Friday's transfer news, rumours and deals as United eye Rabiot and City block Sane bid
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and more are set to be busy in the summer transfer window.
Arsenal are set to push on with their first signing of the summer with a bid for Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser set to be lodged following this week’s Europa League final. A new centre-back is high on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s priority list at United with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Leicester’s Harry Maguire both options. Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka is another on the Norwegian’s radar.
It won’t just be incomings at Old Trafford, however, with Paul Pogba a high-profile target for Real Madrid and Alexis Sanchez on his way out with Inter Milan and Juventus fighting it out for his signature – if he drops his wage demands. And Liverpool could be active too as they look to go one better after failing to win the Premier League title by just a single point. Finally, Chelsea face an uncertain summer due to their current transfer ban, but one thing they know is that Eden Hazard will be heading for the exit after expressing his desire to join Real Madrid.
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Good morning and welcome to today's Independent transfer live blog.
The summer window is upon us with the Premier League’s biggest clubs set to spend, spend, spend as the sales re-open.
We'll bring you all the latest news plus all the done deals and the juiciest gossip throughout the day right here so don't touch that dial.
We start this morning with the latest at Manchester United, so without further ado, off we go.
We start this morning with Manchester Unite, who are looking to press on with Ole Gunnar Solskjer's squad revamp now that their season is over and done with.
With no Champions League football next season, his summer signings may not be of the calibre we've seen in recent years as United struggle to talk the world's best players into heading to Old Trafford.
But one rather talented player on their radar is the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who is nearing a free transfer from the club this summer after refusing to sign a new contract. Reports in Spain suggest that not only are United in the running to sign Rabiot, but Mundo Deportivo says they are the frontrunners to land the 24-year-old midfielder when he becomes a free agent on 1 July.
With Arsenal and Liverpool also linked along with Barcelona, this could be quote the statement from United if they can win the race for his signature.
Some news in from Italy, where Inter Milan have confirmed Luciano Spalletti's replacement as head coach.
As expected, it's the former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, who is understood to have signed a three-year contract with the Serie A club to secure his return to football a year after being sacked by the Blues.
Follow his appointment as Inter manager, here's what Antonio Conte had to say:
"A new chapter in my life is beginning, I'm really excited.
"Through my work, I'll try to repay all of the trust that the president and directors have placed in me.
"I have chosen Inter because of the club it is, because of the project's sound basis and how ambitious it is. Because of Inter's history.
"I was struck by the club's transparency and the desire to bring Inter back to where it belongs."
Real Madrid will press on with their interest in Eden Hazard by upping their transfer offer following his public admission that he is looking to leave Chelsea.
The forward issued a come-and-get-me plea to Madrid following his man of the match performance in the Europa League final, admitting that his time at Chelsea had come to an end.
Madrid were previously keen to limit their offer to £88m for the Belgian, but The Telegraph reports that the Spanish club will up that offer to £106m to try and force Chelsea down from their stubborn £120m+ valuation.
While United are looking at potential incomings, one player strongly linked with the Old Trafford exit is Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian striker is wanted by Inter Milan, whose appointment of Anotnio Conte this morning will trigger their summer spending.
According to The Times, United are willing to let the 26-year-old forward leave the club this summer after he lost his place in the first team to Marcus Rashford, but they have slapped a hefty £80m price tag on his shoulder that would come as a £5m profit on what the club paid Everton for him.
Manchester City are looking at ways to strengthen what is arguably the strongest Premier League squad ever seen, but one player whose future has come under heavy scrutiny is Leroy Sane.
Bayern Munich have publicly declared they have opened negotiations with City to try and sign the Germany international, who has had to play second fiddle to Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva this season.
But the Guardian reports that Bayern have seen a £70m offer rejected by City, who are determined to keep hold of the 23-year-old and have subsequently made him a fresh contract offer in the hope that he will extend his stay at the Etihad beyond 2021.
Eden Hazard has made it abundantly clear that he will be leaving Chelsea.
The Belgian was the star of the show as he scored twice in Chelsea's 4-1 demolition of Arsenal to win the Europa League, and afterwards he spoke openly and honestly of his desire for a new challenge away from the Blues.
After first confirming that he has informed the club of his preference to join Real Madrid - either this summer or next year when his contract expires - he revealed that all will be confirmed in the next few days.
After listening to Eden Hazard express his desire to leave, Chelsea teammate David Luiz paid tribute to his club colleague and friend and admitted that he deserves to move on after giving his all for the club.
Luiz also offered his thoughts on who Chelsea will replace Hazard with, and given they are facing a transfer ban through to next summer, he came up with a rather sensible option - only after hinting that it "can only be Messi or Ronaldo".
News in the north-west suggests that a transfer battle could be on between Manchester United and Liverpool as the race to sign Lille's Nicolas Pepe heats up.
The Ligue 1 club have already confirmed that Pepe is likely to leave the club this summer, and the Premier League has been touted as the destination of his choice.
The Ivory Coast international has attracted interest from United and Paris Saint-Germain, but the Daily Star reports that Liverpool are considering a £70m offer for the 23-year-old winger.
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