Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Daily Transfer Roundup. We have quite an exciting transfer roundup to bring to you today. Coutinho could end up at Liverpool, a top Real Madrid ace is on the verge of signing for Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur are likely to hijack an Arsenal signing, update on Paul Pogba and much more.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top transfer news, rumours and updates that made headlines on 14 July 2019.
Philippe Coutinho's agent reveals Brazilian could return to the Premier League only with Liverpool
Kia Joorabchian, Philippe Coutinho's agent, has revealed that Barcelona are giving mixed signals as far as the future of his client is concerned. He has revealed that despite the club categorically denying the potential sale of Coutinho this summer, he has been offered to other clubs.
Joorabchian says that a representative of the club has been offering Coutinho to potential suitors despite Barcelona assuring that no such plans are in the works for the Brazilian.
Joorabchian said,
"The information from Barcelona is rather mixed,"
"We had a meeting last week with the president [Josep] Bartomeu and other directors, and they told us he was absolutely not for sale, that they have never spoken about the boy leaving, that they had never offered him to any club.
"Although there is a guy that works for them called Andre Cury, who apparently has been touting him about - but the president has told us he is categorically not for sale."
After joining Barcelona in the winter of 2018 as their most expensive signing, Coutinho did hit the ground running. However, from there on his contributions have dwindled to a trickle and the player has fallen out of favour with both the management and the fans.
Rumours of Coutinho being offered to Paris Saint-Germain as part of Barcelona's plan to bring Neymar back have been rife and it's especially picked up momentum in the past couple of weeks.
Joorabchian went on to admit that if Coutinho decides to come back to the Premier League, it is likely to happen only with Liverpool as his former club has a special place in the player's heart.
"I think Liverpool lies very, very deeply in his heart. He was a big fan of them throughout the campaign [last season].
"He was wishing for them to win the title and he has a very strong affinity there so I think it will be very difficult for him to go to a direct competitor of Liverpool from a personal standpoint."
Also check out: Premier League Table Champions League table La liga table 2019-20
James Rodriguez wants Atletico Madrid move
James Rodriguez could be part of one of the most sensational stories of the summer as the Colombian international looks increasingly likely to join Real Madrid's cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid this summer.
Diego Simeone and co. are reportedly close to signing the Blancos midfielder. James Rodriguez would like to continue to live in Madrid and as such, he is keen on joining Atletico Madrid.
Rodriguez spent the last two years on loan at Bayern Munich. After impressing heavily in his debut season in the Bundesliga, he faded in the second season, causing the Bavarians to let him return to Real Madrid this summer.
Zinedine Zidane does not have room for James Rodriguez in his plans for the upcoming season and is thus willing to cash in this summer. The 28-year-old looked destined for Napoli. However, he has decided to cool his interest in such a move, favouring the prospect of joining Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham Hotspur set to hijack Arsenal's move for William Saliba
Arsenal's summer has been the stuff of nightmares as far as fans are concerned. Now, to add more fuel to the flame, as per the latest reports in England, Tottenham Hotspur look ready to hijack Arsenal's move for French defender William Saliba.
The Gunners were reportedly on the verge of completing a deal for the 18-year-old earlier this week. They had also agreed on a £27 million fee with Saint Etienne. As per that agreement, Saliba would return to Saint Etienne on loan for the upcoming season.
The clubs had left minor details to be dealt with in the following days before the deal is officially announced. However, Tottenham Hotspur have made a shock entrance and have turned the tables as they're ready to outbid their North London rivals.
If Daniel Levy and co. can pull this off, it will be a huge coup as far as Tottenham Hotspur are concerned and a major setback for Arsenal who have left their pursuit of Zaha due to financial reasons and have an unsettled club captain who refused to join their pre-season tour.
Pogba looks destined for Manchester United stay as Ole says he is a strong candidate for captaincy
More than anything, it is the Red Devils's valuation of their World Cup-winning midfielder that is proving to be a stumbling block in Paul Pogba's future which the player himself has insisted is likely to lie away from Manchester United.
After confirming that the Red Devils are yet to receive an offer for the Frenchman, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer quipped after United's 2-0 victory over Perth Glory in their first pre-season match that Pogba remains a strong candidate for captaincy next season.
On being quizzed about the chances of Pogba captaining the side next season, Ole replied,
“Yeah. It hasn’t [been decided]. So we’ve got quite a few possibilities there and when the season starts we’ll announce.”
On being subsequently asked whether he thinks Pogba has the requisite qualities to lead the team, Ole said,
“Well, I don’t think that needs explaining. We’ll discuss that later on.”
After the match, when asked about his future, Pogba said that there is 'no need to talk' about it. All fingers currently point towards him kicking on at Manchester United as potential suitors seem unlikely to furnish the kind of amount the Red Devils want for their talismanic midfielder.
Matthijs De Ligt set for Juventus medical
According to the reliable Gianluca Di Marzio, Ajax and Juventus have entered the last phase of negotiations and are deciding on the terms of payments as both clubs look to wrap the deal up as soon as possible.
If everything goes to plan, Juventus will have Matthijs De Ligt touch down in Turin tomorrow for his medical. Ajax had released a statement yesterday confirming that the 19-year-old has been left out of their pre-season tour with respect to a pending potential transfer move.
Barcelona and Manchester United were heavily linked with the former Ajax captain. However, De Ligt wasn't convinced about his first-team chances at a club like Barcelona and was put off by the lack of Champions League action at Manchester United in the upcoming season.
Juventus swooped in and De Ligt was instantly impressed with the idea of going to Turin. Juventus, however, were hesitant to match Ajax's valuation of the player and that caused the delay in the deal going over the line.