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Chelsea in Estevao talks but no official bid yet
A big story circulating yesterday was about Chelsea being confident of signing Palmeiras wonderkid Estevao Willian. My understanding is that talks have been taking place since January – initial discussions, with Chelsea interested and very keen. Nothing is done yet also because Palmeiras are still waiting for an official bid but interest is concrete.
Palmeiras keep producing fantastic talents, as we saw with Endrick, who will be joining Real Madrid in the summer, and Estevao is another big prospect for the future. Nicknamed ‘Messinho’, he’s surely rated among the best talents in South America.
In terms of outgoings, three players could be leaving Chelsea this summer, and we can start by saying that Armando Broja will return to Chelsea from his loan spell at Fulham, and then the plan is to sell him permanently. There are already several clubs in the Premier League and elsewhere who are interested in Broja, so he has very good chances to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. The plan, from what I’m told, is for a permanent exit, and Broja is receiving enquiries from multiple clubs, so this is one to keep an eye on.
Similarly, Kepa Arrizabalaga will also return to Chelsea after going out on loan this season and he will then leave the club. Real Madrid will not keep Kepa on a permanent transfer, and so then Chelsea will make the Spanish goalkeeper available and try to make some profit from selling him. There’s no chance of him staying at Real Madrid now that Thibaut Courtois is back, and there’s also no chance of Chelsea keeping him either.
Another Chelsea player I’ve been asked about is Hakim Ziyech. While he’s officially on loan at Galatasaray, my understanding is that it’s guaranteed that at the end of this season he will officially become a Galatasaray player. Chelsea already don’t consider Ziyech as one of their players.
One final point on Chelsea, as I reported last week, there is nothing between Antonio Conte and Chelsea – no contacts have taken place. Conte is open to a new opportunity, he wants to return to management as soon as possible, once he finds the right project.
Casemiro could leave Manchester United, plus clarification on links with Benfica duo
It’s obviously not been the best moment for Casemiro at Manchester United, with the veteran Brazilian really struggling in the 4-0 defeat against Crystal Palace, and it’s now anticipated that there will be a chance for him to leave the club this summer.
We already heard some stories back in November, but there were never any concrete proposals at the time. This could change in the summer as Manchester United are anticipating some interest, particularly from Saudi clubs, for Casemiro. The expectation now is for the club and the player to part ways. Of course we’ll have to see what kind of proposals come in, and if they’re good enough for Casemiro and for Man United, but there is a possibility for him to leave this summer, and Saudi looks a likely destination.
Let’s wait and see what official proposals come in, but for sure Saudi looks a concrete possibility for Casemiro, with Man United prepared to let him go if the offer is right.
I’m also aware of fresh reports on United and Benfica duo Joao Neves and Antonio Silva. Man United have scouted both players for months but we should also remember that that both are going to be very expensive. So far, there have been no official bids for Neves or Silva yet but it’s going to be really open in the summer. Reports in Portugal say that Silva is more likely to be Benfica’s big sale, rather than Neves, but my understanding is that it’s open and depends on the proposals that come in.
In other news…
Franco Mastantuono – Franco Mastantuono is one of the best young talents in South America, similar to Endrick and Estevao, so I could really mention all top clubs in Europe as being keen on him. All of them like Mastantuono, but Real Madrid are the club to mention as they have recently made contact with River Plate. There’s no bid yet but concrete movements are taking place.
Renato Sanches – After his loan at Roma, Renato Sanches is set to return to PSG this summer and then the expectation is for him to be sold. Previously, Besiktas wanted Renato but he wasn’t convinced, same for Olympiacos. I don’t think the price tag will be an issue – something around €15m will be enough to sign the Portuguese midfielder in the summer transfer window.
Adam Wharton – Crystal Palace did a great job with this January signing. A lot of other clubs were monitoring Adam Wharton, but no one was as concrete as Palace – they really trusted him since day one of the January window. They believe he’s special, really special player, and it’s easy to see why after his strong start to life in the Premier League.