Arsenal have leapfrogged Liverpool for a Bundesliga colossus
Arsenal intend to make a ‘formal offer’ worth £38.5m for a Liverpool-linked defender, while Fulham will sanction a mind-boggling raid for a Manchester United flop and there’s more bad news for Chelsea regarding Romelu Lukaku – all in Friday’s Euro Paper Talk.
ARSENAL LEAPFROG LIVERPOOL
The Gunners will splash out around £200m on new signings this summer and a report claims a formal offer is imminent for a Liverpool-linked defender.
According to the Guardian, Arsenal’s owners have determined another blockbuster spending spree is required to take the club up another notch.
Mikel Arteta’s side spent in excess of £200m last summer when landing Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz in permanent deals. David Raya also joined, though initially on loan ahead of completing a permanent switch worth £27m this summer.
With a similar level of budget to be made available to Arteta and sporting director Edu, signings at centre-back, on the right wing and at striker are wanted.
Today’s update regards the defender chase, with Sky Germany recently revealing Arsenal and Liverpool had both made enquiries into the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Willian Pacho.
The 22-year-old Ecuador international has been a revelation for Frankfurt following his modest £8m transfer from Royal Antwerp one year ago.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg revealed the left-footed centre-back has the greenlight to leave Frankfurt if bids in the €50m-€60m range are received.
According to DAZN (as cited by Sport Witness), Arsenal will kick things off with an imminent formal offer worth €45m/£38.5m.
As you might expect, they report this sum will not be enough to seal a deal with Frankfurt. However, it will signal Arsenal are for real with their interest in Pacho and it remains to be seen whether an improved bid will follow.
Conversely, news of Arsenal making their move could also embolden Liverpool to spring into action. The Reds require a new centre-half to replace Joel Matip who’ll leave as a free agent at season’s end.
One factor that could hinder Liverpool’s ability to strike is the fact they don’t yet know who their manager will be next season.
That is not an issue affecting Arsenal who appear to have taken the initiative for Pacho.
FULHAM WANT MAN UTD FLOP
Fulham are being credited with serious interest in giving Man Utd loanee Sofyan Amrabat a second chance in England. Amrabat has flopped at Old Trafford and will be returned to Fiorentina, though isn’t expected to stay in Florence for long. Fulham are fully prepared to table a package worth €30m to get a deal done. (SportItalia)
Man City have made Bayern Munich ace Jamal Musiala their top attacking transfer target. A deal could shatter City’s current record transfer – Jack Grealish’s £100m arrival from Aston Villa. (Guardian)
Bayern will not entertain a Musiala sale for any price and hope to iron out a contract extension in the coming months. Musiala’s existing deal expires in 2026. (Sky Germany)
Liverpool and Man Utd are both showing interest in rising Barcelona centre-back, Mikayil Faye. (Mundo Deportivo)
Julian Nagelsmann has signed a contract extension to remain the German national team boss until 2026. The 36-year-old had been a managerial target at Man Utd and Bayern Munich. (Fabrizio Romano and various)
CHELSEA GIVEN NEW LUKAKU HEADACHE
Romelu Lukaku will return to Chelsea once his loan spell with Roma concludes. Roma cannot afford the £37m fee Chelsea are demanding for Lukaku’s permanent transfer. (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
Rafael Benitez is in talks to become the new manager of Brazilian side Sao Paulo. Benitez most recently managed in Spain with Celta Vigo before being fired in March. (Arquibancada Tricolor)
Bayern centre-back Kim Min-jae is ‘not satisfied’ with his lack of starts in Bavaria. However, the South Korean – a €58m signing from Napoli last summer – won’t push to leave and will attempt to prove the doubters wrong next season. (Florian Plettenberg)
Man Utd are ‘in talks’ with the agent of Juventus centre-back Gleison Bremer and hope to thrash out an agreement on personal terms. Bremer can be signed for €60m this summer. (Calciomercato)
Atletico Madrid hope to snap up Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie this summer, though the new Bundesliga champions are reluctant to sell. Other Atletico targets at centre-back include Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad) and Jean-Clair Todibo (Nice). (Rudy Galetti)
Lille president Olivier Letang has criticised Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez for his antics during the two clubs’ penalty shoot-out on Thursday night, in which Martinez made two crucial saves. “I don’t want to waste time talking about this boy, who doesn’t have the attitude of a high-level sportsman because in defeat, as in victory, you have to stay calm and elegant.” (Olivier Letang)
TOTTENHAM STAR’S ROUGH TREATMENT
New Tottenham signing Lucas Bergvall believes he’s being unfairly targeted by opposition players since signing for Spurs. “I’m young and there are a lot of people who like to hit me, when a player has been sold for a lot of money,” said the Swede who signed with Tottenham from Djurgarden in January. Bergvall will move to north London in the summer. (Lucas Bergvall)
Napoli are ready to offer a three-year deal worth €8 million per season to make Antonio Conte their next manager. (Il Mattino)
AC Milan are not interested in signing former Arsenal midfielder Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid this summer, despite reports to the contrary. (Calciomercato)
Sevilla and Real Betis have both contacted Real Madrid over the possible loan signing of Arda Guler for next season. (Diario AS)
Newcastle and West Ham have both made overtures to Maurizio Sarri over becoming their respective next managers. (Il Messaggero)
