Amid all the action at the Euros and Copa America, the summer transfer window has opened for some leagues, with Europe’s biggest clubs looking to make a splash in the transfer market. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.
TOP STORY: Messi’s new contract could be announced this week
The mist surrounding the future of Lionel Messi is beginning to clear with reports that the Barcelona star’s new deal with the club will be announced this week.
Le10 Sport says that Barca president Joan Laporta wants to make the deal public on Thursday — which just so happens to be Messi’s 34th birthday — as rumours continue to suggest that an agreement has been reached between the Catalan club and Messi’s representatives.
The Argentina forward was set to be out of contract on June 30. However, after telling Barcelona that he wanted to leave Camp Nou last August, it now looks as though Messi will complete a U-turn by committing his future to the club with which he made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old, beginning a journey that has seen him score 672 goals in 778 appearances.
Messi is on international duty with Argentina, where he has helped his national side to seven points from three games to top Group A at the Copa America.
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14.25 BST: Fiorentina have signed Argentina striker Nicolas Gonzalez from VfB Stuttgart.
Gonzalez, 23, scored six goals in 15 Bundesliga games for Stuttgart last season and looked set to join Brighton before Fiorentina moved in.
The Italian club are reportedly paying €23m, plus €4m in bonuses, to acquire him.
14.00 BST: Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling would not be keen on a move to Tottenham as part of a deal to bring Harry Kane to the Etihad Stadium, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
ESPN reported on Monday that City were readying a £100m offer for Kane that could include players heading to Spurs as part of the agreement.
Reports have suggested Sterling is one of the names in the frame, along with Gabriel Jesus and Aymeric Laporte, but sources said the England winger is not open to the idea of being considered in the deal.
Sources close to City and Tottenham told ESPN a formal offer for Kane has not yet been made.
13.16 BST: Raphael Varane looks set to leave Real Madrid this summer, with The Athletic reporting that the defender sees his future away from the Bernabeu.
The report says that “Varane’s representatives are understood to have informed the Madrid hierarchy that the player desires a fresh challenge.”
PSG, Chelsea, Man United and Manchester City are all keen on a deal around €50m but Madrid are hoping that the 28-year-old performances for France at Euro 2020 will help to drive his transfer fee up — though with his contract expiring in 2022, that can only go so high.
1:29
Gab Marcotti makes the case for Manchester United and Real Madrid swapping Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane.
13.03 BST: Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has impressed Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, says The Athletic, but the club won’t spend £50m to sign him.
McGinn, 26, arrived at Villa for only £2.75m from Hibernian in 2018 but has become one of the top midfielders in England since.
Liverpool need a midfield replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, who will join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer once his contract expires at the end of the month, but reportedly aren’t willing to outlay such a big sum.
Sir Alex Ferguson has gone on record to say he is a big fan of the Scotland international and the report also claims that “Manchester United’s fondness for McGinn is still there, too. His name often crops up at Old Trafford, although there is no sign they will pursue him at this stage.”
12.22 BST: Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz has refused to give any clues about his future, saying “I’ve been happy in Madrid and I’m happy in Milan… we’ll see what happens.”
The playmaker was speaking to journalists at an event in his native Malaga while on holiday, after impressing last season on loan at AC Milan in Serie A.
“They’re two great clubs, Real Madrid and Milan, but right now I have no idea. I hope to learn my future soon,” the 21-year-old said.
Diaz is expected to feature in Spain’s squad for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which is due to be announced on Monday.
12.00 BST: Inter Milan want to sign Barcelona defender Jordi Alba this summer, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Italian champions lost Ashley Young to Aston Villa and only have Aleksandar Kolarov to cover the left-back position.
Alba, 32, has reportedly emerged as their top target and they have already contacted Barca to sound out a move. Mundo Deportivo add that Barca are willing to listen to offers for most of their players, with a few notable exceptions, as they look to reduce their wage bill.
However, like Barca, Inter have no money to spend, so any potential deal would likely have to involve players going the other way.
Barca have previously shown an interest in Inter striker Lautaro Martinez, although his €80m market value is far higher than Alba’s.
Regardless of whether Alba leaves or not, Barca have been linked with a new left-back this summer, with Atalanta’s Robin Gosens, Valencia’s Jose Luis Gaya and Benfica’s Alejandro Grimaldo all mentioned.
11.15 BST: Sergio Ramos has told three Real Madrid teammates that he expects to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer, according to COPE radio.
Madrid confirmed last week that the defender would leave when his contract expires this month, with Ramos arguing the club had withdrawn a one-year renewal deal, saying the offer had expired.
Ramos claimed then that he “hadn’t thought about any other team,” while admitting that several “interested clubs” had made approaches since January.
