Latest Football News Content Roundup Across Europe Today
ENGLAND NEWS
Manchester United are said to be close to agreeing to a huge €170m double defensive splurge – and plan to fund the bulk of the outlay by selling Paul Pogba.
According to RAI Sport, Old Trafford bosses are prepared to meet the massive £112.5m (€130m) fee needed to prise long-term target Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.
A new central defender is high on the club’s agenda ahead of the summer transfer window and while the fee is far more than United expected to pay, it’s felt that needs must, with the powerful Senegalese star seen as the answer to their problems at the heart of the defense.
Reports in Italy also claim United are close to landing out-of-favor Juventus defender Joao Cancelo for a fee of around €40m.
The player has dropped out of favor under Massimiliano Allegri and Tuttomercatoweb claim Juve are happy to move the right-back on for the same fee they paid Valencia for him.
United have also been linked with PSG’s Thomas Meunier, but it’s claimed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rates Cancelo higher.
It’s also claimed by L’Equipe that United will fund the majority of the double defensive outlay by cashing in on Pogba, who could move on for as much as €150m this summer.
REST OF THE WORLD
Philippe Coutinho has agreed to a €100m move to Chelsea this summer – but the move depends entirely on the Blues beating their transfer ban imposed on them by FIFA (Sport)
Juan Mata has agreed to a free-transfer move to Atletico Madrid this summer – ending his five and a half year stay at Old Trafford (Sport)
Real Madrid will make a surprise move for Jadon Sancho this summer – and even won’t be put off by Borussia Dortmund’s whopping €180m asking price (Goal Italy)
Tottenham are leading the race to sign Juventus target Nicolo Zaniolo, who has emerged as a key player for Roma this season (Calciomercato)
Zinedine Zidane dreams of pairing Paul Pogba with Miralem Pjanic in the Real Madrid midfield next season (Don Balon)
Benfica president Luis Filipe Viera has insisted rising star Joao Felix will not be sold this summer despite intense media speculation linking him with the likes of Juventus and Manchester United (ESPN)
Thomas Meunier has talked up speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United by claiming he’s “never hid” his interest in a Premier League switch (L’Avenir
Real Betis striker Sergio Leon has a verbal agreement to join Levante this summer (Cadena Ser)
Barcelona have told Malcolm they won’t stand in his way this summer after the Liverpool and Tottenham linked winger told the club he wanted to move on (ESPN)
Roma boss Claudio Ranieri has refused to be drawn on his future, saying: “We’ll see what happens…” (Corriere Dello Sport)
Arsenal are vying with Monaco and Marseille for Roma midfielder Steven Nzonzi, who has been told he can leave this summer (Gazzetta Dello Sport)
Palermo has surprisingly announced a takeover with Arkus Network Srl after the York Capital deal fell through (various)
Real Madrid have put Liverpool target Dani Ceballos up for sale – while Marcos Llorente and Sergio Reguilon are also tipped for an exit this summer (Marca)
AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso has rejected reports that he was in line to take over from Rafa Benitez at Newcastle (various)
Atletico Madrid defenders Diego Godin and Filipe Luis look set to leave the club this summer when their contracts expire (Marca)
Liverpool are in pole position to sign Napoli attacker Lorenzo Insigne, though the €70m asking price could prove prohibitive (Corriere Dello Sport)
Real Madrid are prepared to sell Martin Odegaard this summer and Ajax are considering a move for the Norwegian midfielder (De Telegraaf)