Arsenal are facing a tough choice over who to offload as they must raise funds in the summer, while Real Madrid have earmarked €100 million to spend on bringing in Man City midfielder Rodri and Borussia Dortmund center back Nico Schlotterbeck. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
Transfers home page | Men’s winter grades | Women’s grades
TRENDING RUMORS
– Arsenal must offload a first-term player in the summer to balance their books, with captain Martin Ødegaard, winger Gabriel Martinelli and defender Ben White among the candidates to depart, says the Daily Telegraph. The club have recently spent over £260 million to bring in new players but now have to raise some funds to comply with financial regulations and are having internal discussions over which players could depart. Meanwhile the Gunners are in a race with Manchester United, Chelsea, Ajax, Juventus and Marseille to sign 18-year-old Fulham‘s versatile defender Samuel Amissah, whose contract expires in the summer, according to the Telegraph. The England U19 international has been named on the bench seven times this season, but has yet to make his senior debut.
– Real Madrid have earmarked €100 million to spend on bringing in Man City midfielder Rodri and Borussia Dortmund center back Nico Schlotterbeck, says Onda Cero. Rodri, 29, could go for around €60 million of that, while Schlotterbeck is aware of Madrid’s interest and is very keen to move to Spain, as reported by Matteo Moretto. Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt left back Nathaniel Brown is also on Real Madrid’s shortlist, with Barcelona and Manchester United keep an eye on his situation, reports Florian Plettenberg. Brown will be allowed to leave Eintracht in the summer, with the club’s sporting director Markus Krosche demanding a fee of at least €60 million for his transfer.
– Barcelona are considering moves for either Atletico Madrid’s Julián Álvarez or Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic as they look to sign a striker in the summer, according to AS. Barcelona are planning for the possible departure of the 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski when his contract expires and questions have started to emerge about the club’s options in the position, with the chances of moving for Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland or Bayern Munich‘s Harry Kane viewed as “extremely remote.” Deco will stay as Barcelona’s sporting director if Joan Laporta wins the club’s presidential election and Alvarez is his favored option, although Atleti would demand around €100 million for his departure, while Vlahovic could leave Juventus as a free agent if he doesn’t sign new terms.
– Juventus could try to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali if they qualify for the Champions League, says Gazzetta dello Sport. Juve currently sit sixth in Serie A, four points behind fourth-placed Roma, and Tonali is their summer priority, with a fee of around €75 million likely to be required to bring in the 25-year-old. Nicolo Schira has reported that Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Madrid are also interested in the Italy international.
– Atalanta are now likely to sign midfielder Yunus Musah from AC Milan permanently, after the USMNT international scored twice in the space of four days, reports Calciomercato. Before his recent run of form, the 23-year-old had been La Dea‘s least-used player and hadn’t scored a goal in four years. Atalanta have already paid Milan €4.5 million for his initial loan and could ask for a discount on their €20 million option to make the deal permanent.
EXPERT TAKE
ESPN’s Jon Molyneux-Carter on Arsenal’s need to raise funds.
It’s no huge surprise to see reports that Arsenal need to balance the books after some pretty hefty spending in recent windows. It has helped them to develop one of the deepest squads in the history of the Premier League, and has fueled their title challenge this season, but the summer could require a few changes to be made.
Of the three players mentioned above, Martinelli seems the most obvious one to leave. Though his transfer would likely only raise around £30 million, he has only played 817 minutes this season and has slipped behind the likes of Leandro Trossard and Noni Madueke on the left wing, with the Gunners regularly linked with other players (such as Real Madrid’s Rodrygo and Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon) to fill that spot out wide as a result.
Ødegaard is still the team captain and a hugely influential player on and off the pitch, so it would be a surprise to see him offloaded, despite his struggles with injury this season, while White is the kind of backup option that wins teams titles. However the right back may be unhappy about his lack of game time, due to the incredible form of Jurrien Timber, and his 411 minutes pale in comparison even to new arrival Cristhian Mosquera (617).
The most obvious pathway to raising funds, due to the way that the new financial regulations value homegrown talent, is to let Myles Lewis-Skelly or Ethan Nwaneri depart. Both youngsters are very highly rated and their exit would cause concern among the fanbase about the future direction of the club, but it’s an option that may be worth considering if their pathway to the first XI is blocked.
OTHER RUMORS
1:45
Can Tottenham’s squad depth handle both the relegation fight and the Champions League?
The “ESPN FC” crew discuss how Tottenham will balance their Premier League relegation battle while also competing in the Champions League.
– Chelsea are expected to open discussions with Bayern Munich regarding midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic, but they aren’t likely to come to anything. Manchester City have already held informal talks and he doesn’t want to leave. (Caught Offside)
– Manchester United are counting on receiving a total income of €80 million once the loans of Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford to Napoli and Barcelona are made permanent. (Fabrizio Romano)
– United are keeping an eye on Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos with a view to a possible summer move. (Ben Jacobs)
– Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Kang-in Lee is a priority for Atletico Madrid. (Matteo Moretto)
– It could take an offer of up to £100 million for Aston Villa to let Morgan Rogers leave during the summer transfer window. (Football Insider)
– Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are interested in signing Bournemouth center back Marcos Senesi as a free agent in the summer, while Barcelona remain in the background. (Matteo Moretto)
– Borussia Dortmund plan to offload full back Julian Ryerson for €30 million amid interest from Barcelona, Newcastle United and Manchester United. (Bild)
– Barcelona have held initial talks with the representatives of Luka Vuskovic, the 19-year-old center back who is currently on loan at Hamburg from Tottenham Hotspur. (Sky Sports Germany)
– Chelsea are keen on Hoffenheim striker Fisnik Asllani, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are closely monitoring the 23-year-old’s situation and Barcelona are tracking his progress. (TEAMtalk)
– Hertha Berlin midfielder Kennet Eichhorn, 16, is the subject of interest from Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt, Barcelona and Real Madrid. (TEAMtalk)
– A path is already mapped out for Juventus to trigger their €4.8 million option to permanently sign winger Jeremie Boga from Nice due to his performances on loan. (Corriere dello Sport)
– Napoli have made initial contact for Stuttgart left back Maximilian Mittelstadt. (Matteo Moretto)
– Napoli are following Como midfielder Maximo Perrone the closest despite links with Internazionale. (Calciomercato)
– Eintracht Frankfurt are expecting offers for Nnamdi Collins and will demand €40 million for the defender. (Florian Plettenberg)