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The winter transfer window is closed, but now it’s time to look ahead to the summer! Here are the new rumours floating around Europe’s big leagues and beyond.
TOP STORY: Pjanic to Barcelona moves closer
Eagle-eyed readers will have seen the Miralem Pjanic–to-Barcelona rumours move edge closer in the last week, and Marca believes the transfer is finally beginning to take shape.
Barcelona see the 30-year-old as the perfect fit for their midfield and he would come with experience at the highest level, having played in Italy’s top flight for the last nine years, the last four of those with Juventus.
The Bosnian is even said to be among Barca’s top priorities, though they could face competition for his signature. The Catalan club have tried to sign him before, in 2018, though back then he decided to renew his contract in Turin until 2023. He’s now one of the hottest prospects in Europe.
However, the two clubs have been in contact about potential signings and swaps, and it is believed that Pjanic relishes the chance to play alongside Lionel Messi at Camp Nou.
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12.01 BST: RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner has ruled out a switch to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and said he would prefer a move abroad amid links with Liverpool, Barcelona and Inter Milan (see Paper Talk section).
Werner, 24, has a contract until 2023 and a release clause in the €50 million to €60m region which allows him to leave Leipzig this summer. The Germany international has been linked with a move away but said Bayern is not an option for him in the future.
“Bayern are a great club, we don’t need to talk about it, and Hansi Flick has proven this season he is a really good head coach,” he told Bild. “But if a move were to become an issue at some point, I would be more tempted by a move abroad than a move to Bayern.
“It’s just that the challenge of another league would appeal to me a little more than a move within the Bundesliga.
“Of course, it also important that mutual respect is there as much as possible. That’s why I chose RB Leipzig at the time, and why I would choose the club for [the] next step as one where I would get that feeling.”
11.20 BST: Real Madrid left-back Marcelo insists he wants to stay at Real Madrid and does not think the club wants to sell him amid reports linking him with Juventus.
Marcelo, 31, has won four La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues since moving to the Bernabeu in 2007.
The Brazil international has had his long-held status as Madrid’s first-choice left-back challenged by summer signing Ferland Mendy, but he believes his place in the squad is not under threat.
“I don’t want to leave and I don’t think Real Madrid will sell me,” Marcelo told former Madrid teammate Fabio Cannavaro in a live chat streamed on Instagram. “I have done very well at Madrid since arriving. It’s been a long time and it’s an incredible story.
“I do think it’s good that other teams are interested in me, but I don’t know about Juventus. Two years ago I had already signed with them [Juventus], and had their shirt on because I couldn’t live without Cristiano Ronaldo. People make up a lot of things.”
10.35 BST: AS Roma want to keep Manchester United loanee Chris Smalling for at least another season, manager Paulo Fonseca has told ESPN.
The defender has settled well in the Italian capital since he arrived on loan last summer and Fonseca said that Smalling wants to stay at the Italian club beyond this season, with his loan deal set to expire at the end of the campaign. Sources have told ESPN that while a deal has yet been agreed to make his move permanent, Roma are confident it can be done.
“I will do everything I can to keep him at Roma next year too,” Fonseca said. “I know he wants to stay, let’s see what happens.
“He’s an amazing man, so humble, so professional. He is adored by the fans and established himself as one of the leaders in the dressing room.
“It’s not easy for English central defenders to adapt so quickly to Italian football, the record there isn’t good. But he has been amazing.”
– Fonseca interview: ‘A big pleasure’ to rebuild Serie A’s sleeping giant
09.48 BST: Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood believes the club must convince Harry Kane to stay through their ambition in the transfer market.
Kane, 26, said recently that he would not stay at Spurs if the team does not progress as he wants to win trophies “sooner rather than later.”
That statement re-ignited talk of interest from Manchester United, and sources have told ESPN that the England captain will remain on the transfer shortlist at Old Trafford despite Tottenham’s stance that they will not sell their star striker to a domestic rival.
Sherwood, the manager who gave Kane his Tottenham first-team debut in 2013, compared the striker’s situation of his former Blackburn teammate, Alan Shearer.
“It’s like Shearer,” Sherwood told the Daily Mail. “He finishes fourth with Blackburn [in 1992-93], then second [in 1993-94]. Manchester United are all over him. But he decides to stay, because he believes we have the quality to win [the Premier League title], and we did the next season.
“Harry needs to assess this himself. I would wait to see what they do in the summer. They’ve got a manager who has not gone there to only finish inside the top four. Harry will know very soon if the club are willing to spend that money to give themselves that opportunity of winning the league.
09.00 BST: Barcelona plan to swap rather than buy players on the transfer market this summer, with football’s shutdown already having cost the club between €120m and €140m in revenues, club vice president Jordi Cardoner has told ESPN.
Cardoner said it was certain the club would make a loss this season, but added: “Because our base economic situation is a solid one, this will not affect us the same way as probably other clubs.”
Cardoner predicted that swapping players without money changing hands would be a common practice for clubs this summer.
“It will be part of the game. This is the way things will happen for next season in European clubs,” he said.
Cardoner refused to discuss specific deals. However, his comments suggest that Barcelona will not splash large transfer fees on reported targets such as Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez or Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar, nor match the Brazil international’s salary of €30m.
PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd): Camavinga off, Cherki on for Real Madrid?
Real Madrid may be forced to make a switch in transfer direction, with Rennes suggesting they’ll do everything to prevent Eduardo Camavinga moving to the Bernabeu, according to AS.
The same title also suggests that due to the early completion of Ligue 1, Madrid could make the most of Lyon’s failure to qualify for the Champions League and sign youngster Rayan Cherki.
Lyon have fallen victim to the cancellation of the French season with their league position resulting in a number of players’ release clauses being triggered, Cherki’s included.
Chjerki is only 16 years olf but Zinedine Zidane is said to have been monitoring the youngster for some time. Lyon’s youngest ever scorer, he might just have moved up the pecking order as a result of Rennes playing hardball over Camavinga.
Bayern, Inter could seize Werner from Liverpool’s grasp
Timo Werner is now a realistic target for Inter Milan and Bayern Munich following the news that Liverpool have admitted they’re likely to spend any money this summer.
The news comes via the Daily Mirror, who suggest that the coronavirus has affected Liverpool’s finances to the extent that they’re no longer pursuing their top two targets, namely Werner or Lyon‘s Houssem Aouar.
RB Leipzig star Werner has a £50 million release clause while Aouar could cost up to £40m, a combination which is proving too costly for the Reds in the current situation.
Even signing one of the two looks unlikely, which means that other clubs could now attempt to sign hot prospect Werner, who is likely to leave the Leipzig this summer.
Bayern and Inter are both now believed to be at the front of the queue for the striker who has scored 27 goals in 36 games.
Tap-ins
– Santos are interested in signing Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira, according to an interview with O Peixe president Jose Carlos Peres in Gazeta Esportiva. The Brazilian has played 37 times for United this season but is keen to return home, and despite being contracted until June 2023, Santos are keen to offer him a way home.
– Argentine side San Lorenzo are keen to sign Luis Suarez, according to South American outlet Crack Deportivo. They’re keen to take the striker to Argentina, with their club president planning to make an offer for the 33-year-old at the end of the season. Suarez is believed to have an affinity with the club, and the Uruguay star could fancy a return to South America with Barcelona looking to change their attacking options this summer.