Former Arsenal and Man Utd forward Alexis Sanchez returned to Italian side Udinese after 13 years away from the club.

Now 35 years old, Sanchez played 33 times across all competitions for Inter last season, scoring four times and helping the club win the Serie A title, before departing at the end of his contract.

That came after a successful year in France with Marseille — who he joined from Inter for one season — scoring 18 times in 44 appearances across all competitions.

Sanchez last played for Udinese between 2006 and 2011, scoring 21 goals in 112 games across all competitions, and rejoins the club on a two-year deal. Udinese won just six of their 38 Serie A games last season, but picked up 19 draws to help them finish 15th on 37 points, two points clear of relegation.

A L E X I S 7??

???? #ForzaUdinese #AlèUdin #Udinese #Sanchez pic.twitter.com/aul8N04bko

— Udinese Calcio (@Udinese_1896) August 10, 2024

A 166-time Chile international, Sanchez left Udinese in 2011 for Barcelona and won multiple honours with the Blaugrana — including the 2012/13 La Liga title — during a 141-game, 47-goal spell before joining Arsenal in 2014.

At the Emirates, Sanchez would score 80 goals in 166 appearances, winning two FA Cups and a Community Shield, before leaving for a more modest spell at Manchester United between January 2018 and the summer of 2019.

Sanchez is Udinese’s seventh signing of the summer transfer window, alongside Lorenzo Lucca, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Damian Pizarro, Jesper Karlstrom, Iker Bravo and Goncalo Esteves.

The post Former Arsenal and Man Utd forward returns to old club 13 years after leaving appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

It was largely regarded as a good week for Spanish football, even if Villarreal didn’t quite pull off a brilliant four-goal comeback against Olympique Marseille, Spain will have three sides in the Champions League quarter-finals, more than anyone else.

The most dramatic was Atletico Madrid’s penalty shoot-out win over Inter. Diego Simeone has now fathered 7 of Atletico’s 12 Champions League quarter-finals, and is yet to lose a home knockout tie. The penalties of course involved Antoine Griezmann in obscene fashion making it clear that he thought Alexis Sanchez would miss, although he has reportedly apologised to the Chilean.

Barcelona also got an excellent win over Napoli, coming through 3-1 at home and returning to the quarter-finals for the first time in four years. It earns them an extra €15m which was vital for their financial woes, but nevertheless they will still require sales. This week it emerged that the Blaugrana would consider offers for close to a €100m for star defender Ronald Araujo.

Cholo Simeone loves to be the underdog. pic.twitter.com/4Dxl3vAf04

— Football España (@footballespana_) March 14, 2024

Sporting Director Deco did meet with his Manchester United counterpart, John Murtough in Madrid on Monday, but Araujo was not brought up according to the latest reports, rather Ansu Fati, Alejandro Balde and Frenkie de Jong.

United also met with Getafe, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid while in the Spanish capital, and while Barcelona have cooled their interest in Mason Greenwood fearing public backlash, Atletico are still interested, as are Getafe. In order to stay in Spain though, Murtough made it clear they would be selling to the highest bidder, around €50m they hope, rather than loaning the problematic forward again.

In other news, the prosecutor and the victim in the Dani Alves rape conviction are set to appeal the decision, asking for the sentence to be extended beyond the four and a half years. In lighter legal news, Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappe is reportedly threatening to sue a kebab shop in Marseille for likening their round roll to Mbappe’s head – ‘Don’t you have anything better to do?’ responded the irate owner.

The post Inside Spain: Manchester United tour of Spain, Barcelona sales, and Antoine Griezmann insult appeared first on CaughtOffside.

In his fortnightly exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jon Smith, one of football’s first-ever agents and a man who was an integral figure in the forming of the Premier League, discusses why Man United are living in the past, why Phil Foden is a decent Ballon d’Or shout, why Arsenal can come back against Porto – and more! 

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Everything at Man United is out of date and INEOS have to get to work quickly

I think the whole system at Man United is antiquated, probably 20 years out of date.

They’ve not really changed anything with the last regime and the regime before that, with personnel either stood down, resigned or left. Nothing’s changed, really.

If you look at Tottenham Hotspur, Man City, Newcastle and Arsenal et al they are really well run clubs in all departments.

The manager, I believe, should report into a sporting director or a technical director who reports to the board. Those nice, cosy, what used to be called ‘fireside chats’ between the manager and the owner is just not how it should be done anymore.

