The football transfer window has officially opened now, and clubs in Europe can now complete deals for their targets. Premier League clubs, as usual, are the most active ones in the transfer market, and could break all records this summer.
In our latest section on transfer news, we try to bring some transfer sense in the rumours doing the rounds. Manchester United are keen on bringing back Paul Pogba to the club, but will that happen? We have done an in-depth analysis on the EPL transfer rumours of 30th June.
Wojciech Szczesny to AS Roma
Szczesny spent the last season on loan at Serie A club AS Roma, after the arrival of Petr Cech. Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy reckon Szczesny’s agent is in Milan to meet AS Roma’s director of football, Walter Sabatini. AS Roma want to extend his loan deal, but any deal will only go through should Arsenal pay a part of his wages again next season.
Experts Say: Italian media have made it very clear that AS Roma want to keep Szczesny but the Serie A club have financial constraints.
Our take: AS Roma signed Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson for €7.5m recently, and despite that AS Roma boss Luciano Spalletti is keen on keeping Szczesny. The deal is quite dependent on Arsenal, as the player is also interested in staying for another year at the Serie A club.
Italian media believe Arsenal want around €18m for the Polish goalkeeper should any club want to sign him permanently, but it’s a bit unlikely they’ll get that sort of money for him. The face that Szczesny has just another couple of years left on his contract also makes the deal a bit more complicated.
Arsenal would ideally want to offload him permanently this summer, but it’s a bit unlikely they’ll agree to pay a part of his wages again this season.
Chances of it happening out of 10: 5/10
Paul Pogba to Manchester United
French newspaper L’Equipe report Manchester United have opened negotiations to bring back Pogba to the club. Manchester United and Juventus officials are scheduled to meet again next week when the Premier League side could make an offer for the player.
Experts Say: At the moment, everyone seems to agree Manchester United are very much interested in bringing Paul Pogba back to the club, but it’s still a bit early for anyone to comment if it’s going to happen or not.
Our take: Many feel Paul Pogba might not be keen on returning to Manchester United due to the absence of Champions League football but they did manage to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic and are close to signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Manchester United have the money to sign Pogba, so that shouldn’t be an issue either. Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan share the same agent, Mino Raiola, who is very keen on leaving his mark at one of biggest clubs in European football. At the moment, we don’t know yet if it’s going to happen or not, but we certainly won’t be surprised if United did sign him.
Chances of it happening out of 10: 6/10
Moussa Sissoko to Liverpool
The Frenchman is currently on international duty at the Euros in his homeland. French newspaper L’Equipe reckon Liverpool are keeping tabs on the midfielder. Sissoko has already informed Newcastle he has no intentions of playing in the Championship next season. Apparently, the Magpies have already rejected a bid of €12m from Hamburg.
Experts Say: The experts are not saying anything on this yet, and that’s maybe because there is nothing too concrete in the reports yet.
Our take: Liverpool are likely to sign a midfielder this summer, but the Reds have already been strongly linked to Piotr Zielinski and Mahmoud Dahoud. At this point, there is nothing that suggests they could go for Sissoko, but things could change if Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva leave the club this summer.
Sissoko is very likely to leave Newcastle, but his next destination remains to be seen. It’s very likely he is an alternative option for Liverpool, and the Reds will only go for him should they fail to sign their primary targets.
Chances of it happening out of 10: 5/10