Monday’s transfer news: Man Utd target Maguire misses training, Arsenal fear PSG Pepe bid, Bale ‘furious’ with Real
Review all the day's transfer news
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Review all the day's transfer news, rumours, gossip and done deals as Arsenal looked to seal the signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille.
The Gunners also continued to press on with their interest in Kieran Tierney, but one move that has been shelved is Gareth Bale’s lucrative transfer to China after Real Madrid pulled the plug on the deal yesterday due to the negotiated fee with Jiangsu Suning.
Manchester United meanwhile are reported to have agreed a deal with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, although a fee still needs to be agreed with Lazio to sign the midfielder, while confusion arose over the club’s interest in Bruno Fernandes as the club presses on with its squad revamp this summer. Review all the news below.
The summer transfer window closes at 5pm on Thursday 8 August for all Premier League and Championship clubs, with the rest of Europe having until 11pm CET on Monday 2 September to complete their summer transfer business.
Welcome to The Independent's transfer live blog where we'll bring you the latest news, rumours and done deals throughout the summer as the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United look to pull off a number of major signings before the 8 August deadline.
We begin this morning with the latest on the future of Nicolas Pepe, whose move to Arsenal may not be as straightforward as initially thought.
The Gunners have agreed a £72m deal to sign Pepe and hope to announce the move this week, but French outlet La Voix du Nord - who initially broke the news of Arsenal's move for the 24-year-old - now report that Paris Saint-Germain have matched their offer in an effort to hijack the deal.
Arsenal still believe they will win the race for the Ivory Coast international, with one of the player's close friends posting a mocked-up image in Instagram last night of Pepe wearing the red and white of Arsenal, but this latest development may yet see him remain in Ligue 1 as PSG can blow the Premier League side out of the water when it comes to offering Pepe more money.
That said, Arsenal are still confident that Pepe will choose the Emirates Stadium over the Parc des Princes, and have offered Pepe a lucrative £9m-a-year contract over five years to make him one of the highest earners behind Mesut Ozil.
If they manage to get the move over the line, it will become the club's new record transfer, surpassing the £60m spent on Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang in January 2018 and becoming the third time that Arsenal have set a new record in the last three years.
Real Madrid have offered €160 million (£144m) for Paul Pogba.
That's according to Sport, who believe Zinedine Zidane could now land his compatriot to upgrade their midfield.
Quite how Gareth Bale's supposed failed move to China impacts that bid remains uncertain.
Bayern Munich are eagerly pursuing Manchester City winger Leroy Sane and hope to complete a deal before the transfer window closes, according to the Daily Mirror. Sane, believed to be valued at around £90m, has been told he does not feature in Pep Guardiola's starting XI, the paper adds.
On top of that, Bayern head coach Niko Kovac has been openly discussing the prospect of signing Sane and has told German media that he is "very confident" of landing the 23-year-old this summer.
If Sane does leave the club, City will launch a move for Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal to replace him.
The 22-year-old has a €75m release clause and Spanish newspaper AS claims that City are willing to trigger it in order to plug the gap that Sane's departure would leave.
But the move depends on the German leaving the club before the Premier League transfer deadline of 8 August, and should Bayern attempt to prise him away from the Etihad after that date - given the Bundesliga window does not shut until 2 September - City will resist offers.
Gareth Bale is furious with Real Madrid after club president Florentino Perez pulled the plug on his move to China.
Bale had agreed a deal with Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning after being forced out of the club by manager Zinedine Zidane, only for the club to perform a U-turn at the last minute on Sunday and cancel the deal.
It's understood that Perez was unhappy with the terms of the transfer as Madrid were allowing the Wales international to leave on a free transfer, six years after paying a then-world record £89m for him.
But The Sun reports that Bale and his camp have been incensed by the sudden denial given that it's the club who are forcing him out, leaving his future in limbo.
Manchester United's busy summer has eased up somewhat in recent weeks following the early business to sign Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but the club remain active in the transfer window in their hunt for a new midfielder.
With a move for Bruno Fernandes very much in the pipeline, it appears that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will target a second central midfielder should Paul Pogba leave the club, and top of that list is Serbia's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport claim that United have come to a "verbal agreement" with the Lazio midfielder over a summer move, having held talks with his agent Mateja Kezman, the former Chelsea forward.
However, a fee is yet to bee agreed between the clubs, though Lazio are aware of the growing interest in the 24-year-old.
Addressing the interest in his star midfielder, Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi said of Milinkovic-Savic:
"My thoughts are that I’d like Milinkovic-Savic to stay. But I also believe the club has to consider offers when they come in and then make a decision.
“Milinkovic is 24 now, he’s no longer a kid. I can give him advice, he is at our disposal and hasn’t missed a training session, but then I don’t know what will happen."
United also remain in the hunt for Sporting midfielder Bruno Fernandes, although conflicting reports emerged around the progress of talks between the two clubs.
It was initially claimed that the 24-year-old was due in Manchester on Monday to undergo a medical at United's Carrington training base.
But The Express claims that this is not the case, and with a fee yet to be agreed with Sporting, United are not yet ready to put the Portuguese through a medical.
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