Football transfer news

Brazil host Colombia in the early hours of Friday morning as they continue their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Selecao have been steady but rather uninspiring under Dorival Junior since the 62-year-old took over in January 2024, winning six, drawing six and losing two of his 14 matches in charge. Such results have left Brazil fifth in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table, seven points behind fierce rivals and leaders Argentina.

Successive draws to Venezuela and Uruguay have seen the five-time world champions stumble in their bid for automatic progression to next summer’s tournament, although they’re almost certain to qualify with relatively little fuss.

Colombia currently sit a point above Brazil in the standings but back-to-back defeats during the November international break have seen them lose ground on their competitors. The 2024 Copa America runners-up are unbeaten in their last two with the Selecao and will fancy their chances of grabbing a result this time around.

Here is 90min’s guide to the South American clash.

Brazil vs Colombia head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Neymar had received a call-up to Brazil’s March squad but injury has once again set him back. The superstar forward, who is now back at Santos, is absent with a thigh problem and has been replaced by Real Madrid’s Endrick.

Defensive duo Bremer and Eder Militao and Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson are among the injured personnel, while Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta are others who have been omitted.

Newcastle United pair Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes team up with their compatriots following their Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool, a topic they may avoid when speaking with Reds goalkeeper Alisson on international duty.

Brazil predicted lineup vs Colombia (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Vanderson, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Arana; Gerson, Guimaraes; Rodrygo, Raphinha, Vinicius Jr; Cunha.

Colombia will lean on the creative influence of Luis Diaz during their clash with Brazil and the Liverpool winger will be helped in attack by Al Nassr star Jhon Duran and Leon midfielder James Rodriguez.

Crystal Palace duo Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Munoz have both been selected and are expected to start in Brasilia, with Bournemouth’s Luis Sinisterra the only other Premier League representative having recovered from injury over the past month.

Colombia predicted lineup vs Brazil (4-2-3-1): Vargas; Munoz, Lucumi, Sanchez, Mojica; Lerma, Portilla; Arias, Rodriguez, Diaz; Duran.

Brazil have won just half of their home games in qualifying thus far and are far from guaranteed victory against the plucky Colombia. Despite their array of world-beaters, they have often struggled to gel on the big stage.

Colombia could take advantage to maintain the gap between themselves and Brazil, with Nestor Lorenzo’s side having generally saved their better performances for the stronger teams over the past year.

Prediction: Brazil 1-1 Colombia

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90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…

Barcelona are ‘betting everything’ on signing Mohamed Salah from Liverpool this summer, wanting to capitalise on the fact he’ll be a free agent in June. Luis Diaz also remains a priority target. (Foot Mercato – France)

Arsenal are continuing to monitor Leroy Sane‘s situation at Bayern Munich ahead of a potential free transfer. (Sky Germany)

Manchester City are readying an offer of more than €80m for Barcelona’s Ballon d’Or contender Raphinha. (El Nacional – Spain)

Chelsea are interested in re-signing former academy graduate Ola Aina from Nottingham Forest, six years after selling him to Torino for just £8.7m. (TBR Football)

Barcelona have turned their attention to Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez and could use Gavi and Ferran Torres as potential bargaining chips in a part-exchange deal. (Fichajes – Spain)

Liverpool are willing to spend over €100m on Alvarez, but Atletico have no intention of selling the Argentine international. (El Nacional – Spain)

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva wants to see out the remainder of his contract, which runs until the summer of 2026. (Mirror)

Real Madrid are close to signing off on a new contract for breakthrough central defender Raul Asencio. (Fabrizio Romano)

Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha has no intention of leaving the club despite a disappointing first season in Bavaria. (BILD – Germany)

Newcastle United want to build on their Carabao Cup win by signing impressive Villarreal winger Yeremy Pino. (TBR Football)

Barcelona‘s pursuit of Athletic Club’s Nico Williams has no chance of being successful unless the Spain international is guaranteed a starting role. (El Nacional – Spain)

Manchester United have made contact with Juventus over teenage winger Kenan Yildiz, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City also keen on the €90m-rated Turkish international. (TEAMtalk)

Arsenal will step up their interest in Atletico Madrid’s tough-tackling midfielder Pablo Barrios if they go ahead with the hiring of Andrea Berti as sporting director. (Fichajes – Spain)

