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Many of you have been asking me about the situation with Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling, so let’s start with this story. Firstly, the news that Sancho could leave Manchester United is not really new, it’s something we’ve been saying for weeks, and the situation hasn’t really changed much since yesterday.
So, to clarify, Juventus are in discussions with the agents of Sancho, and also with Manchester United over a loan deal with a buy clause – United want it to be an obligation to buy, while Juve want it to be an option to buy.
What about Chelsea? They consider Sancho an opportunity, and if Man United want to take one player in the deal, such as Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell or any other player who could leave Chelsea, then they would be more than happy to do the deal. Chelsea’s position is that they would be more than happy to sign Sancho, but it has to also mean United taking one of the players they don’t want in the squad.
To summarise, Sancho is wanted by both Chelsea and Juventus – both clubs are working on the deal but with different perspectives. Chelsea will only consider the Sancho deal with a swap including one of their players who are not part of the project, like Raheem Sterling.
Juventus, meanwhile, are in talks with United over loan move for Sancho with buy clause, but also the salary coverage is key point. For now my understanding is that Sancho is open to both moves, so it depends on the clubs.
Liverpool are working on the Federico Chiesa deal – they are talking to Juventus and also to the agent of the player. Liverpool are understanding the conditions of the deal, with Juve asking for around €15m for the player, who can leave as a free agent next summer.
The salary will also be a crucial point, and this is one of the things Liverpool are discussing. Talks are ongoing, let’s see what happens, but of course if Chiesa ends up leaving Juventus, this could help them improve their proposal for a replacement like Jadon Sancho.
For me, Chiesa would be a fantastic signing – he is the perfect fit for Liverpool, he’s fast, and he deserves to play in a team with offensive football like Liverpool as Juventus under Allegri were too defensive.
In terms of other similar targets for Liverpool, I’m not aware of other players being considered at the moment, my name for Liverpool is Federico Chiesa.
Staying with Liverpool, there is still no update so far on the future of Joe Gomez. Interest from many clubs like Crystal Palace, Fulham and more remains, but there is nothing concrete yet on club-to-club talks or with an official bid. It remains one to watch but Gomez could also end up staying at Liverpool.
I wanted to clarify the situation with Victor Osimhen as it’s another important story for the final days of the window. Some people have been mentioning Paris Saint-Germain, but the information I have is that the last contact between Osimhen and PSG was in the final week of July – that was the last moment that Osimhen, his agents, or anyone from the Napoli board spoke to PSG.
So, for the moment PSG are not working on the deal for Osimhen, that’s the reality, and if it changes I will update you, but for now it’s absolutely not happening. I can guarantee, however, that Chelsea and Al Ahli are both still working on the Osimhen deal. Al Ahli already have an agreement with Napoli for €65m, so that’s okay, but what’s missing is the agreement between Osimhen and the Saudi club.
Still, I can guarantee that Al Ahli are still working to convince Osimhen and to reach an agreement with him. But, Chelsea are also still there, while Ivan Toney could also be an option for both of these clubs if they don’t sign Osimhen.
So, Ivan Toney could definitely be one to watch in the final days. It’s important to remember that Brentford are still asking for important money. They rejected a bid of around £37m-£38m from Al-Ahli in the past week, but conversations remain active with the club. Let’s see what happens there, and with the other clubs in England.
Another Chelsea story that has been doing the rounds is with Axel Disasi’s future possibly being in doubt and with Newcastle one of the names linked. However, I have no concrete updates so far, it looks like a quiet situation at the moment. Let’s see what happens between Newcastle and Marc Guehi but for Disasi I don’t have anything fresh yet.
The deal for Justin Bijlow to Southampton is off after he failed a medical and returned to Feyenoord, so now Southampton are considering a move for Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale instead. Ramsdale was always on their list, and Arsenal want a loan with an obligation to buy.
As a replacement, Arsenal want to buy Joan Garcia from Espanyol to provide cover for first choice David Raya. This is the idea, and Arsenal have an agreement already with Garcia, and they’re just waiting to see what happens with Ramsdale.
Of course, we also know now that Mikel Merino is an Arsenal player after yesterday’s official announcement, and it comes as Manuel Ugarte to Manchester United also became a ‘here we go’ earlier on yesterday. Some fans have been asking me about these two deals and for a comparison on who’s getting the better midfielder.
Still, they are completely different players in my opinion, I’d say it’s impossible to compare. However, I feel these are both excellent moves – Merino is perfect for what Arsenal needed as he brings balance and quality. Man United needed a player with Ugarte’s skills and they only only wanted him, he was the priority number one since June. I think Merino in particular is going to surprise a lot of people, and for €32m plus add-ons it’s excellent business by Arsenal.
Finally, former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has retired from professional football after he recently terminated his contract with Juventus. This took some people by surprise, but I’m not surprised as he always thought it’s the top level or retiring. From what I know about him he’s a smart guy, an excellent person – he didn’t want to go somewhere just for the sake of it. I have no idea of his plans now for his post-playing career, we will have to wait and see what he decides.
