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It’s finally Riccardo Calafiori time for Arsenal – the player is in London, everything is okay between Arsenal and Bologna in terms of exchanging and sending all the documents, they are signing the contracts, and then Calafiori will have his medical in London.
Calafiori will then travel to the US to link up with Mikel Arteta’s squad and sign his contract until 2029, with no option for a further season beyond that. He’s set to earn €4m a season as a new Arsenal player, it’s all set to go through.
After that, Arsenal will focus on Mikel Merino. Arsenal have been having conversations on the player side and they are prepared to attack the situation on the club side as well once they’ve completed the formal part of the Calafiori deal. There’s still no official bid from Arsenal to Real Sociedad, while we also know about interest from Spanish clubs Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Still, Arsenal are preparing their move, with Merino remaining high on the Gunners’ list as they prepare to focus on strengthening their midfield, though he’s not the only one being considered. Merino is one of the names they like, and then we’ll have to see how conversations with Real Sociedad will go.
It was a busy day for Chelsea yesterday, with a ‘here we go’ for two players – the first is for the present with the signing of goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal, while the second is a big talent for the future in Aaron Anselmino, who will join from Boca Juniors, though he’ll stay there on loan until at least January.
Jorgensen was also wanted by Marseille and Saudi clubs this summer, Inter Milan also considered him, but he’s going to Chelsea – deal done for €24.5m, with the Danish shot-stopper joining on a deal until 2031. He is now expected to be competition for Robert Sanchez, while the expectation is that Djorde Petrovic will leave the club.
Petrovic wanted to stay at Chelsea, but they have decided to go with a different strategy, so let’s see what happens with the goalkeepers domino. But for sure with Chelsea we will now see Jorgensen travel next week for his medical and contract signing, and it’s a boost for Enzo Maresca, who strongly wanted a goalkeeper with good distribution, and Jorgensen is believed to be one of the most talented with this specific skill.
With Anselmino, Chelsea were working to clarify some clauses with Boca Juniors, but now everything is okay. Anselmino will sign with Chelsea until 2031, and he’ll travel to have his medical on Monday. The young centre-back was also wanted by Spanish and Italian clubs, but he decided to sign with Chelsea months ago. He’ll now be unveiled as a new Chelsea player before returning to stay with Boca Juniors until January or possibly even until the end of the season.
We keep hearing a lot about Manchester United’s targets in defence and I’ve previously reported that they could sign more than one centre-back this summer, so what’s next after their recent deal for Leny Yoro?
The reality is that, for now, there’s still nothing more to discuss with Matthijs de Ligt’s agent as Man United already agreed on terms with the player weeks ago – there have been no fresh contacts, though they have spoken about Noussair Mazraoui, who is another client of Rafaela Pimenta. The problem is only on Bayern side as they insist on a €50m guaranteed fee, while Man United want to use add-ons as part of the deal.
I also don’t currently have any fresh information on Jarrad Branthwaite. There are no negotiations taking place at the moment after two bids rejected by Everton from Manchester United. Everton keep insisting on a fee of £70m at least and Man United will not pay that. The only way to reactivate the deal is if Everton drop their price, and they’re not planning for that at the moment.
It’s also important to note that the Jake O’Brien deal doesn’t necessarily mean that Branthwaite is leaving, even if there has been some speculation that he would be his replacement.
I keep receiving many questions on one of the big sagas of the summer – Nico Williams. There are a lot of fans eager for updates, but honestly the only thing we can do now is wait for Williams to pick up his phone and communicate to clubs what he wants to do.
Barcelona are optimistic as they have a contract agreement ready with the agent of the player, but Williams himself has to decide together with his family and people close to him what he wants to do. So, Barca are waiting for Williams’ communication, and his decision is expected very soon, though it’s important to say that this is the next crucial step and they’re still waiting for it to arrive.
A lot of top clubs in Europe such as Arsenal, Chelsea and PSG also called to understand the situation of Williams, but they’ve all been told that we have to wait and decide to see what the player wants to do. Barcelona have been most advanced in terms of negotiations with his agents, but we’re still waiting for his decision.
Another important point to consider is Athletic Bilbao, because what I’m hearing in the last 24-48 hours is that they have prepared a new contract proposal for Williams in case he decides to stay. So if he decides to stay one more season, with his brother who plays there, he will earn a higher salary and there’ll be a new release clause.
Barcelona are waiting, and they will not activate any other deal until they get the final decision from Williams, but my understand is that they are still keeping contacts active with the camp of Dani Olmo. Nothing has been decided on Olmo yet, but they are keeping that option open because their feeling is that Olmo wants to go to Barcelona. Still, they also know that the financial agreement with RB Leipzig will not be easy. Barca are waiting for Williams, but they also want to be ready with Olmo in case that deal doesn’t happen – it’s crucial hours ahead now for these players.
AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani has indicated that Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan are not for sale this summer, but both have been linked with Bayern Munich, so what’s the truth?
Despite rumours, my understanding is that Bayern are not working on the Maignan deal, and Bayern are not working on the Hernandez deal – it’s as simple as that.
I think Milan deserve more respect as their players have been constantly linked with clubs without any bid or even any formal approach, but the reality is that Milan don’t need to sell in order to buy, they said that clearly also in public several times.
Maignan and Hernandez are expected to stay at Milan, they’ve been very clear for months and this hasn’t changed – only crazy proposals can change the story and no one has even reached out to Milan this summer despite many links on the press. Milan are very relaxed, these are are key players for them, and the situation is under control.
Bryan Gil – the Tottenham winger is joining Girona on loan, and the La Liga club will cover his salary. Tottenham will extend his contract and there will be a €15m release clause open to every club. If Girona and Gil want, they will continue together in 2025 by triggering the buy option. If they don’t want to, then the clause will be valid for other clubs.
Anthony Gordon – Liverpool tried to explore the Anthony Gordon deal in June as an opportunity but Newcastle didn’t open the door. Despite fresh speculation, I’m not aware of anything new going on – it’s still the same situation. Appreciation remains but no direct negotiations yet, and also at the current conditions Liverpool consider that too expensive. It’s quiet now, but we will see later in the window.
Kalvin Phillips – There’s no major update yet on Kalvin Phillips’ situation. Everton have been linked, and my understanding is that Everton but also many other clubs spoke with his agents, even if at the moment it’s not something close or imminent. I’m told it can take some days to assess all the options and then enter into advanced talks.
