Monday’s transfer news: Maguire to United ‘imminent’, Arsenal close to Ceballos, Liverpool and Spurs latest
All the biggest stories and reports from Monday 22 July
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Manchester United are on the verge of completing their third signing of the window after the club agreed an £80m fee with Leicester City for Harry Maguire.
Arsenal may also add to their squad today after beating Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool to signing Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos on loan. Madrid are also looking at shifting Gareth Bale after his agent called manager Zinedine Zidane a "disgrace" for saying he hopes the Welshman quickly finds a new club “for everyone’s sake”. The Independent exclusively revealed that Neymar's representatives would be interested in a sensational swap deal.
Wilfried Zaha is seeking a solution to his future as the winger continues to be linked with a move to Arsenal, and now it has emerged that Bayern Munich may chase the Crystal Palace player after they admitted defeat in their attempts to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea. Follow all of the latest below:
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Monday's transfer news.
Today could be a huge day in the transfer market as Manchester United look to finally get a deal to sign Leicester's Harry Maguire over the line.
Arsenal are also likely to be active today as the attempt to finalise a deal with Real Madrid to take exciting Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos on loan for the season.
Let's begin with the news that Harry Maguire could become a Manchester United player in the coming days.
The Old Trafford club believe they have made a breakthrough in their attempts to sign the England centre-back from Leicester after they reached an agreement on a transfer fee yesterday.
United had seen an initial £60m offer rejected and have now met Leicester's £80m asking price, which will include some of the fee being paid in conditional clauses.
The club feel that the 26-year-old will complement the developing Victor Lindelof at the heart of a new-look defence that will form the foundation of a fast and hard-pressing team.
Arsenal believe they have beaten competition from Tottenham to sign Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos on loan for this season.
The clubs have been in dialogue about a deal for some time and those close to Ceballos believe a deal is close to being completed, reports The Mirror.
The 22-year-old Spanish international can play in a number of midfield roles and Unai Emery is said to be a keen admirer of him.
Here's a weird one. Nabil Fekir, remember him? The Lyon midfielder was a long-term Liverpool, Arsenal and brief Chelsea transfer target, but it finally looks like there is an end in sight for this rather long saga.
The French international was on the verge of joining Spanish side Real Betis, with an announcement thought to be soon, but reports in France suggest he could be moving to Napoli instead.
A deal to Real Betis may have helped Tottenham in their attempts to sign Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who Fekir was going to replace. With Betis perhaps out of the hunt for him, Lo Celso's exit looks slightly less likely.
So, where could Gareth Bale be playing next season? There's a chance that it will not be Real Madrid after Zinedine Zidane revealed the Welsham's departure from the club might be "best for everyone".
Bale's agent immediately hit back and said the Real Madrid manager has handled things very badly. "Zidane is a disgrace to speak like that about someone who has done so much for Real,” he said.
The Independent reported that Neymar, who is desperate to leave PSG, would be interested in engineering a swap deal.
Tottenham, the club he left for a then-record £85m in 2013, have shown some interest in bringing him back to north London, but they are not willing to match his enormous wage demands.
Manchester United have been strongly linked with him in the past, but the Manchester Evening News, reports that they have no intention of signing him.
Miguel Delaney takes a closer look at how Gareth Bale, who has won four Champions League titles at Real Madrid, has fallen so far out of favour at The Bernabeu.
Bayern Munich are considering a move for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, who wants to leave the south London club in pursuit of Champions League football.
The Independent revealed that the German champions have ended their attempts to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi, and now 90min suggest that they will try to sign Zaha.
Crystal Palace will not let him leave for anything less than £75m, a stance that has already put off a number of clubs, including Arsenal.
James Milner is unsure about his future at Liverpool after revealing he is in the dark about contract extension talks.
The 33-year-old midfielder is in the final year of his contract and last night he said he has not sure about what comes next but added he wants to say.
“As it stands, last year we spoke to the club and asked them if they wanted to do something and they said not at that time,” he said.
“We haven’t heard anything since, so that’s where we are at.”
Jurgen Klopp recently said that Milner always has a place at the club for as long as he's in charge.
“It’s obviously nice," said Milner. "All I can do is concentrate on my football and do what I can.
“But in terms of where I am with my contract, that’s what has happened up until now and I haven’t heard anything from the club."
While Bayern Munich may have given up in their pursuit of Callum Hudson-Odoi, their interest in Leroy Sane remains.
Manchester City, however, have no intention of letting him leave and have rejected the chance to sign versatile left-back David Alaba in part-exchange deal, claim reports in Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
The Premier League winners in two of the last three years are not willing to sell the German winger and see the 23-year-old as part of the club's future.
Arsenal have made a third bid for Kieran Tierney following two failed attempts to sign the Celtic defender.
The Scottish champions want £25m paid up front, an issue for Arsenal due to their current financial status.
Arsenal's second bid came close to the required fee, but Celtic were unhappy with the structure of the deal, particularly the clause regarding Arsenal qualifying for the Champions League, claim The Daily Record.
Tierney has four years left on his contract at Celtic Park and is currently working his way back to fitness following a double hernia operation that saw him miss the latter stages of Celtic's season.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon recently pointed to the £50m Manchester United paid to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka as an indicator as to where the transfer market has gone.
"“He (Tierney) has a valuation and the way the market is in England it could even look like a bargain when you think of Wan-Bissaka going for £50m.
“We feel Kieran is a far more experienced and rounded full-back at this juncture in his career.
“We’re certainly not going to be pushed over in any negotiations."
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