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The coronavirus pandemic has made the summer transfer window uncertain, but here are the new rumours floating around Europe’s big leagues and beyond.
TOP STORY: Juve monitor Kane as part of backup plan
Tottenham’s Harry Kane is being considered as a backup target by Juventus, should their attempts to prize Paris Saint-Germain loanee Mauro Icardi away from Inter Milan prove unsuccessful.
Kane, 26, has attracted the interest of Manchester United in particular in recent months. But now Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri is reportedly monitoring the striker and is happy to play the waiting game to understand the Tottenham striker’s new market value amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The report published by Calciomercato does, however, add that the most likely outcome at this moment is for Kane’s contract at Spurs to run its full length until the summer of 2024, should no club be prepared to part with at least €150 million.
Icardi, meanwhile, remains Juventus’ No. 1 target for the next transfer window.
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11.55 BST: Chelsea are considering a loan deal to sign Philippe Coutinho as an alternative to Jadon Sancho because they fear the Borussia Dortmund winger will join Manchester United, sources have told ESPN.
Sancho is expected to leave Dortmund this summer in a deal worth more than £100m and Chelsea have been monitoring his situation for months with a view to making an offer.
However, sources have told ESPN that senior figures at Stamford Bridge believe United are winning the race to sign the 19-year-old and while they have not entirely given up hope, other alternatives are now being discussed.
11.32 BST: Martin Braithwaite has told ESPN he first learned of Barcelona‘s interest in signing him at the end of January but kept it a secret from his friends and family, including his wife, who eventually found out about the dream move in the media.
Braithwaite, 28, joined Barca from Leganes in an €18m deal in February. The Spanish champions were granted special permission to make the signing outside of the transfer window due to a long-term injury to Ousmane Dembele.
Barca’s initial interest was transmitted to the Danish striker via his agents. He says he chose not to tell anyone to avoid being distracted from the task in hand at Leganes, who are fighting against relegation in La Liga.
“I just felt, you know, that I am going to wait and see how this goes,” Braithwaite told ESPN. “If it’s gonna get 100% serious, then I will let [my wife] know, but there’s no reason to get people around me excited. I got excited, but I knew if I told people they were gonna be talking about it every day.
“For me, I was at Leganes, I had to perform. When I am at a place, I give 100%, so I didn’t want to put my mind elsewhere. Usually I tell everything to my wife, but she only knew three days before I signed because it suddenly got leaked in the media. It got leaked in the morning and I didn’t see her until the evening, when I told her I had to talk to her. She knew why. She understood!”
11.01 BST: Brazilian outlet Gauchazh says that PSG have edged out Chelsea in the €25m (£22m) chase for Porto’s Alex Telles.
However, that just means that the Blues are ready to step up their interest in Leicester’s Ben Chilwell, according to the Sun.
Chilwell, 23, has been linked with a summer move to one of the Premier League’s top clubs and would cost around £60m.
10.24 BST: Few days go by without Kylian Mbappe being linked with a move away from PSG — usually to Real Madrid.
According to AS, Parisien sporting director Leonardo has told the France international’s entourage that he would rather see the 21-year-old leave for free in 2022 than accept a low bid in 2021.
The report adds that Real hope to snare Mbappe in 2021, with the player in a position of strength if he does not extend his stay at Parc des Princes.
However, Leonardo recognises that Mbappe is not just a player and that losing such a star name would be damaging for the PSG project. AS also addd that Leonardo is putting Mbappe under pressure to sign a new deal and that PSG “know how to close the door when they want to.”
Meanwhile, PSG are looking for reinforcements this summer, with Thomas Meunier and Layvin Kurzawa expected to leave.
According to Sky Germany, the Ligue 1 giants are keen on RB Leipzig‘s Nordi Mukiele to replace the Belgium international as the most senior option on the right side of the defence.
And Sportske Novosti reports that PSG are one of a number of clubs interested in signing €60m-rated Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic.
Along with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, PSG want the 27-year-old. Brozovic is an important member of Antonio Conte’s squad, having featured heavily under the Italian, and is contracted until 2022.
09.51 BST: Former Real Madrid forward Jese Rodriguez will return to parent club Paris Saint-Germain this summer after being deemed surplus to requirements at Sporting Lisbon, says his agent.
The Spanish winger has scored one goal in 17 appearances since joining the Portuguese outfit on a season-long loan last summer from PSG. Sporting had an option to purchase the 27-year-old but the club will not exercise it, according to Gines Carvajal.
