Transfer news LIVE! Arsenal fired Rice warning; Tottenham start Maddison talks; Chelsea want Martinez; Man Utd
The summer transfer window opens for business next week but Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham are all pushing to seal some key early signings. Arsenal are set to launch their £90million club-record bid for Declan Rice, but the Gunners have been warned by West Ham over the structure of the deal as they bid to avoid a repeat of the Mykhailo Mudryk fiasco.
Arsenal are also believed to be poised for a decision on Ivan Fresneda, as they line up Manchester City pair Joao Cancelo and Ilkay Gundogan as well as planning a new offer to beat Chelsea to Moises Caicedo. The Blues are said to have opened talks with Southampton over Romeo Lavia with Mateo Kovacic on the brink of an exit and continue to be linked with PSG star Neymar and now Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez.
Rasmus Hojlund reportedly wants to join Manchester United, who are pushing to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea plus defenders Kim Min-jae and Axel Disasi. Tottenham have opened talks over James Maddison, while Spurs remain firm on Harry Kane amid strong interest from United and Real Madrid. Follow all the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip live below!
Live updates
Disagreement over Raya valuation
Tottenham and Manchester United are both set to walk away from a potential deal for David Raya if Brentford do not lower their asking price of £40million for the goalkeeper.
Both clubs were tracking Raya throughout the season, and Bees manager Thomas Frank confirmed on the final day of the campaign that Raya is the only one of his players for sale this summer.
He also reiterated the £40m valuation the club have placed on the wantaway shot-stopper, but neither Spurs nor United value the goalkeeper that highly and are unwilling to pay such a large fee.
They are not the only frustrated parties. Raya’s agent, Jaume Munell, said recently: “If Brentford does not lower the price tag for David Raya this summer, we’ll be ready to leave as [a] free agent in one year.”
Read more on that story here!
Nice spells over for Barkley and Pepe
Ross Barkley has been released by Nice, while Nicolas Pepe will return to Arsenal.
Barkley joined the French side in September after leaving Chelsea by mutual consent, and while he made 27 Ligue 1 appearances this season, 18 of those came from the bench.
Pepe meanwhile was on loan at Nice and scored six goals for the club. Arsenal’s record-signing will be return to north London and a decision on his future will be made.
Newcastle hold firm on Maddison
Tottenham are not the only club interested in a move for James Maddison.
The midfielder is set to leave Leicester this summer after the club’s relegation, and he has just a year remaining on his current deal at the King Power.
While Spurs see Maddison as a priority statement, Newcastle are also keen but journalist Ben Jacobs reports that the Magpies have no intention of going beyond their own £45m valutation.
It’s claimed Leicester want closer to £60m, and will not let relegation force them into accepting less.
Inter ‘calm’ over Martinez talk
As we covered earlier, Lautaro Martinez is reportedly a key target for Chelsea this summer.
Speaking a couple of weeks ago, when Real Madrid’s interest also became clear, Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti insisted he was not concerned about Martinez leaving the club.
“I’m so calm as Lautaro’s really happy here at Inter,” Zanetti told TyC Sports.
”I haven’t heard anything about Real Madrid rumours, we know nothing about that.”
Possible Min-Jae blow for Man United
Manchester United will not be thrilled with the latest news on Kim Min-jae.
It’s believed that United are extremely keen on the Napoli centre-back, who has a £42million release clause and is attracting plenty of attention across Europe.
However, The Telegraph report that Napoli have offered Min-jae a new contract, which would see the release clause removed and force any interested clubs to offer significantly more to land the defender.
Done deal!
Naby Keita has completed his free transfer to Werder Bremen.
The midfielder has left Liverpool after his contract at Anfield expired, bringing an end a five-year spell in the Premier League that was often hampered by injuries.
Keita now returns to Germany, having signed for Liverpool from RB Leipzig.
Tottenham told Maddison price
Tottenham have begun talks with Leicester over a move for James Maddison, though have been told the Foxes want £60m for the Englishman.
That’s according to talkSPORT, with it reported that Spurs see Maddison as a top target as Ange Postecoglou looks to swiftly bolster his squad.
Newcastle are also believed to be interested, though will not match Leicester’s valuation.
Liverpool consider Veiga
Liverpool continue to be linked with most of the midfielders in Europe.
Alexis Mac Allister has been signed, Khephren Thuram is reportedly a target and now talk has turned to Gabri Veiga.
The Liverpool Echo claim that Liverpool are stepping up their efforts to sign the Celta Vigo midfielder, who is valued at €40m.
Chelsea battle Real Madrid for Lautaro Martinez
Chelsea are said to be on the trail of Lautaro Martinez this summer.
The Blues are known to be targeting significant additions in a revamped attack under Mauricio Pochettino after a pitiful goal return in a dismal 2022-23 season.
Having already decided not to keep Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix, Chelsea are thought to be going after the likes of Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen.
According to The Times, Chelsea want Martinez, with Pochettino a long-time admirer of his fellow Argentine.
However, they are reported to be facing a huge battle with Real Madrid, who are also after the player as part of their replacement plan for Karim Benzema.
The Telegraph reported this week that Chelsea were set to meet with Inter Milan after tomorrow’s Champions League final to discuss Romelu Lukaku’s future and a potential Stamford Bridge switch for goalkeeper Andre Onana, with Martinez no doubt also on the agenda.
Arsenal warned over Rice fee
West Ham will not be rushed into selling Declan Rice and want a significant amount of his transfer fee paid up front, write Simon Collings and Malik Ouzia.
Arsenal lead Bayern Munich and Manchester United in the race for Rice and are expected to make a formal approach in the coming days.
West Ham have set an asking price of £120million for their captain, but Arsenal will hope to strike a deal closer to £90m — which would make Rice their club-record signing.
The Hammers want a significant amount of the fee paid up front after spending more than £170m on new recruits last summer.
The club will use Jude Bellingham’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid as a benchmark, with the 19-year-old commanding a fee of £115m. Crucially, Madrid have agreed to pay £88.5m of that up front.
Agreeing terms with Rice is not expected to be an issue for Arsenal, but the structuring of any fee with West Ham will be important.
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