Raphael Varane is being linked with a January move to Bayern Munich and could follow Harry Kane out of the Premier League.
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With more clubs than ever now capable of shattering transfer records, there is destined to be a spate of eye-watering deals over the next 12 months
Neymar's €222 million (£198m/$247m) move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 has been widely regarded as the point of no return for football transfers. Since then, the fees exchanged between top European sides have risen to previously unimaginable levels, with 14 other players switching clubs for a fee over €100m since.
Will the bubble burst any time soon? It doesn't seem likely, particularly as the Saudi Pro League has now emerged as a genuine payer in the transfer market. Even the conventional wisdoms about which positions are most expensive no longer hold true. In the past, it was strikers and occasionally playmakers who fetched the big bucks. However, three of the players who've broken the €100m mark in recent times (Declan Rice, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo) are primarily deep-lying midfielders.
Will this trend continue? Or will attacking players return to their place at the top of the transfer tree? Below, GOAL predicts who's in contention to become the next €100m+ player in 2024…
Jurgen Klopp's agent has confirmed he will take a break from management after leaving Liverpool, meaning he won't be moving to Bayern Munich.
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Vivianne Miedema says that her recent start for the Netherlands "couldn't make the damage any worse" following the news that she needs knee surgery.
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Alasdair Gold has dropped an update on the backing of Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte in the summer transfer window.
In a recent post on Twitter, the football.london journalist revealed that the Tottenham owners, ENIC, have now made an extra £150m available this summer, in order for the 52-year-old manager and Fabio Paratici to pursue a number of their top targets in the transfer market.
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In his tweet, Gold said: “Big news at Spurs as ENIC pumps £150m into the club to help ‘further invest on and off the pitch’. There’s that Antonio Conte backing I was talking about.”
With it being widely reported that Conte’s future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium heading into 2022/23 very much depended on whether or not Daniel Levy and the Spurs board would match his ambition in the transfer market, Gold’s update revealing that the club have made it abundantly clear that they will be financing the Italian is sure to have left supporters buzzing.
Indeed, not only does this news mean that Tottenham will more than likely be one of the serious players in the summer window, with Paratici now looking to have free reign to go after some of Conte’s biggest transfer targets, but it would also appear to suggest that the 52-year-old will remain in charge of the club next season.
And, when considering the quite astonishing job the former Inter Milan boss has done at Tottenham thus far – taking the Lilywhites from ninth to fourth in the Premier League standings, picking up a remarkable 56 points from a possible 84 – it is clear for all to see that Conte remaining in north London next season greatly increases Spurs’ chances of success in 2022/23 – a prospect that will undoubtedly delight the club’s supporters.
AND in other news: Conte now plotting offer for “frightening” £50m Spurs target, he’s Salah 2.0
Steve Cooper has had an outstanding season with Nottingham Forest and could be set to take the club back to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, but he could be set for his first disaster if he can’t secure promotion at Wembley this weekend.
According to The Evening Standard, West Ham United are plotting a move for Joe Worrall should Nottingham Forest fail to secure promotion to the top-flight on Sunday afternoon in the Championship play-off final against Huddersfield Town.
As per the report, David Moyes is desperate to bolster his defence this summer following a disastrous injury crisis in his back-line this season and wants to avoid the same occurrence in the next campaign.
Fulham and Leicester City are also named as two Premier League clubs that would be interested in signing the Forest star this summer, with West Ham reportedly believed to be able to offer him a better option with European football secured.
The prospect of losing out on Premier League football at the final hurdle will already be daunting enough for Nottingham Forest but to also lose a key player following the disappointing outcome would set Cooper up for disaster ahead of next season.
Worrall has been drawing positive attention to himself this season, with the defence being one of the highly praised areas of the Forest squad, conceding just 22 goals in total and more impressively only five goals in total in 2022.
Over 39 appearances in the Championship, the 25-year-old has won the majority of both his aerial and ground duels (63%), successful in the vast majority of his dribbles (79%), making 1.8 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 3.1 clearances this season, proving that he has been a solid and consistent performer for the side.
