Manchester United are set to be busy this summer and appear to be closing in on their second signing of the off-season. Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka appears close to a move after a breakthrough was finally reached between the two clubs that will see the England Under-21 international move to Old Trafford for upwards of £42m plus add ons. Sporting’s Bruno Fernandes could well be close behind with the Red Devils now the favourites to sign him too.
It won’t just be incomings, however, with Paul Pogba anxious to leave with Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain circling. Romelu Lukaku is all set to leave for Italy too while the club are desperate to get Alexis Sanchez’s £500,000 per week off the books.
Real Madrid’s talented young midfielder Dani Ceballos is impressing many at the European Under-21 Championship this summer, which could lead to a enquiry or two from a number of clubs.
But Madrid will not consider anything less than €50m (£47.7m) for the 22-year-old, according to Spanish newspaper AS.
Tottenham are one of the clubs who have been linked with Ceballos and would certainly have the funds to move for the Spaniard following their run to the Champions League final, but Spurs are yet to make any formal offer.
Claudio Ranieri has thrown his hat into the ring to be the next Newcastle manager.
Rafa Benitez will leave the club after failing to extend his contract.
And the Italian, fresh from leaving Roma after a short-term spell to end the season, is eyeing up the job, claim Sky Sports.
Matteo Kovacic’s future at Chelsea is under threat after it was revealed the Real Madrid midfielder is yet to have an extension offer made to his loan deal.
The Croatian is only contracted to Chelsea until 1 July and endured an inconsistent season at Stamford Bridge under Maurizio Sarri.
But with no manager currently in place at Chelsea, Goal reports that a decision has not been made on whether the 25-year-old will be offered the chance to stay at Stamford Bridge or not, given he doesn’t appear to have a future back at Madrid.
Manchester United have already signed winger Daniel James from Swansea in a £15m deal this summer, but in different circumstances they may have been celebrating a much bigger signing.
The Independent can reveal that United rejected the chance to sign Neymar in a swap deal with Paris Saint-Germain, who wanted midfielder Paul Pogba in return.
Both players want out of their current clubs, but United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward decided against holding talks over a move for two key reasons, as Miguel Delaney can reveal.
Neymar is closing on a return to Barcelona as he looks for a way out of Paris Saint-Germain, but one hitch to the move is the fact that he’s been told to make a humiliating climb-down and apologise to the Barca fans who he betrayed two years ago.
The Brazilian forced a move away from the Nou Camp in a deal that came with its share of acrimony, but he is now pursuing a move back to Spain with Barcelona the favourites to land him.
However, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that Barcelona have told Neymar in no uncertain terms that there will not be a return unless he issues a public apology to the club’s fans, as well as accepts a considerable pay-cut on his PSG wages to something similar to what he used to earn at Barca.
Arsenal have seen their £15m offer for Kieran Tierney rejected by Celtic, but the Scottish Premiership champions did inform the Gunners how much it will take to sign the left-back this summer.
Celtic are refusing to budge from their £25m valuation, according to The Telegraph, which would represent half of Arsenal’s transfer budget this summer.
With Unai Emery having a number of areas in need of strengthening, it’s very likely that Arsenal will need to shift some deadwood out the door if they’re to bring in their top targets this summer.
We begin the morning with news of Manchester United’s pursuit of Jadon Sancho.
The Premier League side ended their interest earlier in the summer after being put off by the £100m price tag that Borussia Dortmind slapped on the England forward.
But The Sun reports that Sancho is firmly back on the radar if United sell Paul Pogba this summer, with the 19-year-old fitting into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans to rejuvenate his squad.
United may still try to negotiate a lower fee, but with Sancho under a long-term contract in Germany, Dortmund appear to hold the chips in this one.
Welcome to The Independent’s transfer live blog, where we’ll bring you the latest news, rumours and done deals throughout the summer window.
There’s no doubting that the transfer market is hotting up, with Manchester United ready to pounce on more than one target and both Arsenal and Liverpool nearing moves as they look to strengthen. Manchester City could be on the verge of signing England defender Harry Maguire for £80m that would smash the world record transfer fee for a defender, while Neymar continues to look for a way out of PSG.
Without further ado, let’s get underway.
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Meanhile, Arsenal are set to push on with their first signing of the summer with a deal for Celtic’s Kieran Tierney close. Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser and Belgian international Yannick Carrasco are also options being considered but money could be tight for Unai Emery and Co.
Champions Manchester City don’t have any such problems and look set to strengthen an already stacked squad. Leicester City’s Harry Maguire could arrive in a club record deal while Atletico Madrid’s Rodri and Juve’s Joao Cancelo appear near certainties to join him in what looks to be another busy summer at the Etihad.
