Football transfer news

Everton have reached an agreement to sign Sporting CP midfielder Matheus Nunes for a fee of around £15m.

The Toffees have been chasing Matheus for a while now and saw reports of their interest increase when Nuno Espirito Santo was tipped to become the club’s new manager. The focus is now on Rafa Benitez, but that interest in Matheus still remains.

Having failed with a bid to take Matheus on loan next season, A Bola claim that Everton have now agreed to meet Sporting’s demands to bring the 22-year-old to Goodison Park this summer, paying £15m up front with a further £1.5m in add-ons.

It’s now said to be just a matter of time before the deal is closed, with all the major details already agreed upon.

Everton have already agreed personal terms with Matheus, whose annual salary will jump from £170,000 to £1m if he moves to Goodison.

2020/21 was Matheus’ breakthrough year at Sporting. The 22-year-old Brazilian made 39 appearances for the Portuguese side, chipping in with three goals and two assists despite not always being a regular starter.

He ended the season with 12 starts in the league, but despite his limited minutes, he appears to have done enough to earn himself a big-money move to Everton.

Should the move go through as expected, Matheus will compete for minutes with Abdoulaye Doucoure as a ball-carrying midfielder. The Toffees capitulated across March and April when Doucoure was out injured, winning just one of their seven games without him in the squad.

??????? ???? ? ???? ?????? ??????!

? @Sporting_CP’s Matheus Nunes headed in an injury time winner in last night’s ?????? ?? ??????!

Sporting sit top of Liga Nos with a 4 point lead ? pic.twitter.com/UZEasKEJDZ

— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) February 2, 2021

Matheus’ role in the squad will be up to whoever gets the nod in the dugout at Goodison. Benitez is thought to be towards the front of the queue but reports elsewhere have linked Roberto Martinez with a return.

Everton hope to make a decision soon to give their manager as much time as possible to prepare for the new season, and it looks like Matheus could be the first signing of whoever wins the race.

For more from ?Tom Gott, follow him on ?Twitter!

Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek is not happy with his lack of minutes at Manchester United and is open to the idea of joining Barcelona this summer.

A £35m signing from Ajax last summer, Van de Beek managed 36 appearances in all competitions in his debut season at Old Trafford, but just four of those came as Premier League starts as Bruno Fernandes dominated the 10 spot in the starting lineup.

While United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has always insisted that Van de Beek’s time will come, it seems as though the Dutchman is done waiting as Sport claim that he has offered himself to Barcelona this summer.

Van de Beek is believed to have seen Georginio Wijnaldum snub Barcelona in favour of Paris Saint-Germain and used that to his advantage, reaching out to the Spanish side to let them know he would jump at the chance to join them.

It is thought that Van de Beek is unhappy at United and wants an immediate change this summer, with his representatives telling Barcelona that they would happily accept a loan move if a permanent deal was financially out of the question.

Unfortunately for Van de Beek, while Barcelona haven’t ruled anything out just yet, they are not particularly interested in adding another attack-minded midfielder and would prefer to find someone in Wijnaldum’s mould.

Man City’s Ilkay Gundogan, Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini and Napoli’s Fabian Ruiz have all been named as potential alternatives in the past, with all three happier playing in that deeper central midfield void that it was hoped Wijnaldum would fix.

Van de Beek has played there in the past, even playing deeper than Wijnaldum for the Dutch national team at times, but it seems as though Barcelona don’t really value his skills on the defensive side of things.

For Van de Beek, it seems like another season at United is on the cards, although he could be allowed to leave if United can find the right replacement for him this summer. They are on the lookout for a central midfielder, although defensive players like West Ham’s Declan Rice are thought to be the club’s preference.

The Dutchman’s future could hinge on Jesse Lingard, who is thought to have stressed his desire to stay at Old Trafford. He could act as Fernandes’ understudy, clearing the way for Van de Beek to leave on loan.

For more from ?Tom Gott, follow him on ?Twitter!

The first matches of the 2021 Copa America are coming to a close, with plenty of fantastic goals and games for us to feast our eyes on. Covid-19 has impacted the Copa America severely, forcing Conmebol to move the tournament from Colombia and Argentina to Brazil while teams deal with internal outbreaks. 

Venezuela stands as the most affected nation, registering 11 positive cases days prior to their inaugural match against Brazil. Despite the complications, the tournament has proceeded and given spectators some fantastic moments. 16 Major League Soccer players were originally called up to the tournament. 

Here’s everything you need to know about their involvement in Copa America so far…

Josef Martinez (Atlanta United): The Atlanta United superstar missed the opening match against Brazil due to Covid-19. Despite having been vaccinated, Martinez was among the 11 players that tested positive for the virus days before the inaugural game. 

Ronald Hernandez (Atlanta United): Atlanta’s young defender made a last minute appearance during Venezuela’s 3-0 defeat to Brazil. He failed to make an impact as his side’s fate had already been decided. 

Junior Moreno (D.C. United): The D.C. United midfielder struggled against Brazil throughout the 90 minutes. Though he was not directly to blame for the goals, Moreno simply couldn’t stop Brazil’s offense. 

Jhonder Cadiz (Nashville SC): Like Martinez, Jhonder missed the inaugural match against Brazil after testing positive for Covid-19 days prior. 

Cristian Casseres Jr. (New York Red Bulls): Casseres made his Copa America debut on Sunday, playing 84 minutes against Brazil. Though he couldn’t find the back of the net, the New York Red Bulls player gave a valiant offensive effort for Venezuela. 

