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Is Antoine Griezmann really a target for Manchester United?

There have been many rumours during the international break about the future of Antoine Griezmann. I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about him since there were some reports in Spain linking Griezmann with Manchester United.

While it’s true that Griezmann has a release clause at Atletico Madrid, but it’s also the case that the player is only focused on Atletico Madrid – he is in love with the club. He already left once in the past, joining Barcelona in 2019, and then he wanted to return. Now he’s back and he has a great relationship with manager Diego Simeone and his teammates – his idea is not to change clubs in January, there is no plan at all to leave, there is absolutely nothing going on with Manchester United.

And as I’ve previously reported on Griezmann, back in June he had the possibility to accept a life-changing contract proposal to move to Saudi Arabia, but he wasn’t interested because he only wanted to stay at Atletico Madrid. So it’s not just Man United, there is no desire for Griezmann to leave for any club, he wants to stay at Atletico Madrid.

Staying with Man United, there’s no concrete update yet on Donny van de Beek, but he is one player who is very much expected to leave in January. United and Van de Beek will find a solution for sure, though there is no clarity yet about a specific club, it’s still too early.

Chelsea still backing Mykhaylo Mudryk despite Khvicha Kvaratskhelia links

I’m aware there have been some stories about Chelsea having an interest in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with reports that he’s a player they really like, but I wouldn’t read too much into this for now. Of course we can all see Kvaratskhelia is a superb talent – he’s been a joy to watch for Napoli and so I think it’s normal to see stories like this.

The key point with Chelsea, however, is that they still believe Mykhaylo Mudryk will be the future in that position, so nothing has been decided in terms of investing big money there for another player after they fought hard to sign Mudryk ahead of Arsenal in that tense battle last January.

Also with Napoli there is the reality that they could be forced to sell Victor Osimhen in the summer – I’ve reported on interest in him several times recently, and there’s been no progress on a new contract with Napoli, so they will hope to keep Kvaratskhelia if they lose another of their important players.

A lot can change in football and it’s too early to know for sure what will happen, but my understanding remains that it’s not a concrete thing with Chelsea so far.

In other news…

Pablo Fornals – There have been some surprise links between Pablo Fornals and Barcelona, with the West Ham midfielder supposedly mentioned as an option to cover for the injured Gavi. Still, I’m not aware of concrete talks for Fornals so far, there’s still nothing decided in terms of new midfielder; as Deco said, the situation is still very quiet. Barcelona’s priority is to use funds on Financial Fair Play to register Vitor Roque.

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Pascal Gross – The Brighton star is a player Eintracht Frankfurt really like, as has been reported. Eintracht love Gross, but they also know nothing will happen in January, he’s a dream target for June but very difficult as Gross is very happy at Brighton and there are no problems between Brighton and Gross, at all.

Jose Mourinho – Al Hilal wanted Jose Mourinho in June 2023, but he decided to respect AS Roma and so he turned down the proposal. He’s now suggested he will manage in Saudi Arabia one day, but it’s too early for anything concrete, as nothing will happen until at least next summer.

The post Transfer news: Griezmann Man United links, Kvaratskhelia Chelsea rumours, Mourinho Saudi Arabia & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior is reportedly ready to reject interest from three Serie A clubs this January as he wants to win over Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and fight for his place in the team.

The Poland international only joined Arsenal from Spezia last January, and it seems his future could be in some doubt less than a year into his stay at the Emirates Stadium.

However, even if there is some interest from AC Milan, Roma and Napoli in bringing Kiwior back to Italy, it seems his preference is to try winning Arteta around, according to Fichajes.com.

Kiwior could surely be a fine signing for those clubs, and it could boost his chances of getting more playing time, but Arsenal fans will surely be glad to see he wants to stay in north London for a bit longer.

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Arsenal have an excellent central defensive pairing in the form of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, but there’s surely also a role for Kiwior to play over the course of the season as Arteta will need to rotate from time to time.

AFC were also hit hard by some injuries last term, so won’t want to be without backup options in case that happens again.

The post Arsenal star eyed by three Euro giants but is prepared to snub transfer to win round Arteta appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has provided some insight into Jose Mourinho’s situation as the Roma manager has hinted he could be open to a move to managing in Saudi Arabia some time soon.

