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Could Erik ten Hag be an option for Bayern as they struggle to find a new manager?
Erik ten Hag has always been appreciated by bosses at Bayern Munich, but for now his full focus is on Manchester United. Nothing is being decided now as his full focus is on United and the upcoming FA Cup final against Manchester City. Let’s see if Bayern will advanced on this one, I will let you know as soon as I know anything, but at the moment we have to be patient on Ten Hag’s future.
Obviously it’s been a difficult time for Bayern as they’ve missed out on a number of different manager targets now, and I’ve had some fans asking me why they seem to be struggling so much to get someone to replace Thomas Tuchel.
There’s not one simple answer to this – it’s different reasons, it’s not all the same. Xabi Alonso wanted to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, Julian Nagelsmann decided to extend his project with German federation until the World Cup, and Ralf Rangnick wanted big influence on players and market but also he decided to keep going with Austria. It’s not free managers rejecting, it’s all managers who already have a job so that’s why it was quite difficult for Bayern.
Bayern have also spoken publicly about possibly signing Florian Wirtz in the future, but I can guarantee that Wirtz has not decided anything for the future. Sources close to the player guarantee that he’s not making any decision now on a future move and it will depend on many factors including managers, projects, and so on. Leverkusen certainly won’t sell Wirtz this summer, it’s not even a topic of conversation for the player or club.
The truth about a potential Victor Osimhen/Romelu Lukaku swap deal
We know that Chelsea appreciate Victor Osimhen, but it’s also true of Paris Saint-Germain, and they are absolutely in the race for Osimhen. At the moment I can absolutely guarantee that Chelsea have not started negotiations with Napoli over Osimhen.
Chelsea still have to decide how much they want to spend on a striker, and they appreciate many strikers, including Benjamin Sesko, so there are no club-to-club talks over Osimhen.
We’ve also had many reports on the future of Romelu Lukaku which I wanted to clarify. At the moment, Chelsea guarantee that they are not negotiating with Napoli for Lukaku to be included in a deal for Osimhen. This is Chelsea’s position, even if there are key figures at Napoli who like Lukaku.
On Lukaku’s future, the message is clear – there is a verbal pact, a gentleman’s agreement, for Lukaku to leave if any club, whether that’s Napoli, Roma, or any club in the world, including from Saudi, meet his verbal release clause of £38m. Chelsea are open to selling Lukaku for that kind of money, and they want to sell Lukaku in the summer.
Difficult situation for Vitor Roque at Barcelona
Vitor Roque’s agent Andre Cury has been speaking on the radio and said something explosive about his client’s situation at Barcelona. He’s said Roque is not playing, not getting any minutes, and that manager Xavi is not even talking to the boy. So it’s a very difficult moment for him as he’s not playing and there isn’t even a communication with the manager.
He went on to say that Roque could leave Barcelona this summer, but not on loan – they view a loan as too dangerous in case they don’t get playing time, so the plan, in case they decide on leaving Barcelona, is a permanent transfer.
So what next after these important statements? There will be more meetings between Cury and Barca boss Xavi, director Deco, and president Joan Laporta. These will be important meetings, as, for sure, the situation of Roque can’t continue like this. He is not playing and he is not happy with the current situation – those close to him are not happy, so they will need to clarify, with Xavi involved, what to do with Roque.
Of course, nothing is decided yet, so let’s see how it goes, but it looks like a tense situation as the player’s agent made it clear that if they leave Barcelona, it would have to be permanent. He also said there were clubs prepared to pay big money for Roque, but he went to Barca because he loves the club.
I’m told this is true – last summer, Tottenham tried to hijack the Roque to Barca deal, when everything was verbally agreed but not signed yet. In the end, Barca closed the deal for around €31m, with a potential package going up to around €60m with important add-ons. However, from what I heard, Spurs were prepared to pay something close to €40m and they were really trying to hijack the deal. There was also interest from Manchester United, but Tottenham were the strongest in the race, even if they didn’t get the deal done.
Now we’ll have to see which clubs enter the race for Roque if he does leave Barcelona. For now it looks too early to say who might be specific suitors for the young Brazilian forward, but for sure it’s an explosive situation and it will be an important one to clarify for Barca.
The latest on Jadon Sancho’s future as Dortmund hope to keep him
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that a delegation from the club is closely following the situation of Jadon Sancho. They are always following his situation with loan club Borussia Dortmund, where he’s looked back to his best with his recent form, but from what I’m told Sancho remains open to leaving Man United at the end of the season, whether on loan or a permanent transfer.
This is something that will be discussed, first of all, between Sancho and Manchester United, and then there will be a discussion between United and Dortmund, because the Bundesliga side want to try to keep the English winger at the club. Dortmund plan to contact United in the next weeks to discuss the situation of Sancho, so keep an eye on this one because the player is open to staying in Dortmund or considering all options.
Viktor Gyokeres looks ideal for Arsenal after Sporting success
Viktor Gyokeres is celebrating winning the title with Sporting in Portugal, but I’m told there is still interest from many top clubs, including Arsenal, in signing the prolific Swedish striker this summer.
Arsenal have been scouting Sporting players multiple times this year, so Gyokeres is a player they appreciate, alongside Alexander Isak at Newcastle. They also appreciate Benjamin Sesko at RB Leipzig, so it’s still early days and Arsenal are exploring the strikers market, but let’s see what they’re going to decide in terms of the budget.
For his part, Gyokeres wants to keep all the options open, so he could be one to watch in the summer transfer window.
Let’s see what Arsenal decide to do, but personally I’d go for a proper number 9, someone who can score guaranteed goals. I’m big fan of Gyokeres and Sesko but it’s not easy to pay big amount of money for top strikers so Arsenal are facing an important decision. In any case, it’s also worth saying that they are super happy with Kai Havertz’s performances up front, and also with his attitude.
In other news…
Darwin Nunez – A lot of fans are asking about Darwin Nunez deleting all Liverpool-related posts from his Instagram. However, these are private things, so only Darwin can clarify why he did that; for sure it’s not the best moment for him, but I’d never link social media activities with transfer market movements. It’s all quiet so far, nothing is happening and for sure Darwin is looking forward to speaking to new coach Arne Slot.
Ansu Fati – Barcelona will assess the situation as soon as Ansu Fati returns from his loan at Brighton. The expectation is for Barca to try to offload or sell Ansu Fati this summer, so I expect movement there; I’ve no confirmation on Saudi movement yet but in general, it will be a busy summer around Fati.
Mohammed Kudus – There is no indication about clubs being in the race to sign Mohammed Kudus yet, it’s still early but some sources confirm there might be a release clause into his contract – even if West Ham sources are keeping it quiet and confidential at the moment.