Within hours of the summer transfer window being officially open for summer moves, Jude Bellingham became the most expensive British player ever.
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19-year-old Bellingham completed his monumental move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid after three seasons and was named Bundesliga Player of the Year in the most recent campaign.
Real have secured Bellingham on a six-year deal for an initial $112m rising to $145m with add-ons and will be unveiled as a Los Blancos player in a presentation on Thursday morning at 6am ET.
As a Manchester United fan, I was hoping the world-class star in the making, would put pen to paper for my club however, given the current shambolic take-over saga (or non-take-over as it looks increasingly like!) it is hard to argue with his decision to sign for the La Liga legends. Maybe Bellingham will sign for United when he leaves Madrid, I can but hope.
The Summer Transfer window poises to have all soccer fans transfixed, let’s take a look some big names who are up for grabs.
Roberto Firmino
Firmino is a free agent this summer after a decorated eight-year tenure at Liverpool FC came to a close at the end of the Premier League season last month. The forward leaves having won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and a first-ever Club World Cup for the Anfield Reds in December 2019.
The Brazilian star ran his contract down but where will Firmino be heading? Real Madrid appear to be the biggest admirers but with the Bellingham deal in the bag and Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe on their radars – the Spanish champions may have other priorities.
Ilkay Gundogan
Despite being instrumental in Manchester City’s treble glory, the Germany star’s contract is coming to an end. Talks have been ongoing over an extension however Arsenal academy boss, Per Mertesacker, has revealed that his club is in a ‘good position’ to sign Man City’s treble-winning captain on a free transfer. Barcelona have also expressed an interest in the prolific playmaker. Watch this space.
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Harry Kane
The Harry Kane soap opera rumbles on. After a season which saw Kane score 30 Premier League goals but Tottenham struggle all season, his future is again in focus. Manchester Utd, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all in desperate need of a striker and keen on Kane, but (sadly) a United move is increasingly unlikely. Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur Chairman, does not want to sell him – especially not to a Premier League rival.
Joao Cancelo
This is a weird one. The full-back’s loan to Bayern Munich surprisingly did not work out and he is headed back to Manchester City for now, where he is also not part of Pep Guardiola’s plans. With Arsenal showing serious interest (news is emerging a bid has been put forward), could Cancelo be joining fellow team-mate Gundogan to North London?
Philippe Coutinho
The third-most-expensive player in football history is a shadow of the figure he was when Barcelona broke the bank to sign him from Liverpool in 2018. After a spell at Barcelona, his former-teammate, Steven Gerrard, lured him to join Aston Villa. However, this partnership fell flat to say the least, after Gerrard was sacked shortly after.
Gerrard is set to finalize his managerial appointment at Saudi Pro League side, Al Ettifaq, after being spotted in the Middle East earlier this week. It is rumoured that Gerrard is reportedly targeting the midfield maestro for another throw of the dice at the club.
David De Gea
This is a bittersweet one for me. David De Gea is my club’s current, longest-serving player and holds the record for keeping more clean sheets than any other United goalkeeper. Watching him make crushing mistakes recently has been tough.
De Gea is just over a fortnight away from becoming a free agent, with his current deal set to expire on June 30. Manchester United have the option to extend the deal by one year and are also in talks over a longer extension, but with the club interested in a move for Brentford’s David Raya, De Gea’s future could go in any direction.
Dea Gea’s position as Erik ten Hag’s number one goalkeeper remains under scrutiny. Talks over a new contract are ongoing with the club hoping to persuade the Spaniard to take a pay cut to stay at Old Trafford but it remains unclear if he will be first choice keeper after the summer.
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Neymar
Everything suggests that Paris St Germain may part ways with Neymar this summer and shock rumors allude to Chelsea being the ones identified as a potential destination for the Brazilian.
According to claims, Chelsea have ‘approached’ PSG over the prospect of signing Neymar in the off-season and the Ligue 1 giants may be open to letting the 31-year-old leave to raise funds to pursue their own transfer targets.
Manchester United have also been approached by intermediaries about signing Neymar from PSG this summer. Ten Hag’s side are one of several clubs who have been contacted about Neymar’s potential availability – but he is not currently a United target (damn it).
Ooooh I love the transfer window! Come back for regular updates along with my predictions of who will end up where.
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