ANOTHER week has flown by in the world of transfers. So much has happened. Deals have been completed, deals have fallen through, sagas are dragging on but you know you’re in the middle of a hectic summer when players start refusing to return to pre-season training in hopes of completing moves away. Neymar and Laurent Koscielny, we’re talking about you.
Today we’re going to take you through three deals that could be completed this week and we analyse the likelihood of that happening:
Kieran Tierney to Arsenal:
Club captain on strike. Losing out on transfer targets to London rivals Spurs. A limited budget for the season. It’s fair to say that Arsenal are in some very dangerous waters right now. However, despite the chaos they remain front runners for Scottish left-back Kieran Tierney.
It was only a few weeks ago that Arsenal submitted their first bid of £15 million for the 22-year-old defender. Celtic were quick to reject the offer but according to David Ornstein the club have made it abundantly clear that they were still open to selling Tierney, simply demanding that the North Londoners propose a higher fee. It may come as a shock that Celtic would be confident in selling their young star have recently completed the signing of left-back Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, formerly of Rapid Vienna, in what looks like the start of a small rebuild in Glasgow.
New blog: Kieran Tierney could be key to Arsenal’s tactical plans
For @unibethttps://t.co/tT8bavBiOH
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) June 27, 2019
At one point it looked as though Arsenal were the only club in for Tierney but more recently the full-back seems to have made his way onto Napoli’s radar. Still, at such a young age, the Scotsman seems much keener to stay closer to home, which makes the city of Naples a less likely destination. So surely, this puts Arsenal way ahead in the race for his signature. Right?
Celtic’s last contact with Arsenal left them with an offer of £19m, a slightly more reasonable offer you could say. The Scottish champions have since rejected this second offer and according to James McNicholas of gunnerblog.com Arsenal will have to break the Scottish transfer fee record of £19.7m. Set last year with the sale of French striker Moussa Dembele, who left Glasgow for Lyon.
The final fee is looking like it’ll have to be in excess of £20m but in a market where Leicester are demanding £75m for Ben Chilwell, even £25m for a four-time Scottish champion seems like a steal. Time will tell but the ball is firmly in Arsenal’s court.
Likely to be done this week: 3/10
Romelu Lukaku to Inter:
Ever since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as Manchester United boss, it’s been abundantly clear that he prefers Marcus Rashford in the lone striker role ahead of Romelu Lukaku. And with Rashford recently signing a new 5-year, £250,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford, it looks like the Belgian is destined for a season playing second fiddle unless he leaves.
That’s where Inter Milan come in. The Serie A giants have long been interested in the big man and according to Fabrizio Romano, have made their first bid for Lukaku totalling €70m in instalments: €10m for an initial year-long loan, €30m in 2020 and then another €30m in 2021.
Representatives of Manchester United and Inter will meet today to discuss a deal for Romelu Lukaku.
How much is he worth? pic.twitter.com/m0gLVUnHBx
— Goal (@goal) July 11, 2019
Federico Pastorello, Lukaku's agent had this to say on a possible transfer: “Inter? It’s a dream and is not easy to realise it but yes, Inter are trying to get him. Romelu has expressed his wishes [to leave Man Utd].”
So far Manchester United have stood firm on their £80m valuation, putting the pressure on the Nerazzurri to raise the funds needed for the transfer. Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio is currently in the UK to begin official face-to-face talks, which is a positive step but CEO Beppe Marotta and Lukaku's agent Federico Pastorello are not involved so the negotiations are not at an advanced stage just yet.
ESPN are reporting that Lukaku has reiterated his desire to leave United despite Solskjaer’s plea for him to stay and fight for his place so expect this one to rumble on into the later part of the transfer window.
Likely to be done this week: 2/10
Harry Maguire to Manchester United:
Harry ‘Slabhead’ Maguire, England’s cult hero of the 2018 World Cup, has long been mooted for a move to a ‘top 6’ club away from Leicester. Both Manchester clubs have shown significant interest in the big man this summer, but United have moved ahead of City in the chase after upping their initial bid of £65m to £70m.
Harry Maguire to #MUFC?
He's got history with the Reds and Sir Alex… https://t.co/IEUNk8Qfab
— Unibet (@unibet) July 4, 2019
According to The Telegraph though, Leicester have made it crystal clear that Maguire won’t be sold at that price, especially after United just paid £50m for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The Foxes have said the England defender will cost at least £90m.
GOAL have reported that Harry Maguire is “flattered” by United’s interest and is keen to be a part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Old Trafford rebuild. As soon as the Red Devils match Leicester’s valuation, expect this transfer to get over the line.
Likely to be done this week: 3/10
