This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io
—
Zubimendi remains on Arsenal’s shopping list
Martin Zubimendi is still super happy at Real Sociedad. He loves the club, the city, the fans. No issues.
Of course, if any club will trigger his release clause it will be up to the player to decide on the next move, but he’s surely on the list at Arsenal and Bayern (I never said Bayern were unlikely, just that he was a top target in case Alonso joined and it now will depend on the new coach).
So, let’s wait and see on the movements in the summer, but Zubimendi is not pushing to leave, however, in case of proposals, he will consider his future.
No concrete updates on Ivan Toney
Honestly guys, I’ve no concrete update yet on the Ivan Toney situation, despite new reports that West Ham have become surprise favourites in the race for the England international.
I’m not aware of concrete negotiations at the moment with any club, just some interest of course for a very good player like Toney, but it’s still early for the strikers domino effect.
We heard many things about Toney in the recent months but he was not close to leaving in January. They will try to sort his future before the Euros, but it’s not something guaranteed at this stage.
Chelsea set for busy window but Reece James situation is quiet
I don’t have anything on Reece James really either, the situation is really quiet.
I’m sure Chelsea will try to make a profit with some players, as it’s something needed because of FFP, but Reece has always been considered an important part of the project so all quiet on this one, full focus on recovery and total commitment on the player side.
I expect Chelsea to be busy again in the transfer market, that’s for sure. It won’t be similar to January.
FFP situation means Newcastle may need to sell a big name this summer
It’s also a possibility for Newcastle to sell one big star this summer too.
It will depend on the final verdict about Financial Fair Play but it’s a possibility, from what I’m told.
Newcastle would love to keep all their stars but some of them, like Bruno Guimaraes, have a release clause, so it’s gonna be time to follow those ones in the summer.
I’m sure they want to add also some players to their squad in different positions, so it’s not only about the outgoings.
Messinho isn’t a priority for Barça
The news that Barça are leaving the race for Estevao Willian aka Messinho isn’t about the club withdrawing.
The player has a release clause for €60m and Barça are not planning to invest that amount of money in that position right now.
They already spent big money on Vitor Roque so it’s not a priority to go for Messinho.
Chelsea and PSG have been monitoring him for a long time.
Many clubs looking at Bento
No one is favourite now honestly, the situation is not advanced at all from what I heard.
Lot of media stories but nothing is advanced with Inter and the same with Chelsea.
It’s all about scouting him at the moment as he’s an excellent goalkeeper, but many clubs have been in attendance to follow Bento… so not something really serious as of now.
Mbappe to stay at Paris Saint-Germain?
Paris Saint-German manager, Luis Enrique, spoke in a recent interview with Prime Video Sport about Kylian Mbappe, and he said that the game against Marseille wouldn’t be the last Le Classique he would play in.
Kylian Mbappe has still not announced anything about his future and is still keeping his options open in terms of not communicating anything. So while the situation can change, Luis Enrique still hopes Mbappe will stay at PSG.
He said that “maybe we win all the titles this season and at the end of the season, he changes his mind and decides to stay at PSG. Why not?”
This interview obviously started to create the feeling that once again, Mbappe is changing his mind about his future, something that already happened in 2022 when he was one step away from leaving but decided to stay.
The one big difference in the case from two years ago was that he never communicated to PSG that he was going to leave.
As I’ve already told you multiple times, at the beginning of February this year, Mbappe told Nasser Al-Khelaifi outright that he’s going to leave in the summer, and from what I’m told in the last hours, nothing has changed.
As of today, Kylian Mbappe has still not signed a contract with any other club, but what is important to say – and I keep repeating this – everything is going in the right direction with Real Madrid, and everything is at the final stages.
His salary will be in line with Jude Bellingham, and he will have a signing on fee of more than €100m to be paid over five years.