Barcelona want a Manchester City star in exchange for Frenkie de Jong and an Aston Villa starlet while a Liverpool favourite faces a choice between Italy and Spain.
The German press claim Robert Lewandowski’s desire to Bayern Munich this summer is linked to a summer arrival to the Premier League. And the result of the Ligue 1 relegation playoff on Thursday night could save Crystal Palace ’s owners €20m.
Here is a roundup of the European media this summer.
Barcelona are getting busy
The Catalan club’s huge debts mean they have to be clever in the transfer market.
RMC Sport reports that Pep Guardiola’s City want their Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong this summer and Barcelona have responded by saying they want Bernardo Silva as part of the deal. Barcelona are also set to sign Milan’s Franck Kessie on a free transfer after the Ivory Coast midfielder told Canal+ Sport Africa that he would not renew his contract at the new Serie A champions.
“There is one month left on my contract but an extension is impossible,” he said. “I came here for a project of five years, we have got back into the Champions League and won the title. I think it is the best way to leave.”
Xavi’s club also want Carney Chukwuemeka
The England youth international made 16 first-team appearances for Villa this season and has made two Premier League starts. But Spanish radio station SER claims Barcelona are interested in signing the 18-year-old midfielder and Barcelona staff Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff have already met his agent.
But Barcelona have now accepted that Ousmane Dembele will not sign a new contract and will join PSG on a free transfer.
Divock Origi is a wanted man
The Liverpool striker is out of contract after the Champions League final and his representatives have been talking to Milan for months without signing a deal. Now Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Unai Emery’s Villareal have offered the Belgian a four-year deal worth €4.5m a year - more than the €4m a year on offer at the San Siro.
But the Italian sports daily claims Origi would prefer to play in the Champions League rather than earn more in La Liga. Milan are also trying to do a deal for Sassuolo’s Italy striker Gianluca Scamacca or former West Ham star Marko Arnautovic, now at Bologna, while Zlatan Ibrahmimovic will also be offered a new deal even though he will not return until next year after undergoing knee surgery.
Erling Haaland is the reason Lewandowski wants to leave Bayern Munich
The Norwegian has agreed to join Manchester City but not before the German champions tried to sign the former Borussia Dortmund star. And according to Bild, this “obsession” with Haaland infuriated the Pole so much he decided to quit the club even though he has a year left on his contract.
The German newspaper quotes Lewandowski telling close friends: “"When your boss starts thinking about replacing you, it's best to leave.” And his agent Pini Zahavi told Bild: “In October I met with Bayern and got no response on the matter, only silence. At the end of the meeting, I was told that if I brought in a proposal of 120 million euros, we could talk about leaving. Precisely the amount it would cost to hire Haaland, including all commissions.”
Palace owners looking to invest in St Etienne
Americans David Blitzer and Josh Harris were involved in a failed recent consortium which tried to buy Chelsea. Now L’Equipe reports the two are ready to invest €100m in Les Verts IF they win their relegation playoff against Auxerre on Thursday night. St Etienne finished 18th in Ligue 1 this season. If they are relegated, the offer will be reduced to €80m.
