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Positive news for Leeds as Crysencio Summerville outlines transfer plans

Video: “Players that get coaches sacked” – Steve Nicol warns Emery over £50m capture

Alexander-Arnold-esque player offered to West Ham for transfer

Bayern Munich star could play a big role in deciding the future of Man United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka

According to Sky Sport Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Man United and West Ham are exploring ways to get a deal for Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui done, with initial talks having already taken place.

This would have a big impact on the future of Wan-Bissaka as if the Hammers sign the Bundesliga star, that will end their interest in the United full-back.

Therefore, the English defender will be hoping that his current club win the race as that would make his future clearer as his exit from Old Trafford would almost be a certainty. There are a lot of unknowns around the future of Wan-Bissaka and it will be interesting to see where he ends up come the end of the transfer window.

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Talks continue as Man United keep trying to reach agreement over potential €50m transfer

Mark Brus — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 10:56:04 +0000

Negotiations are reportedly set to continue between Manchester United and Bayern Munich over a potential transfer deal for Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt.

The Red Devils recently signed Leny Yoro from Lille to come in at centre-back, raising some questions about whether or not they’d still go for someone like De Ligt as well.

Still, it seems Man Utd are still pursuing De Ligt, with the Netherlands international available, but only for a fairly steep price of around €50million, plus potential further add-ons on top of that.

See below for the latest details from Christian Falk on his official account on X (formerly Twitter)…

Manchester United offer €35 Mio for Matthijs de Ligt (24). FC Bayern has rejected the offer
?? FC Bayern demand €50 Mio plus add-ons
?? Bayern have to sell players to buy new players
?? Negotiations between the clubs continue@BILD_Sport @altobelli13

— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) July 22, 2024

Falk says United have failed with an initial offer of €35m for De Ligt, but, interestingly, it also seems that Bayern are under pressure to sell some players this summer before they can make signings, so MUFC could use that to their advantage in negotiations.

It will be interesting to see if some kind of compromise can be reached, but United fans will surely hope that they can see Erik ten Hag’s side lining up with both De Ligt and Yoro in central defence next season.

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Those would be two hugely important signings for United, who lost Lisandro Martinez to injury for much of the 2023/24 campaign, and who will surely want an upgrade on the likes of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in that area of the pitch.

Matthijs de Ligt remains a transfer target for Manchester United

De Ligt may not quite have shown his best form in a Bayern shirt, but he’s previously looked like a player with enormous potential, having made the breakthrough at Ajax a few years ago when Ten Hag was still manager there.

It could be that being reunited with Ten Hag at Old Trafford is just what De Ligt needs to get back to his best for this next important stage of his career.

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Man United confident they’ll deal major transfer blow to Arsenal by winning race for goal machine

Mark Brus — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 09:24:19 +0000

Manchester United are reportedly confident of winning the race to seal the transfer of exciting Arsenal wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin this summer despite Borussia Dortmund also being interested in him.

The teenager has been incredibly prolific at youth level for Arsenal, and there’ll no doubt be many Gunners supporters who are disappointed and worried about losing him, especially as he now looks likely to join a major Premier League rival.

See below for the latest on this move, which is not done yet, but which seems to be sounding positive for Man Utd as Obi-Martin is thought to favour staying in England over moving to Germany, according to journalist Christopher Michel…

#MUFC are confident they will win the race for Chido Obi Martin. He apparently wants to stay in England, not move to Germany. #SGE and #BVB are also interested in the talent. But no decision has been made yet.

— Christopher Michel (@CMoffiziell) July 22, 2024

United have a proud record of developing and promoting youth, so it’s perhaps not too surprising that Obi-Martin sees this as a good move, though it’s also clearly a gamble when the Red Devils have two young strikers on their books already in the form of Rasmus Hojlund and the recently-signed Joshua Zirkzee.

It will surely be quite the challenge for Obi-Martin to break past those two in the MUFC XI any time soon, though it’s not exactly looking likely to be easy at Arsenal either.

Chido Obi-Martin looks set to leave Arsenal for Manchester United

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Mikel Arteta is building a far more competitive Arsenal than we’ve seen for some time, so it perhaps makes sense that there is now more of a focus on ready-made players coming in to the side, unlike the focus on youth that we saw earlier on in the Spaniard’s project.

