Clubs are slowly turning their eyes toward the summer window. Transfer Talk has updates on all the latest rumours.
Wenger could become world’s best-paid boss
Arsene Wenger is readying for what could be his final Premier League showdown with Jose Mourinho, as the outgoing Arsenal manager leads his team to Old Trafford for a Sunday match against Manchester United.
But Wenger would be forgiven if he had other things on his mind (like 24 million of them) with the Mirror reporting that an unnamed Chinese Super League club is ready to pay him more than the £24 million per year that Marcello Lippi makes as manager of the China national team.
The outlet says that the Frenchman “has been inundated with offers since it was announced he was leaving Arsenal at the end of the season — and the biggest has come from the Far East.”
A more likely move for the 68-year-old, though, is to carry on managing somewhere in Europe, with offers sure to materialise in France or Spain and a reported chance to take up the role of general manager at Paris Saint-Germain.
If Wenger were to be a GM in the French capital, where Unai Emery has just revealed he will no longer be managing next season, he’d likely serve as “a go-between” for reported manager-in-waiting Thomas Tuchel and owner Nasser Al Khelaifi.
Barca rethinking Arthur move?
Barcelona’s plans to sign star Gremio midfielder Arthur could be delayed or even discarded, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The outlet has reported that the Catalan club are rethinking their interest in the 21-year-old Brazilian for whom they previously looked set to exercise an option to buy by July 15.
If they exercise that option, Barca would shell out €35m for the Copa Libertadores winner — a sum, per the report, that has them evaluating other, less-expensive options before the deadline.
Asked on Friday if he’d been contacted about the supposed cold feet at Camp Nou, the Brazil youth international said he lets his team of advisors handle the details of his future.
Stay tuned.
Griezmann won’t commit to Atleti
Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann is back in the transfer pages (did he ever leave?), following some remarks made after he scored the equaliser in his team’s 1-1 Europa League first-leg draw against Arsenal on Thursday.
Griezmann admitted he had opened talks with Atleti over possibly extending his stay at the Wanda Metropolitano, before quickly adding an “I don’t know, we’ll see” when pressed on whether he was committed to staying with the club.
Manchester United and Barcelona have been long-term admirers, with The Sun reporting that the latter is set to pay Griezmann’s “£87 million release clause this summer as they look to consolidate their role as La Liga’s top team.”
Atleti boss Diego Simeone will reportedly dig in his heels to get the France international to remain with the team, but the Sun says Griezmann knows “signing a new contract with the club would surely end any chance of a big-money transfer in the future.”
Tap-ins
– Everton manager Sam Allardyce wouldn’t be drawn on whether or not the club will try make Eliaquim Mangala’s loan from Man City permanent this summer.
The Liverpool Echo reports that Ramiro Funes Mori is ahead of the France international in the pecking order after the former Valencia player was sidelined with a knee injury shortly after joining the Toffees.
– Montreal Impact goalkeeper Clement Diop has been targeted by Turkish clubs Besiktas, Kasimpasa, and Alanyaspor, according to L’Equipe.
– Bayer Leverkusen completed the signing of Brazilian forward Paulinho from Vasco da Gama for next season in what the Bundesliga club called “a real coup.”
The 17-year-old Paulinho signed a contract through June 2023, effective from his next birthday on July 15.
– Andres Iniesta has confirmed his plans to leave Barcelona at the end of the season after 22 years with the club, though the midfielder said he will not be joining another European club.
Iniesta, who turns 34 in May, called a news conference on Friday to announce his decision, with Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, coach Ernesto Valverde and teammates all present.
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