The Portuguese tactician has done well at Roma following a difficult spell in charge of Tottenham, and one imagines he could still be of interest to a lot of top clubs in the Premier League and elsewhere in Europe.

However, the emergence of the Saudi Pro League as a major force in the game has changed things, and it seems likely we’re only going to see even more big names moving there soon, both players and managers.

Mourinho is just the kind of name one imagines they’d love to have in Saudi, and Romano says that Al Hilal have previously tried to lure the Special One over, only for him to reject them to stay at Roma this season.

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It’s still a bit early to know for sure what Mourinho will choose to do, but Romano says we can expect to know a bit more by next summer.

“Al Hilal wanted Jose Mourinho in June 2023, but he decided to respect AS Roma and so he turned down the proposal,” Romano told CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column.

“He’s now suggested he will manage in Saudi Arabia one day, but it’s too early for anything concrete, as nothing will happen until at least next summer.”

The post Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano on when to expect news on Jose Mourinho Saudi Arabia move appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Chelsea have agreed on an unofficial release clause for Romelu Lukaku to leave the club next summer.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside on yesterday’s Debrief Podcast, Romano explained that the Blues reached a gentleman’s agreement with the player’s agent to allow him to leave for a fee of around €40million next summer, so as to avoid the complications they found when trying to offload him to the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus this year.

In the end, Lukaku ended up joining Roma on loan for the season, and it remains to be seen what decision they’ll make on the Belgium international as it looks like they’re set to go through a number of changes off the pitch, which could complicate decisions relating to signings.

Lukaku has performed well at Roma, so one imagines they’d do well to keep him, but Romano also says the unofficial €40m clause is open to any club, so if he continues to impress at the Stadio Olimpico, there could also end up being other suitors joining the race for his signature.

“From what I’m told, Romelu Lukaku has something like a release clause, but not a proper release clause,” Romano said.

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“There is a gentleman’s agreement between the player’s agents and Chelsea, because they don’t want a situation like a few months ago in the summer transfer window when they had to negotiate with Juventus, then with Inter, then with Roma – it was a very complicated summer for Chelsea around the Lukaku story, and so there is now a possibility for him to leave for €40m – and that’s not just for Roma, that’s for any club.

“From what I’m told, Roma still have no clarity on what will happen next season with some key figures, such as manager Jose Mourinho and director Tiago Pinto – it’s therefore too early for Roma to decide if they can pay that money for Lukaku. We’ll have to see around March/April when things will become more clear.”

The post Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano reveals Chelsea star’s unofficial release clause appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Tottenham are reportedly ready to invest around €30million in the potential transfer of Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante.

The 28-year-old has played for a number of clubs in Europe down the years, spending time at AC Milan, Atalanta and Benfica before really making a name for himself at Roma.

It now seems Spurs are interested in the Italy international and could pay as much as €30m to try to bring him to the Premier League, according to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, as cited and translated by Sport Witness.

Tottenham could perhaps do well to strengthen in midfield in the near future, with Ange Postecoglou’s side arguably lacking the depth they need to really stay in the title race this season.

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Although Spurs have made a good start, spending €30m on someone like Cristante, who would add both quality and experience to Postecoglou’s squad, could be smart business.

The report adds that Cristante’s current deal runs until 2027 and that Roma might find it hard to say no to an offer in the region of €30m, so THFC should surely take this opportunity.

The post Tottenham ready to invest €30million in transfer of experienced Serie A star appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Former England ace Chris Smalling could be on his way to pastures new once he’s over his current injury, and should he leave Roma in 2024, it could prompt a mass exodus including manager, Jose Mourinho.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the charms of the Saudi Pro League could be tempting enough for Smalling to make the switch there as early as January next year.

Though that would likely mean that the Giallorossi would need to enter the transfer market for two centre-backs rather than one, though that’s unlikely to be a deal breaker given his age (33).

Argentinian World Cup winner, Paulo Dybala, could once again be the subject of interest in the transfer market, and he too is likely to be courted by the Saudi’s.

Gazzetta note his paltry €12m release clause which is clearly well within the financial reach of the Pro League.

