With the transfer window for Europe’s biggest clubs set to open soon — find out when the transfer window opens and closes across Europe’s top leagues – rest assured that Transfer Talk is scouring the world’s media and setting correspondents loose to see what is on the agenda. You can click here to review all the latest transfers.
TOP STORY: Bayern make move for City’s Sane
Bayern Munich are in talks with Manchester City to sign Leroy Sane, according to the Daily Record.
They’re reporting that the Bundesliga champions have been granted permission to meet Sane’s representatives in a move to sign the player they tried to sign in 2016 before they were beaten to his signature… by City.
Bayern have cooled their interest in Lille forward Nicolas Pepe and instead are looking to make Sane their main man. City are reportedly pragmatic about the future of the 23-year-old Sane, with the star so far refusing to sign a contract extension before it runs out in 2021. City aren’t prepared to see Sane run his contract down, while the player himself is looking for more first-team football.
Any sale of Sane could help fund Pep Guardiola’s summer spend as he looks to bring four players into the club.
LIVE BLOG
16.41 BST: Real Madrid may be about to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea, but it also seems like they are set to announce Luka Jovic’s move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
AS report that the 21-year-old striker will arrive for €60m and will be presented at the Bernabeu next week.
16.12 BST: Manchester United misfit Alexis Sanchez has struggled since landing at Old Trafford, but for some reason Inter Milan and Juventus are still interested in signing him.
The Daily Mail report that “the player’s representative Fernando Felicevich has been in Italy in recent days assessing what clubs are interested in taking the Chile international back to Serie A [he used to play for Udinese].”
15.43 BST: Ajax’s David Neres has impressed this season and UOL Esporte claim that PSG are advancing in their pursuit of the winger.
The Dutch club would sell for around €35m, and Neres could line up alongside his fellow Brazilian Neymar.
15.05 BST: Sport say that Inter Milan closing in on a spot in the Champions League is huge for their move for Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic. The Croatian is quite used to playing in Europe, so if they don’t make it then they can count themselves out.
14.22 BST: Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern are all reportedly willing to pay Rodri‘s €70m release clause, says El Larguero, with Atletico Madrid identifying Real Madrid outcast Marcos Llorente as his replacement.
City have also considered the signing of Saul as officials at the Etihad Stadium value his versatility to adapt to different roles in midfield and defence.
But sources have told ESPN FC that Pep Guardiola believes Rodri would be more suited for the position as the 22-year-old is the real holding midfielder at Atletico Madrid with Saul playing in a more advanced role and even as a full-back and a centre-back.
13.55 BST: If you’ve not heard of him, Bobby Adekanye is a Liverpool player. But the Dutch youth international (who was born in Nigeria) is set to join Lazio as he’s not made the breakthrough to the first XI.
The 20-year-old posted a heartfelt goodbye to Liverpool on Twitter.
13.29 BST: Jose Mourinho has spoken, and you shall listen.
“I only want to say two things about Manchester United,” he told L’Equipe. “One, time has spoken. Two, the problems are still there.”
When asked, ‘Were you a victim of Paul Pogba?’, he answered: “No, no.” And added: “The problems are there, you can imagine it’s the players, the organisation, the ambition. I’m just saying that I cannot say ‘Yes’ when you ask if Paul was the only one responsible.”
13.02 BST: America defender Edson Alvarez has signed new deal amid reports claiming Ajax want him to replace Matthijs de Ligt.
12.26 BST: A Bola report that PSG are keen on Manchester United’s Angel Gomes.
The 18-year-old, who has captained England at U16, U17 and U18 levels, reckons he should have played more this season and is ready to walk out on the club. Though we’re not sure he would get much more of a run in the XI in Paris.
12.06 BST: Leganes coach Mauricio Pellegrino would like Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to continue at the club but says Real Madrid have the final say.
Lunin has played three league games, just two as a starter, since joining Leganes on a season-long loan last summer. Reports in Spain claimed Leganes have asked Madrid for permission to extend Lunin’s loan deal for another season.
An understudy of Pichu Cuellar at Leganes, Lunin is reportedly keen to continue with the Madrid minnows and Leganes are happy with the 20-year-old’s performance. Lunin is contracted to Madrid until June 2024 but has Thibaut Courtois, Keylor Navas and Luca Zidane ahead of him in the pecking order at Madrid.
Pellegrino said: “Lunin’s situation doesn’t depend on us as we don’t own him. But the club is working on it. He has grown a lot and we have to wait and see. He is very happy here and he is very enthusiastic about staying with us. We have to wait but I wish he can continue.”
11.23 BST: Barcelona have reportedly turned down Benfica’s first offer for Jasper Cillessen, say Sport. The backup goalkeeper is keen to move on in search of first-team football but Barca evidently want €30m and the Portuguese club only offered €12m.
10.59 BST: Nicolo Zaniolo says he expects to be a Roma player next season, dismissing links with Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham are reported to have sent scouts to watch the 19-year-old at the weekend, but he told reporters in the Italian capital that he is happy where he is.
“It’s always flattering to attract attention from big clubs, but I’m focused on Roma and these final two games,” he said. “I’m very positive about signing a new contract and I’m happy to stay at Roma.”
The Italy international signed a four-year contract when he arrived in the summer, as a makeweight in the deal which saw Radja Nainggolan move to Inter Milan. However, Roma are looking to improve his terms amid reports of interest from other clubs.
10.32 BST: La Liga president Javier Tebas is hopeful Antoine Griezmann will continue to play in La Liga, which basically means a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid.
