Transfer Talk: Manchester United’s Paul Pogba eyeing Barcelona or Juventus move

August 6, 2018 admin Transfers 0

The ESPN FC crew delve into Jose Mourinho’s latest comments about Liverpool’s spending and Manchester United’s lack of transfer activity.

The transfer window is open, and Transfer Talk has the latest rumours making the rounds. Follow along with our daily blog throughout the summer.

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TOP STORY: Raiola in England to negotiate Pogba exit

Although Jose Mourinho has been bemoaning Manchester United’s lack of transfer signings this summer, the potential departure of Paul Pogba may be occupying most of his attention until the deadline strikes on Thursday.

According to Mundo Deportivo, agent Mino Raiola has travelled to England to negotiate Pogba’s departure, with Barcelona and Juventus his preferred destinations.

Pogba and Mourinho have frequently clashed since the midfielder left Juve and returned to United in 2016 on an £89.3 million transfer, and Pogba believes that going either to Barca, who have watched him since 2015, or Juve, who are reported to have made “a spectacular offer” to bring him back, will give him a fresh start.

Barca believe that they could entice Pogba with considerable wages, knowing that they would likely have to pay a transfer fee of more than £100m to sign him, while Juve would be willing to offer a player such as Miralem Pjanic to United to aid negotiations.

Pogba has yet to return to Manchester from his extended break following the World Cup, which he won with France last month.

LIVE BLOG

16.41 BST: France Football reports that Chelsea have made their interest in Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir known, and that the France international — whose move to Liverpool collapsed after concerns emerged following his medical — could be convinced to join Maurizio Sarri’s ambitious project in West London.

16:04 BST: Villarreal are in negotiations with Sevilla for the transfer of Samu Castillejo in a deal worth €20m, AS reported, with the deal likely to be completed this week.

15:57 BST: Leicester City had a £15m bid for Brentford and Wales defender Chris Mepham rejected, sources close to club told ESPN FC’s Peter O’Rourke.

15:46 BST: DONE DEAL — Wolfsburg have signed left-back Jerome Roussillon from Montpellier on a four-year contract:

15:27 BST: Chelsea’s Fikayo Tomori is set to join Derby County on loan, sources have told ESPN FC’s Peter O’Rourke.

Tomori, sent to Hull City last season, would be the second Chelsea player loaned to manager Frank Lampard this season with Mason Mount already having joined the club.

15:09 BST: Midfielder Arturo Vidal signed a three-year contract with Barcelona on Monday and said it is his goal to finally win Europe’s top competition.

“I’ve still got one thing that I have to achieve in my career and that is to win the Champions League, and I hope to do so with the best team in the world,” Vidal said at his formal presentation. “I hope I get three Champions [League titles] in these three seasons.”

14:35 BST: DONE DEAL — Manchester United have sent young defender Axel Tuanzebe on loan to Aston Villa. With the 20-year-old departing, there could now be room for the defensive reinforcement that Jose Mourinho so dearly wants.

14:20 BST: Cardiff City striker Omar Bogle is having a medical at Birmingham City ahead of a loan move.

14:07 BST: DONE DEAL — Borussia Dortmund have announced the signing of Axel Witsel from Tianjin Quanjian after activating his €20m release clause.

13:59 BST: DONE DEAL — Chelsea have sent midfielder Kyle Scott, a United States youth international, to Telstar for his first loan.

13:55 BST: DONE DEAL — Feyenoord have signed goalkeeper Joris Delle, a former France youth international, on a free transfer for the upcoming season.

13:50 BST — From Dusseldorf to Zurich to Bad Ragaz, Axel Witsel‘s journey has come to a completion and he has linked up with Borussia Dortmund at their preseason training camp:

13:34 BST: DONE DEAL — Sevilla have signed Aleix Vidal from Barcelona on a four-year deal.

Vidal, who left Sevilla for Barcelona in 2015, becomes the club’s sixth signing of the summer.

13:10 BST: Although Barcelona did express interest, Willian told ESPN Brasil that he is happy to stay at Chelsea.

“I’m a Chelsea player,” Willian said after the Community Shield loss to Manchester City on Sunday. “I always made it clear that what I wanted was to stay in the club.”

