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Bayern’s possible advantage over Liverpool in the race for Xabi Alonso
Is Xabi Alonso going to Liverpool or Bayern? I think he doesn’t know at the moment. So imagine me! It’s too early to know where he’s going, but I really think it’s going to be a really important month, I would say, because the discussion, the internal discussion at these two clubs have already started.
The advantage for Bayern is that they already have a structure in place, whereas Liverpool still need to hire a new director. The interest from Liverpool is absolutely there – they still want Xabi Alonso as a priority target, but both clubs, Liverpool and Bayern, have alternatives as well. They have other candidates because they know that it’s going to be not an easy fight.
Also, my understanding is that Xabi Alonso himself wants to take some time because he wants to focus on Bayer Leverkusen. They are doing something historical this season and he doesn’t want any distraction. So he knows about this interest, obviously, but at the moment he doesn’t want to sign anything or to agree with any club in February, in March, because his focus remains on Bayer Leverkusen.
Some important people at Leverkusen also hope he could be persuaded to stay for one more year. But my opinion, from speaking to some sources, is that it’s going to be very difficult. I think it’s a very small percentage that we see Xabi Alonso staying at Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
Which Leverkusen players could be on the move this summer?
I think there is going to be crazy interest in Leverkusen players so for sure. Someone like Alejandro Grimaldo has been fantastic but I’m not sure it’s going to be easy to negotiate for Grimaldo because he has a very long contract, so in this case probably Bayer Leverkusen feel protected at least for one more season.
In the case of Jonathan Tah, it’s a short contract so that’s different. In this case I think there could be some opportunity for Jonathan Tah, especially with Premier League clubs keeping a close eye on him. I think Jonathan Tah could be one to watch in the summer transfer window.
For Piero Hincapie, he’s always been in the radar of many clubs around Europe. For example, Tottenham and Liverpool sent their scouts multiple times in the recent years, last two years, even before this magic season for Bayer Leverkusen, to follow Hincapie, but they never made an official proposal to Bayer Leverkusen.
So let’s see who’s going to present an official bid in the summer, but there is going to be interest for all these players, and that would also include Jeremie Frimpong. He’s another stand-out player in this Leverkusen side and he has a release clause worth around €40m in the summer – I think with these numbers it’s going to be really interesting to see because Frimpong is attractive for many clubs, especially in the Premier League.
Players who could leave Manchester United this summer
I think there will be some sales at Manchester United this summer, obviously, because of Financial Fair Play. Qualifying for the Champions League would help a lot in terms of FFP, in terms of the budget for the summer transfer window. But in case this is not going to happen for May United, it’s going to be absolutely crucial to sell some players. Maybe it won’t be super big names, but some players have to leave the club.
So I still believe that at the end of the season, there is going to be an internal conversation involving a new director of players like Mason Greenwood, players like Jadon Sancho. I think all these players, obviously, they will have an internal conversation. But in case United will receive a permanent transfer proposal, these players remain available so they can make some money. I expect United could be quite busy with outgoings.
Antony’s future has been the subject of some speculation, but I think that’s less clear for now. From what I heard, it’s not being communicated anything to the player or his agent, so I think it’s still too early to mention Antony as one of the players who is 100% going to leave the club in the summer, but I think maybe United would be quite open, so in case they receive an important proposal, I think for Antony there is still a chance to leave in the summer transfer window.
We will have to see what the player wants to do, because, for example, in December, when some Brazilian club started dreaming of the possibility of signing Antony on loan, maybe for six months, on that occasion the player didn’t want to discuss anything. He wanted to stay at Manchester United, so let’s see what kind of situation there will be in the summer.
The clubs to watch in the Michael Olise transfer race
I expect there to be a big race for Michael Olise this summer. I think Manchester United could be there because they appreciate the player, of course we have to wait for the new director to come in to decide what’s the strategy, what’s the budget, how much they want to invest in that position.
We know that Manchester United would also be busy for a centre-back, probably a left-back from what I’m told, and then a centre-striker, so they have some positions to cover, so let’s see how much of the budget they want to invest on a player like Michael Olise.
