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Arsenal and Chelsea still chasing Ivan Toney
Arsenal’s focus is on their midfield at the moment with Douglas Luiz remaining their priority, but Ivan Toney is a player appreciated by them. Chelsea like the player, yes, but what I wanted to clarify about Chelsea is that they’ve never decided to open a concrete negotiation with Brentford or with the player’s agents because of different factors.
They want to take their time before they decide which player they want to sign in that position in 2024. Chelsea have had internal discussions and Ivan Toney is a player they appreciate, but they haven’t started the process to sign him and so the situation at the moment remains very open.
No truth in Icardi to Real Madrid rumours
The idea is to do something in the summer, when Endrick arrives and the Kylian Mbappe situation has to be resolved one way or the other. There are so many things that could still happen.
At the moment, Real Madrid have been very unlucky with injuries, including to Courtois, Camavinga and Vinicius Jr., but unless there are any more injuries between now and January, nothing will change in terms of transfers.
European clubs targeting wonder kid Echeverri
So, what is his contract situation? From what I’m told, he’s attracting interest from European clubs, and many of them have travelled in recent months to keep an eye on him. There is a release clause in his contract which is €25m, potentially going up to €30m based on performances.
Also the contract is very short, because it’s only valid until December 2024. River Plate already offered him a new deal, but keep an eye on this one because many clubs are following this boy.
In other news…
Man City – There’s absolutely nothing concrete regarding Erling Haaland at this stage, despite people reading more into his agent, Rafaela Pimenta’s recent answers to questions. Personally, I think she’s just giving normal answers to normal questions. Haaland is not thinking about anything else other than Man City and the club’s focus on this season. I don’t think Pimenta is being evasive or difficult at all.
Newcastle – There are multiple Premier League clubs monitoring Valencia’s Javi Guerra, including Newcastle, but I’m not aware of any proposal at this stage. As I always said here, who the club go for as Sandro Tonali’s replacement will depend on their fate in Champions League – that is gonna be key to understand how much they will invest in January.
Barcelona – There’s nothing to announce of course regarding a replacement for Gavi despite the rumours. It’s November guys, and Gavi only got injured a few days ago. It would be mad to already have a replacement in mind, and I can confirm that nothing is happening now. Barça will take their time and discuss things internally, they’re not in a hurry and their priority is still to register Vitor Roque.
Milan – Francesco Camarda could create some history if he makes his Milan debut this weekend. The 15-year-old is very, very talented and Milan have been convinced they’ve got a gem on their hands for the past three years, since he was a kid. He’s a typical number nine – physical, but also able to score wonder goals. Of course it will take time, and I hope people won’t put too much pressure on him.