“I hope he remains in the Spanish league,” Tebas told Cadena Ser radio. “Griezmann is a great player, one wanted by half of Europe and there are six clubs that can afford to pay his release clause. The clause was going to go down so there was the possible prediction that Griezmann could leave, he was chosen in the top three of the Ballon d’Or award. It’s difficult for Atletico to fight with those six clubs in Europe.”
Tebas added on Cope radio: “That clause can only be paid by Madrid and Barca [in Spain]. Madrid has already said no … so …”
Le Parisien report that while Griezmann has been strongly linked with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain are also interested — with the French giants having attempted to sign the player in 2016. Cadena Ser claim that Atletico want Edinson Cavani to replace Griezmann, so that could work.
10.08 BST: Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has cast further doubt over the future of his club captain Lorenzo Insigne by revealing he has asked to leave several times in recent years.
Insigne has been made something of a scapegoat by Napoli fans when things have not gone well and De Laurentiis told reporters in Rome that he “didn’t feel loved” at his hometown club.
“I certainly can’t force him to stay if he doesn’t want to,” De Laurentiis said. “He has asked me to leave many times — four years ago, six years ago and even recently before [Mino] Raiola became his agent because he didn’t feel loved.”
AC Milan had been linked with a move for the Italy international, although financial fair play restrictions would appear to rule them out of the running, while Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is reported to be an admirer of the 27-year-old.
09.47 BST: Marca says Barcelona right-back Nelson Semedo has offers in England and Italy. He’s not been able to displace Sergi Roberto from the first-team so the club would reportedly consider any offers in the region of €35m.
09.13 BST: Atletico Madrid forward Luciano Vietto has joined Sporting Lisbon in a permanent transfer, with the Portuguese club agreeing to drop legal proceedings relating to winger Gelson Martins‘ departure for Atletico without any fee being paid last summer.
Atletico did not release any of the financial details involved, but a Sporting statement said the La Liga club would pay €22.5m for Gelson, with Sporting paying €7.5m for half of Argentine attacker Vietto’s “future rights.”
Vietto, 25, joined Atletico from Villarreal for €20m in summer 2015, but has never settled in the Spanish capital, and scored just one goal in 22 games on loan at Fulham last season. Gelson left Sporting amid their much publicised issues last summer but then struggled to impress Atletico coach Diego Simeone over the first six months of 2018/-9. After being loaned to Monaco in January, he helped them climb away from relegation trouble in Ligue 1.
08.47 BST: Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi says he is not yet ready to bring an end to his playing career after being told by the Giallorossi that his contract will not be extended this summer.
The 35-year-old has turned down an offer to become a director at Roma since he plans to carry on playing elsewhere next season, after 18 years in the Eternal City.
“I’ve not wanted to think about where to play next because I didn’t want any distractions to the team as we push for a place in the Champions League, so I don’t have any particular direction for the future, although I still feel like a footballer and I still have a burning desire to play football,” said De Rossi at a news conference. “I’ll go on holiday because I still need some time without thinking about football, then I think I’ll find another club.”
De Rossi, who turned down opportunities to play in the Premier League in the past, having stated his desire to play in England, added that he sees himself “more as a coach than a director” when he does decide to end his career.
08.30 BST: Keisuke Honda is hunting his next “great opportunity” as he seeks to keep his football career alive to the Tokyo Olympics next year.
Honda’s A-League career was cut one game shorter than hoped last Sunday night as Melbourne Victory’s season was brutally ended by Sydney FC. The Japan star had previously given his intention to leave Victory after one season in a deal made possible by FFA investment from the marquee fund, but doesn’t know where he will land next.
“I’ve been thinking. I’m looking for a great opportunity to play for next season,” he said. “But so far, I don’t have any options. So we will see.”
PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd)
Tottenham duo off to Turin?
Having not signed a player for two years, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pocchettino is expected to splash some cash this summer, but he’s also expected to sell players as he looks to freshen things up at White Hart Lane.
The biggest change could come at the back, with Calciomercato reporting that both Toby Alderweireld and Kieran Trippier have been offered to Italian champions Juventus.
The Italian site is reporting that Cristiano Ronaldo‘s employers have made contact with the Tottenham hierarchy, and are interested in activating the Belgian defender’s £30 million release clause.
Alderweireld has been a long-term target for Manchester United, who now look set to miss out on their man as a result of not playing Champions League football next season. And while Alderweireld has been linked with a move away from Spurs in the last four transfer windows, he may feel Juve represent his strongest chance of lifting regular silverware both domestically and in Europe.
Tripper is seen as a potential replacement for Joao Cancelo, should the right-back move on this summer.
Inter close to signing Italian wonderkid
Inter Milan are close to signing one of Europe’s most-wanted stars, Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella.
The Serie A giants have raced ahead of several Premier League clubs to land a player who has impressed with his consistency in the middle for Cagliari, and who has made his international debut for Italy this season.
Calciomercato are reporting that the two clubs are close to an agreement, with the player himself supposed to have already met coach Luciano Spalletti and the two clubs’ presidents in communication since January.
The 22-year-old had recently stated that he knew little of any potential move to Inter and instead hinted that a move to England could be his favourited move. But now, it seems he could be sticking around Serie A.
Tap-ins
– Manchester United are reportedly prepared to break the bank to land Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to Talksport. United are set for a major overhaul this summer and a central defensive rock is a top priority, with Koulibaly a long-term target.
– AC Milan are looking to build a new midfield for the 2019-20 season, reports Calciomercato. With the Rossoneri looking set to miss out on Champions League football next season, the club are looking to add midfield targets Alfred Duncan, Stefano Sensi and Sergey Milinkovic-Savic to play alongside current favourites Lucas Paqueta and Giacomo Bonaventura. This would appear to be bad news for Tiemoue Bakayoko, Franck Kessie and Lucas Biglia.