Carvajal told Radio Renascenca: “Sporting contacted me and told me that coach [Ruben Amorim] wants to prepare the remainder of the campaign but also next season with players from the club and from the reserves and those players that are on loan are not in those plans. They told me Jese could continue to train with the group but wanted to let me know that he is not in their plans.”
09.20 BST: Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero becomes a free agent this summer but he says he has no plans to end his football career playing in his native Argentina.
Caballero, 38, who began his playing career at Boca Juniors, told TyC Sports: “It’s not in my plans [to return to Argentina]. I enjoyed my time playing at youth level in Argentina but I didn’t leave an important mark at Boca, where I grew up. I enjoyed the six months I spent [on loan] at Arsenal [Sarandi] because I felt that I did what I enjoyed the most. I have no need to return to Argentina and to feel completed by ending my career at the clubs where I played. I’m old, I won’t say my age as I don’t want to scare off clubs. I want to be calm and experience the last years [left on his career] taking little steps. For many years the idea of returning to Argentina, is not in my mind.”
08.36 BST: Newcastle’s prospective new owners will go after a big-name manager with Massimiliano Allegri and Mauricio Pochettino among their preferred candidates and Edinson Cavani a transfer target, sources have told ESPN.
Paperwork is being finalised for the sale after an agreement was found on Monday between Mike Ashley and PCP Capital Partners, the Saudi-backed consortium.
To improve their chances of attracting a top-level manager, the owners will have to show their ambitions of recruiting big players. They are working with top agents in Europe and are interested in big-name players out of contract this summer, with a striker their main target.
Sources have told ESPN they have already been in touch with the agents of Napoli forward Dries Mertens and Paris Saint-Germain’s Cavani. Chelsea’s Willian is another target, though they are aware signing any of the trio will be challenging.
08.00 BST: Manchester United would like to bring in Atletico Madrid sporting director Andrea Berta to oversee a major team rebuilding effort at Old Trafford, reports Diario AS.
The 48-year-old Italian joined Atletico in 2013 and was initially responsible for international scouting before taking on his current role three years ago.
He is one of the key decision-makers at the club alongside coach Diego Simeone and chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin.
Berta is highly-rated in football and came close to joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 before a last-minute change of plans.
AS claims that his arrival could help United land one of their major transfer targets, midfielder Saul Niguez, and even Portuguese starlet Joao Felix, who joined Atletico for €126m from Benfica last summer.
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Mourinho targets out-of-favour Dalot
With Aaron Wan-Bissaka enjoying an outstanding debut season with Manchester United, Diogo Dalot has found himself out-of-favour with the Premier League giants.
According to the Sun, Dalot could soon be reunited with former manager Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to raise funds to bring in Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho for a whopping £120m.
Dalot earned Mourinho’s praise during the former’s spell at Old Trafford, but the Portuguese full-back has been restricted to limited minutes this term. Dalot, who arrived at Old Trafford from Porto in summer 2018 for £19m, could see his stay at United end prematurely if a suitable offer comes in.
The Sun’s report adds that Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira and Paul Pogba could all also be sold, with Solskjaer expected to complete a squad overhaul this summer.
Everton lead the race to secure Turkish star Under
Everton are in pole position to secure the services of Turkish sensation Cengiz Under from Roma this summer, though they are set to face strong competition from La Liga outfit Sevilla.
That’s according to Calciomercato, who say the 22-year-old midfielder — who has been capped 19 times for Turkey — is likely to depart the Stadio Olimpico for less than Roma’s original €40m price amid interest from several high-profile European clubs.
The report doesn’t rule out the possibility of Everton parting with striker Moise Kean as part of a possible deal to bring Under to Goodison.
In addition to interest from Everton and Sevilla, Italian giants Napoli and AC Milan are reported to be interested in Under. Milan came close to signing him in January, but a swap deal with Suso proved unsuccessful. Milan are said to be willing to pay only €20m for Under’s services.
Tap-ins
– Paris Saint-Germain are expected to swoop for Tottenham defender Danny Rose this summer, according to Football Insider. The French club is understood to have monitored Rose throughout February and March during part of his loan spell with Newcastle United.
- Manchester City will have to spend between €70m and €80m if they are to prize central defender Milan Skriniar away from Inter Milan. The Slovak defender has long been a target of Pep Guardiola, and now Calciomercato claims that Premier League champions City will be forced to splash at least €70m if they are to get their man.