Whether such a move would appeal to the 30 year old is unclear at this stage.

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Mourinho would clearly be a prize capture for the Saudis, however, the likelihood that the ‘Special One’ would return to the Premier League is higher than yet another new experience for a manager who has been there and done it all.

Clearly, for AS Roma at least, the next window or two are likely to be tumultuous, and it’ll be interesting to see how the club looks when they line up for the first fixture of the 2024/25 season.

The post Chris Smalling transfer could begin mass exodus from Roma in 2024 appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Newcastle United could reportedly turn to Roma manager Jose Mourinho in case they lose current manager Eddie Howe to the England national team at any point in the near future.

According to reports in Italy, Mourinho is on Newcastle’s radar as an option as Howe continues to be strongly tipped as a successor to Gareth Southgate.

Mourinho has a fine record from his time in the Premier League, having won the title three times in two spells in charge of Chelsea.

However, more recently he struggled in spells in charge of Manchester United and Tottenham.

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Mourinho is, however, understood to be admired by Newcastle’s backers PIF.

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The January transfer window can’t come soon enough for a number of clubs, with Chelsea expected to once again be amongst the busier teams.

Aside from any incoming business that Mauricio Pochettino might like to do, there’s a question of which players are surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

Though owner, Todd Boehly, doesn’t appear to be short of funds, allowing one or two players to leave could well help the club stay within the bounds of Financial Fair Play, and to that end, there’s a chance of deals getting across the line.

According to Calciomercato (h/t Metro), former Blues manager, Jose Mourinho, appears set to raid his old club for a pair of out-of-favour defenders.

There’s some certainty to Trevoh Chalobah leaving west London in January, and Fabrizio Romano, speaking to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, underlined that.

“At the moment for Chelsea the idea is very clear; the only player leaving in January is Trevoh Chalobah,” he said.

Sarr has barely played for the Blues since signing for them in 2020, and as Metro note, he hasn’t made any of the match day squads this season.

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Therefore, a switch to Serie A is surely something that could appeal to both of them, particularly as they’d be playing for one of the most storied Italian teams in Roma.

It isn’t clear yet how much any transfer fee for either player would be, but if the Giallorossi firm up their interest, the deals would appear to suit all parties.

The post Former Chelsea boss Mourinho set to raid his old club for defensive pair appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Aston Villa are keen to bring Tammy Abraham back to the Premier League.

That’s according to a recent report from Football Insider, who claims the Villains view the Roma man as a ‘top class forward’.

Having previously spent time at Villa Park, Abraham, 26, could now return to his old stomping ground more than five years after he left Chelsea on loan.

However, out with a long-term injury after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in June, the English striker is not expected to return to action until the Spring of next year.

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And although it remains unclear if Villa will pursue a deal in the January transfer window, or if they’ll wait until the summer, it seems Unai Emery has not been put off by the forward’s current injury woes.

Valued at around £35 million (TM) and with less than three years left on his contract, Roma’s number nine could be a shrewd option for any manager looking to bolster their attacking options.

During his time in Italy, Abraham, who has represented England on 11 occasions, has scored 36 goals and provided 12 assists in 107 games in all competitions.

The post Aston Villa plotting surprise approach to sign Tammy Abraham appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Aston Villa are planning to sign a striker in 2024 and could make a sensational January move to bring Tammy Abraham back to the club.

The 26-year-old spent a season on loan from Chelsea at Villa Park and fired the Birmingham club back to the Premier League during the 2018-19 campaign. The England star played 40 times for the Midlands giants in the Championship, notching 26 goals and three assists.

Unai Emery’s side would like another striker in 2024 and Football Insider reports that Abraham is on the Spanish coach’s list.

A big risk in signing the England international is the fact that he is currently recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament tear that has sidelined the 6ft 3in forward since June and is not expected to return until the spring of 2024.

It is uncertain how he will recover from one of the worst injuries in the sport and therefore, Villa may end up signing a player who cannot return to the way he was before the setback.

There is still a long way to go before any official move for Abraham is made but the striker’s return to Villa Park will be an interesting story to keep on top of in 2024.

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The post 6ft 3in striker could make sensational Aston Villa return in January appeared first on CaughtOffside.