Transfer Talk: Barcelona eye Dortmund’s Moukoko as Real Madrid near Endrick deal
With just a month remaining before the opening of the January transfer window, there’s plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
Barcelona could move for Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko after missing out on talented Brazilian youngster Endrick, according to Diario Sport.
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain were also vying to sign the 16-year-old Endrick but, as sources told ESPN, Real Madrid have agreed on a deal for the Palmeiras striker to sign a five-year contract that will start in July 2024. The deal is expected to be worth €72 million (including €60m for the release clause) but he will only be able to join Los Blancos after he has turned 18.
Barcelona backed out of the deal when they found out the finances that would be required, considering the move too much of a high risk at an economically difficult time for the club.
Moukoko, on the other hand, will be a free agent when his Dortmund contract expires at the end of this season. At 18, he’s already a key figure for the Bundesliga side and was part of Germany‘s World Cup squad in Qatar.
The Blaugrana have been told that Moukoko wants to either renew his contract to stay with Dortmund or head to Camp Nou — as long as there are guarantees of playing time. Chelsea are among the clubs interested in him as well. However, Barcelona could look to sign a more senior forward due to the number of young players already in their squad.
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12.49 GMT: Manchester United are working on a deal to sign Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer on a free transfer next summer, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
Sommer is set to leave Borussia Monchengladbach when his contract expires at the end of the season. United are already looking at the possibility of adding the 33-year-old to Erik ten Hag’s squad and will be able to make contact with his representatives from Jan. 1.
Ten Hag is looking to refresh the goalkeeping department ahead of next season. Martin Dubravka, signed on loan in the last summer window, is expected to return to Newcastle at the end of the campaign having made just one first team appearance at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Dean Henderson, who is spending the season on loan at Nottingham Forest, is due back at United in the summer after the club refused to include a buy clause in his temporary move to the City Ground.
Interest in Sommer, who was part of the Switzerland squad that reached the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, will raise further doubts about David De Gea‘s long-term future.
De Gea has been first-choice goalkeeper under Ten Hag this season but sources have told ESPN that United are yet to open talks over a new contract. The Spaniard’s contract runs until the end of the season and the club have an option to extend it by another 12 months until the summer of 2024.
11.55 GMT: AC Milan have given forward Rafael Leao the ultimatum of either signing a new contract by the end of January or be transferred, according to Calciomercato.
Leao was Serie A’s player of the year last season as the Rossoneri claimed their first league title in 11 years. This term, he had scored seven goals before coming to the Qatar World Cup, where he has scored twice as a late substitute for Portugal.
The 23-year-old has a contract at San Siro until 2024, but Milan do not want to risk losing him on a free transfer at the end of next season as they have done in recent years with key players such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Hakan Calhanoglu and Franck Kessie.
Chelsea are among a host of top European clubs who hold an interest in Leao, who provided 11 goals and 10 assists in 35 Serie A games during last season’s Scudetto-winning campaign.
Therefore, the club aims to have final talks with Leao’s representatives next month in order to settle their young star’s future, one way or another.
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11.04 GMT: Real Madrid’s move to sign Palmeiras’ teenage forward Endrick is being held up by an issue registering the deal with FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS), Marca reports.
According to the newspaper, there was “a setback” when the parties tried to introduce the details into TMS — the online system where an international transfer has to be registered for a player to receive international clearance — which must now be resolved before the rest of the formalities can be dealt with.
Marca reports that FIFA are “analysing the situation” as they pay particular attention to transfers involving minors. Endrick is not due to move until he turns 18 in 2024 in a deal which sources have told ESPN Brazil is worth €72m.
10.18 GMT: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he will assess the full extent of Gabriel Jesus‘ injury before deciding whether to dip into the transfer market in January.
Jesus, 25, has been a key player for the Gunners since signing from Manchester City in the summer. He has scored five Premier League goals to help send Arsenal to the top of the Premier League table, with a five-point cushion on City.
But the striker suffered a knee injury on World Cup duty with Brazil, which reportedly could rule him out for three months and potential derail the club’s title bid.
“What it affects is who we are as a team because he gives us so much,” Arteta said after Arsenal’s 3-0 friendly win over Lyon on Thursday. “So what we can do after that, when we know the timescale [of his recovery] and when we can have him back, we will look at the options and try to make the right decision.”
09.30 GMT: Marca reports that Real Madrid won’t be signing any players in January, despite being linked with AC Milan’s Rafael Leao, Cody Gakpo of PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United teenager Alejandro Garnacho.
Super agent Jorge Mendes has offered Leao to Los Blancos on several occasions, while a deal for Garnacho has been proposed too. Both those exciting young players are out of contract in the summer, meaning a cut-priced deal could possibly be arranged in January.
Gakpo has a deal until 2026, but his stock is on the rise after superb performances for Netherlands at the World Cup.
08.43 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi has said he is confident Lionel Messi will stay at the club and expressed his interest in signing Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford on a free transfer.
Messi’s contract at PSG runs out next June and reports have linked the Argentina captain with a move to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, although sources told ESPN last month that he had not agreed a deal to join them.
The 35-year-old could trigger a one-year extension at PSG as part of his present deal, and al-Khelaifi said the forward was “happy” at the Parc des Princes and “definitely” wanted to stay for longer.
08.00 GMT: AC Milan are ready to make an opening offer to Chelsea for forward Hakim Ziyech, reports Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Ziyech, 29, has impressed for Morocco at the World Cup, helping the North Africans reach the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.
However, he is out of favour at Chelsea and the Premier League club could be ready to take advantage of his impressive displays when the transfer market reopens in January.
Milan hope to be able to sign Ziyech on loan with an option for a permanent deal worth €15m at the end of the season, though the player would have to take a sizeable cut in his wages for the deal to happen.
— Borussia Monchengladbach see Lorient goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo as a replacement for Yann Sommer if he leaves in the summer, according to Sky Sports Deutschland. Sources told ESPN that Manchester United are keen to sign Sommer on a free transfer when his contract expires. United are expected to make contact with the Switzerland international’s representatives on Jan. 1, when talks can open over a precontract agreement.
– Lille, Torino and Fiorentina are all showing interest in Angers‘ Azzedine Ounahi, according to Calciomercato. The Morocco midfielder has been one of the biggest revelations of the World Cup, having only moved to Ligue 1 from the third tier of French football in July 2021, with clubs now monitoring his situation.
– Internazionale and Juventus are interested in signing Chris Smalling, with the centre-back’s AS Roma contract set to end in the summer of 2023, reports Sky Sports Italia. Roma want the Englishman to stay but will not get caught up in a financial battle to make it happen, with their offer being a two-year deal on less than the €3.5m per season he is currently receiving.
– English clubs are among those looking at St. Mirren midfielder Keanu Baccus after his impressive performances for Australia during the World Cup, according to Fabrizio Romano. There is a chance the 24-year-old could leave the Scottish side in 2023 with various clubs keeping an eye on him.
– Celtic and Wolfsburg are interested in Ferencvaros midfielder Aissa Laidouni following his eye-catching displays for Tunisia at the World Cup, reports Foot Mercato. The Hungarian side are willing to let Laidouni leave for €4m, with the player himself hoping for a move to the Premier League or the Bundesliga.