Bundesliga
Real Madrid’s plan for signing Haaland, renewing Ramos’ contract
Real Madrid have a clear strategy to strengthen their squad for next season, starting with signing Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland as their first-choice striker and renewing club captain Sergio Ramos’ contract for two additional years. Erling Haaland In addition to interest from the Premier League, Real Madrid are also looking towards Haaland to solve their goalscoring problems. Luka Jovic’s relative failure to perform at the Santiago Bernabeu meant that the young striker is now on loan at Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, where he started well, scoring thrice in five games. And Jovic could be the answer in Madrid’s pursuit of Haaland – instead of paying 100m Euros or more, Madrid are considering offering Jovic + cash to Dortmund to sign the player. We have previously discussed Dortm...
Club official confirms that Chelsea & Liverpool have missed out on major target
RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano has agreed a deal to join Bayern Munich. According to Fabrizio Romano, the 22-year-old will complete a move to the reigning Bundesliga champions this summer. Salihamidzic just confirmed to Bild that Dayot Upamecano has reached an agreement with Bayern Münich on personal terms: “I can confirm, we’re very happy!” 🔴 The deal will be signed and completed in the coming months, when the release clause [€42.5m] will be paid to RB Leipzig. — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 12, 2021 SL View Upamecano has been one of the most sought-after defenders in Europe following his impressive performances for Leipzig over the past couple of years. The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea, while Manchester United and ...
Man Utd manager confirms Haaland interest, faces ‘serious’ competition from Chelsea
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke to Norwegian outlet VG at length, and part of the conversation turned towards Erling Haaland and the time the two spent together at Molde. Solksjaer said: “Erling will have a fantastic career. I’m following Erling. I’ve always said that. “Was it 18 months we had together or something? Almost two years, maybe. A wonderful time. He will definitely have a great career for both Norway and his club. “He is doing incredibly well for Dortmund, so we’ll see where he ends up. As a Norwegian and someone who has worked with him, it is of course fun that he does so well. “We will do what we can to become a better team, then he will do what he can to become a better player. Where does he end up? I do not want to say anything other than that, that I w...
With Chelsea closing in on Boateng, who will Bayern Munich sign in defence?
Chelsea are close to signing Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng on a free transfer this summer and that could pave the way for the German champions to bring in a replacement. The Bavarian giants celebrated the second treble in their history last season with Boateng and David Alaba making up their central defence, but both players appear set to head for the exit door in four months’ time. There has been a complete breakdown in contract talks with Alaba and CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently confirmed that the Austrian will leave the club when his deal expires at the end of June. Boateng is in a similar contract situation and the indications are that he could leave alongside his defensive partner, with the Blues said to have agreed a deal in principle with his agent to sign him this summe...
Bielsa lines up an exciting target for Leeds…could be another transfer masterstroke
According to reports from Juve Live, Marcelo Bielsa has identified Douglas Costa as the ideal replacement for Raphinha in case he leaves the club in the summer. Raphinha’s situation Leeds signed Raphinha during the summer transfer window from Rennes for a fee of around £17 million. The jet-heeled winger has dazzled in the Premier League, with four goals and four assists to his name already. He was sensational against Crystal Palace in the last game and earned rave reviews from the UK press. Raphinha v Crystal Palace: 76 touches40/53 succ. passes20 sprints (🌟 most on pitch)18/27 final third passes18 pressures9 progressive ball carries9 pen box touches4 shots2 on-target4 duels won1 tackle won1 nutmeg 🔥1 big chance created Phenomenal. Poor Gary Cahill. pic.twitter.c...
Forget about it – Upamecano will not go to Chelsea or Liverpool
At the end of the 2021 January transfer window, Sky Sports did an exclusive interview with Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge about their pursuit of RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano. That is where Rummenigge confirmed that David Alaba was definitely leaving and that Bayern were one of three clubs, alongside Liverpool and Chelsea, that were interested in Upamecano. That is where all the chatter in the last week about Chelsea and Liverpool being interested in Upamecano comes from although, to be fair, the defender has been kept in the news by websites (that includes us), pundits, media and his agent, all doing a fantastic job of getting us to discuss where he’ll go this summer. Upamecano departure confirmed Upamecano’s departure is all but confirmed, with Sky (last week) and Telefoot (...
