As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, frankly distasteful sums of money continue to be bandied about on football’s summer transfer merry-go-round.
Where better to start than Chelsea, then, who are said to be heavy favourites to land the Brighton midfielder Moisés Caicedo. The Ecuadorian, strongly linked to Arsenal back in January, will cost around £80m and is said to have his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge and an alliance with their new manager, Mauricio Pochettino.
Related: Alessia Russo leaving Manchester United with Arsenal among suitors
The Gunners have been sent back to the drawing board, or perhaps their bank manager’s office, by West Ham after their initial £80m offer for Declan Rice was rebuffed. The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg reported last night that the Hammers are intent on holding out for a fee of £100m.
In another earth-shattering transfer development, and sticking with those illustrious Premier League London clubs, it’s being reported that Kai Havertz has given the nod to a switch from the over-staffed Chelsea dressing room to Arsenal. The only potential sticking point is that the Blues haven’t agreed to the deal, so the Gunners would need to produce the sufficient readies to convince Todd Boehly and co to sell.
Todd’s boys are also known to be in the market for a new goalie and André Onana, who was on the losing side for Internazionale in last weekend’s Champions League final, is their top target to replace Édouard Mendy. Manchester United are also keen on Onana as a long-term replacement for shot-stopper extraordinaire David de Gea so a bidding war between the Premier League rivals may even ensue.
Why sign one Onana when you can sign two? The Everton midfielder Amadou Onana is also on Chelsea’s radar after a strong first season at Goodison Park. The 21-year-old Belgium international would seem a natural long-term replacement for N’Golo Kanté, who is off to Saudi Arabia.
Staying on Merseyside, Wolfsburg’s Dutch midfielder, Micky van de Ven, has said he fancies a move to Anfield to play under Jürgen Klopp. Khéphren Thuram of Nice, Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga, Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia are just some of the players on Klopp’s existing summer shopping list.
Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca has emerged as the favourite to become Leicester City’s new manager. Currently an assistant coach at treble-winning Manchester City, the 43-year-old was dismissed by Parma after just 14 matches back in 2021, but remains highly thought of. The Italian’s playing career included spells at Juventus, Fiorentina, Sevilla, Olympiacos, Sampdoria and Verona although it began, somewhat incongruously, at West Brom.
Following the departure of the manager, Luciano Spalletti, and the arrival of Rudi Garcia as his replacement, it looks likely that Napoli will lose some of their brightest Scudetto-winning talent before next season. The central defender Kim Min-jae is in advanced talks with Bayern Munich over a move to the Bundesliga and transfer tsar Fabrizio Romano says an agreement on personal terms is close before the South Korea international’s release clause becomes active in July.
Chelsea (not them again!) are reportedly renewing their interest in the Nigeria international goal machine Victor Osimhen, who is also being linked with Paris Saint-Germain after firing Napoli to the third Italian title. Last but by no means least, Les Ferdinand has left his role as director of football at QPR having lasted, impressively, since 2015. Now, can we focus on the cricket, please?
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