Transfer news LIVE: Arsenal target Martin Odegaard, Man United eye Gabriel Veron, Spurs want Jesse Lingard
Follow all the latest transfer news, gossip, rumours and done deals
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Welcome along to Thursday’s transfer news live with the latest rumours, gossip and done deals from the Premier League and around Europe. There are a number of top players primed for a move and ready to contribute immediately, but as Manchester United have proven with the signing of Amad Diallo, the best young talents in the world are always on the radar of the top clubs, including Palmeiras wonder kid Gabriel Veron. One of the priorities in the final week of the window will be to shed any dead weight, to streamline the squad and ensure the atmosphere in the group remains as good as possible.
Today’s rumour mill involves Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Southampton in particular, while Danny Ings, who has transformed his career at Southampton, and Nico Barella, Inter Milan’s midfield phenomenon, are the most valuable names doing the rounds over the last 24 hours.
Dele Alli remains out of favour at Spurs under Jose Mourinho and Paris Saint-Germain could offer him a lifeline this month under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, having fallen out of form and therefore out of the picture for England ahead of Euro 2020. PSG of course must be conscious of securing the long-term futures of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, with Real Madrid lurking after the Frenchman resisted signing a new contract.
Manchester United meanwhile could reward Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for positioning the club in the thick of the title picture, though there could be many outgoings at Old Trafford, too, with Juan Mata linked to his former club Valencia.
Mesut Ozil’s move to Fenerbahce, United’s deal to bring in Amad Diallo from Atalanta and Sebastian Haller’s big-money deal to leave West Ham for Ajax rank among the most significant deals of January so far. Follow all the latest developments below.
SOLSKJAER TALKS LONG TERM MOVES
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says that the club will on take on any potential signings if they fit into the long term future of the club. He said:
Whenever you get the chance to speak to players or learn about their personalities, what you get through a chat when you've been put together, that is very important,
"And of course, we've been here, we know where we want to get to at Manchester United. Do you want to be part of bringing us back to the successful times - that's always been one of the topics that we've discussed.
"We're not here for a quick fix, we have players who have a long-term role to play. Even if it's, say Edinson [Cavani] coming in at the age of 33, he still has a part-long term by who he is, and how he comes in and what he does to the club and to the players."
GRAY HEADING TO LEVERKUSEN?
Leicester winger Demarai Gray could be heading to the continent as he looks to jump-start his career again.
According to the Guardian Bayer Leverkusen are said to be interested in the 24-year-old with Leicester asking for around £10million to make a deal.
A loan deal is expected to be the better option for the German side with an option to buy later down the line.
LIVERPOOL LOOKING AT LOIC
Liverpool are said to be ‘working hard’ in their pursuit of centre-back Loic Bade from Lens.
According to a report from Le10sport the Reds are hoping to get a deal over the line to bring the defender to Anfield this summer after seeing interest from AC Milan and Leeds go up.
The highly rated 20-year-old is enjoying a solid campaign for Lens starting in 16 Ligue 1 matches this season.
With Liverpool’s backline having been decimated with injuries this season Bade’s signature would add some depth to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
HIGH PRICE FOR DELE ALLI
Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with signing Dele Alli since he took over as the Paris Saint-Germain manager.
Dele was a key member of Pochettino’s side when he managed Spurs but has since fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho which leads the former Tottenham boss to believe a transfer could be on the cards.
Dele has played just 74 minutes of Premier League football this season, and has not started for Spurs since the opening day of the season.
Goal France report that a deal may be done but Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is not prepared to sell the 24-year-old cheaply. It’s suggested that Levy is not keen to allow a player whose contract lasts until 2024 to depart easily unless for a big fee.
Whether Poch and PSG are willing to part with a hefty sum for Dele only time will tell.
MAN CITY IN THE MARKET FOR ‘WONDERKID’
According to SPORT, Manchester City have made a behind the scenes move in an attempt to sign Palmeiras wonderkid Gabriel Veron.
The Spanish news outlet say that as well as Pep Guardiola’s men, Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus, are all interested in the teenager who’s rumoured to be valued at €20million.
It is not the first time the 18-year-old has generated interest from England as Arsenal were scouting him as early as last April and Everton reportedly had a bid of €15million rejected according to ESPN.
Manchester City meanwhile seem to be in the driving seat. They signed No.9 Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras and have good relations with the South American side.
SPORT‘s report describes Veron as a ‘complete attacker’ who is also ‘very technical’ as well as ‘fast’. Could he replace Sergio Aguero if City’s leading goalscorer leaves this summer?
WEST HAM ‘CLOSE’ TO SIGNING OLARU
Romanian media outlet Sport.Ro are claiming that West Ham United are ‘very close’ to completing the signing of 22-year-old Darius Olaru from FC Steaua Bucharest.
The fee for the attacking midfielder is said to be in the region of £6.25million. Olaru joined the Romanian club last January and has played 13 times, scoring four goals and making a further two assists.
West Ham have a history of signing players from some of Europe’s lesser leagues with first team mainstays Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal both joining from Slavia Prague.
TOMORI SET FOR MILAN MEDICAL
Chelsea’s Fikayo Tomori is flying to Italy to complete a move for AC Milan. He is due to sit his medical early on Thursday morning so that he is available for Milan’s clash with Atalanta on Saturday.
According to CaughtOffside the move is an initial loan deal with the option to buy for €30million and should be completed by the end of the week.
GENOA OPEN TALKS WITH SOKRATIS
After moving Mesut Ozil on to Fenerbahce Arsenal look to set to shift more players out of the club with Sokratis Papastathopoulo the latest to be linked with a move away from the club.
Genoa are said to have opened ‘fresh talks’ with the Arsenaldefender as they look to persuade him to join them.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio Genoa are making a second attempt to sign the 32-year-old after a potential move to Real Betis was not finalised.
Olympiacos are also claimed to be interested in Sokratis so we’ll have to wait and see where he lands.
SANCHO TO UNITED ‘STILL POSSIBLE’
Jadon Sancho moving to Manchester United was the transfer story of the summer that never materialised.
The Borussia Dortmund winger had agreed personal terms with United but the German side refused to sell him for anything less than their £108million asking price.
According to The Athletic a move to United is still ‘inherently possible’ for Sancho and it is claimed that the Red Devils will go back in for the 20-year-old at the end of the season.
LIVERPOOL AND SPURS EYE BARELLA
Liverpool and Tottenham are tracking Nico Barella from Inter Milan, report Calcio Mercato.
The Italian midfielder, who scored in the 2-0 win over Juventus last weekend, has been in impressive form for Antonio Conte this season.
The 23-year-old’s contract expires in 2024, leaving the Nerazzurri in a strong position to obtain a sizeable profit on their £36m investment - after adding £25.2m last year to complete the formality of making his move permanent after an initial £10.8m loan fee - should the Premier League duo look to negotiate a price.
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