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Bayern Munich chief admits he would ‘love’ to sign Chelsea, Man City-linked star

CJ — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 19:07:29 +0000

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß has admitted he would ‘love’ to sign Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz enjoyed a stunning 2023/24 campaign, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions to help Die Werkself win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal with an unbeaten domestic record, while also reaching the Europa League final.

The 21-year-old then followed that up with a two-goal showing for Germany at Euro 2024, helping Die Mannschaft reach the quarter-finals.

As recently as December, Wirtz was linked with big moves to Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester City (via TEAMtalk). But naturally, any player who thrives at a German club will draw the attention of Bayern Munich, and Hoeneß has made no secret of his desire to bring Wirtz to the Allianz Arena.

“Everyone knows that I would love to see him at Bayern,” Hoeneß admitted when asked for his thoughts on the Bundesliga Player of the Season (via Get Football News Germany).

Florian Wirtz celebrates a goal for Bayer Leverkusen

Hoeneß calls for calm approach to Wirtz and Musiala talent

If Wirtz were to join Bayern Munich — which is unlikely this summer given his father has already confirmed he wishes to stay at Leverkusen next season — he would link up with Jamal Musiala.

The young duo proved a nightmare for defenders at Euro 2024 with five goals combined, including one each in the knockout rounds.

For his part, Hoeneß has called for a relaxed attitude toward the talent and potential of Wirtz and Musiala.

“I think the hype surrounding them is wrong,” the 72-year-old said. “Under these pressures, they cannot develop as they should.

“I think it’s madness to compare Jamal with Maradona. This does young players no favours. There’s no doubt that they can get to that level. But I think it’s a huge mistake to put them under so much pressure now.”

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Transfer news: Calafiori to Arsenal here we go soon, Man Utd potential exits, Chelsea midfielder links & more

Fabrizio Romano — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 15:50:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive transfer news via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

Here we go soon for Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal transfer

One of the big stories of the day is with Riccardo Calafiori and Arsenal – the ‘here we go’ is coming because there is an agreement between Arsenal and Bologna on a €40m fixed fee, €5m in add-ons, and a sell-on clause for Bologna. Calafiori had already agreed a contract with Arsenal back in June, which would be until 2029, so everything is ready for him to go to Arsenal.

Calafiori has asked Bologna to be allowed to fulfil his dream and go to Arsenal, so it will be completed in the next days. The next key steps will be between Bologna and Basel to agree on payment terms for the 50% sell-on clause that Basel had for their former player. They’re set to receive a big amount of money, and so they now have to agree with Bologna now to structure this part of the deal, while Arsenal are just waiting.

Despite some reports that the deal had stalled, the reality is that the negotiations never stopped. It was not easy, but they kept going, and now there’s an agreement. Arsenal fans can be excited by this signing – I think he can do great in Premier League, he’s an excellent player, we saw that with his form in Serie A and with Italy at the Euros also.

Another story to watch at Arsenal is that Crystal Palace will bid for Emile Smith Rowe. Let’s see if Arsenal reject the bid, like they did with Fulham, or if they will be ready to negotiate. Still, Smith Rowe looks like being an interesting situation to watch in the next days.

Another Arsenal sale could be Eddie Nketiah, who has been attracting strong interest from Marseille since last week. Now it’s true that, as reported in France, Marseille have presented a proposal to Arsenal – there is still no agreement, but there is a negotiation ongoing between the two clubs.

Manuel Ugarte to Man Utd latest, plus truth on Sancho and Mount future

There’s a chance for Jadon Sancho to stay at Manchester United – a lot will depend on the next weeks. Pre-season, feelings with the manager, performances…he has chances to stay. Interest from other clubs remains but there have been no official bids so far, so it’s still quiet. Sancho’s decision to clarify with Erik ten Hag also shows how they can be ready to continue together, but it depends on what happens in the next weeks.

There were reports yesterday about Mason Mount potentially leaving Manchester United. From what I’ve heard on the club and player side, however, is exactly the same, and that’s that Mount doesn’t want to leave Man United. He wants to do his best to show his skills at United after an unlucky first season with injuries. And United, from what I’m hearing, have no intention to sell Mount, so at the moment it’s absolutely under control and he’s set to be involved in the project of Erik ten Hag.

