Football transfer news

Manchester United are still hopeful that midfielder Juan Mata will be at the club next season, despite having so far failed to tie the Spaniard down to a new contract.

Mata’s current deal expires on June 30, and there is interest in him from clubs in England, Italy and Spain in picking the player up on a free transfer. Barcelona, over the last few weeks, have been talked up as being at the front of the line.

Though according to a report by ?ESPN, ?Manchester United have offered ?Mata a new contract and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær is still optimistic that the 31-year-old will sign the deal – even while he’s seen close friend Ander Herrera leave the club recently.

Mata has been a first-team regular for most of his United career but has had reduced involvement in the most recent campaign, starting just 16 league games.

He joined Manchester United for a then club-record fee of £37m from ?Chelsea in January 2014 when David Moyes was at the helm at Old Trafford. He departed the Blues after struggling for game time under José Mourinho, who he would later play under at United.

He has been one of United’s best performers since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and has scored some crucial goals, such as the equaliser in the 2016 FA Cup final against Crystal Palace which United would go on to win and and two goals, including a stunning scissor kick, against Liverpool at Anfield in 2015 that helped United finish in the top-four.

Mata has won the FA Cup, Community Shield, EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League during his time at Old Trafford. He has made 218 appearances for United, scoring 45 goals.

He has won 41 caps for Spain and was part of the squads that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship in 2012. However he has not made an appearance for his country since November 2016.

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?Juventus have struck an agreement with Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, as they put plans in place to sign the player from Lazio this summer.

Milinkovic-Savic wasn’t necessarily at his best for much of the season with Lazio, but his form notably improved in the latter stages of the campaign and he was named as the best midfielder in Serie A. He also played a central role in Lazio’s Coppa Italia victory, where he scored the opening goal in the final against Atalanta last week.

According to Italian journalist ?Gianluca Di Marzio, ?Juventus have made the Serbian midfielder a priority signing this summer and are now in advanced talks to prise him away from Lazio.

The report claims that Juventus have already reached a ‘broad agreement’ with Milinkovic-Savic, but negotiations are yet to take place between the two clubs – suggesting that Juventus still have a long way to go before they are able to secure a deal.

That could prove to be even more difficult when Milinkovic-Savic’s previous valuations are taken  into consideration. Juventus previously made an attempt to land his signature last summer, but the 24-year-old was labelled with a €100m price tag by Lazio president Claudio Lotito.

The news concerning Milinkovic-Savic’s now uncertain future comes after he claimed he would still like to achieve further success with Lazio, telling TGR (via ?Calciomercato) after the Coppa Italia victory: “I’m still in shock for the final, we hope to win many more. I want to bring other trophies to the Biancocelesti.”

If Juventus were able to acquire Milinkovic-Savic, then he is expected to be just one of a number of new signings as the club prepare to build a squad that is capable of finally delivering the Champions League.

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??Arsenal striker ?Alexandre Lacazette has been left out of the France squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers, while ?Barcelona’s Clement Lenglet has been included for the first time.

Depsite being named the Gunners’ Player of the Season earlier this month, there is no place for Lacazette in Didier Deschamps’ 23-man squad, which instead includes ?Chelsea’s ?Olivier Giroud and Sevilla’s Wissam Ben Yedder for June’s qualifiers against Turkey and Andorra.

Deschamps, explaining Lacazette’s omission, said via the ?Metro: “There’s no reason for us not to see him again, I had a difficult choice to make, with Ben Yedder coming out of a big season too.

“I have a choice to make and I chose Wissam [Ben Yedder]. He has scored 30 goals in all competitions this season. He scored in big games, he knows how to play in alone in attack. He’s named in this group of attackers as another option at one time or another.”

Meanwhile, Barça centre-back Lenglet has been included for the first time after an impressive debut season at the Camp Nou, where he has made 44 appearances and edged compatriot Samuel Umtiti out of the starting lineup.

?Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, however, is snubbed yet again by Deschamps despite starring in the Citizens’ treble-winning season and being named in the PFA Team of the Year, with Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma among the preferred defenders after an impressive season on loan at ?Everton.

