The summer transfer window is here, and there’s plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is a top transfer target for Real Madrid, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea also in pursuit of the 19-year-old. According to Marca, the England international is closer to joining Carlo Ancelotti’s side following Casemiro‘s imminent move to Manchester United.
Real Madrid, for their part, handled their first match without Casemiro well, crushing Celta Vigo by 4-1 on Saturday as Aurelien Tchouameni stepped into a bigger role and Luka Modric did what he always does.
The 30-year-old Casemiro, however, is a much-needed addition to Erik ten Hag’s side, who have suffered back-to-back defeats in their opening league games.
It is reported that the £70m deal between Los Blancos and the Red Devils for the Brazil international will rule out a move to the Premier League for Bellingham, though. Instead, it will fund his transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid look to act ahead of Liverpool.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was reportedly planning to wait until next summer to make an offer for the midfielder. However, the Reds will have to move fast if they are to beat the Spanish side to a deal.
– ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (U.S.)
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
22.20 BST: According to Fabrizio Romano, Benfica keeper Odisseas Vlachodimos is on Manchester United‘s shortlist. The Greek shot-stopper would fill out the position behind David de Gea and Tom Heaton, with Dean Henderson on loan at Nottingham Forest.
Vlachodimos is also being monitored by Ajax, but any deal will be complicated as Benfica will want to keep him ahead of Champions League play.
21.30 BST: Andrea Belotti seems to be on verge of becoming AS Roma‘s newest signing, with manager Jose Mourinho saying (as quoted by Calciomerato) on Sunday: “I can speak about him as he’s still a free agent and I can say that I’m happy to know that he wants to join Roma.
“If it is true, I repeat, if he really wants to come to Roma, I would be happy to hear this kind of feeling. If he doesn’t come, I don’t know, let’s wait and see.”
The Italy national team striker, who is out of a contract after seven seasons at Torino, would continue Roma’s rebuild under Mourinho. The inaugural Europa Conference League winners are aiming for more silverware this season, and have already brought in Paulo Dybala and Nemanja Matic.
Roma did annouce some bad news on Sunday, saying fellow new signing Georginio Wijnaldum (on loan from PSG) suffered a fracture to the tibia in his right leg.
20.30 BST: Chelsea have gotten off to a lacklustre start this season — will that mean further signings are needed?
Manager Thomas Tuchel seemed coy on whether new players will joining, saying after Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Leeds: “The transfer period is still open and it gets later and later and we need to focus on what we have and what we can do.”
Sources have told ESPN last week that the Blues are eyeing attacking duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona and Everton‘s Anthony Gordon, while the future of USMNT star Christian Pulisic at Stamford Bridge remains in limbo.
Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana and Inter Milan’s Cesare Casadei have also been linked with Chelsea, while a late move for Barca’s Frenkie de Jong has not been ruled out.
19.15 BST: Manchester United are considering making an improved offer for Ajax winger Antony, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
United have already seen an €80 million bid rejected by the Dutch side, who have told United chiefs they would only consider a financial package worth closer to €100m.
Sources have told ESPN that United have not given up on signing the Brazilian, partly because he has made it known to Ajax he wants to move to Old Trafford.
Read the full story.
18.11 BST: Atletico Madrid have told Manchester United and other interested parties they are wasting their time over Joao Felix, sources told ESPN’s Adriana Garcia.
It has been suggested that United made a €130m bid to acquire the forward, but sources said Atletico’s stance continues to be that “the player is non-transferable.” Meanwhile, a source at Manchester United did not confirm a bid for Felix but said the club have monitored the player previously. Felix, 22, is under contract with Atletico until June 2026 and has a €350m release clause.
United are looking to bolster their attack, with Erik ten Hag desperate to sign a forward before the end of the transfer window. Felix is a key player for Atletico coach Diego Simeone, and both the club and their fans are excited about the strong attacking partnership the Portugal international has formed with Alvaro Morata, who returned to Atletico last month after two seasons on loan at Juventus.
Felix set up all three of Atletico’s goals, including two from Morata, in Monday’s 3-0 win at Getafe. Injuries limited Felix to 24 league appearances for Atletico last season, scoring eight goals and setting up four more. There was speculation he wanted to leave the Rojiblancos in the previous transfer window because Simeone’s style of play did not suit his strengths. However, Simeone has praised Felix and believes the player can having a starring role this season.
