All the top stories and transfer rumours from Thursday’s national newspapers…
Chelsea have made a €27 million offer to Barca
In one of his latest live shows, journalist Gerard Romero spoke about some of the latest developments regarding Barcelona.
Firstly on the Aubameyang situation, Romero says that Chelsea have made a €27 million offer to Barca for the Gabonese striker.
While Chelsea are chasing Aubameyang, Manchester United have also joined the battle for the striker, but Romano has given a different account of the situation.
Romano said that United have been ruled out of the race for Aubameyang because the player himself wants to play in the Champions League in the new season and for now Aubameyang is focused on a possible move to Chelsea.
Romero’s injury was caused by Cucurella’s stomp
Early this morning, British media revealed that Tottenham Hotspur defender Romero had suffered a muscle injury against Chelsea and was expected to miss 3-4 weeks of action.
Later, TyC reporter Gaston Edul said: “To correct some of the English media, Romero has no muscle damage, his injury was caused by the stomp on Cucurella. He will be back sooner than expected. The injury certainly won’t be a problem by the time of the international day in September.”
Glazer family are already considering selling part of Man Utd
The Glazer family have reportedly started to consider selling part of their stake in Manchester United.
Exclusive sources from the Daily Mail say that the Glazer family have entered into exclusive talks with US private equity firm Apollo to sell a minority stake in Manchester United.
While the Glazer family are not prepared to give up control of the club – the Avram and Joel brothers are expected to retain their shares and oversee the day-to-day running of United de – other members of the Glazer family are understood to want out.
On Wednesday, United’s share price rose sharply on the New York Stock Exchange on speculation that the Glazer family could bring in new investors or sell the club altogether. Shares closed at $13.69 (£11.36), up 7.1 per cent.
Any deal to sell a minority stake to Apollo is not expected to be completed until next month at the earliest. It is understood that Apollo is likely to bring in other investors in any deal. On the other hand, however, this is not expected to include bidders who missed out on the recent Chelsea sale, such as Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the richest man in Britain.
Manchester United are ready to offer a high salary to tempt Casemiro to join them.
Romano said that an offer of €45m – €50m is not enough to attract Real Madrid, who want much more than that.
Romano also said that Casemiro would only consider a “crazy” salary and that United are prepared to offer a high salary to tempt him.
Casemiro’s contract with Real Madrid expires in 2025 and is currently worth €40 million.
Mbappe and Neymar’s conflict intensifies
Mbappe and Neymar don’t like each other, according to ESPN.
Mbappe was annoyed by the freedom Neymar took last season in terms of discipline, for example in terms of his punctuality and training habits. Neymar, on the other hand, was surprised by the power Mbappe was given as part of his new contract.
Mbappe conceded Paris’ first penalty in the 2nd round of Ligue 1 at home to Montpellier not long ago, before a second penalty was scored by Neymar.
Sources told ESPN that Mbappe did not like the way Neymar took the ball immediately from the second penalty. It upset him, although that wasn’t the only reason, as some off-field issues in the days leading up to the match also affected his mood for the game.
After the match, Neymar liked a number of posts on his social media about criticism of Mbappe, sparking a ‘penalty incident’, before advisor Campos and manager Galtier intervened to talk to the pair.
Campos reminded both players of their responsibilities and the need to respect the rules set by the manager. “You are two great players, don’t let something like this damage your season.”
Both Mbappe and Neymar now claim that the Montpellier incident is behind them and that it was no big deal.
Record Transfer Fee! Matheus Nunez joins Wolves
Wolves have officially announced that Portuguese international Matheus Nunes has joined Wolves from Sporting Portugal for a club-record transfer fee. The two sides have signed a five-year deal with a one-year extension option for the club.
An exciting and talented versatile midfielder, Matheus Nunes was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1998 and moved to Portugal at the age of 12. He joined Estoril in the summer of 2018 from a small local team in Lisbon and with an impressive and outstanding performance against Sporting Portugal, Nunes went to Sporting Portugal after just six months at Estoril.
