Transfer news live: Manchester United frustrated in striker search, plus latest gossip, rumours and done deals
All the latest news, rumours and gossip from around the Premier League and the rest of Europe
Liverpool are making the early waves in the transfer market this week as they look to tie up club-record deals for both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Manchester City have already signed two players with Benfica goalkeeper Ederson and Monaco playmaker Bernardo Silva both joining Pep Guardiola’s side.
One player who won’t be moving, however, is Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, who opted against joining Manchester United.
That leaves Jose Mourinho still searching for a high-profile signing – but will it be Gareth Bale?
Arsene Wenger is also keen to get on with transfer business after settling his Arsenal future for another two years and has promised to spend money in order to turn the Gunners into title contenders. A world-record bid for Kylian Mbappe has been rumoured, but Real Madrid, United and Manchester City are all lurking.
Follow all the latest news, gossip and rumours in the live blog below…
Please allow a moment for the blog to load…
Gerrard urges Liverpool to sign Van Dijk
Steven Gerrard has urged Liverpool to do whatever it takes to get Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in what could be a club record £50million transfer.
"I would love to see Van Dijk in a red shirt. I am a huge fan," he said. "I thought he was fantastic at Celtic and I thought we should have had a go for him back then.
"It will cost us a few more quid but I think he is a piece of the jigsaw that would be very welcome and very big for this team."
Liverpool remain conscious there is still work to be done on what would be a club-record deal.
The Reds hope the draw of the German boss will help them see off stiff competition to land him in what would represent a huge coup for both manager and club.
Formal negotiations between the clubs are yet to begin but the Saints are understood to be looking for in excess of £50million, a figure which would comfortably surpass the £35m the Reds paid for Andy Carroll in 2011.
Salah pictured with Liverpool shirt
Mohamed Salah has been pictured with a Liverpool shirt as his expected £35million move to Anfield edges closer.
Jurgen Klopp's side rubber stamped Champions League football on the final day of the Premier League season and the Reds boss is set for a bumper summer spend as he looks to assemble a squad capable of challenging both at home and in Europe next term.
Roma wide-man Salah could be the first of seven new arrivals at Anfield with the man himself pictured with two fans with shirts while on international duty.
Dortmund sign Freiburg's Philipp
Borussia Dortmund have completed the signing of Freiburg midfielder Maximilian Philipp.
The 23-year-old, who had been a reported target for Tottenham, has signed a five-year deal at Dortmund.
The Germany Under-21 international told the club website: "BVB are one of the biggest clubs in the world. It is an honour for me to be able to play here."
Philipp scored nine league goals from his attacking midfield role last season as Freiburg only missed out on a Europa League spot on the last day of the season.
Rangers sign Cardoso
Rangers have completed the signing of Portuguese defender Fabio Cardoso on a three-year deal.
The 23-year-old centre-back has signed from Vitoria Setubal to become the third Portuguese player to join Rangers this summer following Bruno Alves and Dalcio.
The former Portugal Under-20 and Benfica B player joined Setubal last summer and made 23 appearances.
Raiola: Balotelli will play for Dortmund
Mario Balotelli will play for Borussia Dortmund next season according to his agent Mino Raiola.
The Italian is on the lookout for a new club following 17 goals for Ligue 1 side Nice and has been linked with a variety of landing spots.
Raiola linked the 26-year-old with the Bundesliga club recently and added more to fuel to the fire when he appeared at the unveiling of new boss Peter Bosz on Tuesday.
When asked about his client he responded: "Yes. Balotelli will play for Dortmund."
Manchester United latest
Andrea Belotti is the latest striker to seemingly be ruled out of a move to Manchester United.
The Independent told you yesterday of how Romelu Lukaku opted for a return to Chelsea rather than a Jose Mourinho reunion and now Torino's president has said United will need to play Belotti's £87m release clause to sign him.
That just leave Alvaro Morata as their only other target. Read more here:
United see approaches for striker duo rejected
Manchester United have had initial approaches rejected for Torino’s Andrea Belotti and Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata, as they decide the next step in their pursuit of a striker, and will likely have to pay at least more than £70m for one of them.
Jose Mourinho is determined to get the club’s first major bit of summer business done by bringing in a number-nine and, amid a frustrating dearth of available players in this market, feels Belotti and Morata are excellent options but even they bring complications in terms of how the deals will be done.
The Portuguese has been especially impressed with the 23-year-old Belotti’s revelatory season, where he has scored 28 goals in 38 games, and United have already discussed a potential bid of around £57m.
The striker has a buy-out clause of £87m, however, meaning Torino are unwilling to accept anything less. United currently do not want to enact that option, because they do not want to deviate from their usual payment structure.
It means Morata is likelier the smoother signing to complete, and the cheaper one given that Real currently want £78m, but even that has its issues.
Real have naturally already mentioned their long-standing interest in David De Gea any time talks taken been broached, and some kind of swap remains possible.
Liverpool monitoring Sporting's Martins
Liverpool are in talks with Sporting Lisbon regarding a deal for winger Gelson Martins as the club continue their quest to bring in a pacy attacker.
The Reds have been in negotiations with Roma about Mohamed Salah, but fear being priced out of a move for the Egypt international, and the Press Association reports Martins is seen as a potential option.
It has been claimed in Portugal that Martins has a buy-out clause of £52million, but that Sporting's failure to qualify for the Champions League means they would take £43.5million.
The 22-year-old made 44 appearances last season, scoring seven goals and providing 14 assists, and produced a particularly impressive individual performance against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League in September.
Jurgen Klopp is known to want to add more pace to his side for next term. It is understood the club have also been monitoring Keita Balde at Lazio and Bayern Munich's Douglas Costa in addition to Salah and Martins.
Walker refuses to commit future to Spurs
Kyle Walker has refused to commit his future to Tottenham, admitting that there has been “no indication at all” of where he will be next season.
The right-back’s future at the club has been in question after falling out with manager Mauricio Pochettino over fitness and selection last May, as first revealed by The Independent.
The player has since been linked with a move to Manchester City, where the 27-year-old can expect to double his current £70,000-a-week wage.
Although no official bid has yet been, Walker’s latest comments, made to Sky Sports, will surely reaffirm the belief that he is set to walk away from Tottenham this summer.
When asked about his future at the club, he said: "No, no indication at all. No."
He added that such speculation has done little to distract him. "Not at all. I mean, you know coming away from club football kind of gives you a little bit of headspace.
"I am an England player now and I am fully focused on a massive game on Saturday. We need to go and get the three points."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments