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TOP STORY: Neymar turns to Juventus for PSG exit
Neymar wants OUT of PSG and he wants it soon. RAI reports that the Brazilian’s father is offering him to clubs around Europe in a bid to seal a transfer away from Paris and one team has appeared on the list which comes as a bit of a shock.
Neymar Sr. is evidently meeting with Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici to talk about a possible move, having got nowhere fast with Barcelona or Real Madrid.
It seems a bit unlikely given Juve have already signed Matthijs de Ligt for €75m, as well as snapping up Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey on free transfers. And of course they spent £80m on Cristiano Ronaldo as well just last summer.
But a possible swap deal with Paulo Dybala could tempt PSG into selling as long as there was a sizeable pile of cash to go alongside it. So perhaps we’ll need to keep an eye on this one?
But perhaps there is hope yet for Neymar’s return to Catalonia. Sky in Germany has reported that the reigning La Liga champions have submitted an offer for PSG’s consideration.
The report states that Barca have bid £90m and PSG’s choice of any two of the following players: Philippe Coutinho,Ousmane Dembele, Ivan Rakitic, Nelson Semedo, Malcom and a sixth unnamed player.
Will that be enough to interest the Parisians? Or will Neymar continue to search elsewhere among Europe’s elite for his exit route from Paris?
LIVE BLOG
22.42 BST: We’ll close Thursday’s edition of Transfer Talk with news from West London. The Stoke Sentinel reports that Queens Park Rangers are looking to bring U.S. international Geoff Cameron back on a permanent basis following the 34-year-old’s successful season-long loan at Loftus Road.
21.55 BST: The New York Red Bulls have rebuffed transfer offers from an unnamed Premier League side for U.S. international Aaron Long, and aren’t interested in selling the defender during the current transfer window, multiple sources have told ESPN FC.
21.08 BST: Galatasary have confirmed the capture of Jean Michael Seri from Fulham on a season-long loan with an option to buy, just one year and six days after his arrival in West London from Nice.
It’s official!
Welcome to Galatasaray, Jean Michaël Seri!#WelcomeSeri 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/VtjY7n8tU0
— Galatasaray EN (@Galatasaray) July 18, 2019
20.21 BST: Following the sale of Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid, Tottenham are in the market for a new right-back, and Calciomercato writes that Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi is attracting interest from the North London club.
19.33 BST: After returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Wilfried Zaha has informed Crystal Palace that he wants to leave the South London club, Sky Sports reports.
18.46 BST: Metro cites L’Equipe as reporting that Arsenal, Inter and Liverpool have all submitted bids in the region of €80m for Lille attacker Nicolas Pepe.
17.59 BST: Despite breaking their club transfer record little more than two weeks ago when they signed Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, Tottenham are preparing to break the record once more as they step up their interest in Giovani Lo Celso, who Real Betis values as £70m, according to the Mirror.
17.12 BST: Sky Sports writes that if Inter can convince Manchester United to accept their £63m offer for Romelu Lukaku — and that’s a big if, as the two clubs are reportedly at least £17m apart in their valuations — they will offer the Belgium international a contract that pays him £41m over five years.
16.25 BST: Roma boss Paulo Fonseca has personally contacted Gonzalo Higuain over a transfer, says Corriere Dello Sport.
Higuain is not wanted at Juventus and has returned from his loan spell at Chelsea without any offer of staying. But if he wants to stay in Serie A, Roma might be the perfect place for him as they look to move on from Eden Dzeko when he potentially joins Inter.
15.55 BST: LA Galaxy don’t plan to improve their offer for Boca’s Cristian Pavon, say ESPN Argentina.
15.37 BST: Tottenham’s Danny Rose looks set to leave this summer as Schalke and PSG are in the running to sign him, say Sky Sports. The 29-year-old isn’t on the club’s tour of Singapore as he seeks a move.
Spurs want £20m for Rose, having sold Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid for a similar amount, and are eyeing Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon as his replacement.
