Exclusive: Patience needed from João Félix, Todibo race still open, no change for Salah, Chiesa out and more
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Patience needed from Joao Felix and Barcelona
Nothing has changed with regard to Joao Felix.
Barcelona are still keen on bringing him back, but they need to agree on a deal with Atlético Madrid and that’s not easy or guaranteed yet.
Patience is needed, exactly the same as last year, and from the player’s point of view, Joao Felix is currently waiting again for Barcelona.
Several clubs in the race for Todibo
I’m not aware that Jean-Clair Todibo wasn’t interested in a move to West Ham.
I understand that West Ham were never going to bid for him without guarantees on the player side, and though he was keen on the move the problem was on the price – which is still considered to be too high.
The race for Todibo remains open, and there are several clubs interested.
No approaches for Mo Salah so far
Despite the rumours, I’ve still zero updates on Mo Salah’s situation so far.
It’s quiet, there are no changes with Saudi clubs, and though the interest is there since last summer, Liverpool have not received any proposals or approaches at the moment.
I don’t have any confirmation or guarantee either about Salah leaving and joining Saudi this summer.
Juve to part ways with Chiesa
The decision of Juventus has been made in the case of Federico Chiesa. The player will leave the club this summer, this is the plan.
You may ask me why an important player is being sold, and it’s because the new manager, Thiago Motta, wants to go in a different direction.
Juventus are not counting on him, so Chiesa is expected to be sold by Juventus this summer for something around €20m/€25m. It’s that cheap because the player is out of contract in summer 2025.
For sure, Federico Chiesa is a big opportunity on the market, and he will probably have several options to choose from.
Arsenal leading the race for Calafiori
Talking about Italian players, let me say that in the last 24 hours, Arsenal made contact on the club side for Riccardo Calafiori.
Talks are now ongoing but we are still waiting for an official bid, still waiting for the club to club agreement.
The player gave a green light to Arsenal in terms of contract, and is really excited by the possibility of working under Mikel Arteta.
He’s considered a proper, proper talent for the left-back or centre-back position, he can cover both of them.
Arsenal are really convinced that they have an agreement almost ready on the player side, but are still waiting to reach agreement with Bologna. I told you that the relationship with Bologna is very good, and they want something around €50m/€55m.
The other club monitoring the situation is Chelsea, but at the moment Arsenal are ahead.
Kilman in but Paqueta not yet out at West Ham
Flamengo’s directors have travelled to London to make an approach to West Ham for Lucas Paquetá but the reply was clear: no chance for a loan deal.
At the moment, the deal is complicated but Flamengo are keeping doors open to a new attempt in the next days or weeks. It’s not an easy one, for sure.
Sticking with West Ham, the deal is done between them and Wolves for Max Kilman. £40m is the package agreement for the player, wanted by Julen Lopetegui.
So, an important signing for the club.
Olise medical on Sunday, deal to complete soon
Michael Olise will have the first part of his medical as a new Bayern Munich player on Sunday. Right after that he will sign a contract until 2029.
The reason this has taken a little longer than expected is because Crystal Palace, as part of the agreement, will also have a sell-on clause, understood to be around 10%-15% and the issue to resolve was that.
Now everything is agreed between Bayern and Palace, and they’re waiting to exchange the documents, waiting to sign, waiting to complete the medical.
He should be unveiled by Bayern really, really soon,
De Ligt only wants Manchester United
Bayern want to sign Jonathan Tah and they’re very confident, so will keep discussing the structure of the de Ligt deal with United.
I’m told the only club with the authorisation from the player to negotiate with his agent is Manchester United. That is the intention of Matthijs de Ligt.
Finally, after difficulties for a fantastic defender, he could be back working for a manager who trusts him.
PSG interest in Joshua Kimmich is genuine
The interest of Paris Saint-Germain in Joshua Kimmich is real, is genuine, and from what I’m told it doesn’t depend on João Neves. That’s a separate story, a completely separate story.
Paris Saint-Germain love João Neves too, but at the moment he’s very expensive; €120m release clause.
PSG appreciate both players, but Kimmich is out of contact in one year, and doesn’t have that kind of crazy price.
Dele Alli working hard but no new club yet
He’s working hard and training well, but I don’t know anything concrete about negotiations with clubs or concrete talks. Probably it’s still too early.
Nothing is happening right now.
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