Transfer news LIVE: Osimhen ‘agrees’ Chelsea move, Sancho leaves Man Utd and Arsenal target Ajax wonderkid
Brentford have set a huge price for Arsenal and Chelsea target Toney, while Tottenham and Manchester United are also lining up January targets
The January transfer window is well under way with deals being made and moves getting finalised. Arsenal have seemingly made Ivan Toney their ideal target for this window and have been told that it will take at least £100m to prise him away from Brentford. Chelsea are also interested in the striker but will need to offload several members of their huge squad to raise the funds for a deal.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have awarded a six-year contract to Pape Matar Sarr following his impressive season and have their sights set on Genoa defender Radu Dragusin. Spurs are reportedly hoping to finalise a £25m deal to bring the 21-year-old centre-back to the Premier League, although Napoli are now also in for the Romanian.
Elsewhere, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is making his presence known at Old Trafford following his minority takeover. The billionaire is now in charge of football operations and wants to bring Newcastle United chief Dan Ashworth on board to replace John Murtough as sporting director. Ashworth impressed during roles with the FA and Brighton before joining Newcastle 18 months ago and Ratcliffe is prepared to pay ‘whatever it takes’ to secure his services.
Follow all the latest news, transfer rumours and done deals below, and get all the latest football betting sites offers here.
Arsenal in talks for new Tomiyasu deal
Arsenal are said to be in advanced stages of giving a new deal to Takehiro Tomiyasu, says transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
The Japanese defender returned from injury in the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat at Fulham last Sunday. He has been a regular figure in the Arsenal team since joining from Bologna in 2021 mixing his time between first XI starts and appearances off the bench.
Tomiyasu is set to depart for the Asia Cup with his national team so the deal may not be done as soon as Arsenal would hope for.
Erik ten Hag opens up on ‘very positive’ first meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Erik ten Hag described his first meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe as “very positive” but admitted he still has much to learn about the billionaire’s plans for Manchester United.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos group will assume control of footballing operations once his purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the club has been ratified in the coming weeks, and he has been in Manchester this week for a series of meetings with club staff.
The meetings have been described as an opportunity for Ratcliffe, as well as senior Ineos officials Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc, to get to know the club before they start work in earnest.
Erik ten Hag opens up on ‘very positive’ first meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe’s Ineos group will assume control of footballing operations once his purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the club has been ratified
Copenhagen teenager drawing Premier League interest
Three Premier League clubs have made enquiries about signing Copenhagen‘s 18 year-old forward Roony Bardghji with Barcelona also reportedly interested.
Bardghji famously scored the winning goal for Copenhagen against Manchester United in their Champions League group game back in November.
He has been offered a contract extension but has yet to sign past the tw years left on his current deal. As a result Copenhagen are willing to listen to offers with the teenager being valued at around €25m.
Bardghji has started 18 games in all competitions this seaso, scoring eight times.
Eric Dier to Bayern Munich?
Colour me intrigued.
Bayern Munich are reportedly interested in signing Tottenham defender Eric Dier, according to Sky Sports sources in Germany. The England international was apparantly on their list of potential centre-backs in the summer and has remained of interest heading into the January window.
Internal discussions are being held at Bayern as to the type of transfer they’d like, permanent of otherwise, with Dier free to speak to clubs outside England this month.
Thomas Tuchel is in favour of bringing signings in as soon as possible so if the Bundesliga champions so decide to pull the trigger on a Dier move he could be lining up with former teammates Harry Kane for the second half of the season.
Manchester United recall Aherne
Manchester United have recalled winger Alyssa Aherne from her loan spell at Everton and hope to find a more suitable club to continue her development.
The 19-year-old made only one Women’s Super League appearance and two more in the Conti Cup for the Toffees with United saying they are seeking “further development opportunities for her elsewhere”.
Aherne is a United academy graduate and signed her first professional deal last summer.
Liverpool give update on Dominik Szoboszlai injury
Dominik Szoboszlai will miss Liverpool’s FA Cup tie at Arsenal and the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham.
But Liverpool are waiting to discover the extent of the Hungary captain’s hamstring injury as they hope he will not be sidelined for longer.
Szoboszlai was hurt in the New Year’s Day win over Newcastle and is out at a time when Liverpool are already without the injured Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajectic, while Wataru Endo has gone to the Asian Cup.
Liverpool give update on Dominik Szoboszlai injury
Midfielder Szoboszlai hurt his hamstring in the New Year’s Day win over Newcastle
McKenna making the switch to Scotland?
Nottingham Forest defender Scott McKenna could play the second half of the season in the Scottish Premiership as he is being lined up for a move to Celtic.
The Hoops are reportedly in pole position to land McKenna on loan in the January window, according to the Daily Record and have a solid chance of getting their man who has not played for Forest since the 1-1 draw with Burnley on September 18.
No decision made for Mbappe’s future
French superstar Kylian Mbappe has said no decision has been made over his future at Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe’s PSG contract expires in six months and recent reports have linked him to Liverpool though the strong suggestion is that he will join up with Spanish giants Real Madrid.
“No, to start with I’m very motivated by this year,” he told reporters after PSG’s 2-0 win over Toulouse on Wednesday night.
“It’s very important. We have titles to win and we have already won one.
“I haven’t made my decision yet. I haven’t made a choice. With the agreement I had with the president in the summer, my decision is not important as we managed to protect all the parties and preserved the serenity of the club for the challenges to come, which is the most important.
“So we will say that it [the decision] is secondary.”
Thiago Silva to return to Fluminense?
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva could make a return to former club Fluminense in the summer, according to the Daily Mirror who claim that the Blues are looking for defensive options this month suggesting an imminent departure for the 39-year-old.
Silva’s current deal expires at the end of the season with Brazilian side Fluminense keen to offer him a contract into his 40s.
Silva, who joined Chelsea in 2020, was the club’s player of the year last season and helped them win the Champions League, Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup.
Mary Earps considering future options but open to remain at Man Utd
Sports Personality of the Year winner and Lioness hero, Mary Earps, is open to staying at Manchester United beyond the end of her existing contract, report The Telegraph.
Despite some interest from French side Paris St-Germain, the goalkeeper is understood to be still undecided about her future and is keeping her options open.
The 30-year-old’s current deal runs until the summer.
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