Hey guys! Welcome to today’s Daily Briefing – remember to SUBSCRIBE if you want this in your inbox five mornings a week!
AC Milan
AC Milan are close to completing the signing of Marco Sportiello as their new backup goalkeeper on a free transfer for next season. Deal would be valid starting from June 1. Sportiello will join from Atalanta to replace Tatarusanu as Maignan remains first goalkeeper.
Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus and those close to him are still waiting for official communication on the injury, we need to wait for details.
At the moment there are no contacts with Reims or with Folarin Balogun’s agents to recall him, we will see if it changes but this is not the case now.
Barcelona
Both Barcelona and Manchester United were interested in Thomas Meunier last August but there was no chance to agree on deal with Borussia Dortmund. The problem was not on player’s side but on club’s side, as BVB wanted to keep him.
Bayern Munich
Matthijs de Ligt: “It’s amazing, I’m having a really nice time at Bayern. I feel already at home.”
Belgium
There’s been a lot said about in-fighting in the Belgian World Cup squad, but it’s quite normal to hear these things when a team under-performs.
Honestly I’ve no idea if it’s true that they took early flights back from Qatar… all people close to Belgium players deny those stories but I’m not following their national team closely so I’m not sure about flights or similar.
For sure the situation around the squad was tense in some moments this month, but I think it’s absolutely normal and common in football when you don’t get results you want.
Borussia Dortmund
Jude Bellingham’s 2022 in numbers so far:
10 total goals
4 total assists
1 World Cup goal
1 World Cup assist
… a world class talent!
Brazil
Brazil coach Tite confirms Neymar is available to return against South Korea: “Yes, he will be available. He will train with us this afternoon, if everything goes well, he will play.”
Chelsea
Raheem Sterling’s home was raided by armed invaders on Saturday, while his partner and young children were in the house. Raheem’s hugely committed to England but wanted to go home, with the support of Gareth Southgate, the FA and all his teammates. He will decide if or when he returns to the England squad.
Matthijs de Ligt: “Chelsea interest last summer? I didn’t speak to them. It wasn’t close with me but maybe it was with the clubs. I didn’t speak to Chelsea this summer.”
England
Gareth Southgate: “Sterling is flying back to England. He needs time with his family to deal with it and I don’t want to put him under any pressure to deal with it. Will Sterling return? I don’t know. The priority for him at the moment is to be with his family.”
France
Kylian Mbappe was on fire for France against Poland yesterday, booking Les Bleus’ place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
He now has 9 World Cup goals in two editions of the tournament – that’s more than legends as Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Thierry Henry, Rivaldo, and more. It’s the same number of goals as Lionel Messi, but with having played in three fewer World Cups than the Argentinian star.
Still only 23 years old, still so much more to come.
Special mention as well to Olivier Giroud, who is now France’s all-time leading scorer with 52 goals. The AC Milan striker moved ahead of the legendary Thierry Henry after the opening goal against Poland.
Juventus
Arkadiusz Milik: “I have good memories of when I used to play for Marseille, but I play for Juventus and I hope to stay there.”
Juventus have the option to purchase Milik for €8m, not mandatory, in June 2023.
Manchester United
There will be internal discussions on the striker and on Cody Gakpo in the next days and we will see how Man United will proceed as they consider how to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cody Gakpo on a January move: “I have to be honest, I am not thinking about that now. I am focused on the World Cup, want to keep performing well. Hopefully when we become world champions we can think about other things.”
Manchester United left-back Tyrell Malacia on Cody Gakpo and a possible big move in January: “Gakpo’s good enough for the top, there’s no doubt.”
It’s looking possible for Aaron Wan-Bissaka to leave as Man United have been very clear: they want to find a solution for him, though it’s still too early to say where he is going. Options at right-back for United could be Jeremie Frimpong and Denzel Dumfries.
Both Barcelona and Manchester United were interested in Thomas Meunier last August but there was no chance to agree on deal with Borussia Dortmund. The problem was not on player’s side but on club’s side, as BVB wanted to keep him.
Nottingham Forest
Done deal: Gustavo Scarpa signs as new Nottingham Forest player on a contract valid until 2026. That’s their 24th signing of the season.
“I’m very happy to be here, it’s a dream for me to play in Premier League”, said Gustavo.
Tottenham
Jonathan David has made it clear he wants to play in the Premier League, so where could the Lille striker end up?
At the moment there are no conversations or contacts between Spurs and Lille or Jonathan David’s agents. Tottenham were informed on David one year ago but it’s still quiet now. I think he’d be great solution for many clubs, including Tottenham; he’s a very good striker.
Watford
Canadian gem Ismael Kone is set to join Watford, here we go — it will be a record transfer fee for Montreal
Kone will sign his Watford contract in the next few days, and a medical has already been approved.
Wolves
Wolves and Atletico Madrid are in talks for Felipe, not just Matheus Cunha. It’s a potential ‘package’ to include two players in the deal.
What is Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing?
My Daily Briefing is an exclusive one-email summary of everything you need to know about the football transfer market delivered directly to your inbox 5 mornings per week.
Never miss an update. All the most reliable transfer updates and exclusive news in one, ad-free service and in exclusive partnership with caughtoffside.com.