15.02 BST: Manchester City appear to have made a signing: 18-year-old Sporting winger Felix Correia.
Correia told Vbet News while on duty with Portugal in the U19 Euros: ”I signed a deal for Manchester City. But I’m fully focused on this championship. I’m looking forward to working hard and join the main team.
“I admire him [Pep Guardiola] a lot. The few times that I talked to him I was really impressed. I’m eager to start working with him.”
14.55 BST: Here is the first Real Madrid Women’s team signing…
🇪🇸 Proud to announce that I’ll be the first official signing for Real Madrid/Cd Tacon.
Excited to write history, to help build and be part of this teams journey from the very start.
It’ll be a dream to wear the most beautiful jersey in the world starting next season. HALA MADRID pic.twitter.com/QnJDSE8wqH— Kosovare Asllani (@KosovareAsllani) July 18, 2019
14.35 BST: Are Bayern getting a bit worried?
14.09 BST: Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente probably isn’t going to want to hang around and wait for Harry Kane to get injured again, with Sky in Italy reporting that Fiorentina are interested in signing him.
Llorente, 34, is a free agent but has the option of a one-year deal to return to Spurs. Or he could try his luck in Serie A.
13.34 BST: Fulham midfielder Jean Michael Seri only moved to the club from Lille last year for around £30m alongside defender Maxime Le Marchand, but it seems he’s already on the way.
After relegation, Seri made it clear he didn’t want to stay in England and is being lined up for a move to Galatasaray on loan, say the Evening Standard.
12.51 BST: Hard to keep up but Atletico Madrid have another signing.
📝 | Acuerdo con el @RCDEspanyol para el traspaso de @mariohermoso5.
🇪🇸 El internacional español ha firmado con nuestro club para las 5 próximas temporadas 💪
👋 ¡Bienvenido, Mario! 🔴⚪🔴
👉 https://t.co/qNOx7k9fIR#AúpaAtleti #BienvenidoHermoso pic.twitter.com/7bKKE89FQk— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) July 18, 2019
12.36 BST: France under-19 defender William Saliba is set to join Arsenal in a deal worth €30m despite late interest from Tottenham but will be loaned back to Saint. Etienne, sources have told ESPN FC.
Arsenal appeared to have beaten competition for the 18-year-old centre-back. However, a late bid from Spurs put the move in doubt. But, eventually, Saliba chose Arsenal over their North London rivals because he is attracted to the project at Emirates and will sign a five-year contract.
12.02 BST: Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has told coach Zinedine Zidane it will be “very difficult” to sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United this summer, sources have told ESPN FC.
Zidane has made clear his admiration for Pogba both publicly and privately, and on Wednesday evening, during a transfer summit at Madrid’s preseason base in Montreal, asked Perez and director general Jose Angel Sanchez to make another effort to sign the midfielder. But Zidane was told that, with Madrid having already spent more than €300m on new players, another big deal was not feasible at present.
Sources have told ESPN FC that United are determined to keep Pogba and believe his value to be well in excess of £150m.
The salary structure at the Bernabeu is another hurdle to Pogba’s arrival — with new tax rules in Italy boosting Juventus’ chances of re-signing a player who left Turin for Manchester in a then world record £89.3m deal in 2016.
11.56 BST: Man United’s Paul Pogba has been linked with a move to either Real Madrid or Juventus. Is it time to sell?
11.30 BST: Inter Milan are getting a bit frustrated in their pursuit of Man United striker Romelu Lukaku, so could turn their attention to Edinson Cavani, say Tuttosport.
A source told ESPN that Inter would return with a bid of £60m for Lukaku. However if that is rejected then a move for Cavani, who is a free agent next summer when his contract at PSG expires, could be on the cards.
11.03 BST: Go go Real Betis. The La Liga side are proving to be fine transfer market players and Mundo Deportivo claim they have made an agreement with France forward Nabil Fekir but still have to negotiate a deal with his club Lyon.
