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The latest on free agents and potential transfers

The market remains open for free agents like Adrien Rabiot, who has again said no to Turkish opportunities like Galatasaray in the last 24 hours. There have been many reports, but the fact remains that Rabiot has no plans to go to Turkey as he is waiting for an opportunity in one of the top five leagues.

As of today, Rabiot is also still not opening the doors to clubs from Saudi Arabia either, so Europe remains his priority, and let’s see what happens on that front in the next days.

Meanwhile, another free agent is Memphis Depay and he is expected to complete a move to Corinthians on a two-year deal in the coming days. They are preparing all the documents and finalising the details, then Depay to Corinthians should be a ‘here we go’.

Negotiations are also ongoing over Anthony Martial and a possible move to Flamengo on a free transfer. There’s an interest from Martial, and it now depends on the financial final proposal to get it done. Pedro injured his ACL and Flamengo need a striker, so they immediately got in touch with Martial’s camp to discuss terms. Talks continue.

What’s going on at Chelsea?

There have been many reports about the ownership situation at Chelsea. It’s not really my area, as you know I’m focused on transfers, but what’s being claimed is that there is a risk of a ‘civil war’ between owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali. So, what does it mean?

It’s a tense situation as it’s being reported that Boehly and Eghbali both want to buy out the other’s stake in the club to take full ownership. We’ll see how it develops, and I don’t have any fresh information on this issue, but what I can clarify is that on the technical side at Chelsea, the mission remains the same.

The new Chelsea owners have put together a new board, and they are still working on finding the best young talents as we’ve seen from the last few years, with players like Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez, as we saw meeting at international level in the game between Brazil and Ecuador, they are the future of Chelsea, and for now the ownership situation is not affecting the transfer strategy or technical project at Stamford Bridge.

So, for today the Chelsea project is absolutely not changing – they are working on the best talents for a long-term project, for the present and future, but of course if this changes I will keep you updated.

Frenkie de Jong linked with Manchester United again

Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona

We once again this summer had many stories about Frenkie de Jong’s future at Barcelona, and there were new links with Manchester United, as we’ve so often seen before.

The latest we’ve heard is that Man United made some contact with De Jong during a moment when they weren’t so sure if the Manuel Ugarte deal was going to happen. However, I can tell you that this summer, the reality is that there was absolutely nothing.

There was zero between De Jong and Man United, because the reality is that De Jong never wanted to leave Barcelona. De Jong is fully focused on Barcelona, and it’s also important to note that he’s too expensive for Man United – his salary is very high and so it was something impossible for United this summer.

We’ll see what happens in the future, but this summer it was also the case that United wanted a different kind of midfielder anyway, more of a defensive midfielder than De Jong. Ugarte was the only option, their top target, and so there was never any possibility to go for De Jong – between United, Ten Hag, De Jong, the player’s agents, there was absolutely zero.

Aurelien Tchouameni Real Madrid exit looks unlikely

Aurelian Tchouameni is a player we know has had admirers in the Premier League in the past before he ended up at Real Madrid, but there have once again been reports about possible interest from Arsenal and Liverpool for summer 2025, so I wanted to clarify something here.

It’s true that two years ago Tchouameni had the opportunity to join Liverpool before then going to Real Madrid. Jurgen Klopp was calling the player on a daily basis, trying to change his mind, but the Frenchman was clear that he only wanted to go to Real Madrid.

As for now, I can guarantee that nothing has changed between Tchouameni and Real Madrid – their relationship is fantastic. Tchouameni is very happy at Real Madrid, and only focused on Real Madrid. Also Real Madrid, the president, manager Carlo Ancelotti, the technical staff, they all love Tchouameni. From what I hear he’s a really professional guy, and popular with his teammates in the dressing room.

So, forget about rumours about Tchouameni – as of now, there is no expectation for him to leave. Of course I can’t predict what can happen in the future, but at the moment the intension is absolutely for Tchouameni and Real Madrid to continue together.

Bayern considered Inter left-back

Federico Dimarco scored a fantastic goal for Italy in their win over France, and in general he continues to be a strong performer for his country, as well as for his club Inter Milan. Although he has a strong relationship with Inter, I can also reveal there as interest in him earlier in the summer.

Although there was never a negotiation, Bayern Munich discussed internally the possibility of moving for Dimarco as they considered replacements at left-back in case Alphonso Davies were to leave the club amid the interest from Real Madrid.

Dimarco was one of the names discussed by Bayern, though not the only one, he was one of three names, but they never ended up making contact with Inter because Davies ended up staying, and also because Dimarco was never going to leave Inter. Their relationship is really strong, they absolutely want to continue together.

Still, Bayern thought about this possibility, and let’s see if they look into it again depending on what happens with Davies next summer. It’s important, however, to say that from Dimarco and Inter’s perspective, there is absolutely no intention to part ways.

The latest on Jamal Musiala’s future

We continue to see stories about Jamal Musiala, which is normal given his superb performances and his current contract situation at Bayern Munich, with his deal due to expire in 2026.

Bayern have been pushing for months to extend Musiala’s contract and this remain one of their main missions. Bayern will insist again with a big proposal; he’s in the list of all the top European clubs, this is very normal, but it all depends on what happens with Bayern in talks.

I can also confirm some other Bayern reports, as Bild have claimed Federico Chiesa was an option for them earlier in the summer, before he ended up joining Liverpool.

Bayern were offered this possibility in June but their top target was always a different kind of player like Olise. Different player, different skills. They appreciated Chiesa but they were not looking for that kind of player.

Thoughts on England as Lee Carsley opens with win

Finally, England had a convincing 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland yesterday, with Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scoring the goals.

Overall I thought it was a very good performance. “Impressed” would probably be a bit too much, as it was a normal game with zero pressure, but still a good performance for sure.

Declan Rice’s development has been great this year, he’s progressed really well at Arsenal and for sure he’s one of the best midfielders around now. He took his goal well and continues to be a key player for England.

On Lee Carsley, I still think it’s a very open race for the manager’s job and nothing is decided yet for the permanent job.

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