Jurgen Klopp speaks about whether Mohamed Salah will extend his contract with Liverpool. (0:36)
The 2022 January transfer window is closed, but there’s still plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings and goings and, of course, done deals!
Erling Haaland is just about the most wanted man in football, and The Daily Mail reports that Manchester City now have a deal in place to sign the Borussia Dortmund frontman.
According to the report, Haaland will choose to play at the Etihad when he leaves Dortmund and personal terms have been discussed and the framework of the deal is ready to be signed off by City bosses.
The 21-year-old has a release clause of €75 million, but Mino Raiola’s agent fees and a signing-on bonus would likely to take the total past €100m. This is still be affordable for City, who have made the Dortmund star their main priority in the transfer market.
Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have shown interest in Haaland, but City now appear to have emerged as the biggest competition for his services along with Real Madrid. Despite this, City are the favourites to sign Haaland and the expectation is that he will be lining up for Pep Guardiola next term.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the current City side is whether they would benefit from having a natural striker and Haaland is just that, having scored an incredible 23 goals and assisted six more in just 20 matches for Dortmund in all competitions this season.
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21.42 GMT: Get ready for a lot of new faces at the Emirates next season if the latest from the Express is accurate. The report says that as many as 13 players could leave the team this summer, including big names like Bernd Leno, Granit Xhaka, Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah, Hector Bellerin and Mohamed Elneny.
This might comes as a surprise given that Mikel Arteta’s side is only two points behind Manchester United for the last Champions League place and with a whopping four games in hand over the Red Devils. Nonetheless, due to a mix of expiring contracts, aging veterans and a desire to bring in younger players, Arsenal look set for a fairly sizable squad overhaul once the window opens in a few months.
20.59 GMT: Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and club executives want to sign midfielder Sean Longstaff to a new deal, reports The Times. The UK outlet reveals that Longstaff, whose deal expires this summer, is one of the lowest paid players in the first team at St James’ Park. Everton’s noted long-term interest in the 24-year-old, who joined the club’s academy at the age of nine, has only motivated the Newcastle hierarchy to step up their quest to keep Longstaff with the resurgent Magpies going forward.
20.08 GMT: Manchester United reportedly have their eye on Lyon forward Moussa Dembele, according to The Manchester Evening News. Manager Ralf Rangnick has reportedly been told to look for a young striker, and 25-year-old Dembele fits the bill, but he is only one of many being considered.
However, Dembele seems to be happy at Lyon, sources say, and he would likely be looking at a squad role rather than a starting spot in Manchester. Dembele has nine goals in 19 appearances for Lyon this season.
18.44 GMT: Juventus have still not given up their hopes of wooing Gianluigi Donnarumma. Although the Italian powerhouse had been linked to Donnarumma last summer and he went to PSG instead, Juventus is apparently not giving up, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
The relationship between Donnarumma and PSG is reportedly not going well, and so Juventus see an opening to try again, sources say. They are planning to try again in the next transfer window, and are hoping to land the 23-year-old at a discount since he apparently wants out of Paris.
17.36 GMT: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says that the club will not hold contract talks with Alexandre Lacazette until the summer despite the forward’s current deal expires at the end of the season.
Lacazette has only scored five goals in 26 appearances this season, but he has assumed an important role as one of the most senior players of a young squad. The 30-year has even taken on the captaincy following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s demotion from the role and subsequent transfer to Barcelona in the January transfer window.
“We have discussions, as you know, and at the end of the season, once we know where we are, we will make a decision altogether,” Arteta said. “I don’t want anyone to think about something else that is not that. The decision, we agreed, is to do it in the summer and we’re going to do it as soon as the season is finished.”
Asked what Lacazette’s feelings on the situation are, Arteta replied: “That’s a question for him, but obviously we have to make decisions and we made that decision to finalise that at the end of the season. That’s what we’re going to have to do.”
16.45 GMT: Cristiano Ronaldo is yet to make a decision on whether he will stay at the club next season, sources told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
Despite only reaching the halfway point of his two-year contract this summer, interim coach Ralf Rangnick has had to address speculation that Ronaldo is looking to leave Old Trafford just a year after his return.
The 37-year-old was in Portugal last weekend while his teammates were enduring a humbling 4-1 loss at Manchester City, as he was ruled out with a hip injury.
“I haven’t asked him if he’s happy in Manchester or at this club,” Rangnick said. “He’s fit again, resumed training yesterday and we shall see which formation we will line up with tomorrow.
“It doesn’t make sense to look back on what happened the last six or seven days. What is important is what happens tomorrow. He and Edi are both available for tomorrow.”
15.38 GMT: Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has hinted that he could extend his contract at the club if they can make “big improvements.”
Conte signed a contract that runs until the end of the 2022-23 season when he was appointed in November, but on several occasions has made comments that raise doubts over the prospect of the option to extend that deal being taken up.
Asked if he would commit himself to the club beyond the end of next season to send a message to his current squad and potential new signings, Conte said: “In this moment there is only one truth and [it is] I am committed with this club for another year.