– Atletico vs. Villarreal: Stream LIVE 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+ (U.S.)
17.25 BST: Manchester City are set to offer Bernardo Silva a new contract to ward off interest from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, the Daily Star reports.
Silva, 28, still has three years left on his current deal, but earlier this month told ESPN’s Rob Dawson that his future at the Etihad was not certain.
“I’ve always said that I’m happy here but I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Silva said. “We’ll see, honestly. My relationship with the club is very honest. I’ve been open with them and they know what I want. If I stay, I’m very happy and I will always respect this club and give all my best.
“If not, it’s football and we’ll just see what happens.”
The Star reports that Silva’s current contract is worth £150,000 a week, but that manager Pep Guardiola wants the club to double that wage in order to convince him to stay.16.37 BST: Erik ten Hag was well aware of David de Gea’s limitations on the ball before the start of the season, but the Manchester United boss decided to stick with him over fears making too many changes in his first summer would cause too much disruption, sources told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
De Gea has been criticised for his distribution during defeats to Brighton and Brentford and he was culpable for the second goal at the Gtech Community Stadium after playing a dangerous pass into midfield.
Ten Hag is keen for his teams to build from the back, and he has been questioned by some supporters over his decision to put his faith in De Gea. Sources told ESPN the goalkeeping situation was identified as a problem ahead of the new season, but Ten Hag believed the best option was to stick with the 31-year-old in his first season while other more pressing issues were solved.
United, meanwhile, made a point of only making Dean Henderson available for loan in the summer and did not allow Nottingham Forest to include an obligation to sign clause in his temporary move to the City Ground. Henderson is considered better on the ball than De Gea but he was desperate for regular first team football after making just three appearances last season.
Sources added United are looking to sign another goalkeeper to compete with De Gea before the transfer deadline on Sept. 1, but they expect Henderson, who has impressed already at Forest, to return to Old Trafford at the end of the season and compete for the No. 1 spot.
15.50 BST: Chelsea could turn to Brentford striker Ivan Toney if their bid to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stalls, the Daily Mirror reports.
The Blues are in talks with Barcelona over a transfer for Aubameyang, but Toney is on their list of possible alternatives.
The Mirror reports that Manchester United and Everton are also weighing up a move for the 26-year-old, who scored 12 goals for the Bees in their first Premier League campaign last season and already has two in three games this term.15.02 BST: CF Montreal midfielder Djordje Mihailovic is closing in on a move to Dutch Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle.
Montreal sporting director Olivier Renard told TVA Sports that Mihailovic wouldn’t take part in Saturday’s match against the New England Revolution, as he had been given permission to travel to Europe to finalize the deal.
Sources confirmed that, including bonuses, the deal could reach $6m. Montreal would also receive a percentage of a future transfer, which could take the total haul even higher. The plan is that if the transfer goes through, Mihailovic will remain with Montreal until the end of the 2022 campaign.
Mihailovic enjoyed a sparking start to the MLS season, recording seven goals and four assists by the end of May. But a knee injury sidelined him for the month of June, and denied him the opportunity to take in a quartet of games with the U.S. men’s national team. Although he has returned to the field, he has yet to register a goal or assist since he went down.
14.34 BST: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has confirmed that both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay will be available for Sunday’s trip to Real Sociedad, but didn’t close the door on them leaving before the transfer deadline.
Chelsea are negotiating for Aubameyang, who could return to London just six months after leaving Arsenal to join Barca, while Juventus are keen on Memphis.
“The transfer window is open until [Sept. 1] and we don’t know what will happen,” Xavi said. “At the moment, [Aubameyang] is our player and I am counting on him. For me, he’s an important player, but we will see what happens.
“For now, neither [Aubameyang nor Memphis] has left. If there’s an offer for one of them, we will see how the squad is and decide what to do.”
Sources have told ESPN that talks between Chelsea and Barca over Aubameyang are progressing. However, despite their interest in Marcos Alonso, Barca don’t want the left-back to be included in the deal and will demand cash only.
There’s an expectation that a middle ground could be struck at around €25m, while Barca would move for Alonso in a separate deal once they are sure they can register him. That is far from a certainty, though, with summer signing Jules Kounde missing a second game this season as a result of Barca being unable to register him with LaLiga yet (see 11.56 BST).