Jose Martinez (Philadelphia Union): The Philadelphia Union midfielder played the entirety of the match against Brazil, failing to make any real impact throughout the 90 minutes.

Diego Palacios (Los Angeles FC): LAFC’s left back did not feature for Ecuador against Colombia. 

Sebastian Mendez (Orlando City SC): Sebas Mendez played the entire 90 minutes against Colombia but simply couldn’t find a way to make a positive impact on the game. He allowed too many balls through the midfield, facilitating Colombia’s chances at goal. 

Xavier Arreaga (Seattle Sounders): The defender did not feature for Ecuador against Colombia. 

Gaston Gimenez (Chicago Fire FC): Despite being named in the overall roster, Gimenez did not feature in the lineup for Paraguay against Bolivia.

Brian Rodriguez (Los Angeles FC): Rodriguez will hope to make his Copa America debut on Friday when  Uruguay faces Argentina. 

Alexander Callens (New York City FC): The NYCFC player hopes to make his Copa America debut on Thursday as Peru faces host nation Brazil. 

Pedro Gallese (Orlando City SC): Peru has yet to play so far in Copa America, kicking off on Thursday. The Orlando goalkeeper will hope to feature against Brazil. 

Marcos Lopez (San Jose Earthquakes): The defender hopes to feature against Brazil in the country’s first Copa America match. 

Yimmi Chara (Portland Timbers): Despite featuring in the overall roster, Yimmi Chara did not make the line up for the match against Ecuador.

Felipe Mora (Portland Timbers): Mora watched from the sidelines as Chile tied 1-1 with Argentina. Though he was named in the lineup, the MLS player was never subbed in.

Manchester United have warned Atletico Madrid that they are not prepared to meet their asking price for right-back Kieran Trippier this summer.

United have identified Trippier as their ideal target to bolster both sides of their defence, but they recently saw a £10m bid for the 30-year-old knocked back by Atletico, who would want far more than that to sell their starting right-back.

There has been some confusion over just how much Atletico are looking for. The Guardian say his asking price has been set at around £34m, similar to the release clause in his contract, but BBC Sport claim it is closer to the £20m mark.

Even if it is that lower price, United are not thought to be willing to pay that kind of money for a player who will turn 31 in September and who has just one year remaining on his contract, although that is another point of contention.

Trippier signed a three-year deal when he joined Atletico from Tottenham in 2019, meaning he would have just 12 months remaining on his contract now, but there have been suggestions that a 12-month extension was quietly triggered earlier this summer.

AS report that Trippier had a clause in his contract which would trigger an extra 12 months if he played 20 matches in all competitions over this past season. He smashed that number out the park, playing 35 times for Diego Simeone’s side and apparently triggering this mystery clause.

Atletico have not confirmed that extension, which seems to have caused some real confusion in the media.

The length remaining on Trippier’s contract will likely determine Atletico’s asking price. With two years remaining on his deal, they are well within their rights to demand £30m+ for their starting right-back, whereas the £20m figure sounds fair if his contract truly is expiring.

Regardless of when his contract expires, it seems as though United are hesitant to go much higher than their initial £10m offer, which might leave this deal dead in the water.

Aside from Trippier, United have previously been linked with Norwich City’s Max Aarons, although he is expected to command somewhere closer to the £40m mark.

For more from ?Tom Gott, follow him on ?Twitter!

Chelsea are again believed to have increased their bid for Inter wing-back Achraf Hakimi, offering up Spaniard Marcos Alonso in exchange.

The Blues have been chasing Hakimi for a few weeks now and initially gave Inter the chance of signing Emerson Palmieri as part of the deal, but Inter made it clear that they would prefer Alonso instead.

That has not fallen on deaf ears at Stamford Bridge as La Repubblica state that Chelsea have put Alonso’s name on the table alongside a cool £51m – higher than their previous bid of closer to the £40m mark.

Inter are thought to prefer a cash-only bid and are hopeful that a side will meet their asking price, which sits at closer to £70m, but as of yet, such a bid has not arrived.

From a financial perspective, Paris Saint-Germain have come closest. Their latest bid is believed to be £55m in straight cash, which is obviously higher than Chelsea’s, but the Blues hope the inclusion of a long-term target for the Nerazzurri will give them the edge.

Sky Sport Italia believe that to be the case, stating Chelsea are ‘ahead’ in the race for Hakimi’s signature because of their willingness to include a player, although Alonso is only named as an option here, rather than a part of a concrete bid.

Inter are already preparing for Hakimi’s departure. Barcelona right-back Emerson is on their radar, and this latest report adds that PSV Eindhoven’s Denzel Dumfries, who impressed in the Netherlands’ Euro 2020 opener against Ukraine, is under consideration as well.

Hakimi’s agent fuelled the fire of a potential departure recently by telling ¿Cómo te va? that the right-back is the likeliest candidate to be sold this summer to help raise money at San Siro.

“The only one who is going to leave Inter for now is Hakimi,” Alejandro Camano said. “He is going.”

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel sees Hakimi as a great rival for Reece James at right wing-back and could even play both players in the same team, with the Englishman expected to see some minutes at centre-back next season.

There have been suggestions that James’ emergence as a viable option in the centre could end Chelsea’s pursuit of a new centre-back this summer, but that part of Chelsea’s plan remains unclear.

For more from ?Tom Gott, follow him on ?Twitter!