Man Utd complete transfer agreed in January, Arsenal want Barcelona target, Chelsea warned

Wednesday, April 8

• Lyon will listen to offers for striker Moussa Dembele

• But the French side will NOT be selling Houssem Aouar

• Arsenal are ‘well placed’ to sign Real Madrid’s Cesar Gelabert

• Manchester United have completed the signing of Radek Vitek

• Sokratis Papastathopoulos is seriously considering his future at Arsenal

Edinson Cavani move

Chelsea and Manchester United look to have missed out on Paris-Saint Germain forward Edinson Cavani.

That’s according to the player’s friend, who claims the striker will be joining Uruguayan club Penarol when his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

“I have the authority to talk about Edi,” Penarol captain and Cavani’s friend Cristian Rodriguez told FM Del Sol.

“He’s about to come to Penarol and I can’t say anything else. Call him and ask him.”

Doubts over Phil

Chelsea should not pursue a deal to sign Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho, according to former Blues defender Frank Leboeuf.

Chelsea are one of a number of Premier League clubs linked with signing former Liverpool star Coutinho. The Brazilian would reportedly cost the Blues around £80million, over £60m less than what Barca paid for him in January 2018.

“Well, to be really honest, and frank, no [Chelsea should not sign him],” Leboeuf told ESPN FC.

“I think Coutinho is a good player and I’m not even trying to be harsh on him, I think I want to find Barcelona guilty for the situation because they put a price on Coutinho who I think doesn’t belong to that league.”

Solskjaer’s ruthless transfer plan

Manchester United are willing to take advantage of clubs struggling to make ends meet because of the coronavirus crisis if they want to sign their players in the next transfer window.

Head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a brutal admission to Sky Sports’ Gary Neville claiming he would not be afraid to “exploit” sides in a weaker position.

“Who knows how the market is going to react to this? Who Knows which clubs need to sell players? There might be a situation that we can exploit at Man Utd, we are the biggest and we are well off.

“I am sure we are capable of doing the business that we want too.”

Read the full story here.

Layvin Kurzawa decision

Layvin Kurzawa has made a decision on his future.

Several clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have shown interest in the Paris-Saint Germain defender.

The left-back’s contract expires at the end of the campaign and he’ll be available on a free transfer.

However, the Premier League trio look set to miss out with Spanish publication Sport reporting that Kurzawa, 27, wants to join Barcelona.

Philippe Coutinho latest

Manchester United and Chelsea are yet to express an official interest in Philippe Coutinho – but Leicester City have.

That is according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, who says Coutinho’s representatives are trying to engineer a return to the Premier League for their client.

Both United and Chelsea have been linked with a move for Coutinho, as have former club Liverpool, but Balague says Leicester are so far the only team to make their interest known.

“The thing is, only Leicester have shown interest in Coutinho. Only Leicester,” he said on his YouTube channel. “But I know that Coutinho’s representatives are looking into the Premier League with the possibility of getting him.”

Sokratis future plans

Sokratis Papastathopoulos is seriously considering his future at Arsenal.

That’s according to journalist Nicolo Schira, who claims the 31-year-old Greece international could leave the Emirates Stadium this summer.

Sokratis featured just once in the last six Premier League fixtures under manager Mikel Arteta, who himself is in the market for a new centre-back.

“Sokratis Papastathopoulos could leave Arsenal at the end of the season and is considering options ahead of the summer transfer window,” Schira tweeted. “He has seen his playing opportunities at the Emirates decrease under Arteta. Gunners are looking a CB for the next season.”

Wanted: Max Bird

Frank Lampard is considering an approach for Derby midfielder Max Bird.

The Chelsea boss and assistant Jody Morris are both aware of Bird’s potential having spent over 12 months at Pride Park Stadium and monitored his development.

In fact, Lampard handed Bird his first league appearance against Swansea in December 2018 and the midfielder has gone from strength-to-strength ever since.

Now, Football Insider claim the Blues are plotting a summer move for the teenager and regard him as a young player of ‘enormous potential’.

Bayern Munich transfer plans

Bayern Munich are confident of signing at least one of their three priority targets this summer.

The Bundesliga champions are looking to bolster their ranks with Manchester City’s Leroy Sane, RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner and Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz all on their radar.

SportBILD’s chief reporter Tobias Altschäffl tweeted: “Sane, Werner, Havertz: There is agreement among the Bayern managers that (at least) one of the three German offensive stars will come in the summer.”

That could spell disaster for Premier League Liverpool, who are known to be interested in signing Werner and Havertz.

Lyon decision

Lyon will listen to offers for striker Moussa Dembele in the upcoming transfer window.

However, they will not entertain the possibility of losing £65million-rated Houssem Aouar, according to French newspaper L’Equipe.

Dembele, who is being chased by Chelsea and Manchester United, has registered 42 goals and provided 13 assists in 88 appearances for Lyon since his arrival from Celtic.

It’s thought the sought-after talent would like a return to England and the Ligue 1 side are ready to cash in.

Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are interested in Aouar with Jurgen Klopp’s side even reported to have initiated talks to discuss his availability.

But Lyon have made it clear that they will not sell the 21-year-old this summer.

Willian deadline

Barcelona feel they have to either sign Chelsea forward Willian in the summer window, or forget about the idea of ever signing him, according to reports in Spain.

Willian is out of contract in the summer, and is not expected to extend his current deal.

The La Liga leaders have tried multiple times to sign the Brazilian, but have fallen short each time.

However, Spanish outlet SPORT reports that Barcelona know they must sign him now or risk missing out on him before the end of his career.

Theo Hernandez scrap

Defender Theo Hernandez could be available this summer.

Spanish newspaper Marca claim AC Milan are ‘preparing to receive’ offers for the talented left-back, who is attracting interest from across Europe.

The attacking Frenchman has enjoyed an excellent debut campaign with AC Milan having arrived from Real Madrid in July in a deal worth £17.5million – scoring six goals and providing two assists in 25 appearances.

Manchester United, Barcelona, Juventus and PSG are among the clubs that could be interested in the full-back.