Bradley Barcola
Another elite young talent with plenty of admirers, it looks like the Bradley Barcola saga could take an interesting turn in the coming days.
As per Romano via CaughtOffside’s Substack today: “That position, a creative player, a winger, is a priority for Chelsea. They are looking for that kind of player and one of the names they requested information on in terms of how much the deal would cost is Bradley Barcola. Chelsea have an interest in this fantastic talent from Lyon, but for the moment the player is giving his priority to Paris Saint-Germain. In June, when the player changed agents to be represented by Jorge Mendes, personal terms with PSG got to a very advanced stage. Barcola said yes to PSG and so the clubs started to negotiate.
“However, from what I understand now, PSG are very nervous about the situation. They’re not happy at all, it’s a very tense situation, and they feel it could be the end of this story if Lyon don’t change their position.
“PSG aren’t happy because they feel Lyon keep on changing their asking price – one day it’s one number, another day another number. The player wants to go to PSG but Lyon are making it very difficult, and so between the clubs it’s complicated and one to follow because it could present an opportunity for other clubs like Chelsea to join the race.”
Folarin Balogun
It seems unlikely that Folarin Balogun is going to break into the Arsenal starting XI, so he’ll surely be on his way out of the Emirates Stadium in the next few days. But where could he go next?
As per Ben Jacobs in his CaughtOffside column yesterday: “Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun is another name who has been discussed (by Chelsea), but it’s Monaco who are currently more advanced,” Jacobs said.
“Balogun would be open to a move to Chelsea, though. Inter would also love Balogun, but Arsenal would need to drop their £45-50m asking price by about £10m. There is no reason for them to do so in the current market and with plenty of late window interest.”
Jonathan David
A fine young forward who’s really impressed at Lille, Jonathan David’s lack of movement so far this summer has to be one of the biggest surprises of the transfer window, and we’ll surely see someone try to snap him up soon.
The Canada international has previously been of interest to Tottenham, according to Ben Jacobs, but that was while Fabio Paratici was still at the club, so it’s not that clear cut for them now, even if they do need a replacement for Harry Kane.
Either way, David is surely too good to be staying at Lille for much longer, so let’s see if his situation changes in the next week or so.
Romelu Lukaku
Totally out of the picture at Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku also seems to be struggling to find suitors anywhere after failing to secure a return to Inter Milan.
The Belgium international hasn’t been involved at Stamford Bridge so far this season, so it’s very hard to imagine him sticking around after the transfer deadline.
As per Ben Jacobs here, it could mean that Chelsea insist Lukaku accepts an offer to Saudi Arabia if he doesn’t manage to get a move in Europe in the coming week.
Jean-Clair Todibo
One of the finest young defenders in Europe, Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo is today being strongly linked with a move to Manchester United by L’Equipe.
One imagines there’d be plenty of Red Devils fans who’d welcome this deal, with Harry Maguire now out of favour at Old Trafford, while there could be some legitimate concerns about going into the rest of the season with just Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof to choose from.
If the Todibo rumours are true, that could be a strong end to the summer transfer window for Man Utd.
Harry Maguire
Speaking of Harry Maguire, his situation still remains unresolved and his departure would surely be key for United to be able to go ahead and sign someone like Todibo.
The England international has seen a move to West Ham fall through and that now seems to be completely off, but there are surely a fair few clubs out there who could be interested and who could give him more playing time than he’s surely likely to get at Old Trafford.
Maguire may not have anything on the table right now, but things could change quickly and this is surely another saga to keep an eye on in the next few days.
Albert Sambi Lokonga
Arsenal have spent big this summer so surely need to offload a few names now, and Albert Sambi Lokonga looks a likely candidate for the exit door.
As per Romano in his column today: “I still think there’s a good chance for him to leave Arsenal as he wants to play regularly, but we will have to see about the formula.
“As for those rumours about Brighton, they have Lokonga on their list as alternative option, but he’s a plan B at the moment because their priority now remains Carlos Baleba from Lille.”