COPE reports that the 35-year-old will pick PSG over Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and AC Milan.
One destination that Ramos ruled out last week is boyhood club Sevilla — and the club’s president Pepe Castro has confirmed to Cadena SER that such a move was “never an option.”
“We plan in advance, and the Ramos option has never been there,” he said on Tuesday night.
11.00 BST: Norwich have signed goalkeeper Angus Gunn from Southampton.
Gunn, 25, spent his youth career at Norwich until 2011 when he joined Manchester City.
He then came back to the East Anglian club on loan from City in 2017-18 but then moved to Southampton before spending last season on loan at Stoke.
“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the club that I grew up supporting and the strides that it has made over the last few years show it’s a club still on the up,” he said. “On the pitch, they’ve been doing great things. Off the pitch, coming back and seeing the training ground and what it is today is another thing they’ve progressed with. Hopefully, this season we can get our place in the Premier League and make sure that we have a good start and stay there.”
10.54 BST: Would Man United make a move for Sergio Ramos?
1:06
Don Hutchison suggests Man United should focus on signing Raphael Varane over Sergio Ramos.
10.07 BST: Back in May, ESPN reported that Chelsea and Manchester City had emerged as contenders to sign Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski for €60m this summer, with the striker undecided on his future.
Bild now says Lewandowski has become Chelsea’s No. 1 target this summer as they seek to improve their forward line as 2020’s €53m arrival Timo Werner hasn’t settled.
However, Bayern aren’t willing to let the 32-year-old Lewandowski leave, while the future of Dortmund striker Erling Haaland will play a part as both Chelsea and Bayern would be keen to land the 20-year-old sensation if he were available.
09.24 BST: There’s concern at Real Madrid at Eden Hazard‘s “resignation” about never reaching the same level as before his three ankle fractures during his two years at the Bernabeu, Diario AS reports.
Hazard admitted that “maybe I’ll never be the same as I was 10 years ago” in a news conference with Belgium on Sunday.
According to AS, those comments “deepened the worries at Real Madrid” as “the current Hazard is unsellable” without accepting huge losses on the player they spent €100m to bring in from Chelsea in 2019.
The newspaper describes the 30-year-old as “being in a strange limbo” at Madrid with three years left on his €30m gross annual contract.
08.30 BST: ICYMI – Turkey international Hakan Calhanoglu has completed a controversial free transfer to Inter Milan after his contract with arch-rivals AC Milan expired.
The 27-year-old, who was instrumental in helping Milan return to the Champions League for the first time since 2014 last season as he contributed four goals and 10 assists, has signed until 2024.
Milan had hoped to keep the playmaker who joined from Bayer Leverkusen in 2017, but were unable to agree a contract extension.
Calhanoglu is the latest in a long line of players to have played for the two Milan clubs — among those is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has won Serie A titles with both.
Milan are expected to lose another first-team player on a free transfer this summer, with Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma close to completing a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
1:13
Rob Dawson explains why Raheem Sterling would only want to leave Manchester City on his own terms.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Adam Brown)
– Eurosport writes that Arsenal‘s enquiries for Manchester City wingers Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling have been sounded out. The North London club has been rumoured to be ready to spend big this summer with Mikel Arteta’s recruitment team keen on bolstering the frontline, but they will seemingly have to look elsewhere with Sterling and Mahrez intent on staying at the Etihad for next season.
– Nat Phillips is attracting interest from Premier League clubs, according to Goal. Burnley and Brighton look to be leading the race so far for the defender, who played a significant part in Liverpool‘s race into the top four last season. While Jurgen Klopp’s side have not placed the defender on the transfer list, the club accepts that the 24-year-old might need to leave to get regular first-team football as Liverpool’s senior centre-backs return to fitness.
– Reports in Turkey claim Everton are keen to add goalkeeper Altay Bayindir to their ranks this summer. Fanatik says that the Premier League club is facing competition from Ajax and Sevilla, but Fenerbahce would only enter negotiations for a fee in the region of €20m. The 23-year-old started 33 games between the sticks in the Turkish Super Lig last season.
– Arsenal will accept a loan offer from Newcastle United for William Saliba if a deal for Bright’s Ben White can be completed, reports Football Insider. Steve Bruce’s side are interested in bringing the French defender to St. James’ Park. The 20-year-old spent last season on loan for Nice, where he started 20 games in Ligue 1.
– AC Milan are monitoring the situation of Rafinha as a potential replacement for Hakan Calhanoglu, writes Calciomercato. The Turkey playmaker’s move to rivals Internazionale means Milan now must find a replacement, and Paris Saint-Germain‘s Rafinha is among the first players on the Italian club’s shortlist. No official contact has been made yet.