13:02 BST: Leicester City have entered talks to tie down midfielder Hamza Choudhury to new contract, sources have told ESPN FC’s Peter O’Rourke.

Choudhury, 20, broke into the first team last season with nine appearances and Leicester want to reward him with a new deal.

12:48 BST: DONE DEAL — United States international and Chelsea defender Matt Miazga has been sent on loan to Nantes for the upcoming season with an option to buy:

12:35 BST: A Borussia Dortmund move is in its final stages as Axel Witsel has touched down in Zurich and will link up with his soon-to-be teammates within the hour, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.

12:17 BST: Although Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola would like one more signing before the transfer window shuts, with an alternative to Fernandinho remaining his top target, sources have told ESPN FC’s Jonathan Smith that Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Weigl is not a target.

City executives remained in London following the Community Shield victory over Chelsea on Sunday to discuss their transfer plans ahead of the window closing on Thursday, and while Weigl is someone City have watched in the past, the club would prefer to go into the season with youngsters Claudio Gomes and Douglas Luiz as their main alternatives.

Weigl was considered available with Axel Witsel set to move to Dortmund.

12:07 BST: Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has informed manager Maurizio Sarri he wants to leave, sources close to the club told ESPN FC’s Peter O’Rourke.

Real Madrid have been strongly linked with a move for Courtois and are reported to have had several offers knocked back by Chelsea this summer.

11:59 BST: Arsenal are close to selling forward Lucas Perez to West Ham United, sources have told ESPN FC’s Mattias Karen.

Perez would like to not only stay in the Premier League but also stay in London after a loan back to former club Deportivo La Coruna last season.

11:48 BST: DONE DEAL — Newcastle United have sold Adam Armstrong to Blackburn Rovers.

Armstrong, who was on loan at Blackburn last season, won the Under-20 World Cup with England in 2017 and made his Newcastle first-team debut in March 2014 when he was 17.

11:44 BST: Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey has told kicker that other teams have “concrete interest” in him and that he could leave before the Premier League deadline on Thursday.

“I won’t make any promises,” he said. “What I can say is that my full focus is on developing as a young player. If a club wants me, my management and Leverkusen will take care of it. They make the decisions.”

Bailey has been linked with moves to Chelsea, Liverpool and Roma in the past.

11:34 BST: Standard Liege have turned down Napoli’s bid for goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, La Derniere Heure reports.

Napoli had wanted to take the Mexico international on loan with a purchase option — an aspect of the deal Standard found unacceptable.

11:15 BST: Atletico Madrid have welcomed Antoine Griezmann, who signed a new contract with the club to end a high-profile summer flirtation with Barcelona, and Lucas Hernandez back to the club for training following their World Cup breaks:

10:51 BST: Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce told Sky Sports that his club have opened talks with Tottenham Hotspur over Jack Grealish but that no agreement is in place because ownership has maintained the midfielder is not for sale.

“However, it’s very difficult,” Bruce said. “We are competing against a team which is one of the teams in Europe now, not just this country, playing in the Champions League.

“The owner has made it pretty clear that he doesn’t want to sell anybody. That includes Jack. If there is a huge, huge offer, we will have to wait and see.”

10:34 BST: Fenerbahce appear willing to let go of Mathieu Valbuena to rivals Galatasaray, L’Equipe reported.

The former France international, 33, is available for €10m.

10:17 BST: Newcastle United have not made an approach for wantaway Liverpool forward Danny Ings, according to the Chronicle.

Newcastle have instead prioritised the signing of Salomon Rondon from West Bromwich Albion before Thursday’s transfer deadline.

10:00 BST: Belgium international Alex Witsel has been spotted at Dusseldorf Airport, with his move from Tianjin Quanjian to Borussia Dortmund likely to be completed as soon as today:

09:56 BST: Wolfsburg are set to sign left-back Jerome Roussillon from Montpellier, according to kicker.

Roussillon, 25, is set to undergo a medical today and will move on a €5m transfer fee.

09:44 BST: Huddersfield Town defender Michael Hefele is in talks with Queens Park Rangers over a possible move, sources have told ESPN FC’s Peter O’Rourke.

Hefele joined Huddersfield from Dynamo Dresden two years ago but only made two Premier League appearances last season.

09:27 BST: Everton’s €32m move for Barcelona defender Yerry Mina could be completed shortly, according to Sport.

