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We’re heading towards the end of the window and many things are happening at Chelsea as always, with the Blues now very busy on outgoings. As we know, Conor Gallagher has been announced as a new Atletico Madrid player, with Joao Felix heading in the opposite direction, it’s all official now.
As well as that, Armando Broja to Ipswich Town is done – it’s a loan with an obligation to buy clause, which is there in case Ipswich manage to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season. The overall package is worth more than £30m, from what I’m hearing, so this is the agreement, with Broja saying yes to the move and having his medical with the club yesterday.
I’m also told that Chelsea are now very close to selling Romelu Lukaku. The agreement is very close with Napoli, and all parties now believe that the deal will be done. Lukaku has already agreed a three-year contract with Napoli, whose director will be in London to close the deal. There will be a new round of talks in London very soon this week, and the expectation is for Lukaku to become a Napoli player.
We also know that Chelsea have a lot of work to do to clarify the situations of other players, such as Raheem Sterling, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka. Sterling has been linked with the likes of Juventus and Aston Villa, but despite rumours, there are no specific clubs to mention yet, but Sterling’s camp is exploring options as he will leave Chelsea. The decision is clear after talking to Maresca, so Sterling is leaving and it’s over with Chelsea. Negotiations will follow in the next days with several possibilities.
The expectation remains for the Mikel Merino deal to happen, it’s just about working on the details of the deal, with Arsenal very relaxed and confident. As well as that, we could see some players leave Arsenal before the end of the window, such as Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale.
With Nketiah, we know Nottingham Forest are interested. However, Forest have also shown an interest in Santiago Gimenez – their bid has been rejected by Feyenoord, €26m plus add-ons was still not enough. Forest have advanced in talks with Arsenal and also with Nketiah as he’s accepted the proposal on contract. Forest remain attentive to Gimenez situation but as of last night, Nketiah is the favourite striker option for them.
There have been many rumours about Ramsdale, but he has several possibilities. One of those is Bournemouth because they will not be signing Giorgi Mamardashvili anymore as part of the Liverpool-Valencia deal. Bournemouth are continuing to look for a new goalkeeper and Ramsdale is an option.
Wolves could also be one to watch as they’re keeping a close eye on the situation of Ramsdale, but as of today Arsenal are rejecting all loan proposals as they only want a permanent transfer or a loan with obligation. Let’s see if they will find a solution, but the overall feeling from sources in the industry is that Ramsdale will leave Arsenal before the end of the summer transfer window.
Arsenal already have an agreement with Joan Garcia to replace Ramsdale if he leaves. The Espanyol goalkeeper, 23, won the Olympics final with Spain this summer, and he has an agreement on a contract with Arsenal. Now it’s down to a club-to-club agreement, but that’s not going to be a problem from what I’m hearing, so when Ramsdale leaves they will be ready with an official bid for Garcia, this is the idea.
Finally on Arsenal, there have been some headlines again about Mikel Arteta and a new contract. I’m still on the same position that I mentioned in June, which is that I fully expect Arteta to sign a new deal at Arsenal. My info in June was clear, he wants to stay and Arsenal are super happy with him. The plan is absolutely to continue together with a new deal.
As I said above, Giorgi Mamardashvili is no longer going to Bournemouth, with the idea being that Liverpool could sign him before he then goes back on loan to Valencia until summer 2025. Mamardashvili has already said yes to Liverpool, and yes to the possibility of staying at Valencia on loan, so it’s close.
The clubs are now trying to complete the final details of the deal, with Alisson to stay as the Liverpool number one for this season. There is still some work to do, but Mamardashvili is close to Liverpool and there is optimism to make it happen.
Meanwhile, Sepp van den Berg is set to leave Liverpool. It will be more than Liverpool expected as they looked for a fee of £20m, but they had several proposals and so they will make £25m for Van den Berg. Brentford and Bayer Leverkusen are both pushing, so let’s see what happens there, but for sure one more outgoing is imminent for Liverpool.
Many people have been asking me about Ederson to Manchester United rumours in the last 24 hours. However, as I’ve always been saying, Manuel Ugarte is their top target in midfield and the full focus is on that deal. Man United remain optimistic on Ugarte and they are working on that deal, it could be a loan with obligation from Paris Saint-Germain.
So, it’s progressing well and Ugarte wants to go to Manchester United, he has an agreement and is pushing like crazy to get his move to Old Trafford. Other names like Ederson may have been linked, but the full focus is on Ugarte and also Atalanta don’t want to sell Ederson anyway.
We’re also hearing some speculation about outgoings at United, like with Christian Eriksen. Despite some talk of a return to Ajax, I have no concrete updates on Eriksen so far. We’ve had many rumours but the reality is that Man United have still no proposals on the table, so let’s see what happens in the next few days, but it’s quiet now.
There are also no concrete updates yet on Kobbie Mainoo and a new contract. Man United have been working on Mainoo’s new deal for months, some talks already took place, but now all their energy is being focused on the final eight days of the summer transfer window, then they will resume talks for Mainoo, who is considered a key part of the project.
As reported yesterday, Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City is a ‘here we go’ – the player’s agents were in Manchester in the last 24 hours and he is set to be allowed to leave Barcelona as a free agent.
Barca informed Gundogan of the decision to let him leave on a free transfer, and now he’s said his goodbyes to his teammates as he prepares to return for a second spell at Man City, with Pep Guardiola key to this deal.
Another Barcelona exit to watch is Vitor Roque, who now looks set to move to Real Betis on loan rather than choosing a permanent move to Sporting Lisbon. Roque also had other offers, Al Hilal for sure, but the player rejected them. Then in Italy also Lazio considered a move for Roque, but Sporting were pushing with €20m plus add-ons bid, rejected by the player as he wants to stay in Spain.
It’s not been an easy time for him at Barca so far, but in football things can change fast, so his Barca future, in my opinion, is still open as his performances at Betis will mark his future.
