Tuesday’s transfer news: Arsenal target John Stones as Man United hit Bruno Fernandes roadblock
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Your support makes all the difference.After a tepid start to the January transfer window, it's beginning to heat up somewhat, with Manchester United edging towards a massive £60m move for Bruno Fernandes and Arsenal seemingly keen to acquire a new defender with Manchester City's John Stones said to be Mikel Arteta's ideal choice.
Liverpool have already signed Takumi Minamino, while Chelsea have added youngster Bryan Fiabema, but appear to have the potential to add more established names now that their transfer ban has been lifted. Manchester United and Arsenal could compete for Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, who will be available for free this summer, though Atletico Madrid remain primed to add the Uruguayan - possibly this month, to boost their Champions League campaign, where they take on Jurgen Klopp's side next. Chelsea have highlighted their defence as an area to upgrade, leading to rumours of moves for Issa Diop of West Ham and their former centre-back Nathan Ake at Bournemouth, with £40m the likely fee for both players.
Tottenham Hotspur could be ambitious with Jose Mourinho eager to overhaul his squad and now desperate to strengthen in the market due to Harry Kane's long-term injury. Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti could be targeted, but with Ernesto Valverde's departure and the arrival of Quique Setien, Spurs may have to look elsewhere, while one of the stars of last season Matthijs de Ligt has failed to settle at Juventus and has been linked with a loan move back to Ajax, but the season-ending injury to Merih Demiral should end any possibility of that for now.
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United and Chelsea have both been linked with Dinamo and Spain star Dani Olmo. There could also be some big moves across Europe. Real Madrid have been linked with a £68m move for Timo Werner, as well as Flamengo wonder kid Reinier, while Arsenal have turned their eyes to RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano as a long-term target.
Barcelona, Liverpool, Real Madrid and other European giants ranked by revenue in Deloitte’s money list
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United continue to lead the way when it comes to football finances.
The trio remain at the top of the tree for annual revenues, according to Deloitte's latest analysis of 2018-19 figures.
However this year the pack was shuffled, with a new club at No1 and a rejig in the balance of power among London clubs, with one falling out of the top 10 for the first time.
Mourinho blames speculation for Eriksen's poor form
Jose Mourinho has blamed the uncertainty surrounding Christian Eriksen's future for the player's poor Tottenham form.
Eriksen is out of contract this summer and has been strongly linked with a move to Inter Milan.
"If you ask me if this is the best Christian Eriksen, I have to be honest and say no," Mourinho said.
"I'm not an idiot, I've been in football for many years. A player who is in this position, it's normal that a player in this situation doesn't perform at the highest level."
Charlton disappointed at Gallagher's Chelsea return
Charlton manager Lee Bowyer has revealed his disappointment at Chelsea cutting short 19-year-old Conor Gallagher's loan.
“I’m disappointed. I didn’t see this coming if I’m honest which makes it harder to take. At the end of the day, though, we have to move on," said manager Lee Bowyer.
“He’s been a credit and a pleasure to work with. He’s come in and put his body on the line every single day. He’s scored us goals and helped us win games. For someone so young, he’s a great talent to work with and I wish him all the best for his future. He’s come in, learnt and he’s going back a better player than we received and that’s what our job is - to improve players.
“I would like to thank Chelsea for loaning us Conor. The most important thing now is that Conor goes on and progresses in his career and we’ve got to move on and try and find a replacement.”
Milan offered Inter swap deal
In what could become the latest deal between the rivals, Inter Milan will be prepared to send Matias Vecino to AC Milan in exchange for Franck Kessie.
Corriere della Sera believe the Milan giants could do business together with Spurs rejecting the chance to take Vecino back in a deal for Christian Eriksen.
Watford are closing in on the signing of Udinese winger Ignacio Pussetto.
The Hornets will pay around £7m for the 24-year-old.
The Argentine joined from Huracan in 2018 and has scored once in 12 Serie A appearances this season.
The January transfer window threatened to take an unusual turn this weekend with the news that Wolverhampton Wanderers are now in ‘pole position’ to sign Thomas Lemar from Atlético Madrid.
Lemar cost Atlético £51m in the summer of 2018 – that’s over £20m more than Wolves paid for their record signing, Raúl Jiménez – but the France World Cup winner has failed to impress at the Wanda Metropolitano. The forward has scored just four goals in 64 appearances for the Spanish side, failing to hit the target this season. Yet that hasn’t put off the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur– all of whom have been linked to Lemar at various points over the last few months.
However, a report in The Sun this weekend claims that Wolves are now frontrunners to sign Lemar, owning to the close relationship his agent, Jorge Mendes, has with the Midlands club, having previously helped to take Jimenez, Jonny Otto and Diogo Jota to the Molineux.
Denmark captain Simon Kjaer has joined AC Milan on loan from Sevilla for the rest of the season, the Serie A club said on Monday.
The 30-year-old central defender, whose 95 appearances for Denmark include matches at both the 2010 and 2018 World Cups and Euro 2012, spent the first half of the season on loan at Atalanta where he made six appearances in all competitions.
The well-travelled Kjaer has also played for FC Midtjylland, Palermo, VfL Wolfsburg, AS Roma, Lille and Fenerbahce.
Kjaer was signed one day after Milan, a modest tenth in Serie A, announced that they were loaning Mattia Caldara, another central defender, to Atalanta for the rest of the season.
Caldara joined Milan from Juventus in the 2018 close season but has been plagued by injury and made only two senior appearances, neither of them in Serie A.
Denmark captain Simon Kjaer has joined AC Milan on loan from Sevilla for the rest of the season, the Serie A club said on Monday.
The 30-year-old central defender, whose 95 appearances for Denmark include matches at both the 2010 and 2018 World Cups and Euro 2012, spent the first half of the season on loan at Atalanta where he made six appearances in all competitions.
The well-travelled Kjaer has also played for FC Midtjylland, Palermo, VfL Wolfsburg, AS Roma, Lille and Fenerbahce.
Kjaer was signed one day after Milan, a modest tenth in Serie A, announced that they were loaning Mattia Caldara, another central defender, to Atalanta for the rest of the season.
Caldara joined Milan from Juventus in the 2018 close season but has been plagued by injury and made only two senior appearances, neither of them in Serie A.
Christian Eriksen could remain at Spurs for rest of season with Inter Milan reluctant to up ‘derisory’ £8m offer.
Chief football writer Miguel Delaney with all the details below:
DONE DEAL!
Argentinian winger Ignacio Pussetto has become Watford's first signing of the January transfer window.
The 24-year-old has joined the Hornets from Serie A side Udinese on a four-and-a-half year deal for a reported £7million fee.
Pussetto, who can also play as a striker or an attacking midfielder, spent 18 months in Italy, making 50 appearances and scoring five goals.
He has previously played for Huracan in Argentina before his move to Europe in 2018 and has mostly been used as a substitute during his time with Udinese.
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