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With a week of the summer window left to run, Arsenal are finally wrapping up a deal for Real Sociedad midfielder after a deal worth up to £33.5million was agreed. The Spain international has flown to London to undergo a medical and signed a five-year contract. The Gunners are then being tipped to launch a bid for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, while Fabio Vieira is heading back to Porto on loan.
Chelsea are busy shipping out players, most notably Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell, and could facilitate Osimhen’s Naples exit after reportedly agreeing to sell Romelu Lukaku to the Italian side for £25m. Manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed the club are interested in signing a recognised goalscorer, and could turn to Osimhen themselves.
Manchester United, meanwhile, are closing in on a deal for Manuel Ugarte after further talks with Paris Saint-Germain. The midfielder is expected to join on a loan-to-buy deal, and should be joined by Mail wonderkid Sekou Kone at Old Trafford. Jadon Sancho is in talks over a move to Juventus. Follow all the latest news, gossip and rumours including updates on Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham, Crystal Palace and more below!
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Manchester United are currently gearing up to face Brighton in the Premier League, and ahead of kick-off Erik ten Hag was asked by Jadon Sancho – not in the squad today – and if he could make further signings before the transfer deadline.
He told TNT Sports: “[Sancho] is here, but I had a choice to make. We had some issues, so we needed a full squad and he is one of them.
“He has to compete for his position and day-to-day, we’ll have a look. In the squad, we need double in every position as it will be a long season.”
He added: “We will see [about further signings]. We always have to look to get better, but it has to be the right options.”
Armando Broja’s loan move to Ipswich is in danger of collapsing.
According to the Guardian, Ipswich are already looking at alternative options as they struggle to reach an agreement with the Chelsea striker.
Everton have been linked with interest in Broja.
Manuel Ugarte’s move to Manchester United is gathering pace.
The midfielder is not in Paris Saint-Germain’s matchday squad for the Ligue 1 clash with Montpellier.
United are closing in on a deal to sign Manuel Ugarte on a season-long loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain, with an obligation to make the move permanent. A loan move, rather than a straight permanent move, means Scott McTominay will not have to be sold this summer, but the club remain open to offers for ageing pair Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.
Ugarte is understood to be desperate to move Old Trafford after falling out of favour during his first season with PSG.
The strange tales of the transfer market has seen Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omorodion come within hours of joining Chelsea… and is now part-owned by Porto for less than half the price.
An 11th-hour collapse saw Chelsea miss out Omorodion, having agreed a fee of around £35m, after chasing the youngster for months. They then moved to Joao Felix in a move expensive move.
But a week later, Omorodion is a new Porto player on part-ownership deal.
As Fabrizio Romano details:
A coup for Porto president Andre Villas-Boas, formerly Chelsea manager of course.
One transfer target which has been constant all transfer window is Victor Osimhen.
With Napoli finally agreeing a deal to sign Romelu Lukaku, will Osimhen now leave Naples before the transfer deadline next week?
Corriere dello Sport says the Gunners are weighing up a late move for Osimhen as they lack a reliable out-and-out striker.
Chelsea remain interested in the Nigerian striker and manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed signing a new striker is still the plan before Friday’s deadline.
Who will win that battle?
Juventus have held talks with Jadon Sancho’s camp about signing the Manchester United winger.
United are said by Sky Sports to be open to letting Sancho leave but Juve are still exploring what a transfer would look like.
The Serie A giants have also been linked with Raheem Sterling as they seek a replacement for Federico Chiesa, who is being touted for a move to Barcelona.
In Real Sociedad’s pre-game press conference yesterday, coach Imanol Alguacil gave his thoughts on Mikel Merino’s transfer to Arsenal.
The midfielder was pictured saying his goodbyes to the Sociedad squad earlier today ahead of flying into London for a medical.
“I only have words of gratitude for Merino,” he said.
“A player like no other. A cup, five years qualifying for Europe and a brutal performance. Thank you and now let’s get a new Merino.”
Ivan Toney’s future at Brentford remains “up in the air”, according to manager Thomas Frank.
The England striker was omitted from the squad for last weekend’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace because of transfer interest and has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli.
Frank declined to provide an update on negotiations with one week left in the transfer window and insists Toney could be involved in Sunday’s trip to Liverpool.
When asked if the 28-year-old will be in action at Anfield, Frank replied: “Who knows? Let’s see on Sunday what will happen.
“Ivan trained the whole week. Trained with good attitude in every aspect. He could be involved, he could not be involved.
“He could be here after the 30th and he could not be here. Basically everything is up in the air. I’ve said the whole time that if he’s here I’m very happy, if he’s not here then I’m happy on his behalf.”
Read more here!
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says the club could sign another new striker before next week’s transfer deadline.
The club have been heavily linked with a move for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen as the side lacks a recognised goalscorer. Marc Guiu led the line on Thursday night for the 2-0 win over Servette in the Conference League and missed a golden chance to open his account for the club early in the second half.
And asked about some Chelsea fans thinking the club needs to sign a No9, Maresca said: “Because of Marc? I love Marc. You know why I love Marc? Because the way he works tonight, he is doing exactly the same every day, running behind everyone and this is deserving of his chances.
“At the end, he is not scoring but, as I said, if we have [the] chance to bring a No9 that can help us and make the difference, we are going to try. Otherwise, we are okay.
“We don’t need to sign players just for [the sake of] signing players. If we sign players that they are going to help us to improve, for sure we need players. Otherwise, we are happy in the way we are.”
Read more here!
Mikel Merino has said his goodbyes to Real Sociedad team-mates and staff at the club’s training ground and flown to London to finalise a move to Arsenal.
The midfielder will undergo a medical today before putting pen to paper on a five-year deal.
Mikel Arteta has his man.
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