Lenglet isn’t the only new face in this French camp, as Lyon full-back Leo Dubois and Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan prepare to join up with the World Cup winners for the first time next month.

Chelsea midfielder ?N’Golo Kante has struggled with injury of late, but having returned to training ahead of the Europa League final, the 28-year-old has been named among Deschamps’ midfielders alongside ?Manchester United’s ?Paul Pogba.

Les Bleus take on Bolivia in a friendly on June 2, before two qualifiers away from home against Turkey on June 6 and Andorra on June 11. 

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Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola, Benjamin Lecomte, Hugo Lloris, Mike Maignan.

Defenders: Lucas Digne, Clement Lenglet, Ferland Mendy, Benjamin Pavard, Leo Dubois, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Kurt Zouma

Midfielders: N’Golo Kante, Blaise Matuidi, Tanguy Ndombele, Paul Pogba, Moussa Sissoko

Forwards: Wissam Ben Yedder, Kingsley Coman, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Florian Thauvin.

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?Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente looks set to leave the club this summer, as the club have decided against extending the Spaniard’s contract.

Llorente’s current deal expires at the end of this season and the 34-year-old would have hoped his key role in Tottenham’s progress to the Champions League final may earn him an extension, but it appears the final in Madrid may be his Spurs swansong.

As reported by the ?Daily Mirror, the Lilywhites had until Saturday to trigger the 12-month extension of Llorente’s contract but the club seem to have shown their striker the door, as they turn their attention to a younger back-up option to ?Harry Kane.

The Mirror report Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez has a potential target for ?Spurs, who scored 13 goals in La Liga this season, while clubs throughout Europe are showing interest in the outgoing Llorente.

?Milan, Roma, Valencia and Marseille are all said to be keen on the experienced striker, who has shown his ability on the European stage on multiple occasions this season.

It was Llorente’s goal at the Etihad Stadium that knocked ?Manchester City out of the Champions League, sending Spurs through to the last four, where the Spaniard came on at half time and played a key role in the remarkable second-half comeback against Ajax.

However, Llorente has struggled for game time under Mauricio Pochettino – he has made just seven Premier League starts since arriving in 2017 – and unless the club perform a U-turn after next month’s final against ?Liverpool, Llorente will be looking for a new club over the summer.

Spurs will take on the Reds in Madrid on June 1, as the north London club look to lift their first ever European Cup. 

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?Julian Brandt is set to undergo a medical with Borussia Dortmund in the coming days ahead of a €25m move from Bayer Leverkusen.

The German winger has been the subject of significant interest from a host of top clubs across Europe over the past few seasons after consistently impressing for Leverkusen. He enjoyed a decent 2018/19 campaign where he registered seven goals and 14 assists as Leverkusen secured a top four finish for the first time in three years.

According to German publication ?Bild, ?Borussia Dortmund have now activated Brandt’s €25m release clause and the transfer should be completed at some point this week after the 23-year-old has completed a medical.

Bild also claim that Brandt informed his teammates that he will be joining Dortmund as they were travelling to a vacation in Barcelona.

Brandt appears to be a direct replacement for Christian Pulisic, who has now left Dortmund after agreeing to join Chelsea at the beginning of the January transfer window.

Leverkusen manager Rudi Voller has previously suggested that Leverkusen’s top four finish may have been enough to convince Brandt to stay put, saying (via ?Goal): “We know exactly which clubs have knocked [for Brandt]. 

Julian Brandt will undergo his Borussia Dortmund medical later this week. Just 1 goal & 3 assists before Christmas but finished the season with 7 goals & 14 assists in 33 Bundesliga games. Brilliant piece of business. #bvb https://t.co/2Z8AxghgIe

— Daniel Pinder (@DanielJPinder) May 21, 2019

“Brandt has some requests, and in the next five, six or seven days there will be a decision. By reaching the Champions League, we hope we have a small or big chance [that he will stay].”

In other news, Dortmund have already completed the signing of ?Hoffenheim full-back Nico Schulz and remain the favourites to land Borussia Monchengaldbach winger Thorgan Hazard.

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