Arsenal clearout, last-ditch Liverpool – the best of January transfers across Europe
It’s been a rather quiet January transfer window. Previous years have seen the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk make big money moves, but nothing of that magnitude happened this time around. Nonetheless, while there wasn’t a headline-making move, there were still some exciting deals being made. Here’s a look at the best signings of the 2021 January transfer window. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal to Fenerbahce, free transfer) Ozil in his first training session at Fenerbahce Once one of the world’s best playmakers, Mesut Ozil’s time at the Emirates had gone sour, having been left out of Mikel Arteta’s 25-man squad back in October. Sitting on a contract estimated to be worth £350k-a-week, the World Cup winner couldn’t be left to sit in the reserves much longer. Along came Fenerbahce, who off...
Liverpool complete loan deal for Schalke defender
Liverpool have completed the deadline-day signing of Ozan Kabak from Schalke, subject to international clearance. The 20-year-old defender will move to Anfield on loan until the end of the season, with the Reds having the option to make the move permanent in the summer for a fee of £18 million ($25m). Kabak, a Turkey international who moved to Schalke from Stuttgart in 2019, will be the first of two signings on a busy day on Merseyside. He will be joined by Preston centre-back Ben Davies, who finalised his switch earlier on Monday. Goal understands that Liverpool will pay an initial loan fee of around £1m ($1.4m) for Kabak, while the deal for Davies could be worth in excess of £1.6m, should all performance-related add-ons be triggered. The Reds had been insistent that it would be a quiet w...
Shkodran Mustafi joins Schalke from Arsenal
Arsenal’s squad trimming has continued, with Shkodran Mustafi joining Schalke on a deal until the end of the season. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said prior to the January transfer window that he was keen to trim some flab from his squad. Mesut Ozil has been the highest-profile departure, with the former Germany international joining Fenerbahce and in so doing the club cleared a sizeable chunk of wages from the monthly bill. Sokratis Papastathopoulos joined Olympiakos earlier this month after being released from his contract, William Saliba, Sead Kolasinac and Matt Smith have left on loan, while Matt Macey joined Hibernian on a permanent basis. World Cup winner Mustafi emerged as a possible departure towards the end of January, and he was linked with a shock move to Liverpool. Premier League ...
Report: Agent confirms that Man Utd and Liverpool target is close to deciding on his future
RB Leipzig star Dayot Upamecano’s future appears to be moving closer to a resolution. Manchester United and Liverpool have both been linked with the centre-back, while Bayern Munich have been pushing hard to secure his services. However, according to German football reporter Florian Plettenberg, the player’s agent has confirmed that a deal is close to being agreed. The French defender is available for just £38 million this summer due to a release clause in his contract. SL View Upamecano’s impressive performances for Leipzig have understandably drawn admiring glances from Europe’s top clubs. Both United and Liverpool have been linked with the 22-year-old, although Bayern appear to have stolen a march on the Premier League duo. The defender’s representatives held talks with the German giant...
Transfer News: Bayer Leverkusen sign young Dutch right back from Celtic
Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen have completed the signing of Dutch right back Jeremie Frimpong from Celtic. The 20-year-old links up with Die Werkself on a four-year deal for a reported fee of £11.5 million, which represents a substantial profit on the initial £300,000 that Celtic paid for him two years ago. Frimpong arrived at Celtic Park from Manchester City in 2019 and has enjoyed a successful stint with the Scottish giants, making his first-team breakthrough under manager Neil Lennon and going on to amass over 50 appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys. The move to Leverkusen represents the next step in the youngster’s very exciting career with the opportunity of first-team football in the Bundesliga an opportunity too good to turn down. On Tuesday, Lennon comm...
Chelsea linked with big summer move, swap deal could smooth the path – opinion
Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as Chelsea manager has already sparked plenty of talk about future transfer targets. The 47-year-old was officially confirmed as Frank Lampard’s replacement yesterday, and he will now set about trying to revive the club’s fortunes. According to journalist Sami Mokbel, Tuchel will give Chelsea’s homegrown players the chance to shine over the coming weeks. However, the club remains keen to strengthen its squad and Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland is their number one target. SL View Former Norway international forward Jan Aage Fjortoft recently told Chelsea to forget about signing the 20-year-old this summer, but the landscape may now have changed. It is debatable whether working under Lampard would have been appealing to Haaland, but the same could n...
