Transfer news: Liverpool medical done, major Man United talks scheduled, Chelsea exits & more

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AC Milan

Official, confirmed by club statement: AC Milan have fired Paolo Maldini – he’s no longer their director. The club has decided to sack Ricky Massara and legend Paolo Maldini to begin a new era with a new vision for the club.

Christian Pulisic is expected to leave this summer as Chelsea are open to letting him go. AC Milan are among the clubs interested in Pulisic. He was mentioned in recent talks held with Chelsea. For now, however, talks over Ruben Loftus-Cheek are on stand-by after Maldini’s sacking.

Al Hilal

Sources close to Al Hilal have denied that they’ve made an improved proposal to Lionel Messi. It’s still the same bid on the table that they made to the player back in April — close to €1B package salary for two years. Messi’s still waiting to make a final decision. For more exclusive info on his situation, click here to read yesterday’s guest column from Ben Jacobs.

Al Ittihad

Official: Karim Benzema has signed for Al Ittihad on a two year deal with the option for a further season. Benzema will earn almost €200m per season net salary, commercial deals included.

Al Ittihad delegation has presented an official bid to N’Golo Kante and his camp. Al Ittihad are confident of getting the green light soon. The deal is worth €100m inclusive of the image rights, commercial deals and a creative ‘investment portfolio’.

Arsenal

Reiss Nelson is now very close to agreeing a new contract with Arsenal. There has been interest from other clubs in England and Europe, but he’s now edging closer to accepting the offer of four years plus the option of one more to stay at the Emirates Stadium.

Reiss Nelson of Arsenal

Barcelona

Xavi on the latest on Lionel Messi: “Messi has the frying pan by it’s handle — it’s up to him. The situation is in the hands of Laporta and Jorge Messi, we’ll see how it ends.”

Inigo Martinez has just confirmed that he’s set to leave Athletic Club, and he will soon be announced as Barcelona’s first signing. A deal has been in place since March, while Martinez signed official documents in May. He’s signed a contract that will be valid until June 2025.

Gavi has been officially registered by La Liga, never been in doubt on Barcelona and player side despite some rumours of a potential free transfer to Premier League clubs. His new deal is valid until June 2026 with a release clause of €1bn.

Benfica

Angel Di Maria is now officially available as free agent. Benfica are dreaming of Di Maria’s return after his departure from Juventus, but there are several options available to him, and no decision yet. It’s an open race for his signature.

Borussia Monchengladbach

Official: Gerardo Seoane has been now appointed as new Borussia Monchengladbach head coach, signing a contract until 2026.

Brighton

Brighton are preparing a club-record bid for Levi Colwill worth close to £40m to be submitted soon. Chelsea turned down an offer of £30m last week. Chelsea have always had the same position: Colwill is part of long term project and they have no intention of selling him.

Celtic

Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley is attracting interest from clubs in England and Germany — with Brighton being one of the teams considering him for this summer. Decision time in the next days/weeks, waiting for concrete proposals.

Chelsea

Chelsea and Kai Havertz are on same page: the club are prepared to let him leave — while Havertz is open to trying new chapter elsewhere. Chelsea hope for more clubs to join the race for the German forward soon after Real Madrid registered their interest last week.

Chelsea have no plan to sell Levi Colwill, having already turned down £30m from Brighton for the defender. Brighton are now set to try again with a club-record £40m offer.

Christian Pulisic is expected to leave this summer as Chelsea are open to letting him go. AC Milan are among the clubs interested in Pulisic. He was mentioned in recent talks held with Chelsea. For now, however, talks over Ruben Loftus-Cheek are on stand-by after Maldini’s sacking.

Chelsea are set to escalate talks over an alternative to Manuel Ugarte – click here to find out more!

Crystal Palace

Wilfried Zaha has not agreed terms with Al Nassr at this stage. The Saudi club has approached him but nothing done. Zaha’s priority seems to be to remain in Europe, and he’s attracting strong interest from Champions League clubs.

Crystal Palace are set to sign Jefferson Lerma. The Colombian’s free transfer from Bournemouth has been completed, documents are sealed on a deal until 2027.

Inter Milan

Hakan Calhanoglu on his future: “I’m gonna stay and extend my contract at Inter. I’ve no intention to leave the club, I’m very happy here.”

The Turkish midfielder has already signed a new contract valid until 2027, which will be officially confirmed after the Champions League final.

Liverpool

Alexis Mac Allister has completed his medical with Liverpool and is set to sign his contract today! He’ll put pen to paper on a deal until 2028.

