Chelsea still looking to sign six new players

The odds are against it but Chelsea could land one of the most gifted duos in football. Agents have approached new Blue’s co-owner Todd Boehly offering him the chance to sign both Cristiano Ronaldo and PSG’s Neymar. Ronaldo has asked United to consider any offers for him and PSG are open to selling the Brazilian. […]

The odds are against it but Chelsea could land one of the most gifted duos in football. Agents have approached new Blue’s co-owner Todd Boehly offering him the chance to sign both Cristiano Ronaldo and PSG’s Neymar. Ronaldo has asked United to consider any offers for him and PSG are open to selling the Brazilian. Ronaldo has again voiced his disapproval that United have not significantly strengthened their squad after missing out on Champions League football for this season and he has never kicked a ball in the inferior Europa Cup. There are whispers from inside Stamford Bridge that signing such high-profile players as Ronaldo or Neymar could unsettle the squad and this is certainly something going through Thomas Tuchel’s mind. The move for Neymar would cost Chelsea £600k a week in wages and Tuchel is not happy about that. Raphina is another possibility. Having already said no to Tottenham and Arsenal, there is still a £55million bid on the table from Chelsea. New owner Todd Boehly and his partners have promised to bring in six new players over the summer so they can challenge the dominance of Man City and Liverpool. Matthijs de Ligt is Chelsea’s main defensive objective and have offered cash plus Timo Werner however Juventus are still trying to keep him. Chelsea are hoping to take Raheem Sterling with them on their pre-season trip having agreed a £45 million fee with Manchester City and wages of £325k a week making him the highest paid Blue’s player.

United still chasing Frenkie de Jong

Contracts have been prepared for Christian Eriksen to sign a three-year deal to join Manchester United. Eriksen has agreed in principle to the terms offered and has disappointed Brentford manager Thomas Frank who was hoping the Dane would lead his midfield in the coming season. United are still chasing Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong who they see as their main midfield target however no deal has been reached and negotiations continue. Frenkie told Barcelona that he would reject any move to sell him but the club replied that he could only stay on a reduced salary because they could not afford to keep him and his remaining contract would mean Barca paying him £60 million. He would also receive another £6.8 million if he plays in 60 per cent of Barca’s games. Reports coming out of the Nou Camp suggest that Barca President Joan Laporta will not sell De Jong because he is a big part of coach Xavi’s plans, however in contradiciting news Laporta appeared to hint that the Catalan club could still be interested in selling him on the right terms. United have been in talks with Barca for six weeks now and a fee opf £70 million appears to be Barca’s valuation of the Dutch player.

Tottenham looking to offload players

There is a lot of work going on behind closed doors at Tottenham. With the arrival of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster they need to slim down their playing squad because the club can only submit 25 senior players for any competition which must consist of 17 non-local players and eight homegrown players. Spurs could have done that a few months ago but now Dejan Kulusevski, Ryan Sessegnon and Oliver Skipp are no longer eligible to be listed as Under 21 and are therefore automatically regarded as seniors.The situation is even more confused because Ben Davies, Matt Doherty and Joe Rodon are recognised as home players but not by the Champions League because they trained with foreign clubs. All of that amounts to Antonio Conte’s hands being tied because he is not allowed to bring in fresh talent until players are sold because Tottenham are on the limit of their player allowances. Conte is anxious to continue to strengthen his squad and behind the doors at White Hart Lane several assistants are working on deals to offload players Conte does not consider to be part of his plans. Players being offered to other clubs include Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Harry Winks, Steve Bergwijn (who could go to Ajax), Bryan Gil, Joe Rodon and Jack Clarke. I am told that Spurs are also interested in receiving offers for Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal.

Mo is Liverpool’s highest paid player – ever!

Mo Salah said he was pleased that all the contract negotiations had been concluded and well he might. Mo became Liverpool’s highest paid player ever after agreeing a new deal worth over £350k per week. His new contract earns him that salary until 2025. Manager Jurgen Klopp was desperate to keep Mo after the departure of Sadio Mane to Italy. Liverpool’s Sporting Director Julian Ward even flew to Salah’s summer holiday location in Greece to finalise details.

Carvalho is Liverpool’s new number 28

Fabio Carvalho arrived in Liverpool to join his new club on Tuesday and said he was delighted to join “one of the biggest clubs in the world.” He joined other players for their first pre-season training session and the 19-year-old will wear the No28 shirt. The Portuguese winger scored an impressive 10 goals in 36 matches for Fulham last season.

Jesus wants to be the new Henry for Gunners

Gabriel Jesus is excited about the new season after teaming up again with Mikel Arteta. He played under the Arsenal boss at Manchester City when he was Pep Guardiola’s number two. The 25-year-old Brazilian striker has been given the No9 shirt and wants to become as famous to Arsenal fans as his idol legend Thierry Henry. Jesus has joined the Gunners on a five-year contract. He has played in every frontline position for City but intends to make the No9 central striker his own at Arsenal. He said he followed Henry when playing as a youngster in South America and is clearly delighted to be rejoining Arteta. He said, “I had a very good time with him before. We would always stick together after training sessions and do some finishing work to improve my technique. He taught me so much.”

Lingard’s next move is vital

Jesse Lingard has to make a very important decision. Having wasted a number of years sitting on the bench at Manchester United his next club is vitally important if he wants to get back into the England team. He could rejoin West Ham and coach David Moyes would like to sign him. Jesse flew to America this week and is talking to two MLS teams. Everton are also interested but indications are that the Toffees are falling apart and he should not be tempted to join them. Everton are up for sale but owner Farhad Moshiri said this week that the US led consortium that included wealthy real estate tycoons and mining and investment companies had not led to anything positive. I am told that only the Kaminski Group remain as potential buyers. With limited investment being made available to him, coach Frank Lampard is struggling and Jesse Lingard would cost them £150k a week or £7million a year. He would however come for free as his contract at Manchester United has expired. Lampard might also lose his talisman striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin as Newcastle are wielding their mighty cheque book in his direction. 

As I told you last week, Antonio Conte is planning on coming back to Everton after signing Richarlison and this time it will be for Anthony Gordon the rising star in the Toffees’ ranks.

At the moment I fear for Everton this coming season and if they lose both Calvert-Lewin and Gordon it will be very tough for them to survive after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

*Lampard’s right-hand man Duncan Ferguson has also handed in his notice and left Everton after a relationship with the club dating back nearly 30 years. Duncan wants to try his hand at management and feels that being on the market instead of remaining as No2 will further his career.