Football transfer news

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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Inter midfielder Christian Eriksen will be fitted with a device which will monitor his heart rate and can control any abnormalities with minor electric shocks.

The Dane is recovering well in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during his country’s 1-0 defeat to Finland and has stressed his desire to figure out what caused the traumatic event.

He continues to undergo tests, but in the meantime, the Danish national team have confirmed that he will be fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator which will help keep his heart rate balanced after the cardiac arrest.

“National team doctor Morten Boesen has been in contact with the cardiac specialist at Rigshospitalet and Christian Eriksen and this is the latest status,” a statement on Twitter read.

“After Christian has been though different heart examinations, it has been decided that he should have an ICD (heart starter). This device is necessary after a cardiac attack due to rhythm disturbances.

“Christian has accepted the solution and the plan has moreover been confirmed by specialists nationally and internationally who all recommend the same treatment.

“We encourage everybody to give Christian and his family peace and privacy the following time.”

Eriksen will undergo surgery to fit the ICD, which uses small shocks to control his heart rate and can detect whenever there are any alarming changes, such as going into cardiac arrest. Should it sense a dangerous rhythm, the ICD will deliver another shock to try get things back to normal.

Ofelia Plads i København ??#ForDanmark #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/YuF0dKzdM5

— DBU – En Del Af Noget Større (@DBUfodbold) June 14, 2021

Belgium will pay their respects towards Eriksen and Denmark by kicking the ball out of play in the tenth minute of Thursday’s meeting between the two teams – with 10 being Eriksen’s shirt number.

“You’re going to have a full capacity crowd – this is about a celebration in football and for Christian,” said Belgium boss Roberto Martinez (via Sky Sports News).

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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that contract talks with Lionel Messi are progressing well and he is certain that the Argentine will remain at Camp Nou beyond this summer.

Messi’s current contract expires in two weeks and clubs from across the globe are keen to bring him in, but Barcelona have spent months convincing Messi to stay and have been working on a ten-year contract which also includes a spell in Major League Soccer and an ambassadorial role at the club.

Everything seems to be progressing in the right direction for Barcelona, and Laporta has now insisted to TV3 that it is simply a case of finalising all the details in Messi’s new contract.

“I am very calm about Messi’s continuity, Messi will continue at Camp Nou,” he said. “It is wonderful to talk to him about the future. He has a winning character, his talent goes beyond his personality and he is a born winner. I do not contemplate and I do not consider a ‘no’ from Messi.

“We do what we can to keep him here, it would be impossible to accept that he leaves. We know that other teams who are in a stronger financial position than us want him, but we are working with skill and he is in favour of staying, so there is no need to convince him.

“The circumstances exist for him to continue and that is because he wants to. He wants to continue because he enjoys life here.”

Despite all his confidence, Laporta did admit that a deal with Messi has not yet been agreed, but he stressed everything he has seen suggests a new contract will be finalised in the near future.

“I wish I could tell you that it is sorted, but it is not closed,” he confessed. “The idea is that it closes as soon as possible because that suits us all.

“We do our best to make a competitive team that he is excited about. We signed Sergio Aguero, who is reminding Messi every day that he has not yet signed an extension. The sports project allows you to continue winning.

“Economically, Messi has made it very easy, but the problem is financial fair play.

“There are two dates that I would like to announce a deal on: One is his birthday (June 24), which would be a mutual gift to him and football, and the other is on my birthday, which is June 29. He is excited to stay and I hope it will be sorted soon.”

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England centre-back Harry Maguire has declared himself fit for his side’s meeting with Scotland on Friday evening.

The Manchester United man has not been seen since the 3-1 win over Aston Villa almost six weeks ago because of an ankle injury, which many feared would see him ruled out of the European Championships entirely.

He did miss the opening game against Croatia, but Maguire has now confirmed that he is ready to make his return to the squad and hopes to feature against Scotland.

“I’m available to the manager for selection,” he said (via The Athletic). “I’ve done a few sessions now and feel like my fitness is there.

“Obviously the injury was a setback club-football-wise. Internationally, I wanted to come into this with a lot of games under my belt with full fitness, but I feel good. I don’t feel like there is any risk.”

Maguire also confessed that he always believed he would be able to play a significant role at the Euros this summer and hailed Gareth Southgate for keeping his faith in him by selecting him in the squad.

“I’m pretty sure if you spoke to Gareth, he must have been willing to make the selection. But I always told him I felt I would always have a part to play in the camp, whether it’s on the pitch or off the pitch.

“For sure, I always felt within myself that I would be fit at some part of the group stage. I didn’t know when. We are going well, we are on the right path. Every day I get more confidence and it gets stronger.

Another good session in the bank ????????? #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/PWBxUB8kSf

— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) June 15, 2021

“I knew the extent of the injury as soon as I got injured, I knew it was going to be pretty serious because it didn’t come from impact or contact, I knew it was a twist straight away so there would be some sort of ligament damage in there.

“Obviously, you fear the worst. I feared missing the Europa League final and then obviously the Euros as well. I managed to make this squad but I wasn’t able to make the Europa League final, but I’m here now and ready to go.”

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