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Tosin Adarabioyo yesterday completed his medical tests as a new Chelsea player, with the ‘here we go’ confirmed for the former Fulham centre-back. It’s now time to finalise signing the documents and then Adarabioyo will be the first signing for new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea have also been linked with another centre-back in the form of Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah. As I’ve previously said, it’s possible that Chelsea will sign more than one centre-back this summer, so another could follow Adarabioyo, but for Tah the first step is for him to tell Bayer Leverkusen what he wants to do with their new deal proposal – it will be soon.
Bayern Munich are pushing a lot on player side, and there’s interest from the Premier League but Bayern remain the favourites in case Tah decides to leave Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
Another story to watch with Chelsea, as David Ornstein reported, is that Aston Villa are showing interest in Conor Gallagher. I’m told there are also other clubs, so it remains an open situation, but at the moment nothing is close or imminent. It’s about interest and initial contacts, but no decision has been made yet on Chelsea side.
Benjamin Sesko is taking his time to decide his future, because, as I told you two weeks ago, he has a really important new contract proposal from RB Leipzig, which would see him earn an important salary and to change the release clause. So now Sesko has to decide if he wants to extend his contract with Leipzig, or leave, and probably go to the Premier League.
As soon as Sesko will decide, I will let you know, and then which club? I can guarantee that Sesko is still taking his time to decide between three clubs – Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Everything is still open and these three clubs are all in the race. Sesko has all the projects in front of him, but has not accepted any proposals yet.
So now Sesko needs to decide what to do, but the first step will be with Leipzig. The player already said no to two crazy proposals from Saudi, with one club offering €30m net per season, but he said no, and so his future remains a big topic and one of the most important stories to follow for the months of June.
We keep hearing a lot of stories about Martin Zubimendi, who has been linked several times mostly with Arsenal and Barcelona, while some outlets are now stating that he is unlikely to leave Real Sociedad as he is happy and settled in his hometown and not looking to leave the Basque region.
However, my understanding remains is that this is not decided yet. Zubimendi’s future, his decision, is still not clear yet – it remains an open situation, and he has a €60m release clause.
Joao Neves has been mentioned as a possible alternative for Arsenal in midfield. My information there remains that Neves has been scouted by Arsenal, Man United, Man City… all clubs interested but nothing is advanced at this stage, while it’s also important to remember that Neves’ price tag is double compared to Zubimendi as his release clause at Benfica is €120m.
For the first time, Kevin De Bruyne has given an interview in which he opened up the possibility of leaving Manchester City and trying a different experience in Saudi Arabia. When asked about the possibility of going to the Saudi Pro League, De Bruyne admitted he had to be open to everything for the final part of his career and that there is an incredible amount of money available.
But something to add about that point – even a year ago, before the 2023 Champions League final, some people from the Saudi Pro League started approaching De Bruyne. At that point, the Belgian said no and that he wanted to continue at Manchester City, and the club were also happy for them to continue together, so they did not even negotiate with the Saudi Pro League people.
Now the situation is different, though, because De Bruyne wants to think about this possibility. Michael Emenalo, sports director of the Saudi Pro League, already had some contacts with De Bruyne about making him one of the faces of their long-term project. So, from Saudi they are ready to negotiate with De Bruyne and offer a really important contract and now it’s on the player, but the official statement that he made yesterday is a strong message and now Manchester City are waiting to hear from De Bruyne himself to understand the situation and what he really wants to do.
Another story involving Saudi Pro League is that Barcelona president Joan Laporta admitted that Robert Lewandowski turned down big money to stay at Barca. It is the case that Lewandowski had strong interest from Saudi but he never considered to leave, he wants to play for Barcelona and be part of the new project at the club under Hansi Flick. Also Barcelona are more than happy to continue with Lewandowski as one of their superstars.
David de Gea is also still without a new club and the latest speculation is about Al Nassr, but I have no update yet on De Gea. There are rumours since August 2023 but again, as soon as something concrete will happen we will inform. I’m surprised he’s still not found a club but at the same time, for goalkeepers it’s not the same as for other players – it’s difficult if there’s no domino effect.
The Kylian Mbappe saga may be over now, but we have to see what else Real Madrid want to do this summer. Obviously they are really satisfied with the squad they have, really happy with the team, so they are not in a hurry but they can do something if there is an opportunity.
What I’m hearing tonight is that Real Madrid are still interested in Alphonso Davies. They are not giving up on signing the Bayern Munich left-back and they have activated contacts as they consider him a concrete target for this summer.
Real Madrid’s conditions, however, are very clear, in that they won’t spend crazy money on Davies, while they’re also waiting for the player to communicate his decision to Bayern over a new contract. So, Real Madrid are still there but it depends on two factors – firstly, they are waiting for Davies to communicate his decision to Bayern, which still hasn’t happened, so they’re waiting on that point. Then the second point is the price tag – Real Madrid, as I’ve always mentioned here, will not pay €50-60-70m for Davies. It has to be a cheap price or else Real Madrid will not go for it.
So, Real Madrid are still there, they still want Davies, and they have activated contacts, but they will only do a deal on their conditions. So now Davies also has to decide if he wants this move or if he wants to stay at Bayern and extend his contract, because the new deal from Bayern is still on the table. If Davies does not extend his contract now, then Bayern don’t want to lose him on a free next year, and so he will be up for sale.
We’re yet to hear an update on Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United, with the internal review process ongoing and a decision expected soon in what could be crucial days ahead for the club.
I’ve already mentioned that Man United have also held talks with the representatives of other managers, so let’s see what happens there, but it remains an open situation at the time of writing.
My personal feeling is that, while it’s good to give managers time, United should give him more time only if they are 100% convinced about that. To start a new season with doubts is never positive, look what happened with Xavi at Barcelona – they need to be sure they are 100% convinced on Ten Hag as the man for the job.
