Make no mistake, football is in transfer mode now. How does we know this? The speculation is flowing like a river, and England’s imminent fixtures are taking a back seat.
Harry Kane might have greeted international colleagues past and present with a Cliff Richard-style gold disc thank-you gesture for his own achievements (!) but he’s still not leaving Manchester United, who have deemed it too expensive, and too much of a pain to get Charlie Kane and Daniel Levy in the room together.
So that leaves lots of other strikers with Victor Osimhen of Napoli – just the £150m – and the Atalanta forward Rasmus Højlund – just the £50m. Plus, we don’t know who will be writing the cheque what with takeover speculation drumming along in the background.
Tottenham and United meanwhile are both set on goalie David Raya, for whom Brentford have set a public price of £40m. Spurs won’t pay it, but will United?
Meanwhile, there’s a big noise coming out of Newcastle that Internazionale’s outstanding Nicolò Barella might be joining their midfield unit. There he will be joined by James Maddison to allow Bruno Guimarães a freer role, is the word though those aboard the tactics truck don’t quite see the logic of that. For an offer of £50m, Inter say Barella – who is playing at the Nations League finals – is going nowhere while Maddison still favours a London-centric move. Rennes’ French midfielder Désiré Doué is also a Toon target but as an 18-year-old, he’s one to be put on the backburner, maybe loaned out as with Yankuba Minteh this week.
Kai Havertz, willowy, skilful, creative, not without his moments but not quite at the top level: can anyone think of a more Arsenal player? Or at least an Arsenal player of the late-Wenger years? Mikel Arteta, a Wenger pupil, wishes to add Havertz to his own collection of willowy, skilful, creative No 10-like players – and that includes Emile Smith Rowe, staying despite links with Aston Villa. And for £70m, Chelsea, keen to cash out, will let Havertz go.
Declan Rice-watch: only Arsenal are in the market now, it’s whether they can reach a price with West Ham. Rúben Neves, who this column was fairly sure was a Barcelona player the other week, is also linked with Arsenal; his agent, Jorge Mendes, is on manoeuvres to sell his current star client.
Arsenal and Chelsea meanwhile are set to face each other down for the services of Moises Caicedo, who Brighton will sell and also welcome an auction for. Bayern Munich, who appear to be linked with just about everyone as they begin das reboot, have also entered the mix. Another Brighton player on the market is forgotten goalie Robert Sánchez, who Chelsea fancy. Plenty of Premier League clubs need a new keeper this summer.
Tammy Abraham was looking like a return to Aston Villa but, with the deal all but complete, it’s now off, as the striker suffered an ACL injury on the final day of Roma’s Serie A season. That’s a rough one, and get well soon, Tammy.
And, best wishes to the following, each released by Newcastle, a list led by Matty Longstaff and Ciaran Clark: Harry Barclay, Niall Brookwell, Dan Langley, Joe Oliver, Josh Stewart, Isaac Westendorf. Let’s hope they can all find new homes soon. Transfers aren’t just for the megastars.
