Football transfer news

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.

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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.

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Arsenal have held talks with Sheffield United over a potential deal to bring goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

Mikel Arteta is on the lookout for a new shot stopper amid growing concerns that current starter Bernd Leno may not be up to the job, with Ajax’s Andre Onana the subject of most of the speculation recently.

However, according to The Times, Ramsdale is also on the radar and Arsenal have already held talks with Sheffield United, who are keen to make a profit on the England international and would demand a fee of around £24m.

23-year-old Ramsdale, who has suffered back-to-back relegations from the Premier League with Bournemouth and United, is keen to make the move, but whether Arsenal would be prepared to pay that kind of money is unclear.

The Gunners were offered the chance to make that kind of money by selling Emile Smith Rowe, who was the subject of a £25m bid from Aston Villa, but Arsenal wasted little time in swatting that offer away.

£24m for Ramsdale may be too steep for Arsenal, who are chasing a £40m move for Brighton centre-back Ben White and also want a new starting midfielder. Targets like Brighton’s Yves Bissouma and Wolves’ Ruben Neves are expected to command in excess of £30m.

It’s for that reason that Arsenal have been chasing Onana. The Ajax goalkeeper, who was valued at close to £50m just a few years ago, is expected to be sold for around £5m this summer, with his expiring contract and complicated ban forcing Ajax’s hand.

Onana was hit with a 12-month ban in February for ingesting a banned substance accidentally, but his appeal saw the suspension reduced by three months, meaning he will be able to return to match action in November 2021.

Arsenal had hoped to take advantage of the situation by striking a bargain deal for the 25-year-old, but according to Goal, a handful of other sides are now keen to do the same.

Onana has attracted interest from Ligue 1, while another top eight Premier League side are said to have reached out over a potential transfer. There’s no mention of which team that is, so let your imagination run wild (we’ll go first – definitely Tottenham).

With a path to Onana now filled with obstacles, Arsenal are looking elsewhere. Sky Sports News, who also confirm the interest in Ramsdale, state that the Gunners are still keen on a deal for Brighton’s Mat Ryan, who spent the last six months on loan at the Emirates and is out of contract this summer.

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Manchester City are understood to be ahead of both Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain in their pursuit of soon-to-be free agent Sergio Ramos.

Real Madrid have confirmed that the 35-year-old defender will leave the club this summer after failing to agree on a new contract, bringing an end to his illustrious 16-year career at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Almost immediately after that news came to light, links between Ramos and the Premier League quickly began to surface. According to AS, a move to England is very much on the cards, and it’s City who are in the strongest position.

As 90min revealed back in November, each of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ have expressed an interest in Ramos, and talks between the defender and City are understood to have continued after that.

City chiefs have long stressed to Ramos that they would like to bring him in this summer, having already lost Eric Garcia and facing the prospect of offloading Aymeric Laporte, who is wanted by Barcelona.

Ramos is intrigued by the idea of joining City, but he is also open to a switch to United. He has long followed the club, having decided during his infamous transfer saga of 2015 that he would be open to joining United if he left Real, and that option remains on the table.

However, United are expected to pursue younger targets, with Sevilla’s Jules Kounde and Villarreal’s Pau Torres both high on their wish list.

Finally, PSG continue to monitor Ramos, and they are keen to bring in someone with his experience to replace Thiago Silva, who joined Chelsea last year.

Sergio Ramos’ changed his Twitter header to thank the fans. pic.twitter.com/cysXUkVc8F

— Real Madrid Fever (@TheRMadridFever) June 16, 2021

PSG obviously have the money needed to satisfy Ramos’ demands and they see him as the sort of high-profile addition that will help strengthen their case to win the Champions League.

Of all the options at the minute, City’s proposal is suggested to be the strongest, but all doors remain open for the time being.

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Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has decided that left-back Marcelo will become the new team captain following Sergio Ramos’ departure.

Los Blancos confirmed on Wednesday that Ramos will end his 16-year association with Real this summer after failing to agree on a new contract, with his refusal to listen to their demands earlier this year understood to have driven a wedge between the defender and the club.

On top of finding someone to replace Ramos in the team, Real must also decide who will fill his leadership void in the dressing room. Ramos had been captain since 2015, and according to AS, the next man to wear the armband will be Marcelo.

Ancelotti respects Marcelo’s experience and sees the 33-year-old, who has been with Real since 2007, as the ideal man to take over from Ramos.

The Brazilian will become the first non-Spaniard to captain Real in over 100 years. Real have had a Spanish captain ever since 1904, when Guatemalan Federico Revierto gave up the armband.

Unfortunately, there is one small problem with Marcelo becoming captain. He’s not actually a first-team regular and is already being phased out by Ferland Mendy, so Ancelotti will need somebody to wear the armband in his absence.

The man for that job will be striker Karim Benzema, who will be the team’s captain whenever Marcelo is not on the field.

Should neither Benzema nor Marcelo be playing, third in the captaincy pecking order is centre-back Raphael Varane – who had been expected to seal his own move away from the club this summer but has now been tipped to sign a new contract.

The first Spaniard to feature in Ancelotti’s captaincy plans is defender Nacho Fernandez, who is fourth in the standings. He is Real’s longest-serving player, having risen through the ranks at the academy.

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