Jorginho, strongly linked with a summer move to Flamengo, is waiting for Arsenal to confirm the sporting director appointment before deciding his future. (GOAL – Brazil)

Liverpool remain interested in Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill and are maintaining contact with his representatives. (TBR Football)

Chelsea winger Noni Madueke has emerged as a priority target for Serie A giants AC Milan. (Fichajes – Spain)

Real Betis have a good chance of signing Antony from Manchester United on a permament basis, should they qualify for next season’s Europa League. (ABC Sevilla – Spain)

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Cristian Romero would be keen to join Real Madrid if the 15-time Champions League winners made an offer. (Football Insider)

West Ham United midfielder Edson Alvarez remains on Chelsea‘s shortlist – the Blues were interested in signing the defensive midfielder before he switched to London Stadium. (Nacion Futbol – Mexico)

Aston Villa are tracking the progress of Real Sociedad right-back Jon Aramburu as they look to bolster Unai Emery’s defensive options. (Fichajes – Spain)

Inter are showing interest in former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, owing to his impressive performances for rivals Napoli. (Fichajes – Spain)

West Ham and Wolves have both made offers to sign Corinthians striker Yuri Alberto. (Ge Globo – Brazil)

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Portugal make the journey to Denmark for the first leg of their 2024/25 UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie on Thursday evening.

The inaugural Nations League champions are seeking a second crown and their first piece of silverware under Roberto Martinez, who currently boasts a mightily impressive 77% win ratio since taking charge of the Euro 2016 winners.

Portugal will be keen to take an advantage into Sunday’s return leg in Lisbon as they aim to book their ticket to the last four. The winner of the quarter-final between Italy and Germany awaits.

Denmark are underdogs heading into Thursday’s affair and are still searching for their first victory under new manager Brian Riemer. The former Anderlecht coach has overseen a defeat and draw from his opening two matches, results that have added to a four-game winless run for the Scandinavians.

Here is 90min’s guide to Denmark vs Portugal.

Denmark vs Portugal H2H Record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Riemer was unable to select Yussuf Poulsen, Kasper Dolberg, Matt O’Riley and Alexander Bah due to injuries, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Mads Roerslev have both been forced to withdraw due to more recent fitness issues.

Manchester United trio Rasmus Hojlund, Christian Eriksen and Patrick Dorgu are among the selections, while fellow Premier League representatives Mikkel Damsgaard, Filip Jorgensen and Joachim Andersen have also been chosen.

Former Arsenal striker Mika Biereth is expected to make his first senior appearance after dazzling with Monaco since his January switch. He’s scored 11 in 12 for the Ligue 1 outfit.

Denmark predicted lineup vs Portugal (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Kristensen, Andersen, Vestergaard, Dorgu; Norgaard, Hjulmand, Eriksen; Isaksen, Biereth, Damsgaard.

Portugal’s star-studded squad continues to be led by international football’s most prolific goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo. The 40-year-old is aiming to add to his tally of 135 goals across both legs with Denmark.

Nuno Tavares was named among the Portugal defenders for March’s squad but has since withdrawn through injury. The Lazio man, on loan from Arsenal, was hoping to add to his first cap after he made a brief cameo during the November break.

17-year-old wonderkid Geovany Quenda, who has agreed a deal to join Chelsea, has been called up to the senior squad for the first time.

Portugal predicted lineup vs Denmark (4-2-3-1): Costa; Dalot, A. Silva, Dias, Mendes; Vitinha, J. Neves; Neto, B. Fernandes, Leao; Ronaldo.

Portugal are unbeaten since their Euro 2024 quarter-final exit and eased past their competitors in the group stage of the Nations League. They have an astonishingly talented squad and have the bulk of their key players fit for both clashes with Denmark.

Their Thursday night opponents are still finding their feet at the beginning of a new regime and will be hard pushed to take anything from Portugal’s visit to Copenhagen.

Prediction: Denmark 1-2 Portugal

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Thursday will offer a repeat of the 2018 FIFA World Cup final when Croatia take on France in the first leg of their 2024/25 UEFA Nations League quarter-final.