Fekir was linked with Liverpool but instead he will be a €25m replacement for Giovani Lo Celso once the Argentine has been sold to Tottenham or Man United.
10.31 BST: AS reports that Real Madrid are not ruling out keeping James Rodriguez at the club next season if they sell Isco this summer.
James is a reported target of Napoli and Atletico Madrid, but the Spanish giants are only prepared to allow the Colombian winger to leave the club if a €50m offer arrives and they are reluctant to let the player leave on loan, which is what Napoli want.
Atletico are keen to sign the player but unlike Napoli, have not begun talks with Madrid.
AS claim that if an €80m offer arrives for Isco, which is a figure that Madrid would accept, then James could remain at the club. If not, Madrid would open the door for James to leave to Atletico.
10.11 BST: Napoli have reportedly made an offer of €60m plus Adam Ounas to Lille for striker Nicolas Pepe, according to Corriere Dello Sport.
09.42 BST: Sources at Boca Juniors have confirmed to La Nacion newspaper that negotiations between Daniele De Rossi and Boca Juniors are at an advanced state and that they are close to reaching an agreement.
A fervent Boca fan, the Italian veteran midfielder is a free agent after leaving Roma last month following 18 years at the club. A World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, the 35-year-old is keen to continue playing before starting a coaching career.
Boca director and former Roma defender Nicolas Burdisso claimed earlier this month that the doors of Boca Juniors “are wide open” if De Rossi is interested.
09.33 BST: PSG have confirmed that Christopher Nkunku has joined RB Leipzig on a permanent transfer.
The versatile France under-21 international underwent his medical with the Bundesliga outfit on Wednesday and leaves Parc des Princes with 11 pieces of domestic silverware to his name after rising through the ranks from the youth academy.
In other PSG-related transfer news, Lille have also confirmed the arrival of Virgiliu Postolachi from the French champions. The 19-year-old youth academy graduate has moved in a permanent deal that ESPN FC sources can reveal includes a percentage of resale value for PSG.
OFFICIAL: Christopher Nkunku has left PSG for RB Leipzig. https://t.co/tq5rSHWcsP
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) July 18, 2019
OFFICIAL: Lille confirm that Virgiliu Postolachi has joined from PSG on a permanent deal. #LOSC https://t.co/0nRHxCV5ZR
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) July 18, 2019
09.20 BST: Barcelona have still not received a single offer for Philippe Coutinho this summer, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC, with the Brazilian one of the first-team players the club are open to selling.
ESPN FC revealed earlier this year that Barca were hopeful of bringing in up to €300m in player sales during the transfer window. Marc Cucurella‘s expected €10m move to Getafe will push them up towards €90m, but they’re still a long way short of their target.
With Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann already signed for approaching €200m, plus the club’s ongoing interest in Neymar, it’s vital that they bring in more cash if they want to make more signings before the season starts next month.
However, despite some clubs showing interest in Coutinho, there have been no bids for the ex-Liverpool man. His agent, Kia Joorabchian, said recently that’s because he hasn’t been touting his client around. Joorabchian assured that Barca have told him they don’t want to sell and demanded they clear up their stance immediately.
There have also been no bids, as of yet, for Malcom, Ivan Rakitic or Samuel Umtiti, the other players Barcelona would entertain offers for. Sources have confirmed to ESPN FC that Malcom is expected to leave eventually, but the other two will only go if a big offer arrives.
08.55 BST: Atletico Madrid are hoping to announce the signing of Mario Hermoso from Espanyol today.
Hermoso, 24, has one year left on his contract with the club based in Barcelona but wants to leave this summer. The Spanish centre-back reached personal terms with Atletico last week and the two clubs are closing to reaching an agreement after weeks of negotiations.
According to AS, Atletico will pay less than the player’s €40m release clause but the deal will include add-ons.
