The January transfer window may seem like a distant memory, but that doesn’t mean the rumour mill has shut down! Speculation over summer moves is heating up, so check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.
TOP STORY: De Gea to leave Manchester United this summer
Manchester United could part ways with David De Gea this summer, with the club’s owners willing to pay off part of his remaining contract in a bid to reduce the money they’re spending on the club’s existing goalkeepers.
This is according to the Daily Mirror, which reports that United are open to settling the Spain international’s contract, which has two years left to run, in an effort free up his £350,000-a-week salary.
De Gea, 30, is set to become surplus to requirements with Dean Henderson believed to be United’s No.1 going forward, and his salary forms part of a whopping £570,000 a week being spent on United’s five senior goalkeepers.
Sergio Romero is running down his contract while he looks to secure a new club, and it is believed that De Gea will now be leaving this summer too. Meanwhile, Henderson has recently signed a new £100,000-a-week deal at Old Trafford.
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LIVE BLOG
13.42 GMT: Ronald Koeman says Barcelona will do everything they can to convince Lionel Messi to stay following meetings with new president Joan Laporta to plan for next season.
Koeman met with Laporta, who was elected in March, during the international break to discuss Messi’s future and possible summer signings. Messi, 33, is out of contract in June and has not yet decided on his next move. He wanted to leave Barca last year under the previous regime but there is renewed hope he will stay following improved performances on the pitch and the return of Laporta, who was previously the president at Camp Nou between 2003 and 2010.
“It’s a really important issue and we will do everything we can for Leo to spend many more years at this club,” Koeman said in a news conference on Sunday when asked if the club would set Messi a deadline. “But, at the moment, it’s not about next season, it’s about [Monday’s] game against Real Valladolid. The president and his people can deal with the future.
“As I said a couple of weeks ago, we took advantage of the international break to have a meeting with the president and the board to speak about this season and next season. It happens at all clubs in the world, but the players and I are focused on our upcoming games.”
Sources have told ESPN that Laporta wants to wait for the results of an internal audit before offering Messi a new deal. However, he’s repeatedly expressed his desire for the Argentina international to remain at the club, including in his inauguration speech last month. Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City remain the front runners to sign Messi if he does decide to seek a new challenge.
12.51 BST: Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is set to extend his stay at Old Trafford, the Daily Star Sunday reports.
Mata’s contract is due to expire at the end of this season, but the deal contains an open for United to trigger a one-year extension.
The Star report claims that the move would ensure that United received a transfer fee of around £5m should Mata decide to end his seven-year spell at the club. However, it adds that the 32-year-old is happy to remain at United for the 2021-22 season.
12.05 BST: Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot could be on his way to Barcelona this summer, according to Calciomercato.
Rabiot joined Juve in 2019 as a free agent after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired. However, the Italian club are reportedly willing to let him move on in order to get his €7m salary off their books, if they can receive a transfer fee of more than €20m.
Calciomercato reports that Rabiot’s mother Veronique, who acts as his agent, has already had at least one conversation with Barca over a potential transfer. Everton, managed by former PSG coach Carl Ancelotti, are also reportedly an option.
10.49 BST: Borussia Dortmund are still planning for next season with Erling Haaland in their squad, according to club director Sebastian Kehl.
The speculation surrounding Haaland’s future at Dortmund has intensified this week, with sources telling ESPN’s Alex Kirkland and Moises Llorens that the striker’s father, Alf-Inge Haaland, and agent Mino Raiola held talks with Barcelona and Real Madrid on Thursday over a possible transfer.
There was a further blow to Dortmund’s chances of keeping the 20-year-ol on Saturday when they lost 2-1 to fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, putting them seven points behind the Champions League places (stream the replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.).
Speaking to Sky before that game, Kehl said: “Our position and the contractual situation are clear: We are planning with Erling, we need him to achieve our goals. We have made that clear.”
09.56 BST: Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks‘ situation is being monitored by Atletico Madrid, Sky Sports reports.
Winks, 25, has found first-team football difficulty to come by this season under, and he missed out on a place in the latest England squad, the last one to be named before that the final squad for this summer’s European Championship is selected.
According to Sky, Atletico made inquiries about Winks’ availability last summer, and the La Liga leaders are not the only club in Spain looking at him – Valencia were also reportedly keen to sign him on loan in January, only for that prospect to be ruled out by Spurs boss Jose Mourinho.
09.00 BST: Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised Donny van de Beek‘s shooting ability and hinted that the midfielder still has a future at the club.
Van de Beek has struggled for playing time since making his £35m move from Ajax to Old Trafford last summer, starting only two Premier League games this term.
Three of the Netherlands international’s four goals this term have come while playing for his national team, most recently in Tuesday’s 7-0 win over Gibraltar (stream the replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.), and Solskjaer believes the 23-year-old could soon be hitting the target for United too.
“Donny scored some absolute crackers when we were all back in training on Friday,” Solskjaer said. “He scored some absolute top, top goals that I’d be really proud of myself and it’s done him the world of good, going away and scoring a goal for Holland.
“We hope we can see a lot of that for the next eight weeks of the season and then to kick on again.
“Sometimes it’s natural that if you don’t play and have injuries you lose a little bit of confidence and spark. Then you go away with your national team and feel good. I can talk from my own experience, sometimes I went back to play for Norway and you get the feel about yourself better.”
PAPER GOSSIP (by Nick Judd)
– Despite reports that Manchester City wouldn’t try to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland this summer, tonight the Daily Mirror suggests that the striker is now Pep Guardiola’s top priority. Guardiola wants 20-year-old Haaland as a direct replacement for Sergio Aguero, though views Dortmund’s £130 million valuation, and Mino Raiola’s wage demands of £600k-a-week, both excessive. City are planning to use the 15% clause inserted in Jadon Sancho‘s deal in 2017 as a bargaining chip to help them steal a march on rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid.
– Manchester United and Arsenal are battling it out for Everton‘s rising star Thierry Small, reports the Mirror. Both clubs are trying to convince the 16-year-old left-back to leave Goodison Park this summer and, because he’s not yet signed professional terms at Everton because he’s under 17, he could leave for free next summer. However, both United and Arsenal are looking to find a way to make their move at the end of the current campaign.
– Manchester United are considering using Alex Telles as a makeweight to help them sign Nuno Mendes from Sporting Lisbon, according to Portugal. They claim that United are keen to land Sporting’s 18-year-old left back Mendes, also wanted by Manchester City, and so to get ahead of their rivals they’re hoping to use Brazilian left-back Telles to sweeten the deal.
– Paris Saint-Germain are ‘sniffing around’ Vinicius Junior, according to Marca. The 20-year-old forward has been in excellent form in recent weeks, but his inconsistency could see Real Madrid interested in parting company with the former Flamengo man. One rumour is that he could mover to Paris and Kylian Mbappe in the other direction, but if he continues his current form Los Blancos might decide to keep him after all.
– Wolves are looking at signing Oli McBurnie from Sheffield United for £15m, according to the Sun. They report that Nuno Espirito Santo is keen to add further firepower to his squad to add competition to Raul Jimenez next season, and that 24-year-old McBurnie appeals. He was the Blades’ top scorer last season.
– Neymar has put contract talks with PSG on hold and is ready to rejoin Barcelona, writes Catalan paper Ara. The 29-year-old has been keen to be reunited with Lionel Messi and he is believed to have informed Barca officials that he is ready to return, which could persuade Messi to stay too.