“The club wanted this situation and I accepted because it was good to know each other [first]. After four-and-a-half months, the club understood my way to work and I understood the club. We now have three months to the end of the season to continue to improve this knowledge of each other and then to find the best solution for both.
“I am enjoying to work for this club. My ambition is to fight to be competitive, to fight to win. I know my soul, my heart and my mind wants this. I hope that we can match these two situations.
“It will be very important to have a good vision. In January, we showed that we have just started to improve the situation. To fight to win the league or to stay in the top four, we need a big, big improvement and we have started to do this with these players. We are improving a lot. But you need in the future to have other important steps. And to have the ambition with facts and not only with words.”
14.51 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe will sign a contract with Real Madrid next week, Marca reports.
Negotiations between both parties have intensified in recent days following Paris Saint-Germain’s elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.
Madrid plan to get Mbappe’s signature by Friday although the Spanish giants will not make an official announcement until the end of the season.
A long-term target of Real Madrid, Mbappe has not signed a new contract with PSG and becomes a free agent this summer.
PSG have not given up hope of retaining the France international and the club sporting director Leonardo recently said they would do “everything possible” to keep the player.
The French club also turned down a €200m bid from Madrid for Mbappe last summer.
Mbappe scored in both legs against Real Madrid but PSG lost 3-2 on aggregate to be eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16.
14.06 GMT: Rival clubs are increasingly confident they can prise Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta away from Chelsea, amid the turmoil surrounding owner Roman Abramovich, sources told ESPN’s James Olley.
In a dramatic intervention, the U.K. government imposed sanctions on Abramovich on Thursday, meaning Chelsea are effectively frozen as one of Abramovich’s assets. The freeze means the sale of the club is on hold and they are unable to sign players to new contracts.
Sources told ESPN, however, that although a sale cannot go ahead as things stand, Abramovich could apply for a license to allow a sale, which the U.K. government would consider.
Any such licence would not allow Abramovich to benefit from the sale of the club while he remains subject to sanctions, and no bids have met his £3 billion value of the club.
Several Chelsea personnel including manager Thomas Tuchel, female players Ji So-Yun, Maren Mjelde, Jonna Andersson and Drew Spence and the men’s trio, admitted this week there were doubts Christensen would stay.
The Danish centre-back has held talks with Barcelona and Bayern Munich among other clubs. Barcelona are also hopeful of landing Azpilicueta, who has attracted interest from Atletico Madrid, while Rudiger’s suitors include Manchester United, Real Madrid and Newcastle United.
The government has issued a special license for Chelsea to remain operational, which includes playing fixtures, paying staff and enabling season-ticket holders to attend home matches. That will be kept under review and expires on May 31, or when Abramovich sells Chelsea — whichever comes sooner — and there is hope at Stamford Bridge that all three can be retained for next season and beyond.
Barcelona were already growing confident about attracting Christensen and Azpilicueta prior to Thursday’s announcement and although Rudiger was thought to be increasingly likely to stay, his future is more unclear than ever.
13.12 GMT: Ralf Rangnick has told Marcus Rashford to forget about the prospect of leaving Manchester United until at least the summer and instead focus on helping the club have a successful end to the season by rediscovering his best form.
Rashford has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford in the aftermath of the 4-1 derby defeat to Manchester City. The 24-year-old watched from the game from bench until the second half despite United missing both Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani — both of whom will be back for Saturday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson that Rashford has reservations about his future. He has a contract until 2023 with the option of another year but is in no rush to sign an extension.
Interim United manager Rangnick said he has spoken to Rashford since and insists he is “happy,” but also reminded the England forward it is not the time for transfer talk.
“I spoke with him yesterday [Thursday] and the day before yesterday, so I don’t know anything about that [wanting to leave],” Rangnick told a news conference on Friday.
“He didn’t say anything to me, he said to me that he is still happy and that he wants to perform on a high level for the club. There was no mention of him not being happy here.
“The window is closed right now. Even suppose he and his agents or his family at one stage of the summer think about maybe going to another club, well then he can do that but in the summer. Now the window is closed.
“It’s got nothing to do with tomorrow’s game or the game on Tuesday.”
12.25 GMT: Jurgen Klopp has called for patience regarding Mohamed Salah‘s future at Liverpool with the forward yet to sign a contract extension at the club.
Salah’s existing deal at Anfield expires in June 2023 and he previously said he wants to extend his stay at Liverpool but claimed his future “is not in my hands.”
The Egypt international has been one of the world’s best players this season with 27 goals in all competitions and Klopp said he is relaxed about his contract situation.
“Mo expects this club to be ambitious,” Klopp said. “We cannot do much more. It is Mo’s decision.
“It is all fine from my point of view. Nothing happened further, no signing or rejection. We just have to wait, there’s no rush.”
Klopp was speaking in his prematch news conference on Friday, ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Brighton & Hove Albion. Shortly after the Liverpool manager spoke Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas, tweeted a string of crying with laughter emojis.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
11.32 GMT: Inter Milan are set to make a decision soon over whether or not to offer Alexis Sanchez a new contract, Calciomercato reports.
