Transfer news – Thursday 18 July: The latest updates, reports and done deals
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Your support makes all the difference.Follow the latest updates live from the summer transfer window as we bring you all the latest news, rumours and done deals right up until the 8 August deadline. Manchester United remain on the hunt for improvements, and while they are continuing their attempts to sign Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes, a new target has emerged in the form of young Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo.
Arsenal are growing confident of sealing three new signings in the coming days, though perhaps not the ones fans have been waiting for. The move for Celtic defender Kieran Tierney is progressing while they look favourites to land St Etienne defender William Saliba – though he will remain on loan in France this season – while Unai Emery is hoping to land his own loan signing in Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos.
Real Madrid meanwhile are planning ‘Operation 200’ according to reports in Spain, which involves selling both Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez to fund a move for Paul Pogba, who wants out of United. West Ham meanwhile smashed their club transfer record on Wednesday by signing Sebastien Haller in a £45m deal from Frankfurt, while Newcastle are looking to press on with their transfer business now that Steve Bruce has been appointed manager. Follow the latest news below.
The summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Thursday 8 August across the Premier League and Championship. The European transfer window remains open until Monday 2 September.
Welcome to The Independent's transfer live blog, where we'll bring you the latest news, rumours and done deals throughout the summer right up until the transfer window deadline.
We begin this morning at Old Trafford where Manchester United continue to work feverishly to land all of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's transfer targets this summer.
The moves for Leicester City defender Harry Maguire and Sporting midfielder Bruno Fernandes remain very much active, so much so that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is not on their pre-season tour of Australia as he looks to wrap up their summer transfer business.
A new name has now emerged on the United radar in the form of 20-year-old Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, according to reports in Italy.
CalcioMercato claim that United are looking at the possibility of stealing a march on Juventus to land the £25m-rated midfielder, who has also been linked with Tottenham, after watching him last season in what was his first year with Roma after joining from Inter Milan.
BREAKING: Juventus have confirmed what everybody knew in that they have signed young Dutch defender Matthis de Ligt in a deal understood to be worth around £67.5m.
Juventus have confirmed the full details of the move for De Ligt - and fair play to them for their honesty - that reveals he could yet become the most expensive defender of all time.
The deal to sign the 19-year-old from Ajax is for an initial £67.7m spread over five years, with an additional £9.4m in add-ons that would take his total fee past the £75m Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk two seasons ago.
Another European heavyweight looking to make a move in the transfer market is Real Madrid, with serious ramifications for the Premier League.
Madrid are reported to have put together "Operation 200", which according to Spanish newspaper Marca is a plan to sell both Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez to generate the funds needed to sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United.
Pogba has made his intentions clear this summer, and the news is likely to be music to the ears of agent Mino Raiola, who is looking to structure Pogba's Old Trafford exit after he completed the negotiations for De Ligt's move to Juventus.
However, one team who could benefit from this all is Tottenham, who have reportedly shown interest in Bale this summer and would be open to bringing him back to north London - providing Madrid agree to fund half of his wages.
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Mino Raiola has also discussed the prospect of Pogba leaving United for Juventus, the club whom he joined back in 2012 before his £89m return to Old Trafford three years ago.
The so-called 'super agent' was asked in Turin whether he could rule out a move back to the Italian side, and his cryptic answer was one that could be taken in one of many, many ways.
"I live my life day by day. This is what I can say. Today I am here; tomorrow, I don't know."
Arsenal meanwhile are looking to tie down no fewer than three new signings over the coming days.
The first is their continuing interest in Celtic defender Kieran Tierney, who wants to move to the Emirates Stadium but is yet to see an acceptable bid arrive at the Scottish champions' door.
Arsenal have already seen two offers rejected, but the BBC reports that a third offer is being prepared and the club are growing confident of finally gaining permission to discuss personal terms with the left-back over a permanent move.
The second target Arsenal are closing in on is young centre-back William Saliba.
The St Etienne defender has been a long-term target of Arsenal's, though progress has been slow in negotiations which allowed Tottenham to storm into the running last week.
The French club were impressed by Spurs' interest and were keen to sell to the white half of north London, but Saliba's heart is on a move to Arsenal and it appears as though the Gunners have been kicked into life by the rivalry.
The BBC reports that Arsenal are close to sealing a deal for Saliba that will see the 18-year-old join on a permanent deal, but remain with St Etienne for one more season on loan to continue his development.
The third and final player expected to arrive at Arsenal this summer is young midfielder Dani Ceballos.
The 22-year-old is looking to leave Real Madrid on a short-term basis to avoid another season on the substitutes' bench, with the Spain Under-21 international accepting that he will not gain the minutes he needs this season under Zinedine Zidane.
According to Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo, Arsenal are leading the race to sign Ceballos on a season-long loan, though Tottenham and AC Milan remain interested in the midfielder.
However, they add that there will NOT be a clause inserted into the contract for a future permanent transfer, with Ceballos still very much a part of Madrid's future plans.
Newcastle United's move for Hoffenheim striker Joelinton has had some late complications, according to Sport1 in Germany.
Joelinton was left out of Hoffenheim's pre-season friendly with Jahn Regensburg yesterday in order to hold talks with the Magpies, but a disagreement over the length of the Brazilian's contract seems to have stalled the move.
Reports in Germany say that the striker only wants to sign a three-year deal, while Newcastle are pushing for a four-year contract.
Should the transfer eventually go through, the fee is expected to be around £36 million, a record for Newcastle.
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