Meanwhile, Manuel Ugarte said yes to Manchester United a few days ago – they’ve reached an agreement with the player and his agent Jorge Mendes, who also represents Leny Yoro. Ugarte wants to go to Man United and so now they’re negotiating with PSG – also because United know that PSG are advancing well in talks to sign a new midfielder – Joao Neves.

Paris Saint-Germain have presented an official offer to Benfica for Neves – around €70m, but Benfica want more. Still, they understand that they will not get the full €120m release clause for Neves – they always tried to ask for this clause and this is why a deal didn’t happen earlier, but they now know that Neves has agreed terms with PSG.

Neves is convinced by the PSG project under Luis Enrique, and Benfica also know that PSG will not pay the clause. For now, the €70m offer is not enough, but negotiations are ongoing, and so PSG look like they could sign Neves in the next days.

So, it could be one in and one out in the PSG midfield as Ugarte is an option for Man United. However, I don’t have any substantial update on Adrien Rabiot and Man United now, despite links. The player’s camp is talking to several clubs after leaving Juventus on a free transfer, but at the moment I’m not aware of anything imminent with Man United.

Dani Olmo clause expires – what next for Bayern and Barca target?

Dani Olmo’s €60m release clause at RB Leipzig will now expire. So what does it mean? At the time of writing no one has triggered the release clause – there was no last-minute deal, it’s not happening. The relationship between Olmo and Leipzig remains excellent, and the idea remains that if Leipzig receive good proposals, even after the release clause expired, Olmo can still leave the club.

This is the idea, though of course it’s more difficult without a release clause as negotiations will be needed between interested clubs and Leipzig. Still, there is room for things to happen, even if there is nothing currently going on with Chelsea and Manchester City, despite rumours. Man City appreciate the player, but any reports of them working on the deal are fake news, they’ve not been working on the deal. Chelsea, meanwhile, believe they are already well covered with left-footed attacking players.

Still, there is interest from other Premier League clubs, so it could be an interesting situation to watch, let’s see if they will move in the next few days or weeks. Meanwhile, as I’ve previously reported, Olmo remains an option for Bayern Munich in case their deal for Xavi Simons collapses. Olmo is still on Bayern’s list, so let’s see what happens with Simons, as Olmo is still an option for Bayern.

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This is nothing new – Olmo has been on Bayern’s list since May, with Max Eberl, former director at Leipzig, knowing the player very well. Barcelona also appreciate Olmo and have a good relationship with his agents, because he shares agents with Mikayil Faye, so they had the opportunity to ask about his situation. Still, for Barca, the priority is Nico Williams.

Let’s see what happens with Williams, but he’s the obsession of Barcelona right now. Negotiations are ongoing on the player side, and then let’s see what Barca decide to do with him or with Olmo eventually, but at the moment there’s still no bid.

In other news…

Alphonso Davies – Now Bayern are open to keeping Alphonso Davies and see what happens in contract talks, but if he doesn’t extend, Davies remains an option for Real Madrid in 2025, but Real Madrid were never gonna pay €50m or €60m for him when he’s just a year away from being a free agent.

Andriy Lunin – Much has been written about Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, and the reality is that he could leave Real Madrid this summer, but to name specific clubs we will have to wait for a few more days. As I said earlier in the week, Real Madrid have not received any approach for Lunin from Chelsea so far.

Julian Alvarez – Manchester City keep considering Julian Alvarez as a key player for them, so it would have to be a big proposal or there is no chance for all the clubs interested. There is no way for loan, I also saw that kind of reports. More talks between Julian’s camp and City in the next days will take place to discuss future steps.

Andreas Pereira – I don’t want to deny any colleague but I don’t have information on talks between Chelsea and Andreas Pereira, or Chelsea and Fulham so far, despite what has been reported in Brazil. Chelsea’s focus is on a right-footed winger, striker, and goalkeeper. On Pereira’s future in general, it will depend on opportunities and what kind of proposals he will receive.

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“It’s possible…” – Club president strongly hints Man United transfer target could be allowed to leave

Mark Brus — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 13:00:34 +0000

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness has suggested that Matthijs de Ligt could leave the club this summer, hinting particularly at a possible transfer to link up with his fellow Dutchman Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.

