As far as transfer strategies go, Newcastle snatching Rúben Neves on a two-year loan deal would be a shrewd if controversial move. The Portugal midfielder has only just left Wolves after a seven-year shift with the ink barely dry on his £47m contract with Al-Hilal in the Saudi Professional League. It’s not that Eddie Howe has convinced the Saudi club to tear up the legal document. He may not have to; both Newcastle and Al-Hilal are owned by PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.
The Magpies are also closing in on a move for Milan’s Sandro Tonali, the 23-year-old midfielder with a £60m price tag. Negotiations stalled after an initial £50m bid was rejected but the move now looks secure and would match the club’s record signing of Alexander Isak, who joined from Real Sociedad last season. Newcastle could bolster their Champions League squad further still with a move for Sadio Mané, who has been deemed surplus to requirements by Bayern Munich.
Chelsea were also in the hunt for Tonali, with the London club stuck at the centre of a transfer vortex with numerous potential deals swirling around them. Mauricio Pochettino is offloading a ton of top talent with Mateo Kovacic – who is on the verge of joining Manchester City in a deal worth £30m – the latest player out the exit door alongside N’Golo Kanté, who has agreed to join Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia for silly money once his contract expires next week. If the Neves story is anything to go by, though, we could yet see the World Cup winner back in the Premier League.
Kovacic has some hefty shoes to fill as Ilkay Gündogan, City’s treble winning captain, is off to Barcelona on a free transfer. The 32-year-old has been sensational, and his form in the later part of the season suggested he still has more to offer. He’ll join the Spanish champions on a three-year deal, a season more than City were offering. Talking of big shoes to fill – Borussia Dortmund are lining up Conor Gallagher as a replacement for Jude Bellingham, who signed with Real Madrid last week.
Kai Havertz’s troubled three-year stay at Stamford Bridge appears to be over after Arsenal agreed to part with £60m for the German striker who scored just the nine goals from 47 games for the Blues last campaign. Mikel Arteta isn’t done there, though. He’s hunting down the signature of Declan Rice, the West Ham captain who is also on Manchester United’s radar.
Arsenal’s second bid – worth a whopping £90m – was rejected and the Red Devils are ready to pounce, having thrown Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay on the table. Manchester City could also enter the race, seeing United’s offer and raising them Kalvin Phillips as part of the deal.
