With the Premier League window closed and the rest of Europe soon to follow, David Amoyal evaluates the hottest rumours from around the world of football.
Neymar to Barcelona: 55 percent
Despite the recent injuries to Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, it’s rather likely that the Brazilian superstar will leave France’s capital before Monday’s deadline. While Neymar has also been linked to Juventus and Real Madrid, Barcelona are the club taking the most concrete steps to sign him. The deal could be reached on the basis of either a loan with a forced option to buy next summer to cover his remaining amortised value, or for around €100 million plus Ousmane Dembele and Nelson Semedo.
While there have been conflicting reports on the impact of Anthony Martial‘s injury on the negotiation to bring the Chile international to Milan, Manchester United and Inter continue to haggle over his substantial wages. Sanchez earns €12 million a season after taxes, which will be reduced by 25 percent considering the Red Devils aren’t participating in the Champions League. Inter are willing to pay about €5 million with United covering the rest. Inter have raised the amount they are able to contribute to Sanchez’s wages following Joao Mario’s loan to Lokomotiv Moscow, and they are optimistic the deal can be closed this week.
The Argentine striker didn’t play at all in Juventus’ season debut against Parma. Gonzalo Higuain started over him and both Federico Bernardeschi and Juan Cuadrado came off the bench. While Juventus’ sporting director Fabio Paratici denied these decisions were related to the transfer market, Paris Saint-Germain are ready to make an offer of around €70 million to acquire him should Neymar be sold. While Dybala came close to joining Manchester United and Tottenham, he had reservations about his ability to adapt to the Premier League’s style, and unlike the two English clubs, PSG are willing to forfeit his image rights for the time being in order to get a deal done before the deadline.
The war of words between Inter and Wanda Nara continues. On Sunday, the Argentine striker’s wife and agent publicly stated that someone in command at the club asked the former captain to stay, which was categorically denied by Inter’s executive director Beppe Marotta before Monday’s game against Lecce. Inter’s brass met with Icardi on Tuesday to once again reiterate that he is no longer part of their plans, but it’s still rather unlikely that the striker will agree to join either Napoli or Juventus before the window closes on Monday. As an alternative to Icardi, Napoli are ready to sign Fernando Llorente, who is available on a Bosman deal.
The Rossoneri have been after the Argentine striker for two months now, but their inability to offloan one of Andre Silva and Suso has made it difficult for them to meet Atletico Madrid’s substantial valuation. Milan have continued to engage in talks to acquire Correa in the past week, they are willing to give Atletico a substantial percentage of any future sale on top of an offer of around €35 million, and are optimistic they will be able to at least loan Silva before the window closes. The Colchoneros are open to moving Correa as it would allow them to finance the Rodrigo acquisition.
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The Ivorian midfielder has been linked to the Ligue 1 club for the past few weeks and he didn’t start Milan’s first match of the season against Udinese on Sunday. The Rossoneri are open to moving him as his sale would help generate the funds needed to add a player better suited to Marco Giampaolo’s formation, but Kessie doesn’t seem to be particularly intrigued by the destination as demonstrated by the fact he has asked for an exorbitant salary. As an alternative to Kessie, Monaco are also considering bringing back Tiemoue Bakayoko on loan from Chelsea.
Roma were in dire need of a starting-caliber center-back even before surrendering three goals to Genoa in their Serie A home opener. While Arsenal are willing to move the German defender, the price of the transfer fee and player wages are too high for Roma’s budget. It’s much more likely that the Giallorossi will reach a deal with Juventus for Daniele Rugani by including a few prospects or close the deal with Liverpool for Dejan Lovren.
Nacho Monreal to Real Sociedad: 70 percent
While moving Mustafi in the next six days will be rather challenging, Monreal’s willingness to lower his wages to facilitate a transfer will likely prove to be decisive in the negotiation with Real Sociedad. The Spaniard is being offered a two-year deal, which is quite enticing considering he’s 33 years old and because he’s behind Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac in Unai Emery’s pecking order.
Roma are looking for a new team for the most expensive purchase of the Monchi era. Schick never lived up to expectations in Italy’s capital and he’s not seen as a good fit in Paulo Fonseca’s system. While the 23-year-old Czech international was also linked to Borussia Dortmund, he’s looking for a team where he can play regularly, which also suits Roma considering the deal with RB Leipzig will be structured as a loan with an option to buy set at around €25 million. With Schick on his way out, Nikola Kalinic could return to Serie A to be Edin Dzeko‘s backup.
Pepe Reina to Real Madrid: 35 percent
The former Liverpool goalkeeper could be returning to Spain should Keylor Navas be sold to a team where he can be a starter. Reina is open to the move and considering he’s the highest-paid backup keeper in Serie A, Milan are also eager to shed his wages from their payroll. In addition to Navas, there is however another potential domino: Should PSG make a significant offer for Gianluigi Donnarumma, Milan could hold on to Reina to mentor their next keeper of the future in Alessandro Plizzari.