As quoted in the post below by Fabrizio Romano, Hoeness also seemed to suggest that it could be better to offload De Ligt than to allow Dayot Upamecano to be the defender to leave the Allianz Arena…

??? Bayern’s Uli Hoeneß on Matthijs de Ligt: “It's possible that a defender will leave. De Ligt is Dutch, the coach at Manchester United is Dutch…”.

“I would have no problem if he stays. Personally, I would not sell Upamecano”, said via @_kochmaximilian. pic.twitter.com/Q3WSucdekX

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 21, 2024

De Ligt remains an option for Man Utd this summer, as Romano previously told us, but after completing a deal to sign Leny Yoro from Lille, it means they now need to focus on sales before making another purchase as they’ll want to make sure they’re balancing the books and not risking being penalised over Financial Fair Play breaches.

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Bayern themselves may be keen to cash in on one or two players this summer after bringing in big-name signings like Joao Palhinha and Michael Olise, but it remains to be seen if they’ll definitely be getting rid of De Ligt.

The Netherlands international could still be a useful player for the Bavarian giants, even if he’s been a little slow to get going since joining the club from what also proved to be a slightly underwhelming spell at Juventus.

De Ligt notably played under United manager Ten Hag when they were together at Ajax, and it was there that De Ligt was regarded as one of the finest young players in world football.

Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United?

The 24-year-old is now at a point in his career where he needs to think really carefully about what the best move for him would be, as he could perhaps do without more chopping and changing in his life.

However, it might also be worth it if it means he can get more guaranteed playing time than he’s likely to have at Bayern.

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Calafiori to Arsenal, Man Utd midfielder signing – 10 high-profile summer transfers to watch out for next

Mark Brus — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 12:37:41 +0000

There’s always so much transfer news to sift through at this time of the year, but we’ve put together ten deals that genuinely look like ones to watch out for very soon, if Fabrizio Romano and other top journalists are anything to go by.

While there’s still plenty of time left until Deadline Day, and we’ve seen more than a few twists and turns in some major sagas in recent times, here’s a look at some signings that should go through soon due to being at an advanced stage, or that are at least being worked on at the moment.

Read on four our pick of ten transfer deals to watch out for next this summer…

Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal

After weeks of speculation, it now looks like the Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal transfer deal is more or less a done deal, with just some formalities remaining before it can be made official, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column earlier today, Romano said: “Riccardo Calafiori and Arsenal – the ‘here we go’ is coming because there is an agreement between Arsenal and Bologna on a €40m fixed fee, €5m in add-ons, and a sell-on clause for Bologna.

“Calafiori had already agreed a contract with Arsenal back in June, which would be until 2029, so everything is ready for him to go to Arsenal.

“Despite some reports that the deal had stalled, the reality is that the negotiations never stopped. It was not easy, but they kept going, and now there’s an agreement.”

Manuel Ugarte to Manchester United

After some exciting early deals for young talents Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, Manchester United could make another smart move to strengthen their squad as they’ve agreed personal terms with PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

As also reported by Romano, Ugarte wants to join Man Utd, and the Uruguay international looks like he could be an important upgrade on inconsistent performers like Casemiro and Sofyan Amrabat, who looked far from good enough for much of last season.

This perhaps isn’t as advanced as something like the Calafiori to Arsenal deal, as United still need to agree a deal with PSG, but one imagines they’ll be prepared t let him go as they have a midfield signing of their own in the works. More on that next…

Joao Neves to PSG

Although it’s not done yet, PSG are accelerating their efforts to sign Benfica midfield wonderkid Joao Neves, as French football expert Jonathan Johnson exclusively told us for his column last week.

Neves is one of the most exciting young players in the world in his position, and it makes sense that the Ligue 1 giants seem keen to offload someone like Ugarte and bring in this exciting long-term addition who perhaps looks a better fit for Luis Enrique’s style of play.

“Joao Neves to PSG looks to be accelerating at the moment, with PSG stealing a march on other European competitors,” Johnson said on Thursday.

“PSG are looking to negotiate a deal with Benfica, with Neves happy to make the move to the Parc des Princes. It’s now down to the two clubs to reach an agreement.”

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