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Arsenal
As we get closer to January it’s inevitable that we’ll get even more transfer gossip stories than usual, and one surprising one I’ve seen involved Arsenal youngster Charlie Patino being a target for Barcelona.
Honestly I’ve no news on Patino and Barca, nothing concrete as of now. I’m sure Arsenal are really happy with his progress and he’s really appreciated by all the people into the club.
Arsenal are still working on Gabriel Martinelli’s new contract. Talks are ongoing as a new deal for the Brazilian forward is considered one of their main priorities. Negotiations will continue as current deal includes an option to extend until June 2026.
Santi Cazorla on returning to Arsenal in the future: “Of course I would like to come back. I have to wait if the club thinks about me, if I can help in something – as a coach or a sporting director.”
Barcelona
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has spoken publicly about trying to sign Luis Diaz before he went to Liverpool, saying: “We wanted to sign Luis Diaz, we were really interested in signing him and we even had talks with his agent. The truth is that we had just arrived at the club and we had financial problems. And so… Liverpool signed him.”
My understanding is that Barcelona had conversations with the player’s agents but it was never got to an advanced stage between the clubs as Porto wanted a €60m package for him.
There was also interest from others – Tottenham and West Ham were also pushing – but in the end Klopp and Liverpool’s plans made the difference.
Bayern Munich
There were rumours a few days ago of a secret meeting between Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes and Bayern Munich directors. I’ve been checking in the last 24 hours and my information is that there was no meeting.
Bayern sources deny any meeting – this has been the position for some time. They are happy with their attacking options, having signed Sadio Mane in the summer, and with top talents like Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and in-form youngster Jamal Musiala.
Ronaldo was offered to Bayern last summer, but there was no intention to sign a player of his age. He’s a fantastic player who’s had a great career, but Bayern have a different kind of project.
Let’s see what happens with other clubs around Europe, because Mendes is working on it and will continue in the next few weeks.
Still, for now, this ‘secret meeting’ with Bayern has been denied by sources at the Allianz Arena.
Chelsea
Part of Chelsea’s rebuilding job means they are tracking some of the best young talents in world football. Still, it could be a long process.
On Endrick, Chelsea are in the race along with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, but it’s still too early as nothing is decided yet.
The Palmeiras wonderkid has also confirmed he’s now studying English: “But I’m not gonna answer about my future club. Of course, I’d like to play Champions League in 2, three or four years. I’m open to all the clubs, waiting for the best proposal for me and my family.”
Romeo Lavia was a target in the summer, but there are no fresh contacts yet after their August approach.
Arsen Zakharyan wants the move to Chelsea and they’re working to sign him. They have many, really many talents in the radar but now with new directors the decision will be re-discussed again.
Everton
Everton were interested in signing Udinese defender Rodrigo Becao during the summer, but have since cooled their interest. There are no talks ongoing now between Udinese and any other club.
Flamengo
Matheus Franca is a talent worth keeping an eye on. The Brazilian youngster is impressing with Flamengo, and I’ve seen some speculation involving a host of clubs – Real Madrid, Man City, and even Crystal Palace.
I won’t go into specific names just yet, but it is true there are many clubs following him in Spain, England and also Germany. Still no advanced negotiations with any club, so too early to mention the most likely destination or things like the price – but he’s a very interesting talent and Europe will be his next destination.
Inter Miami
Benjamin Cremaschi is set to sign a new deal with Inter Miami. An agreement is now in place on a three-year deal with options for two more seasons.
Cremaschi, born in 2005 and highly rated by the club – he’s part of Inter Miami’s project.
Inter Milan
Inter CEO Beppe Marotta: “I’m optimistic to get Milan Skriniar’s contract renewal done and sealed, we are confident.”
Inter have offered him new long term deal plus captain’s armband.
Liverpool
Liverpool saw off competition from Barcelona, Tottenham and West Ham when they signed Luis Diaz. Barca president Joan Laporta has spoken about it publicly now, with money the issue at the time, and Jurgen Klopp making the difference for Liverpool.
Manchester City
Cristiano Ronaldo tells Piers Morgan: “I was close to joining Manchester City in 2021. I was surprised — as they tried hard to sign me. But my heart, my history with Man United, Sir Alex Ferguson made the difference. The heart was speaking loud in that moment.”
Manchester United
Amid all the Cristiano Ronaldo talk, I’ve mentioned that Manchester United will be in the market for a striker if he ends up leaving. Of course fans want to know who will be the club’s targets, but it’s too early to say while the Ronaldo situation is still not resolved.
I still think, as I said earlier this week, that it looks like it is over for Ronaldo at Old Trafford, but we will have to see what the solution is in January. For now, United’s focus is on resolving this story and deciding their best response, but the feeling inside the club is that he won’t play for them again.
It is not easy to get the best signings done in January, but we’ll see what happens after the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo: “Manchester Utd made zero progress. Real Madrid and Juventus followed recent technologies, infrastructures. They always tried to progress even in terms of training, nutrition & how to recover from games. Man United is behind clubs like those.”
In other news, Victor Osimhen could be an option for Manchester United to replace Cristiano Ronaldo as he looks a cheaper alternative to Kylian Mbappe (Mirror)
Real Madrid
Endrick’s father Douglas reveals that they will visit Real Madrid facilities: “We’ll travel to Madrid at the end of this month. After that conversation, Real Madrid will await a response from us to see if they should come and make a bid to Palmeiras.”
Udinese
Despite what you might be hearing elsewhere, there are currently no talks between Arsenal or Tottenham and Udinese for Rodrigo Becao. What I can tell you is that he was an option for Everton last summer, but it’s gone quiet now – there are no talks ongoing with Udinese.