Mina, a Colombia international, joined Barca from Palmeiras last summer for €12m and will sign a five-year deal with Everton after his negotiations with Manchester United broke down over his wage demands.

He will be the second Barca defender to join Everton this summer after Lucas Digne completed his move last week.

09:12 BST: Officials from Saint-Etienne and Marseille are set to meet on Monday to discuss Remy Cabella, according to L’Equipe.

The midfielder spent last season on loan at Saint-Etienne and they are willing to spend up to €6m to keep him.

08:56 BST: Arsenal are keen to send defender Calum Chambers on loan with Fulham the most likely destination, sources have told ESPN FC’s Peter O’Rourke.

Chambers, 23, made only 12 appearances in the Premier League last season, and Arsenal want him to gain first-team experience.

08:31 BST: Lyon captain Nabil Fekir has reported for preseason training after an extended World Cup break:

Fekir, who was on the verge of completing a move to Liverpool before the competition started, now appears likely to remain with Lyon for the coming season, L’Equipe reported.

08:07 BST: Even though he will be out of contract next summer and has acknowledged he cannot seeing himself playing for any other Premier League club than Tottenham Hotspur, Mousa Dembele has turned down a £20m move to Inter Milan, the Daily Mail reported.

Dembele started two of Belgium’s four World Cup games and twice came on as a substitute but appears to have fallen behind Victor Wanyama in the pecking order.

PAPER TALK (by Chris Borg)
TOP STORY: Willian exit key to Chelsea’s Zaha move?

Chelsea remain keen to sign winger Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace, but a move could hinge on whether Willian leaves Stamford Bridge, according to the Mail.

It says that with Palace demanding £70 million for Ivory Coast international Zaha, “whether Chelsea come close to their valuation will depend on the future of Willian,” who could be sold for £75m.

Sources confirmed earlier reports to ESPN FC that Chelsea would also be interesting in swapping the Brazil international to Manchester United in exchange for Anthony Martial, who is in Mourinho’s doghouse after failing to promptly rejoin their summer tour.

Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri is set to discuss potential signings with officials as the window enters its final days, with Zaha “top of the agenda,” and the Mail saying the 25-year-old “has told teammates there is an offer for him to leave Selhurst Park.”

Zaha, who signed a long-term contract last year, turned down further improved terms earlier this summer and “is well aware that he could earn significantly more” at Chelsea than at Palace.

United ‘prepare mega Maguire bid’

Man United have not given up on signing Leicester City defender Harry Maguire before the window closes, with Sky Sports reporting they are readying a huge offer.

According to the report, United are prepared to break the world-record transfer fee for a defender in order to bring the England international — reported to be Jose Mourinho’s preferred target — to Old Trafford.

That would mean surpassing the £75m paid by Liverpool for Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk — but alternatives remain if a Maguire moves turns out to be impossible.

And that appears to be the case, with sources telling ESPN FC that a move for Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng appearing more likely as negotiations for Maguire and Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld growing more difficult, despite reports over the weekend that  United were making progress.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reports that another option, Barcelona’s Yerry Mina, could be on his way to Everton, saying the club “have agreed a £28.4m fee after his talks with United stalled.”

Newcastle poised to wrap up Rondon arrival

This one has been a while in the making, but West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon is finally on the verge of moving to Newcastle United.

Sky Sports reports that Newcastle and West Brom have agreed a season-long swap deal involving Rondon and Dwight Gayle, with Newcastle paying around £2m.

Rondon, a Venezuela international, is in the northeast to complete a medical, with the development coming a day after Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez had voiced hope that a deal could be done imminently.

Tap-ins

— Championship side Aston Villa are set to bring in Man United defender Axel Tuanzebe on a season-long loan, according to the Sun.

Tuanzebe was loaned to Villa in January, only to suffer an ankle injury — but boss Steve Bruce is set to sign him again and is also interested in Ingolstadt goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

— Rangers manager Steven Gerrard’s hopes of signing Bournemouth centre-back Jack Simpson on loan may have suffered a setback after the Cherries’ Nathan Ake was injured.

Sky Sports reports that Bournemouth will put Simpson’s move on hold while they assess Ake after he was hurt during the friendly against Marseille.

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