The 6 foot 3 defender has been with the club for most of his career making 182 appearances over the last seven years after starting out in the U18s and breaking through to the senior team.
With that being said, it would be a huge blow for Forest to lose such an influential player especially if they are not able to complete their goal on getting promoted to the Premier League ahead of next season, and Cooper must carry out as much damage control as he can to keep the player no matter the outcome.
Everton will be relieved that they avoided Premier League relegation this season, but they may feel that their squad needs to be improved so that they don’t suffer a similar brush with danger next time around; and it seems that they are already reportedly lining up their summer transfer targets as a new update emerges.
According to The Telegraph’s football reporter Mike McGrath, Everton have joined the race to sign Burnley winger Maxwel Cornet.
As per McGrath’s latest article for The Telegraph, the Toffees are now looking closely at the £17.5m relegation clause attached to Cornet’s contract which has been triggered in the past week.
The reporter also revealed that West Ham United will rival Everton for the Ivory Coast international’s signature this summer.
With doubts surrounding the futures of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park, it appears that Frank Lampard is looking to add attacking reinforcements to his squad this summer. Cornet would duly be a major coup for Everton, especially for such a low fee.
Despite being relegated with Burnley, the Ivorian winger – who was dubbed a “fabulous finisher” by Owen Hargreaves – has been drawing attention to himself since he joined the Clarets last summer, with the BT Sport pundit also labelling him “one of the signings of the season”.
As per SofaScore, Cornet has scored nine goals and contributed one assist, creating two big chances and taking 1.8 shots per game for Burnley. This shows that the 25-year-old is hungry for goals and could be a great addition to boost Everton’s productivity next season.
It has been reported that Salomon Rondon will be one of the Toffees players set to be offered out to other clubs this summer after a disappointing and ineffective season from the striker.
The prospective sale of the 32-year-old could give Cornet the perfect opportunity to come into the side and positively impact matches, while also being a promising prospect for the future at Everton. He has already proven his worth in his first season of Premier League football, and he could develop very well under an attack-minded coach like Lampard, who would surely love to have a player of such prowess at Everton.
Ultimately, if the powerbrokers at Goodison Park can secure a deal for Cornet ahead of West Ham, it would be a significant step forward for Everton in their pursuit to improve the squad, especially if they can sign him for his £17.5m relegation clause this summer.
AND in other news – “Sources tell me..”: Journalist drops big Everton transfer claim, it’ll delight supporters
Manchester City supporters have been handed a transfer update as the Premier League champions continue their chase for Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips.
Sky Blues chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, sitting down for his annual end-of-season interview in recent days, sent a message all City supporters wanted to hear.
He confirmed that the club are set to make more signings, having already sealed both Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez ahead of what will be a very interesting 2022/2023 campaign.
Pep Guardiola’s side retained their domestic top flight crown for 21/22 in the most dramatic fashion, scoring three goals in five minutes to cement one of the best final day comebacks in English football history.
Their remarkable 3-2 win over Aston Villa, ten years on from Sergio Aguero’s iconic 93:20 title-winning goal, exemplified the spirit and character of Guardiola’s squad but the Spaniard appears keen to upgrade in some areas.
Club legend Fernandinho is set to leave Eastlands after nine years upon the expiry of his contract, prompting City to earmark Leeds star Phillips as a real candidate to succeed the Brazilian.
Writing on Twitter, Man City journalist Tom Young has shared an update, claiming that while a possible transfer is ‘in motion’, there is still a ‘way to go’ in terms of sealing a deal for Phillips.
He explained:
“No assurances on Phillips. I understand it’s in motion but still a way to go. Cucurella looks more likely with every passing minute. The window outlook changes depending on who leaves, but as far as the current squad goes, IF we add the two aforementioned, then it’s a good one.”
Phillips, still just 27-years-old, could leave Elland Road for around £60 million – nearly half the price of other mooted midfield targets like Declan Rice.
