Take a look at the latest transfer updates, with news and rumours about the 10 most talked-about Premier League and European targets.
Alvaro Morata
- Current club: Real Madrid
- Could join: Chelsea
Romelu Lukaku effectively stole his move to Manchester United and Morata has had to suffer the ignominy of being told that, in fact, Jose Mourinho’s interest in him was apparently little more than a diversion tactic. All this and the newspapers spreading tall tales that the 24-year-old had dyed his hair red ahead of his expected Old Trafford move. Oh dear.
Still, Antonio Conte remains a fan from their time together at Juventus – and with Chelsea in rather urgent need of a forward, there’s a spot going at Stamford Bridge. Get out the blue rinse, Alvaro.
Andrea Belotti
- Current club: Torino
- Could join: Chelsea, Milan
An alternative to Morata, Chelsea could turn to the prolific 23-year-old Italy international Belotti. The latest reports indicate that this is in fact the club’s preferred option – but it’s not one that comes cheap.
At least Roman Abramovich knows how far down the back of his sofa he’d have to dig: Belotti’s release-clause is set at £89-million which, even by today’s standards, seems a lot of money for a player with just a single notable goal-scoring season to his name. Milan – who are already splashing the cash in a shock £30m move for Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci – are also said to be very keen. However, Chelsea may have the inside track, as Torino would rather not sell to another Serie A side.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
- Current club: Borussia Dortmund
- Could join: Milan, Liverpool, Chinese Super League
Aubameyang is intent on leaving Dortmund, confirming that he’s ‘ready for new adventures’, and will likely cost somewhere between £60m and £70m.
The newly ambitious Milan would seem to be winning this particularly race, with stories of a move to China starting to quieten. However whispers linking the prolific 28-year-old with the Premier League continue, with Liverpool – whose manager Jurgen Klopp previously worked with Aubameyang at Dortmund – said by various sources to be weighing up a bid.
Kylian Mbappe
- Current club: Monaco
- Could join: Real Madrid
Florentino Perez is a fan and you suspect that if the Real Madrid squad wasn’t so top-heavy (Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marco Asensio and – for now – Alvaro Morata) that Mbappe would already be at the Bernabeu.
Earlier in the summer, Liverpool and Arsenal were both suggested as possible destinations. However, with Alexandre Lacazette signed by Arsene Wenger last week and Liverpool unlikely to offer the huge sum it would take to prise the 18-year-old star from Monaco, neither seems realistic.
Unless Real pull off one of their late-summer shocks, the smart money is on Mbappe spending at least one more year in France.
Naby Keita
- Current club: RB Leipzig
- Could join: Liverpool
Perhaps one of the reasons why Liverpool have made so little transfer progress this summer (Mohamed Salah aside) is because their collective energies have been focused on a single target. Leipzig’s 22-year-old midfielder Keita is next season’s must-have item and Klopp evidently realises that he needs to strengthen his midfield before the Premier League year begins.
Unfortunately for Klopp, the German club have little interest in selling and aren’t financially compelled to come to the negotiating table. A bid of £57m has reportedly been turned down – yet the move could still happen if Keita, as is rumoured, is pushing for a move to Anfield.
Radja Nainggolan
- Current club: Roma
- Could join: Chelsea, Manchester United
Antonio Conte tried to sign Belgian midfielder Nainggolan last summer, but with no joy. He obviously retains an interest but, with Chelsea all set to complete a deal for Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko, it might well be a passive one this summer.
However, we know Manchester United are still shopping in the complete midfielder department. The assumption, post-Romelu Lukaku, is that any deal for Nemanja Matic is now dead – and with Eric Dier unlikely to be prised from Daniel Levy’s cold fingers, Nainggolan might prove more affordable and more realistic. The latest talk is that Roma aren’t unwilling – so it may come down to whether United see him as a suitable substitute for Matic or Dier.
Eric Dier
- Current club: Tottenham
- Could join: Manchester United
He could join Manchester United, but right now it’s looking very unlikely. Tottenham have firmly rejected Jose Mourinho’s initial approaches and with Kyle Walker on the verge of being sold to Manchester City for £50m, Daniel Levy will be set against agreeing to another sale of a major asset this summer.
Either Ed Woodward will have to sanction a preposterous offer, or Dier will be staying in north London.
Alexis Sanchez
- Current club: Arsenal
- Could join: Manchester City, Bayern Munich
A familiar situation for Arsenal: Sanchez has one year left on his contract, is reportedly asking for an enormous basic wage to re-sign, and could leave for free next summer.
Reports suggest that Arsenal would rather see the 28-year-old Chilean walk out of the Emirates as a free agent than commission another sale to a rival club. This had looked a done deal for City, especially after Bayern Munich’s rumoured interest in Sanchez has apparently come to nothing. Yet despite their fabulous resources, the Manchester club might just have to wait a year.
Marco Verratti
- Current club: PSG
- Could join: Barcelona
All sorts of goings-on here. It’s been assumed for a while that 24-year-old Italian playmaker Verratti would head to Barcelona at last season’s end, a move backed by Xavi Hernandez, no less. Yet that hasn’t materialised. In fact, no sooner had former Barcelona fullback Dani Alves become a Paris Saint-Germain player then he was urging Verratti to stay at Parc des Princes.
A proper tug of war, then. Barcelona certainly need an improvement in midfield and they nearly always get what they want, so the odds are still on this happening at some point.
Ivan Perisic
- Current club: Inter
- Could join: Manchester United
What happened to this? Six weeks ago, everything was reportedly agreed and Croatian winger Perisic was ready to move to Old Trafford for around £50m.
For whatever reason, it’s gone cold, with The Independent claiming that United were still short of the Italian club’s asking price and that, according to Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilo, ‘the deal isn’t happening’.
Whether he means ‘now’ or ‘at all’ remains to be seen.
– This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za
