The transfer window for Europe’s biggest clubs is closed, but click here for all the deals and keep track of who has joined the big boys. And Transfer Talk will continue to scour the world’s media and set correspondents loose to see what’s on the agenda for the summer.
TOP STORY: United prepared to spend big on Benfica wunderkind
Benfica’s 19-year-old Joao Felix could be set for a £100 million summer switch to Old Trafford.
So says the Sun, which reports that Manchester United scouts have seen the kid in action and had nothing but good things to report back to gaffer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United looked desperately short of creativity against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, and that has heightened the desire for the club to bring in a player who is rapidly becoming the hottest young prospect in European football.
His age would make him the perfect target for United, who are now intent on investing in younger players in a bid to transform this United squad. Benfica have long since given up on keeping hold of their prized asset, but they won’t let him leave on the cheap. It’s believed the Portuguese giants will demand at least £100m.
LIVE BLOG
09.28 GMT: Well the Mauro Icardi situation at Inter Milan has got quite a few people talking…
Icardi’s sister has pointed the finger at his wife and agent Wanda Nara for her brother’s problems, saying: “If only you had a serious person supporting you, who really took care of you, all of this would not happen.”
Ex-Inter coach Fabio Capello also says Wanda is to blame and insists Icardi should have defended his teammates after her latest comments about how they have not been supporting her. He also says that Beppe Marotta is getting the club “back on the straight and narrow – a bit like the Juventus style, and he’s going to have an even greater desire now to overtake them.”
And ex-Inter player Andrea Pirlo has praised the club for taking a tough stance on the striker, saying that “something must have happened in the dressing room” and also gave credit to Beppe Marotta for taking such action, saying: “He’s proving that it is the club first and the players after.”
08.38 GMT: TYC Sports claim that Los Angeles Galaxy coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto is interested in signing out-of-favour Racing club winger Ricardo Centurion.
Centurion has been dropped from Racing’s team after a recent confrontation with coach Eduardo Coudet. Schelotto guided Centurion while the player was on loan at Boca Juniors in the 2016-17 campaign and is reportedly eager to have the 26-year-old join him in MLS.
08.00 GMT: Fernando Llorente is hoping Tottenham will extend his contract for a further season. Spurs have the unilateral option to extend the Spaniard’s contract for one year, with his deal ending this summer.
Llorente, who scored his seventh goal of the season a 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in Wednesday’s Champions League round of 16 first leg, told Cadena Ser radio: “That is the case and I would be delighted if the club does exercise that option. In the end, I’m happy at Tottenham, I’m happy in London. This is an incredible club. It’s building a new stadium and I’m eager to play there.”
Asked if he believes he would had stayed in London had Harry Kane not been injured, which afforded him more playing time, he said: “It’s true that they were looking for me to leave but in a moment everything changes. I’m very happy because I came to Tottenham determined to do well and to triumph and finally, I’m having the opportunity to play and I’m making the most of it. There was interest from several clubs in Spain (during the winter transfer window) but I never considered them because I knew I would have chances to play following Kane’s injury.”
PAPER TALK (By Rich Edwards)
Juve planning Salah swoop
Will this season be Mo Salah‘s last at Liverpool? Well, stranger things have happened. Tuttosport reports that Juventus are preparing to stretch their seemingly endless finances to bring the striker to Turin, with Paulo Dybala going in the opposite direction.
Dybala has been a shadow of the player who performed magnificently for Juve in recent seasons, and now it appears the Serie A giants are ready to use him as bait in a bid to lure the Egyptian to Italy.
They are prepared to put their money where their mouth is too, per the report, offering the Merseyside giants €50m (£43.9m) for any deal involving Salah moving to Italy and Dybala coming to Liverpool.
Douglas Costa one way, Pogba the other?
The rumours surrounding Douglas Costa refuse to go away, and now Tuttosport is fanning the flames by claiming he could still make the switch to United as part of an extraordinary deal that would see Paul Pogba move in the opposite direction.
The Brazilian moved to Italy’s serial champions only in the summer and still has more than three years left on his current deal. But that hasn’t stopped speculation over his future. And although Pogba is cutting a far happier figure in the northwest now that Jose Mourinho has gone, the lure of Juve after a difficult few seasons at Old Trafford could prove strong.
Elsewhere, namely in the Mirror, Solskjaer is eyeing a move for Atletico Madrid defender Lucas Hernandez and Nikola Milenkovic of Fiorentina.
Tap-ins
– The Sun reports that Machester City boss Pep Guardiola is stepping up his bid to sign Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele. He sees Ndombele as the natural successor to Fernandinho and is readying a £70m offer. Guardiola will hope that is enough to put the club ahead of Manchester United and Juventus in the battle for his signature.
– Reports in Colombia suggest that Arsenal’s dream of landing James Rodriguez in the summer might remain just that. Marca Colombia reports that the Colombian superstar is intent on returning to Real Madrid when his two-year loan spell at Bayern Munich expires at the end of the season.
– Barcelona are limbering up for a summer transfer splurge — and have taken out two huge loans to increase their financial muscle, according to El Pais (via the Mirror). The Spanish paper says that Barcelona have secured an extra £122m with two American companies — cash which Barca are free to spend however they see fit. Europe, beware.
– The Mirror also reports that Benfica are ready to bid farewell to the prolific Raul Jimenez, as long as Wolves stump up the £30m required to make his temporary signature a permanent one.