“The truth is that we are advancing in the negotiations but there is nothing completed,” Espanyol sporting director Rufete told reporters when asked about Hermoso’s potential transfer. “We have been talking to Atletico for three weeks. When someone wants to buy, the decision is theirs because we don’t want to sell. We are discussing figures and we are trying to reach an agreement. We are getting close.”
08.39 BST: El Mundo reports that a potential Neymar return to Barcelona has become further complicated because he owes €35m in unpaid taxes in Spain.
According to the national daily, Spain’s tax office has notified a court in Barcelona of the player’s debts. That same court will hear on Sep. 27 a dispute between Neymar and FC Barcelona about the player’s claim that the club owes him a reported €26m plus interest. If Neymar wins the dispute, however, the money would be confiscated by the Spanish treasury.
Barcelona have refused to pay Neymar the money which was part of a bonus related to his contract renewal in 2016. The club also sued the player for breach of contract after he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain less than a year after he signed a new five-year deal with the Catalan giants.
In addition to €8.5m in damages plus interest, Barcelona are demanding around €75m in compensation. The case was due to be heard in March but was postponed until September.
08.00 BST: Juventus have completed the signing of Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax for €75 million.
De Ligt, 19, arrived in Italy on Tuesday to undergo a medical before agreeing a five-year contract with the Bianconeri which could increase by another €10.5m in add-ons.
The defender had attracted interest from Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Bayern Munich among others after helping Ajax reach the Champions League semifinal and Netherlands the UEFA Nations League final.
PAPER ROUND (by Steve Wright)
United running out of time with Maguire
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has issued a warning to Manchester United, saying that there isn’t much time left for the club to meet the valuation for centre-back Harry Maguire, The Sun reports.
While the transfer window officially closes at 5 p.m. Aug. 8, Rodgers insists he won’t be selling Maguire too close to the deadline, as the Foxes would need to bring in a replacement.
The Leicester boss warns that there is a cut-off point after which the 2015-16 Premier League champions won’t sell, while adding that the team isn’t in a position where it has to let the England international go due to financial concerns.
Over to you, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ed Woodward.
Sane still part of Pep’s plans
Manchester City forward Leroy Sane is still considered an important part of Pep Guardiola’s squad going forward, Manchester Evening News reports.
Amid speculation that Bayern Munich were lining up a move for the 23-year-old, Guardiola said he wants only players who are happy to play for his club and he considers Sane to be one of those.
Speaking to the media after City beat West Ham United 4-1 in a preseason friendly, Guardiola hailed Sane’s hard-to-find and special qualities and said he believes that the two-time defending Premier League champions have only scratched the surface in helping the Germany international fulfill his potential.
Joelinton to become Newcastle forward
Steve Bruce could be set to make his first signing as Newcastle United manager, with the club linked with a move for Hoffenheim striker Joelinton, according to The Mirror.
The 22-year-old would set the club back an estimated £36 million, and with Joelinton pulled out of Hoffenheim’s recent friendly against Regensburg, the signs are promising that a deal could be completed before long.
The striker joined Hoffenheim from Sport Recife in 2014, and in 2018-19, he managed 11 goals in 35 games. Failing to score and conceding goals were both problems for Newcastle in their 4-0 defeat to Wolves on Wednesday.
— Ogden: Is Harry Maguire really worth £80m
— When does the transfer window close?
Tap-ins
— Young Lyon midfielder Florent da Silva is close to becoming a Manchester United player, according to L’Equipe. Just 16 years old, Da Silva has never trained with Lyon’s first team, but it’s thought that talks with United are at an advanced stage.
— Arsenal are expected to complete a loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos as soon as Zinedine Zidane gives the go-ahead, Sky Sports reports. Tottenham Hotspur had been in talks with Los Blancos regarding a permanent move for Ceballos, but it’s thought that Madrid would rather loan him out to Arsenal to aid his development.