Standing out as a key player when fit and available for Leeds over 21/22, the midfield star averaged a brilliant 2.7 tackles per 90 domestically, the second-most out of Jesse Marsch’s squad and more than any City player (WhoScored).
It’s little surprise pundits like Noel Whelan have raved over the ‘phenomenal’ midfielder and we believe Phillips would provide a different dimension alongside Rodri in front of Guardiola’s back four.
In other news: Surprise claim: Pep now open to selling ‘incredible’ Man City star who’s never been so important! Find out more here.
Liverpool are close to finalising a deal for Darwin Nunez after it was revealed that a bid had been submitted by the club on Friday, and an update has now emerged from a reliable source about the finer details of the proposed deal.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed more details about the proposed €100m (£85.4m) deal which could take the Uruguay striker to Anfield, specifically about his expected salary.
The transfer insider tweeted: “Reports of Darwin Núñez salary for €250.000/week are considered wide of mark by Liverpool sources. Figures would be lower – salary would include add ons.
“Five year deal not an issue – Liverpool are discussing with Benfica about key details of €80+20m deal structure.”
FSG are renowned for executing a fair and strict wage structure at Liverpool, so supporters will love that the club are not only keeping the structure balanced with the signing of Nunez, but are able to secure the porentially record-breaking deal over their competitors without compromising the harmony between the players who are already at the club.
The wage structure at Anfield has been a hot topic since negotiations started with Mohamed Salah over the last few months to extend his contract past June 2023.
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It was reported that the Egyptian winger wants £400k-per-week to pen a new deal which would secure his future at the club, but the talks have reached a stalemate, with Liverpool unwilling to give the three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner hundreds of thousands more a week than his team-mates.
It has surely become a concern for Reds supporters, as Sadio Mane is already set to leave the club ahead of next season with two bids already arriving from Bayern Munich, and the idea of losing Salah’s abundant goal contributions will also be a worry.
However, the proposed signing of Nunez shows that Liverpool are capable of securing top talent without offering wages which would disrupt the structure that FSG have in place.
In 2021/22, the Uruguayan scored 34 goals and contributed four assists in all competitions in his cenrre-forward role at Benfica, topping the Primeira Liga scoring charts with 26 league goals and illustrating that he is more than capable of offering another devastating attacking threat in the Reds’ already high-scoring team.
AND in other news: “LFC want…”: Fabrizio Romano drops huge transfer update, supporters will be buzzing
Rangers sensation Rory Wilson ‘will sign’ for Aston Villa on 1 July, transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano reports.
Wilson seemingly has the potential to become a superstar, having bagged a whopping 49 goals at youth level last season.
The 16-year-old centre-forward has been capped 11 times by Scotland at Under-18 level and already scored eight goals.
The clubs have been in talks over a suitable package ‘for months’, but Rangers rejected Villa’s latest offer of around £300,000 (via The Athletic).
Unless one of the two sides agrees to compromise, the matter could be settled by a FIFA resolution committee.
Romano shared the news about Wilson in a tweet on Monday morning.
Villa are ‘set to sign’ the ‘talented Scottish striker from Rangers’ with ‘personal terms now agreed’.
He’ll officially become their player at the beginning of next month.
He adds that former Gers boss Steven Gerrard has been ‘the main factor’ in Wilson’s decision to move to the Midlands.
This will be a blow for Rangers, who went to great lengths to try to persuade the starlet to commit long-term.
Football Insider claimed that Wilson was offered the most lucrative first-year professional deal in the club’s history. Giovanni van Bronckhorst and director of football Ross Wilson met with the player and his family to try to win him over.
The Gers could yet lose a senior player to Gerrard and Villa this summer too, with transfer insider Dean Jones telling GiveMeSport last week that the Premier League ‘seem to be in a good position to negotiate’ for Calvin Bassey.
They’re said to want £25million for the 22-year-old, which would represent a record sale.
In other news, Rangers have a potential Alfredo Morelos replacement in mind.