Manchester City
Pep Guardiola on Jude Bellingham: “It’s not just quality… he has a special mentality. He’s already one of the captains, at 19 is quite impressive. It’s not just about the goals, the whole package is top. He’s already playing for England at 19. We know the quality he has.”
As I’ve written recently, Man City are alongside the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid as being very keen on signing Bellingham.
Manchester United
Manchester United are one of a number of clubs keeping a close eye on the form of Bayer Leverkusen youngster Jeremie Frimpong. The Red Devils have scouted the 21-year-old right-back a few times and I’m sure he’ll continue to have suitors. His current contract expires in 2025.
As I said yesterday, there’s been no major change to Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation. Despite reports, I don’t see moves to Napoli or Newcastle as likely, and I’m not convinced by rumours about MLS clubs either, as I expect his preference will still be to stay in Europe. He turned down a big-money offer from a club from Saudi Arabia in the summer.
Newcastle United
There’s plenty of Cristiano Ronaldo speculation doing the rounds, and one story stated that Newcastle have decided against signing him. Newcastle always wanted to go down a different path with a focus on young players. No news on Ronaldo, as things stand.
One of the young players Newcastle like is Andrey Santos. They’ve scouted the Vasco da Gama wonderkid a few times, and have even had some conversations about the player. Still, there is no deal for the moment as his club want more than €30m for the 18-year-old. It won’t be an easy negotiation for this player with huge potential.
I want to say I really like Newcastle’s strategy – when the takeover first happened we saw them linked with some big names, but ageing players. They’ve gone down a different route and have made smart signings like Bruno Guimaraes and Sven Botman – players for the present and the future, so I think they deserve credit for some good recruitment.
Napoli
I’ve seen reports that Napoli are now the most likely destination for Cristiano Ronaldo, but that’s not my current understanding of the situation.
Napoli have Osimhen, Simeone and Raspadori as strikers, so I don’t see them joining the race for Ronaldo in January – at least, nothing ongoing as of today.
Palmeiras
Endrick is an absolute beast and a big player to watch for the future. He’s going to be an important name on the market soon because every top team in Europe wants to sign him. Still, he recently signed a new contract and has a release clause of €60m. I can’t name specific names at the moment, but soon there will be more details on him.
PSG
Paris Saint-Germain have denied stories in the French press about Kylian Mbappe’s contract being worth €630m gross in three years.
A club statement read: “PSG confirms story is completely wrong with not a single detail being correct.”
I’ve also been told that Paris Saint-Germain are now considering legal action.
Real Madrid
Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane: “I will be back soon. Wait, wait a little bit. Soon, soon. I’m not far from coaching again.”
Tottenham
I’m aware that not everyone is a huge fan of Tottenham’s tactics at times, but I think Antonio Conte is absolutely right for the club, and he’s doing the best he can with the squad he has at the moment.
Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison being injured means they don’t have many players to rotate and it’s not easy; he said they need 2-3 transfer windows to reach top level and I agree, I think it’s pretty normal.
Teams like Man City are on different level as of now. Tottenham won’t catch them overnight.
Toulouse
Toulouse midfielder Branco van den Boomen is one to watch on the market – his contract expires in June 2023 and clubs from Italy, Spain, Germany and France are already tracking him.
Villarreal
Quique Setien, one step away from being appointed as Villarreal’s new manager to replace the departing Unai Emery. The former Barcelona coach is attracted by the Villarreal project after speaking with club president Fernando Roig.
Fabrizio Romano’s World Cup Dream Team
It’s almost time for the World Cup, and that means I’m continuing to build my Dream XI of players at the tournament.
Yesterday I selected Real Madrid and Belgium star Thibaut Courtois as my goalkeeper. Today, I’m naming my two centre-backs…
I think Ruben Dias and Virgil van Dijk would be a great duo at the back – both have quality, leadership and international experience. Two top players who will surely be crucial for their national teams in Qatar.