Exclusive: Liverpool & Chelsea face paying record CB transfer fee, Man Utd captaincy story & more – Fabrizio Romano

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Arsenal

Reiss Nelson has not changed his mind on his future – his priority is to stay, continue at Arsenal. His current contract expires in June, but negotiations are ongoing over a new deal. Clubs around Europe appreciate him but Nelson wants to stay.

Bayern Munich

Joao Cancelo has been on the bench for Bayern Munich in the last two games, let’s see if that continues. He’s always said he has to play to be happy, he doesn’t like to be on the bench, and he joined Bayern on loan in order to play more. Let’s see what happens, because Bayern have a purchase option but it will be decided at the end of the season.

Chelsea

At the moment I’m aware of Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool being in the race for Josko Gvardiol, but it’s still March and nothing is agreed, so we have to keep the race open. I think Gvardiol will become the most expensive centre back ever, more than €80m fee.

Joao Felix: “I’m here at Chelsea to play, to help the team and club win trophies. I just fight for that, to win trophies. I’m on loan, but the time I am here I want to help, play, score and win. In terms of if I want to stay or not, the future no one knows. Chelsea is amazing, I am happy to be here. When I left Atletico, it was good for me and them. It was the perfect deal, to try something different. I am very happy to play at Chelsea.”

Graham Potter: “At Chelsea, it’s better that you win. As much as you can celebrate the win over Leeds, you have to move on quickly to the game on Tuesday. Fans have been suffering like the rest of us. The reception and support we had at the weekend was fantastic.”

N’Golo Kante is back in training but not ready to return yet, says Graham Potter: “It’s a complex one because he’s had a long time out. It’s how you get him back to speed to play top level football. He won’t be able to go straight in for 90 minutes any time soon.”

Fulham

Manor Solomon continues his superb form, with 5 goals in his last 5 games with Fulham, four in Premier League and one in FA Cup. His loan with Fulham expires in June; Salomon will return to Shakhtar at the end of the season with many clubs following him.

Juventus

Adrien Rabiot on his future: “I wanna play Champions League, it will be crucial point to make a decision on my future. New deal with Juventus? There are no recent talks but we’ve time to do that, there’s no news at this stage.”

Leicester City

There is no news yet on Brendan Rodgers’ future at Leicester City, we will see in the next weeks. For sure they have to refresh the midfield in the summer as Youri Tielemans is expected to leave on a free transfer and James Maddison is attracting lot of interest. I expect a busy window for Leicester.

Liverpool

At the moment Liverpool have explored conditions of the deal in January for Gvardiol but he was not on the market. I’m sure Liverpool will have kind of list for centre-backs, but the priority remains to refresh the midfield; this is crucial for Klopp.

At the moment I’m aware of Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool but it’s still March and nothing is agreed, so we have to keep the race open. I think Gvardiol will become the most expensive centre back ever, more than €80m fee.

Jurgen Klopp on Roberto Firmino leaving Liverpool as a free agent: “It wasn’t an easy decision for Bobby, he’s top guy. The reception he got was absolutely outstanding. I think that was the goal the whole stadium pretty much wanted the most.”

Manchester City

At the moment Manchester City are one of the clubs in the race for Josko Gvardiol, along with Liverpool and Chelsea, but it’s still March and nothing is agreed, so we have to keep the race open. I think Gvardiol will become the most expensive centre back ever, more than €80m fee.

Manchester United

There’s been a story about Bruno Fernandes angering some of his teammates with his behaviour against Liverpool, with some questioning if he’s the right choice to wear the captain’s armband. I’m not aware of this, honestly. My understanding is that Bruno has always been super appreciated internally at Man United and I don’t think one game can change the reputation of a player who was lifting a trophy just ten days ago… I think he’s a true leader, it’s too easy to change opinion every week.

Napoli

Victor Osimhen: “I’m working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League one day. It’s a process and I just want to keep on this momentum, Serie A is in one of top five leagues in the world and it’s an amazing feeling for me.”

PSG

Confirmed: Huge blow as Neymar will be out for 3-4 months. He will miss the rest of the season and will have ankle surgery in Doha in the coming days.

Lionel Messi: “I feel great at PSG. The first year cost me a lot to adapt to Paris, but now I feel good with a lot of desire to feel comfortable in the club and in the city. I’m enjoying it a lot. This season I started it differently with a lot of enthusiasm.”

Real Madrid

Talks will take place in the next weeks between Real Madrid and Eden Hazard’s camp — his last appearance in La Liga was on September 11. The feeling internally is for Hazard to leave the club in the summer, in case of good bid/opportunity. It’s likely that only a managerial change can change the situation of Hazard, because at the moment the idea is clear for him to be on the market.

Wherever it will be, I’m sure Hazard wants to play. He wants to be a regular starter, find good game time, be part of the starting XI. This is crucial for him, more than what league or country he is in. There will be a meeting with Real Madrid to discuss his future soon.

It’s an important summer for Real Madrid, but this will be decided once manager situation will be clear. Now they are 100% focused on the current season, this is how Real Madrid work.

Luka Modric has been called up again by Croatia for the upcoming Euro qualifiers — at 37 years of age he’s going to continue to represent his country.

Luka Jovic: “My experience at Real Madrid went wrong from the beginning, I left Eintracht too early. All the spotlights were on me. I was only 21, it was difficult to adapt. Injuries, Covid and unfair pressure… it was an unhappy experience.”

Tottenham

Tottenham are considering a move for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse this summer (Football Insider)