Liverpool have been in direct contact with the agents of both Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram this week. Internal talks are taking place over official proposals. Liverpool have asked for some time to finalise the Alexis Mac Allister deal and then they’ll decide on further signings in midfield.

Click here to find out more about Liverpool’s midfield targets!

Manchester United

Manchester United are preparing for several key departures this summer. Wout Weghorst will be one, there is no intention to keep him after his loan. Everton and Spanish clubs are interested in the Burnley striker.

Harry Maguire is another player to keep an eye on – clubs were interested in January but Erik ten Hag said no at the time. Still, the feeling now is that the best solution is for him to leave this summer. There will be a meeting next week, but the idea is for Maguire to leave the club.

Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks to sign Dean Henderson on a permanent transfer after his loan at the City Ground. Terms have almost been agreed also on the player side. Manchester United, however, are not ready to give their final green light until David de Gea signs new deal.

Donny van de Beek will explore options on the market in the next weeks as he could leave Manchester United. Donny loves the club and is a big fan of Erik ten Hag, but he needs and wants to play more regularly next season. He should also be ready for pre-season after his long injury layoff.

Diogo Costa quotes after winning Taca de Portugal Final last weekend: “Man United deal? This is the internet…I love Porto — it’s the club of my life. I would give my life for it.”

Marseille

Saudi club Al Fateh have now submitted an official proposal to Alexis Sanchez. €10m salary per season has been offered to Marseille’s Chilean forward. The contract would be valid until 2024 with the option for a further season.

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks to sign Dean Henderson on a permanent transfer after his loan at the City Ground. Terms have almost been agreed also on the player side. Manchester United, however, are not ready to give their final green light until David de Gea signs new deal.

PSG

Christophe Galtier is set to be sacked by PSG, with Julian Nagelsmann currently their priority target and a concrete option to replace him. The Ligue 1 giants are working on bringing in the former Bayern Munich boss, who was also linked with Chelsea and Tottenham jobs in recent months.

Paris Saint-Germain interest in Marcus Thuram is concrete. He’s one of the names on the list at PSG. He’s available on a free this summer, and talks will follow soon. There are more clubs in the race, but not AC Milan or Atletico Madrid as things stand, despite reports to the contrary.

Real Madrid

Karim Benzema: “It really hurts… it’s not easy, I really wanted to retire here but sometimes directions change. I’ll always be watching Madrid games and I will always support Real Madrid, the best club in the world.”

Chelsea and Kai Havertz are on same page: the club are prepared to let him leave — while Havertz is open to trying new chapter elsewhere. Chelsea hope for more clubs to join the race for the German forward soon after Real Madrid registered their interest last week.

Could Real Madrid really win the race for Harry Kane? Click here to find out the latest, plus their interest in two other forwards!

Real Madrid’s plan is to present Brahim Diaz as their new signing already next week — first step is extending the contract until 2027, then to ‘unveil’ Brahim.

Real Madrid have sent documents to Nacho in order to tie him down to a new short term contract in the next hours. Nacho has told Inter Milan he won’t be joining them. He’s staying with Real Madrid until 2024.

Roma

AS Roma are prepared to unveil Houssem Aouar as their first summer signing on free transfer from Lyon. The Frenchman will sign a five-year deal, which was agreed in principle last month.

AS Roma have offered a five year deal to Evan Ndicka to join on free transfer this summer. Talks are ongoing for the Eintracht Frankfurt defender.

Sevilla

Official: Jose Luis Mendilibar has signed a new contract at Sevilla valid until June 2024. The club extended his contract for one more year after their Europa League win.

Tottenham

Officially confirmed yesterday: Ange Postecoglou is the new Tottenham manager, joining on a deal valid until June 2027.

Daniel Levy: “Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play. He understands the importance of the link from the academy, crucial for the club.”

Rennes director Maurice announces that Joe Rodon will return to Tottenham as “buy option clause won’t be triggered. As for Joe, there is a very high purchase option. Evidently, it won’t be possible for us to raise that amount.”

Toulouse

Toulouse have confirmed the signing of Cesar Gelabert on a free transfer, with a four year deal sealed for the former Real Madrid academy talent.

More Stories Alexis Mac Allister Alexis Sanchez Brahim Diaz Christian Pulisic David de Gea Dean Henderson Diogo Costa Donny van de Beek Evan Ndicka Gavi Hakan Calhanoglu Harry Maguire inigo martinez Jefferson Lerma Joe Rodon Kai Havertz Karim Benzema Levi Colwill Lionel Messi Manuel Ugarte Marcus Thuram N'Golo Kante Nacho Reiss Nelson Ruben Loftus-Cheek Wilfried Zaha Wout Weghorst