Neither side has been in action since the previous international break all the way back in November, where both secured progression to the last eight of the fourth Nations League campaign. France will be searching for a second crown this year having triumphed in 2021.

Les Bleus reached the quarter-finals after topping their group ahead of Italy, Belgium and Israel, with long-serving head coach Didier Deschamps still trying to recover from a largely underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign last summer.

Croatia squeezed into the last eight ahead of Scotland and were no match for group winners Portugal. Zlatko Dalic will be aiming to pull off an upset during the first leg, providing an advantage to protect during the second leg in France on Sunday.

Here is 90min’s guide to the clash.

Croatia vs France head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Croatia continue to rely on their established cast of veterans, with Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric among those who have been called up. All four could start against France.

Luka Sucic was named in the squad for March but it’s been confirmed that the Real Sociedad midfielder will miss both legs with a knee injury.

Dalic has named two debutants for this month’s squad, with Union Saint-Gillose’s Franjo Ivanovic and Rijeka’s Toni Fruk both earning their first call-ups.

Croatia predicted lineup vs France (4-2-3-1): Livakovic; Juranovic, Caleta-Car, Sutalo, Gvardiol; Modric, Kovacic; Baturina, Pasalic, Perisic; Kramaric.

Having been a surprise omission from the last two France squads, Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe returns to the national team set-up. He has been in encouraging form since the turn of the year and will be aiming to shine on his comeback.

Unfortunately for Deschamps, he’s without Inter forward Marcus Thuram. The striker was selected but has withdrawn due to an ankle injury, with no replacement chosen.

There are not too many shocks elsewhere, with only three Premier League players travelling. All are defenders, with Ibrahima Konate, William Saliba and Lucas Digne chosen by Deschamps.

France predicted lineup vs Croatia (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Olise, Mbappe; Kolo Muani.

Croatia are no longer the force they once were despite still boasting the capacity to spring a surprise and their group stage tally of just eight points suggests that France should earn an important victory ahead of the return leg.

Les Bleus have a myriad of options across the field and the forwards at their disposal are simply frightening. They have won four of their last five and should continue their impressive form in Split.

Prediction: Croatia 1-2 France

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Estevao Willian’s agent Andre Cury revealed that Chelsea’s willingness to let his client play in a central, attacking midfield role was a key factor behind the teenager’s decision to join the Blues above a glut of other interested suitors.

The Brazilian forward, who was rapidly christened ‘Messinho’ – little Messi – due to his dribbling ability and left-footedness, agreed to join Chelsea last summer. The Palmeiras starlet won’t be able to join up with his new club until after the upcoming Club World Cup as he is not yet 18.

Chelsea have made a habit of snapping up teenage talent from across the globe under the club’s ambitious ownership. In recent weeks, the Blues outmanoeuvred Manchester United to secure the coveted signature of Sporting CP’s Geovany Quenda.

The jostling queue of suitors trying to sign Estevao was even longer. Arsenal were tipped to be interested in the record-toppling Brazilian while both La Liga giants – Barcelona and Real Madrid – cast admiring glances his way.

Ultimately, Estevao plumped for a Chelsea side which had just finished sixth in the Premier League because of the positional freedom they were willing to afford him.

“It was the only club that saw us as No 10, to play in midfield,” Estevao’s agent Cury told O Globo. “I may be wrong, but we will have the opportunity. I think we will be right, so that was also something that weighed heavily.”

Intriguingly, Estevao doesn’t play as a ‘No 10’ – a central, attacking midfielder – for Palmeiras. When Abel Ferreira lines up with a system which incorporates a player in that position, he invariably opts for Brazil international Raphael Veiga.

Cury is undeterred, insisting that Estevao’s best position is through the middle. “In my opinion, on my team he plays as a ten,” the agent added. “They like to put him on the wing. I think it’s too narrow for a player of that quality, I think that… like all players of that quality in the world, he’s usually the No 10, so the No 10 plays inside.”

Complicating matters even further is the undeniable fact that Chelsea’s best player already occupies the No 10 spot. Cole Palmer is practically an ever-present for the Blues as the central hub of Enzo Maresca’s 4-2-3-1. The England international was forced to sit out Chelsea’s toothless defeat to Arsenal before the March international break with a minor injury – that was the first top-flight game Palmer had missed in 11 months.

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