelsea is RB Leipzig’s talented centre-back Castello Lukeba. The 21-year-old is one of the most talented young defenders in Europe, for sure, and he’s been linked with some French clubs as well as with Chelsea, but what I can for the moment is that there is no concrete negotiation and no concrete talks taking place.

Leipzig recently sold Mohamed Simakan, so for another key defender to move on it would have to be a crazy proposal. Chelsea are following many centre-backs, so Lukeba is one of many players they’ve been monitoring, which is absolutely normal, just like with Tomas Araujo at Benfica. Araujo in particular is a player Chelsea really like, and they tried for him in the final weeks of the summer transfer window. At that time, Benfica didn’t want to sell the player, but he remains someone on Chelsea’s radar, and they are also scouting Lukeba, but at this moment it’s too early to predict where he’s going.

Real Madrid are also keeping a close eye on Lukeba because they wanted to sign Leny Yoro, but then he decided to go to Manchester United. The original plan was to sign Yoro, but then that collapsed, and now Real Madrid keep working on centre-backs for 2025, and Lukeba is one of many players they are watching, and he is generally super appreciated around Europe. However, he’s going to be expensive, for sure, because signing players from Leipzig is never easy at all.

Former Liverpool target to sign new contract with Newcastle

You may remember Liverpool were interested in Anthony Gordon this summer – this was during June when there was some panic at Newcastle about the Financial Fair Play situation. There were moments when it seemed like they might have to sell one of their star players in order to comply with the rules, but then they were able to find a different solution.

Liverpool tried to understand the situation with Gordon, but it was considered too expensive and too complicated for them to proceed. Still, for Gordon there was this possibility and also others in the summer, though he ended up staying at Newcastle, and now a new contract is ready and done.

I’m told that everything is completed for Gordon to sign a new deal until 2029. So it’s a five-year contract for Gordon, everything is done, and he’ll become one of the highest paid players at Newcastle after the great season he had last year, and he’s ready to do more for them again. It’s now just about the formal steps and official announcement, but everything is okay – Gordon is signing a new contract at Newcastle, and next the plan for Newcastle is to do the same with Alexander Isak.

Newcastle have also been linked with Alex Baena, but there’s nothing into it at the moment. My understanding is that it’s all quiet around Baena as Villarreal consider him a key player; Newcastle do a lot of scouting activity, so it’s normal for them to follow players around the world but nothing concrete or advanced into this one.

Chido Obi-Martin Manchester United transfer approved

You may remember my exclusive update from the summer when Chido Obi-Martin decided to leave Arsenal, and he had several possibilities, including Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and several clubs in Italy, but Manchester United presented him with an important proposal and project, the opportunity to be close to the first-team, and with the view to being in the first-team in the next few years.

And so, Obi-Martin decided to go to Man United. He had his medical and signed all the documents, so everything was ready, but the deal was not official yet and so I received many messages about this, from fans trying to understand the situation. It was because of the Premier League’s five-step process – for an academy player to leave one Premier League club for another, there needs to be an approval, and now the approval is there.

So, Chido Obi-Martin to Man United was a ‘here we go’ in the summer, and now the Red Devils received confirmation that the deal has been approved, so it’s all done. Everything is okay, and Obi-Martin now becomes a United player and an important talent for their future, because Mikel Arteta and other people at Arsenal really pushed to keep him – they did their best, but he wanted to change and it’s nothing to do with money, just about his development and the space he can find at the club, so he decided to go to United and now it’s finally completed.

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