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Possible Manchester United exits and Donyell Malen transfer links
Sofyan Amrabat hasn’t had the easiest time on loan at Manchester United this season since joining on loan from Fiorentina, and there’s now speculation about a decision already being made for the summer transfer window.
However, my understanding is that no decision has been communicated to Amrabat or to Fiorentina. A decision will likely come soon, and it’s possible that the Red Devils will opt not to keep the player and perhaps go in a different direction.
Still, it’s worth remembering that Amrabat has shown real quality in recent years and performed on the biggest stage with Morocco at the World Cup. He arrived late on in August to United after almost no pre-season, so it’s not surprising he’s not been at his best. Let’s see what will happen in the coming weeks.
Despite a meeting in recent days between Manchester United’s directors and Barcelona director Deco, we can say that Barcelona are not working on a deal to sign Mason Greenwood. There have been many rumours in Spain about that as Greenwood has been doing very well on loan at Getafe and I can confirm that Manchester United are ready to let Greenwood leave.
Greenwood can leave if Man United receive a good proposal, but for now Barcelona have different ideas and different transfer priorities so they are not working on the Greenwood deal. United will look for solutions because they want to find a buyer for Greenwood.
Finally, United have also been linked again with Donyell Malen after interest back in January. I’m told that Malen has chances to leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer transfer window, but there’s nothing in terms of talks right now with any club. United have a good relationship with his agents, but at the moment there are no concrete talks taking place, so let’s see if that changes as we get closer to the summer.
Too soon to talk about new deal for Cole Palmer
It was another fantastic performance by Cole Palmer yesterday as Chelsea beat Leicester City to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals. The 21-year-old has been an absolute revelation, contributing 26 goals and assists in total now, and I’m aware this has led to some rumours about a possible new contract and pay rise.
However, he only signed his current contract eight months ago, so it’s early to discuss these kinds of things. I’m sure Chelsea will always make their best efforts to keep Palmer happy at the club, but there’s no issue at all. He’s been a fantastic signing – he was a top secret target for weeks and they did an excellent job to prise this top talent away from Manchester City.
Serge Gnabry would have transfer interest if Bayern sell
We’ve had a lot of rumours about Bayern Munich players in recent times, with Alphonso Davies on the list at Real Madrid, while the club also need to tie down Joshua Kimmich to a new contract.
And now, there’s been speculation about Serge Gnabry being available this summer, with possible interest from the Premier League, though my understanding is that Bayern’s plans will be finalised once a new manager is appointed, as they still need to decide on their replacement when Thomas Tuchel leaves his job at the end of the season.
It’s still early for these kind of decisions, but for sure there would be interest in Gnabry in case Bayern decide to put him on the market this summer. We all know he’s a top player and capable of great things so if they decide to make him available I’m sure we’ll see suitors emerging, but it’s too early to say yet that this will definitely be the case.
In other transfer news…
Franco Mastantuono – River Plate have a new gem in their squad. The 16-year-old midfielder is the youngest goal-scorer in River Plate’s history and he’s going to sign a new contract until December 2026. The agreement is done and will be signed in the next days, and it’s an important one for River Plate because it includes the highest release clause in the history of Argentinian football – €45m. Many top clubs in England and Spain are making moves for the wonderkid, so it’s important for River Plate to tie him down to this new deal.
Reiss Nelson – Having struggled for playing time at Arsenal this season, Reiss Nelson is again being linked with a possible move away. Brighton appreciate the player, they already wanted him last summer when he decided to sign new deal at Arsenal after talks. But in order to decide about top targets, it will be crucial to understand Roberto De Zerbi’s future, so let’s see if he ends up leaving for another job, and, if so, who will replace him.
Orkun Kokcu – Although Orkun Kokcu has spoken out on his difficult spell at Benfica, I honestly don’t know yet at this stage what the future holds for him. It’s just an interview of Kokcu who said he’s not happy with manager decisions, but for Benfica he’s been an important and historical investment and this should always be remembered. There have been no negotiations with any other clubs so far.