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Dani Olmo linked with Manchester United but won’t come cheap
Dani Olmo is having a fine season with RB Leipzig and so it’s not too surprising to see media reports of top clubs like Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich looking at the Spanish attacking midfielder ahead of the summer.
Still, it’s important to note that there have been no concrete movements yet, as far as I understand. Olmo could surely be one to watch this summer because there’s a release clause becoming active this year: €60m. This is the price for RB Leipzig – they have no intention to negotiate anything lower than that.
But it’s too early to mention specific clubs now, as there are no concrete negotiations taking place, so we’ll see how this progresses in the next months.
Staying with Man United, we know they have an injury crisis in defence, meaning Harry Maguire is their only fit centre-back option for today’s game against Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final.
They’ve been very unlucky because they didn’t make a top centre-back signing last summer as they had five options in that position – Maguire, and also Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans.
Of course they will be signing a new centre-back this summer, as I’ve reported since September 2023, for sure that will be one of their priorities. But in terms of names, the top target will be decided later. The likes of Gleison Bremer, Jean-Clair Todibo, Jarrad Branthwaite and Antonio Silva have been scouted, and it could even be that they’ll make two signings in that position, but it’s too early now to know which specific players they’ll prioritise.
Jason Wilcox’s move to Man United is also now official – he’s their new technical director. He was never tempted by Liverpool or any other club despite some rumours in the media – he was only focused on Man United. The next step will be to appoint Dan Ashworth, but Wilcox will also be a really important figure for United in this summer’s transfer window.
Chelsea were unlucky against City and remain happy with the Nicolas Jackson signing
In the other FA Cup semi-final yesterday we saw Manchester City edge out Chelsea 1-0 with a late goal from Bernardo Silva at Wembley. Pep Guardiola’s side will play in the FA Cup final again after winning it last year, and it could even be that we’ll see a Manchester Derby in the final again as United will be favourites to get past Coventry today.
I thought it was unlucky for Chelsea, but also congrats to Man City for how they reacted by winning a difficult game after the Champions League defeat against Real Madrid. Mauricio Pochettino did a good job again, they this group needs time to perform and also some more experienced player to help the youngsters.
Nicolas Jackson is being made a bit of a scapegoat after missing some big chances, but it’s his first season, coming from Villarreal, and he’s still very young. We need to understand that players are not robots, it’s been a difficult season for Chelsea but Jackson scored an important number of goals and club believes he has an important potential. They will give him time for sure, they are still very happy with a signing they completed for a normal fee.
Ivan Toney movement looks likely, but no information on his wage demands
I keep having fans asking me about Ivan Toney ahead of this summer as he could be one to watch, but I’m afraid I never comment on salaries and wage demands, guys, I don’t know what Toney is requesting, honestly. This is private stuff between his agents and the clubs, I have no idea.
Still, there will be movement for sure – Toney has one year left on his contract at Brentford and he wants a top club move but nothing is imminent now, April is still too early.
As I said a few weeks ago, Man United are still in the early stages of the process to decide what kind of striker they want to sign this summer; experienced or young. Talks are going to take place internally, and Toney will be one of the names available on the market so he could be one to watch.
Alphonso Davies Real Madrid situation has not changed
The Alphonso Davies situation remains very clear for Real Madrid. They are waiting for Davies to answer to Bayern’s contract proposal, then Real Madrid’s position is firm that they won’t spend €60-70m on a player with one year left on his contract.
Real will insist on a fair price for this summer or they could wait until summer 2025 when he would be a free agent, but Real would prefer to go for him now with good price, rather than wait.