– Real Sociedad vs. Barca: LIVE Sunday, 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (U.S.)13.47 BST: Los Angeles FC is finalizing a deal to loan defender Mamadou Fall to LaLiga side Villarreal, a league source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle.
The 19-year-old, who had previously trained with Villarreal’s U17 and U19 academy teams, had made 16 appearances this season with the Black and Gold, 13 of them starts, while scoring one goal. But Fall has seen his playing time decrease over the course of the campaign, and has made just one league start since June 1.
Former Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini arrived during the summer transfer window, while fellow defender Eddie Segura returned from a long-term injury, increasing the competition for minutes.
13.09 BST: Tottenham Hotspur are among the Premier League clubs targeting Manchester United midfielder James Garner, The Sun reports.
Garner, 21, made 49 appearances on loan for Nottingham Forest last season, helping them gain promotion back up to the Premier League for the first time this century.
Garner has made seven first-team appearances for United, none of them as a starter in the Premier League, but that has not stopped Spurs, Leeds and Southampton looking at the England youth international.
However, The Sun reports that United’s £14m valuation of their youth product is too high for those clubs to act on their interest.
12.33 BST: Raheem Sterling has said he was “fuming” and “raging” at the way his Manchester City career came to an end this summer.
The forward ended his seven-year spell at the Etihad Stadium after sealing a transfer to Premier League rivals Chelsea in a deal worth up to £50m.
Sterling previously said a lack of game time led to his departure but he has now expressed his unhappiness with how he was treated at City.
“Everyone wants to feel wanted, football is no different,” Sterling told Sky Sports. “When you play your heart out, sacrifice some of your kids’ birthdays, and then get treated in a certain way, it’s disappointing.
“At the time I was fuming, raging, but it’s gone, it’s in the past and I can only focus on the present, which is now, here at Chelsea, and the opportunity I’ve got here to go out and showcase my talents once again.”
When asked about the biggest factors leading up to his Chelsea move, Sterling said: “Misunderstandings, contracts running down. It was a shame to see how it ended in the end because I had such a great time there.
“A lot of things came into play, a lot of reasons, but I wasn’t complaining, I was ready to challenge and, as you can see, even with some of the performances I put in, you couldn’t guarantee yourself a place so it just didn’t make sense to fight a battle you can never win.”
11.56 BST: Barcelona have failed to register summer signing Jules Kounde in time for Sunday’s LaLiga game against Real Sociedad.
Kounde arrived for €55m from Sevilla in July and is the only one of Barça’s six summer signings yet to be registered.
Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen were all registered last Friday, just 24 hours ahead of the opening game against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou, a goalless draw.
Pablo Torre has a youth registration for now and has been included in the squad to travel to San Sebastian this weekend.
Barca have sold club assets worth over €700m this summer to improve their financial situation and are now operating with a 1:1 ratio when it comes to new signings.
That means they can spend whatever they make in fees or save in wages on new players — they were previously working with a 1:4 ratio.
However, they do not yet have enough space within their LaLiga-imposed spending cap to register France international Kounde.
– Real Sociedad vs. Barcelona: Stream LIVE 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (U.S.)11.12 BST: Manchester United’s swift move to agree a deal to sign Casemiro this week made headlines, while the potential fee that they’ll pay Real Madrid — which sources have told ESPN is an initial £60m (€70m), with another £10m (€11m) in add-ons — has raised eyebrows for a player who turned 30 in February.
The deal doesn’t make the Brazil midfielder the most expensive over-30 player of all time, though. It’s his future United — and former Madrid — teammate Cristiano Ronaldo who still holds that honour. Juventus eventually paid a whopping €100m to sign Ronaldo, now 37, from Madrid back in July 2018. Casemiro — another Madrid departure — now holds the No. 2 spot on the most expensive over-30s list, as he faces the unenviable task of turning around United’s season after two losses in their two opening Premier League games.
A common feature of several of the historical transfers in the over-30s top 10 is that they didn’t work out quite as anticipated — ranging from being simply underwhelming to outright flops. United will be hoping that Casemiro is the exception.
– Casemiro among most expensive over-30 transfers ever
10.28 BST: Another player left out of a matchday squad on Saturday was Wesley Fofana, who was not named in Leicester City’s matchday squad against Southampton amid reported interest from Chelsea.