Chelsea also had an interest in the past, so I think it’s going to be an interesting one for these two clubs and let’s see if someone else will move because maybe Arsenal can look for that kind of player. I think it’s still an open race, nothing is decided yet.
Pedro Neto looks set to have plenty of transfer suitors
Another Premier League winger to watch could be Pedro Neto. I’m sure Arsenal like the player because already two years ago, they included Pedro Neto in their shortlist and Arsenal work like this – when they appreciate a player, they keep following him. Even if they were not able to make it happen two years ago, I’m sure they’re still keeping close eye to Pedro Neto.
Tottenham are worth keeping an eye on too, because someone at the club believes that they need a new winger in the summer, so Pedro Neto could be a fantastic solution. He knows the league very well so this could be an important factor but also they believe that he could be a good player for the idea of football wanted by Angel Postecoglou. So I think these two clubs will be interested in Pedro Neto, and I would also keep a close eye on Liverpool – let’s see who’s going to be their manager, let’s see who’s going to be their director and what kind of strategy they will have. But Pedro Neto has also been scouted by Liverpool in recent months and years.
Olise, Neto – I think these kind of players will be on the list of many top clubs, especially in the Premier League.
Rafael Leao happy at AC Milan, but PSG have other transfer targets too
Rafael Leao has publicly stated that he sees his future at AC Milan, despite the recent links with Paris Saint-Germain. My understanding is that PSG are not working on this deal as of now, we had lot of reports but nothing imminent or concrete in terms of negotiations.
PSG will probably try to sign an offensive player to replace Kylian Mbappe, and Leao is one of the names appreciated, but for sure he is also very happy at Milan, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Victor Osimhen is also appreciated, and, like Leao, he is well known by PSG chief Luis Campos, as he signed both players at Lille. PSG also want a midfielder and have previously been interested in Bernardo Silva, but let’s see if they try for him again or if they prefer a younger player.
I’m pretty sure that PSG will also go for a young centre-back. The player they really like is Leny Yoro at Lille. They believe he’s a special talent, they believe he’s going to be the future of French football, and this is why I think Paris Saint-Germain will try to attack the situation again after they already tried in January, but Lille said no to PSG in January. In the summer, it’s going to be different.
What’s the truth about those Mykhailo Mudryk stories?
There have been some reports circulating that stated Mykhailo Mudryk was really disappointed not to get a move to Arsenal just over a year ago, but I think it’s important to remember that he was never forced to sign anything, so he accepted that as Chelsea were happy to have him, and also were the only ones to agree on fee with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Of course, Mudryk wanted the Arsenal move, it was already public how much he wanted that move at the time, but now he is fully focused on Chelsea and I’m not aware of any plans for the summer either.
Staying with Arsenal, it’s been reported that their scouts will watch Sporting Lisbon today to keep an eye on Viktor Gyokeres. It’s the case that Arsenal have always scouts around for multiple players, and Gyokeres is being scouted by multiple clubs as he’s doing fantastic at Sporting. But there’s still nothing decided or concrete on this one, it’s just normal scouting.
In other news…
Roony Bardghji – With 18 months left on his contract and currently not playing, Roony Bardghji’s future will depend on Copenhagen, let’s see what they decide to do but at the moment there’s no agreement on a new contract. The clubs who sent scouts to follow him are Tottenham, Man United, Barcelona and Bayern. These four clubs appreciate him, Juventus also plan to send their scouts soon.
Julian Nagelsmann – Despite Nagelsmann being the latest name linked with the Barcelona job, nothing is concrete or decided and Nagelsmann is 100% focused on the Euros with Germany. Nothing is concrete in any other sense with Barcelona and Nagelsmann; and it’s the same for Newcastle.
Xavi – Staying with Barca, it’s been reported that Joan Laporta has asked Xavi to stay. I’m not aware of this, however, and I think we will see plenty of stories like this and links with many different managers. Sources close to Xavi insist that his decision is final and he’s leaving the club, so no changes to report so far.