The 2022 January transfer window is closed, but there’s still plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings and goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Haaland prefers Barcelona move
The summer transfer window will undoubtedly focus on two main players. One is Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and the other is Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
The latter looks set to be part of a transfer race between a number of clubs amid reports of a €75 million release clause that becomes active once the window opens.
Among those sides are Barcelona, who Sport reports Haaland prefers as potential destination out of all his suitors. Manchester City and Real Madrid will put up a big fight for his signature, however.
The report claims that the Norway international is hoping to be a part of the rebuilding project at Camp Nou, with a young and improving squad and the chance to be coached by Blaugrana legend Xavi Hernandez.
Barca have managed to improve their fortunes drastically since the new manager came in, moving up to third in LaLiga after a perilous start.
Despite the financial implications of signing Haaland during their ongoing financial crisis, the report claims the club have several contingency plans to get a deal done.
If they cannot manage to land him, another report from Sport claims that they have backup strikers in their sights. Alexander Isak, Darwin Nunez, Karim Adeyemi, Patrik Schick and Andre Silva are all listed as potential targets.
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LIVE BLOG
13.33 GMT: Fiorentina are not prepared to pay the pre-agreed transfer fee to sign loanee Lucas Torreira on a permanent basis from Arsenalreports La Nazione.
Torreira, 26, joined La Viola on loan from the Gunners at the start of the season, and they have an option to keep the player for €15m
The player has played this 22 Serie A games season, but Fiorentina are hoping to negotiate a reduced transfer fee.
The report says that the clause must be activated before the transfer window reopens, after which point Fiorentina’s period of exclusivity expires. There are also doubts about the club’s ability to match his wage demands.
12.47 GMT: Fabrizio Romano has revealed on his Here We Go podcast that Sevilla defender Jules Kunde and Leeds United forward Rafinha were top targets for Chelsea before Roman Abramovich announced he would sell the club.
Chelsea were close to a deal for Kounde last summer, but they could not agree a transfer fee for the central defender. And the future of Raphinha is up in the air following Marcelo Bielsa’s departure from Elland Road and doubts over the club’s Premier League status.
“Chelsea were working before Abramovich put the club up for sale on Jules Kounde,” Romano said. “He is still top of the list but now what is next? Who will be the new owner and what budget will they have?
“[Director] Marina Granovskaia and [technical and performance advisor] Peter Cech, will they stay or not? There are many questions around Chelsea now and this is why they are unable to complete agreements.
“The other one is from Leeds, but they are not negotiating with the player because of relegation clauses in Raphinha’s contract which change his price. But keep an eye on these two players.”
12.02 GMT: Barcelona Want to add another goalkeeper to their squad in the summer to improve the competition for current No. 1 Marc-Andre ter Stegenper Mundo Deportivo.
neto is currently the backup to Ter Stegen but has expressed a desire to leave in search of regular football. Barca, therefore, are likely to turn to the market for a replacement that will ensure Ter Stegen is kept on his toes.
The report claims that the club are assessing several options, including Sevilla’s Yassine Bounou and Leeds United’s Illan Meslier.
Luis Maximiano (Granada), Alban Lafont (Nantes); Maarten Vandevoordt (Genk) and Bartlomiej Dragowski (Fiorentina) are all mentioned as possible candidates as well.
11.14 GMT: Calciomercato further confirms reports earlier this week that Jose Mourinho hopes to be reunited with full-back Diogo Dalot at AS Roma in the summer.
The Portugal international was signed for Manchester United by Mourinho in 2018 in a £19m deal from FC Porto
Dalot, 22, spent last season on loan in Serie A with AC Milan, and is said to favor a return to Italy as he has only been a bit-part player at United this campaign.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been on loan at Roma from Arsenal since January and has failed to make much of an impact, and Dalot is seen as a replacement.
United could be prepared to let Dalot move for a transfer fee of €10m.
10.31 GMT: Barcelona have still not decided on whether to renew Dani Alves‘ stay at the club beyond the end of the season, according to Diario AS.
Alves, 38, returned to the club after over five years away in November on a short-term deal until the summer. The Brazil international has made seven appearances since making his second debut in January and coach Xavi Hernandez has expressed a desire for him to extend his contract.
However, an excess of right-backs could lead Barca to shell plans to give Alves another year. An upturn in form from United States right-back Sergino Dest and the possible arrivals of Cesar Azpilicueta and Noussair Mazraoui on free transfers would leave the club well-stocked in the position.
Alves is keen to carry on playing at the top level into next season as he hopes to be part of Brazil’s World Cup squad in Qatar at the end of the year.
09.46 GMT: Shakhtar Donetsk ️ Maycon wants to continue playing in Europe, according to reports in Brazil. Maycon has a contract with Shakhtar which runs for another three years, but FIFA has allowed foreign players and coaches in Ukraine and Russia to unilaterally suspend their employment contracts and move clubs.
Maycon, who returned to Brazil after fleeing Ukraine with his family following Russia’s invasion, is considering several offers. Among the outfits interested in Maycon is his former club Corinthians.
“We don’t want to create false expectations,” Corinthians president Duilio Monteiro Alves said. “We are going to be in competition with European markets and other markets.”
Maycon, 24, joined Shakhtar from Corinthians in 2018.
09.00 GMT: Fabrizio Romano reports that Aston Villa are set to exercise the option to sign Philippe Coutinho on a permanent basis from Barcelona at the end of the season.
Coutinho, 29, has been a revelation at Villa under former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard, with three goals and three assists since moving to the club on loan from Barca in January.
Villa can sign the Brazilian player for a set fee of €40m, and the club’s board are likely to sanction the deal in May.
Steven Gerrard would love to keep Philippe Coutinho at Aston Villa. Buy option clause available for €40m – board wants to wait until May and then make final decision, while they’re happy with Coutinho. 🇧🇷 #AVFC
Barcelona wan sell Coutinho – they’re waiting for Villa to decide. pic.twitter.com/51kfssXwuf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 9, 2022
PAPER GOSSIP
– Jude Bellingham has seen a meteoric rise to stardom in football, making the £30m move from Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, where he has continued to improve. And now, according to a report in The Sun, Jurgen Klopp is keen on bringing the 18-year-old to Liverpool. The won’t be available easily though, with Dortmund said to value the England international at over £100m.
– Continuing on the trend of Dortmund starlets, AS reports that striker Youssoufa Moukoko is open to leaving the club in the summer. The forward was, at the time, the youngest player to ever debut in the Champions League at just 16 years old. Now 17, and with few chances to break into the first team, Moukoko is looking to make the move away and will not renew his current deal that expires in 2023.
– Tottenham Hotspur are set to offer striker Harry Kane a new contract at the end of the season if they achieve Champions League football, says Fabrizio Romano on the Here We Go podcast. The 28-year-old, who is out of contract in 2024, asked to leave the club last summer and was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City.
– Juventus defender Mattia De Sciglio is set to extend his stay with the Bianconeri with a new contract, reports Calciomercato. The 29-year-old full-back has often been used as a rotation option this season but, with his deal expiring in the summer, the Serie A club have moved to keep him at the club for the future.
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