Sanchez signed for Inter on a three-year contract when he joined them from Manchester United in 2020, meaning he’ll have just one year left on his deal come the end of the season.
The 33-year-old has scored six goals in 29 appearances this season, including the winning goal in the Supercoppa Italia win over Juventus in January. But the defining moment of his season may prove to be the red card he received in Tuesday’s Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Liverpool, just moments after Lautaro Martinez had scored to give the Nerazzurri a way back into the tie, which they lost 2-1 on aggregate.
Calciomercato reports that Sanchez’s deal is worth €7m a season.10.41 GMT: Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher has said he is yet to decide his future next season and remains focus on a strong end to his spell at Crystal Palace.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed a fine campaign away from his parent club, scoring eight goals and registering five assists to win Premier League Young Player of the Year at last week’s London Football Awards.
Sources have told ESPN that Palace boss Patrick Vieira is keen to keep Gallagher next season while Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel is understood to be open to reintegrating the midfielder into his first-team set-up at Stamford Bridge.
However, when asked whether he has thought about next season’s plans, Gallagher told ESPN’s James Olley: “No, no, not at all. I just take every game as it comes to be honest. I’ve not thought too far ahead at all.
“I think in the stage we’re at in this season and where Palace are at as a team, we can’t afford to look too far into the future.
“We’ve got a very important end of the season, being in the quarter-final of the FA Cup now [against Everton] and needing to get points [in the Premier League] as well.”
Sources have told ESPN that Vieira was in almost daily communication with Chelsea last summer in an attempt to lure Gallagher to Selhurst Park.
09.48 GMT: Internacional have signed winger Wanderson on loan for the remainder of the season from Russian club Krasnodar, the Brazilian club have announced.
Wanderson, who is under contract with Krasnodar until June 2024, joins the Porto Alegre-based club until December. Internacional have an option to sign the 27-year-old on a permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee.
FIFA recently announced that foreign players signed to Russian clubs can temporarily suspend their contracts due to the war in Ukraine. The Ajax youth product, who joined Krasnodar in 2017 from Red Bull Salzburg, was free to join another club on a temporary basis and has decided to return home.
“I’m very happy to be here and to be part of this club,” he said. “Once Inter showed me the project, it was easy to accept. I’m delighted to be a part of this club that has a lot of history.”09.00 GMT: Manchester United chiefs are increasingly concerned that a chaotic end to the season is having a damaging impact on their search for a new permanent manager, sources told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
United have started the process of appointing their next manager with contact made through intermediaries to assess the availability of preferred candidates. However there are fears that a string of poor results and the risk of missing out on Champions League football, as well as doubts over the futures of senior players and reports of unrest within the squad, is hampering the process.
Sources told ESPN that at least one coach in the frame for the job has used his own contacts to gauge the mood in the dressing room and assess how committed key players are to remaining at Old Trafford in an effort to discover how big of a rebuild is required. Conversations with candidates have also touched on what would constitute short-term success at the club over fears it could take years for United to become realistic challengers in the Premier League and Champions League.
PSG’s Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax boss Erik ten Hag are the frontrunners for the role but United remain committed to an extensive search that will include a number of candidates. Sources told ESPN the club are hopeful of making an announcement before the end of the season to ensure the new man can play a full part in the recruitment of new players in the summer. Managers at Old Trafford are given a veto on signings along with the recruitment department.
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– Speaking of Haaland, Diario Sport has offered four names that Barcelona are looking at if they are unable to sign the Norway international. They are Real Sociedad‘s Alexander Isak, RB Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi, Internazionale‘s Lautaro Martinez and Bayern Munich‘s Robert Lewandowski – meaning they will definitely be keeping an eye on the latter’s ongoing contract situation.
– Foot Mercato has suggested that PSG could face an exodus in the summer, with Julian Draxler, Layvin Kurzawa, Mauro Icardi, Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria among those who could be forced out. Then there is Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum and Lionel Messi, who could all leave after one season at the Parc des Princes, having endured a disappointing time for varying reasons. As if all of those names aren’t enough, La Gazzetta dello Sport is also hinting that Gianluigi Donnarumma could be heading to Juventus — even if it would be a complicated transfer to complete.
– Jurgen Klopp may have called for patience regarding Mohamed Salah‘s contract situation, but Fabrizio Romano has reported that the Egypt international and his agent have no intention of accepting the terms being offered. Salah’s priority is still to stay at Anfield past his deal that ends in 2023, but talks have broken down since December and it will take an improved offer from the Reds for things to change.
– Barcelona and Juventus are both showing an interest in signing Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo, reports Ekrem Konur. The 26-year-old initially came through Barca’s La Masia academy and has a contract with Benfica that runs until the summer of 2023.
– Wolverhampton Wanderers have offered Romain Saiss a contract extension, according to The Daily Mail, with his deal coming to an end in the summer. The Morocco international has impressed in Bruno Lage’s defence, drawing attention from throughout Europe. Wolves are hoping they will be able to keep Saiss and the player’s representatives are looking to elevate him to one of the club’s highest earners.