The 20/21 season was a key breakthrough season for Nunes, as he gradually became a first-team starter, helping the team to a league cup double, contributing three goals and three assists. Although Sporting Portugal failed to defend their league title in the immediately following 21/22 season, Nunes took his play to the next level, being named the league’s best midfielder for October and November and making the final 21/22 Portuguese Premier League Team of the Season.
For the national team, Nunes turned down a call-up to Brazil and opted to play for the Portuguese national team last October, making eight appearances for Portugal so far and collecting his national team debut in the World Qualifying play-off against Turkey in March this year, helping the team to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.
We are delighted to welcome Matheus Nunes to Wolverhampton and we are excited to see another young talent join Wolves,” said Wolves Executive Chairman Shi Yu. Nunes has had a tremendous run in the Portuguese Premier League over the last two years and is widely regarded as one of the most promising players in the world, so we are delighted to see him choose the Premier League and Wolves as his next stop for what we hope will be a fantastic career.”
Matheus Nunes arrived at the Compton base on Wednesday and after completing his medical, he also immediately went into training in preparation for the Wolves’ match against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
Manchester United are considering Pulisic on loan
Manchester United are considering a loan move for Chelsea winger Pulisic and the player is willing to join, according to The Athletic.
Reports claim that Manchester United are considering a loan deal for American winger Pulisic from Chelsea.
Newcastle, Juve and Atletico Madrid have all approached Chelsea about Pulisic. Pulisic is frustrated with the lack of starts under Tuchel and wants more game time before the World Cup kicks off.
Chelsea knows the player is frustrated and they are willing to listen to loan offers. The Athletic understands that the player would prefer to join Manchester United.
Official: Bayern’s 20-year-old centre-back Kouassi joins Sevilla
On August 17th, Sevilla officially announced that Bayern’s 20-year-old young centre-back Kouassi has joined the team, with the two sides signing a deal until 2027.
According to previous reports from Romano, Bayern received a transfer fee of €20 million for the deal.
The deal was officially confirmed by Bayern, who said that the transfer agreement includes a buy-back clause.
The 20-year-old Quassi, who comes from the youth academy of Paris Saint-Germain, joined Bayern as a free agent in July 2020.
During his time at Bayern, he has not been able to get enough games in the first team. Kouassi has made 28 appearances for Bayern, contributing one goal and one assist, and has yet to make an appearance in the new season.
THE SUN
Manchester United will take a 30 per cent hit – equating to around £22.5m – on their sponsorship deal with Adidas if they fail to qualify for the Champions League for a second year in a row.
DAILY MAIL
Chelsea may be willing to allow Christian Pulisic to join Manchester United on loan if he agrees to extend his contract first.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would snub Manchester United in favour of a move to Chelsea if he were to leave Barcelona this summer.
Manchester United have been linked with yet another top European star in their miserable quest for reinforcements this summer, with Atletico’s Joao Felix the latest to be touted as an Old Trafford target.
THE GUARDIAN
LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $97.1m contract extension with a third-year player option that will most likely keep the Lakers star in Los Angeles for as long as he chooses.
Former rugby sevens international Ellia Green has come out as a trans man, saying he hopes the announcement would help others to feel comfortable enough to make decisions about who they want to be.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Besiktas are eager to close a deal with Everton for Dele Alli and have offered either to take the attacking midfielder on a loan initially or alternatively for him to join the Turkish Super Lig club with an immediate permanent sale of around €8-10m.
Anthony Gordon wants to join Chelsea as he waits in hope to see if the London club make a new offer to sign him after a formal £45m bid was turned down by Everton.
Manchester United will try to sign five players before the transfer window closes including moves for Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Meunier and Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
THE TIMES
Paris Saint-Germain are working on a £59.1m deal to sign Bernardo Silva from Manchester City as the Qatar-owned club seek to strengthen a squad they hope can win a first Champions League title.
Manchester United suffered another setback in their hunt for a defensive midfielder after they were forced to end their pursuit of Adrien Rabiot due to his wage demands of over £200,000 per week.
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