Friday's transfer news, rumours and deals as United eye Rabiot and City block Sane bid
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Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and more are set to be busy in the summer transfer window.
Arsenal are set to push on with their first signing of the summer with a bid for Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser set to be lodged following this week’s Europa League final. A new centre-back is high on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s priority list at United with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Leicester’s Harry Maguire both options. Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka is another on the Norwegian’s radar.
It won’t just be incomings at Old Trafford, however, with Paul Pogba a high-profile target for Real Madrid and Alexis Sanchez on his way out with Inter Milan and Juventus fighting it out for his signature – if he drops his wage demands. And Liverpool could be active too as they look to go one better after failing to win the Premier League title by just a single point. Finally, Chelsea face an uncertain summer due to their current transfer ban, but one thing they know is that Eden Hazard will be heading for the exit after expressing his desire to join Real Madrid.
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Maurizio Sarri did not have long to celebrate Chelsea's Europa League triumph before his future became a hot topic.
According to The Mirror, Sarri's agent is in London to hold talks with the manager following a reported offer from Juventus to become their new manager, following the departure of Massimiliano Allegri.
It includes an eye-watering salary of £6.2m per season, and could tempt the Italian into quitting Stamford Bridge before he is pushed.
Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon believes the club are determined to sign Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba this summer, but admits that his enormous price tag could prevent any move to the Bernabeu this summer.
Madrid have been tentatively linked with former Barcelona forward Neymar, but the prospect of him heading to their arch rivals looks to be a far-fetched one. Madrid's interest in Pogba is a long-running one though, and Calderon believes the club are looking to structure a move for the World Cup winner.
"Neymar is a top player, but I don't see him," Calderon told Sky Sports "His behaviour in the last teams he has been in I don't think is the best one. He is not the best reference for coming to Real Madrid.
"Pogba? Maybe. Some of the player that Zidane has said he would really like him to come. Now it would be a problem of money.
"Our president has decided to invest ridiculous money in our stadium, because we (already) have a fantastic stadium."
The clearout at Manchester United is ready to get underway after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer met with the club's board to lay out his transfer window plans.
Solskjaer has made it apparent that he wants the players who are not part of his long-term plan sold by the summer of next year, according to the Manchester Evening News, and that will allow him to bring in the targets he's identified as key to rebuilding the United squad.
However, it looks like it'll be more than just the fringe players who will be leaving Old Trafford...
Arsenal manager Unai Emery is keen on a reunion with Belgium full-back Thomas Meunier, but last night's Europa League defeat looks to have hurt their chances.
Emery worked with the 27-year-old while manager of Paris Saint-Germain and believes he may be the answer to solving Arsenal's weakness in defence.
PSG are understood to be open to negotiations as they look to strengthen their squad in an effort to address their poor Champions league form, and France Football are reporting that Arsenal were ready to move for Meunier this summer - but the failure to secure Champions League football has hurt their chances of landing him in the summer.
Matthijs de Ligt remains Manchester United's No 1 target this summer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set for a major revamp of his squad this summer with the 19-year-old a key part of it.
Barcelona remain seriously interested but United are said to have made a big money offer to try and turn his head.
De Ligt, for his part, says all the talk over his future should be taken with a "pinch of salt".
Some more news on Antonio Conte's appointment as Inter Milan manager and, subsequently, the future of Romelu Lukaku at Manchester United.
The Independent can reveal that not only is Lukaku top of Conte's wish list, but it was a condition of Conte's appointment that the club move for the Belgian striker.
Miguel Delaney has all the details:
Paulo Dybala knows what he wants next year - and it's a stay at Juventus.
Manchester United have been linked with a move for the Argentine with the departure of Max Allegri as manager seen as potentially the trigger for an exit this summer.
But Dybala is keen to stick around.
“[Juventus director of sport Fabio] Paratici knows what I want to do next year – to keep playing here,” he said.
“Paratici knows that next year I want to continue here. Then it doesn’t depend on me.
“Juventus must make its choices with the coach that will come. But society knows it – next year I want to stay here.
“I have a lot of respect for this shirt and for these fans, and because of this I will only talk about Juventus, not about other teams, because that seems to me a lack of respect.”
BREAKINGWest Ham have announced the signing of Espanyol goalkeeper Roberto on a free transfer, with the 33-year-old signing a two-year deal with the option for an additional 12 months.
Here's more on West Ham's newest recruit.
Speaking after agreeing the move, Roberto said:
From the beginning when I knew I was going to come here, I was very excited about the new experience. I consider this step a big step in my career. I think everyone who follows football knows the importance of this club, so I’m really excited.
I am looking forward to playing in the Premier League, of course. It’s a big challenge as I consider this to be one of the two best and biggest leagues in the world, with our league in Spain, and I think it’s a dream for every player to come here and play in the Premier League, so I’m looking forward to getting started.
The Madrid-born goalkeeper emerged with Atletico and spent time on loan with Gimnastic, Recreativo Huelva and Real Zaragoza, before joining Benfica in 2010. he has since represented Zaragoza permanently, Olympiakos and a return to Atletico, before joining Espanyol in 2017.
With Petr Cech now retired, Arsenal are in the market for a new goalkeeper.
Could that goalkeeper be Gianluigi Donnarumma?
Well they've made initial contact at least, according to reports in Italy.
Still a long way to go before a deal is done, however, with the 20-year-old one of Milan's most-prized assets.
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