Last weekend the Daily Mail reported that personal terms over a potential transfer have already been agreed with Fofana, but Leicester are holding out for a bigger transfer fee. Chelsea have had two bids turned down, the most recent for £65m, but the Foxes want more than the £80m they got from Manchester United for Harry Maguire in 2019.
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers told the BBC after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat: “He’s just a young player who is not quite in the right frame of mind at the moment to play.
“There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, which I understand. It’s a difficult moment for him. He’s a good kid. He’s been great for us while he’s been here.”
Midfielder Youri Tielemans, another player who has been linked with a move, began the game on the bench but was brought on in the second half.
“With Youri and Wesley, there’s no problem but if your mind isn’t quite on playing, this is a level where you have to be totally concentrated and focused — and if you’re not, unfortunately you can’t play,” Rodgers added.
“There have been a few offers in for some players — nowhere near the valuation the club would want to sell. None of them are for sale but I know how the game works. There are a few weeks to go, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”09.44 BST: Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe was left out of the matchday squad at Bournemouth on Saturday, with sources telling ESPN’s James Olley that the club are in talks with Ligue 1 club Nice over a transfer.
The Gunners went top of the Premier League with a commanding 3-0 win at the Vitality Stadium, but Pepe again played no part having been an unused substitute for the club’s first two games of the season.
Pepe has struggled since joining Arsenal from Lille for a club-record fee of £72m in 2019, scoring 27 goals in 112 appearances for the club across all competitions.
The Ivory Coast winger scored 16 goals in 47 appearances in his most productive campaign for the north London side in 2020-21 and helped them lift the FA Cup in 2020. But the 27-year-old made just five Premier League starts last season.
– Olley: Arsenal go top as Arteta revolution continues
09.00 BST: Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has called for the summer transfer window to close earlier after a number of his players were linked with moves away from the club with the season already under way.
ESPN reported earlier this week that Atletico forward Matheus Cunha was a target for Manchester United while Alvaro Morata had also been offered to the Premier League giants.
Joao Felix was linked with a move to Old Trafford by the Spanish newspaper Marca this week, while there has been speculation about the futures of Antoine Griezmann, Yannick Carrasco, Marcos Llorente and Renan Lodi.
“It would be good for managers [if the window closed earlier],” Simeone said on Saturday in a news conference ahead of Atletico’s LaLiga game with Villarreal. “I don’t know about agents and clubs!
“For us it would be good to start with the players we have and know that they’ll be with the team all year, or at least with a break in January. While [the market] stays open, all this [speculation] happens.”
– Atletico vs. Villarreal: Stream LIVE 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+ (U.S.)
– MLS sides want to sign Mauro Icardi from PSG, reveals Ekrem Konur. The two North American sides are set to enter the race for the 29-year-old, who will likely leave Paris this summer. Recent transfer rumours have linked the forward with a move to the Super Lig following interest from Turkish rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, with Manchester United also previously reported to have enquired after the Argentina international.
– Marseille and Manchester United have reached a full agreement to sign Eric Bailly on loan, reports Fabrizio Romano. The 28-year-old defender, who made just four Premier League appearances last season, is not part of Erik ten Hag’s plans for the season and is fifth-choice centre-back following the arrival of Lisandro Martinez. Following the agreement of personal terms, which are reportedly being finalised, the Ivory Coast international will join the Ligue 1 side in a loan deal which includes the option to buy.
– Aston Villa have reached an agreement with Watford for Ismaila Sarr, reports Sky Sports. The 24-year-old winger is set to return to the Premier League in a deal reportedly worth more than £25m plus add-ons. The Senegal international, who has been heavily linked to a move to West Ham this summer, scored five goals in the Premier League last season.
– Lazio plan to make a last-minute move for Sergio Reguilon, reports Calciomercato. Maurizio Sarri is still searching for a left-back this transfer window, and after failing to secure the signing of Chelsea’s Emerson Palmieri, the Serie A side are set to pursue the 25-year-old from Tottenham Hotspur. The Albania international has already attracted interest from Atalanta, and appears set to depart North London after being displaced by from Antonio Conte’s starting 11 for this season following the arrival of Ivan Perisic.
LIVE Transfer Talk: Real Madrid aim to beat Liverpool to Jude Bellingham after Casemiro exit – ESPN – ESPN
