Football transfer news

Leeds United have confirmed that Illan Meslier has signed a new five-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2026. 

Meslier joined Leeds from Lorient in the summer of 2019, initially on loan before signing permanently. Since making his debut against Arsenal in the FA Cup in January 2020 he has displaced Kiko Casilla as the Whites’ number one goalkeeper, making 46 appearances in all competitions so far.

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— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 13, 2021

Last season Meslier featured in all but three of Leeds’ Premier League games, keeping 11 clean sheets and breaking Joe Hart’s 14-year record in the process, with eight shutouts prior to his 21st birthday. The Frenchman is set to remain the youngest starting goalkeeper in the Premier League by some margin this season.

He had been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer, but his new contract should ensure he stays at the club for the foreseeable future. He will start in goal in Leeds’ Premier League curtain raiser against rivals Manchester United on Saturday. 

The Whites face a tough task replicating their incredible 2020/21 season this time around. They have conducted some smart business, though. Long-time loanee Jack Harrison, who registered eight goals and eight assists last season, has finally signed on a permanent deal from Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Junior Firpo has arrived from cash-strapped Barcelona and Kristoffer Klaesson has been brought in as cover for Meslier.

Perhaps more importantly, Leeds have also managed to keep hold of all of their key players. Raphinha was linked with a move to Liverpool last season but he is set to continue at Elland Road for the time being.

Marcelo Bielsa’s future has also been decided with El Loco penning a one-year contract extension recently. Whether he remains at the club beyond then is doubtful.

Ronald Koeman has challenged his Barcelona players to ‘bring more’ following Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi had been Barça’s talisman for well over a decade and his influence did not wane last campaign, with the forward registering 38 goals and 14 assists in all competitions. 

His contract expired in the summer and after Barcelona’s dire financial situation and prevented them from offering him fresh terms, he joined PSG on a free transfer. 

Addressing Messi’s departure before his side’s La Liga opener against Real Sociedad on Sunday, Koeman said the club had to move on from the disappointment. 

“We have to understand that there is always an end for a player. You have to close the book because now we have to focus on this new season,” he told ESPN. 

“We have new players in and we have to move forward, and we have time for that. We have young players in the squad this season, and it’s also for the future, we are working on the future of this club, and it’s really important to have our focus on this and not focus on what happened in the last few days.”

The most obvious challenge facing Barcelona this season is replacing Messi’s goals. Sergio Aguero, signed on a free transfer from Manchester City earlier in the summer, is likely to be an important player but he will miss the start of the season through injury.

Despite Aguero’s absence, Koeman tipped other players in his squad to rise to the challenge. 

“Of course we will have more difficulties to score goals. Messi scored 30 goals last season. So other players need to bring more and take the next step and it’s more about the team now than individual players,” he said.

“It’s not always one player, you have to do it together. Hopefully, we get players back from injury like Ansu Fati and Coutinho and then we still have a strong squad. We will work harder, we will do more to achieve what people expect from us.”

Tottenham Hotspur have stepped up their pursuit of Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic after losing hope of signing Lautaro Martinez. 

The 21-year-old’s performances have been attracting plenty of interest from across Europe this summer. Vlahovic enjoyed a prolific 2020/21 season, netting 21 goals in 37 Serie A appearances and providing two assists.

Spurs are one club in the race and, according to the The Express, they have ‘intensified’ negotiations with the player after it became clear that Martinez would not be leaving Inter. 

As 90min reported on Monday, the Argentine was open to a move to both Tottenham and north London rivals Arsenal. The Nerazzurri’s Scudetto-winning side has been raided this summer with manager Antonio Conte, Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi all departing. 

This turmoil had left Martinez frustrated, convincing him to consider leaving too. However, Inter would block any move and the player’s agent has publicly said that his client is happy in Milan. The news is a blow to Spurs, who had previously agreed a £60m deal for Martinez before Lukaku was sold to Chelsea for a club-record fee. 

Tottenham are still keen on recruiting a forward and Vlahovic could be the ideal alternative. Spurs have already been in contact with his agent for over a week but they will face stiff competition, with Atletico Madrid alreading tabling an offer of around £45m. Arsenal have also been credited with an interest, although their priority remains signing a goalkeeper and creative midfielder. 

It is believed that Spurs do not intend Vlahovic to be a replacement for Harry Kane. Manchester City are preparing an improved £130m bid for Kane, but Daniel Levy remains committed to rebuffing any approaches for his star man. 

Ironically, City and Tottenham are squaring off on Sunday in both side’s opening game of the 2021/22 Premier League season. Nuno Espirito Santo has insisted that Kane will be available for the fixture, provided he returns a negative PCR test beforehand. 

Angel Di Maria has tipped Kylian Mbappe to remain at Paris Saint-Germain despite being heavily linked with a move away.

Speculation over Mbappe’s future has been rife for some time with the forward often touted to move to Real Madrid. He enjoyed another terrific season last time out, netting 42 goals in 47 appearances. 

However, he endured a tricky Euro 2020, failing to score and missing the decisive penalty as France crashed out to Switzerland in the round of 16. 

Mbappe’s PSG contract will expire at the end of the season but teammate Di Maria has tipped the superstar to remain in Paris. 

“I think he [Mbappe] stays. It’s obvious that he’s a player that all the big teams want but with the team that PSG has now, I don’t think he’s going to leave. I don’t think he will find a better team anywhere,” he told ESPN (via the Daily Mail).

If Mbappe does fail to pen new terms, Real is his most likely destination. Los Blancos have been freeing up space on their wage bill over the past few seasons to fund several big transfers next summer and president Florentino Perez views Mbappe as his number one target. 

Real had even been considering an approach this summer. That deal is off the table now, though. As 90min reported on Thursday, Mbappe will not be sold this window as PSG want him to play at least one season with Lionel Messi. 

Di Maria went on to reveal that he was extremely excited about the prospect of playing with La Pulga at club level as well.

“I’m more than happy. Everything I dreamed about happened in one month; winning the Copa [America] and being able to play with Leo in the same team. It’s what I’ve always wanted,” he said.

The shirt number that Romelu Lukaku will wear for Chelsea during the 2021/22 season has been revealed. 

After weeks of speculation, the Blues finally confirmed the arrival of Lukaku – who previously had a spell at the club as a youngster – on Thursday evening. 

The Belgian arrives at Stamford Bridge off the back of a pair of terrific campaigns for Inter. Over the past two seasons he has hit 47 Serie A goals, helping the Nerazzurri win the Scudetto last term. 

Chelsea have splashed out a club-record fee of £97.5m for the striker, who had publicly stated he had no desire to leave Inter. However, as 90min reported on Thursday, Lukaku was left devastated by Antonio Conte’s decision to resign and this, combined with the club’s financial problems, were the driving forces in the move. 

Although he will not be available in time for their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on Saturday, attention will now turn to which squad number the club’s new arrival will be handed. Lukaku has not been fussy about his number in the past, wearing 17 and 10 during his time at Everton before switching to a more traditional nine in each of his past four seasons. 

Unfortunately, all three of those numbers are taken with Tammy Abraham wearing nine, Christian Pulisic 10 and Mateo Kovacic 17.

Due to this Lukaku has been forced to take number 18 for the upcoming season. The news comes via the Premier League website, who ‘leaked’ the forward’s choice before Chelsea officially announced it. 

Next season there could be scope for Lukaku to switch to number nine, though, with Abraham expected to depart this summer. A host of Premier League and European clubs have been linked with the centre-forward with Roma and Atalanta battling it out for his signature recently.

It has been reported that the former have agreed a fee with Chelsea but are yet to successfully negotiate personal terms.