I absolutely think the heartbeat of a football club are the football people that work there.

It’s going to be a long haul. Changing Old Trafford, which needs huge attention, and so much more besides.

Their actual PR is pretty good. I think their social media is strong, but I just think that the way the club reports within and the way it’s structured is where Sir Jim Ratcliffe should be focussing his initial efforts.

I love Phil Foden and I hope he wins the Ballon d’Or

Thomas Frank made a lovely statement recently about Phil Foden being the closest English player to winning a Ballon d’Or and I hope it’s true because I love Phil Foden.

I think he’s a great English footballer with a brain that’s a lot more ‘international.’

The only thing I’d caution about such comments is when I think of players like Juan Mata, Alexis Sanchez and perhaps a more pertinent one, Dele Alli – all of whom were heading in that direction but got lost on the journey.

Foden’s 24, he’s maturing, he’s high energy and with a lot of trickery – and he had a good World Cup.

I think you should ask me that in three years time, and I hope my answer is yes because he is the complete package.

He just needs to keep his head in the right place.

FFP isn’t quite the level playing field we expected

Real Madrid are kind of a law unto themselves.

Apparently PSG didn’t quite get punished for their FFP issues and Man City still seem to be in the long grass – for a wee bit longer anyway.

Bear in mind Real Madrid was the club of General Franco, and Franco was a bit like Putin is in Russia, he kind of owned the country.

So I think the problem for everyone else is that Real Madrid are probably still living off of Franco’s bank account in some shape or form.

I mean, there’s been there’s been a lot of discussion about how they still own their training ground when apparently they might allegedly have sold it a few times. Not quite sure how that’s played out.

Real Madrid can do stuff like this because they can and because they’ve enough money around them and enough assets to put into FFP.

FFP was designed so that each club doesn’t overspend against their turnover, and then there’s a levelling out between those that have high turnover and those that have lower turnovers. So you supposedly get a level playing field.

As I’ve just said, there’s three or four examples which indicate that the level playing field isn’t quite always as level for everyone as it should be.

I can’t argue against Kylian Mbappe becoming the ‘most expensive free transfer of all time’ because I was the guy who led the charge into the Premier League and said players have to be paid much better.

Remember when Trevor Francis was the first million pound player and we all went, ‘Oh my God.’ Now £120m for a player doesn’t seem to scare the horses, so we’re only talking about advancing what there is in place.

Certainly nothing goes up forever, but I have been saying this in football for 20 years and it’s kept going up. Potentially, it’s got further to go but there will be a moment in time, a sort of pause or a levelling out because living in the stratosphere can be very dangerous.

We’re living in a world where nations are struggling to find support in some of the activities that are going on around them and taking place in their own backyard politically, so they’re using sport as their vehicle to promote their well being – and further their travel on that journey.

Corporate entities will help clubs to buy players in future

Adidas and Apple helped MLS and Inter Miami to sign Lionel Messi, and I think we’ve just got to have a look at the music business as an example of whether the same can happen in Europe.

The major corporations now cross pollinate all the major acts. Sponsorships are very often IT led so that there is a visual download activity around not just ticketing, but the actual sponsorship in the event itself.

Football is going to go the same way because football is the biggest followed sport in the world.

The biggest players are now nations, which means that the major corporations will join in that support. It’s bound to happen.

As long as the rights owners, which are the clubs and the leagues, have the ability to dictate the circumstances, rather than the brands and the countries telling people how to play their game and how to influence what happens on the pitch, there isn’t going to be a problem. However, it is worth noting that major funds are now offering to buy into leagues’ marketing programmes such as Italy.

The big fear for I guess all of us who don’t like domination in our life, is that the people with the big money, which are the huge hedge funds, the countries and the major brands, will be able to effectively run the planet in 20 years because they’ll have the IT behind them.

They’ll have the data that they’re absorbing and they’ll have the ability to dictate what you think and what you should do. All of that is a society problem but football, as we’ve said before in this column, reflects society.

Arsenal will come back and Man City can win back to back UCL titles

I’m still expecting Arsenal to come back in their Champions League match against Porto.

I read the reports, that they weren’t going to qualify now, that they’ve blown it again but I’m sticking with them.

I think Man City, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern will go through, which leaves me pondering Atletico Madrid and Inter with Borussia Dortmund in the background, because I just don’t think they’re quite strong enough.

Teams other than City can win it, of course they can, and I’m thinking certainly of Real Madrid here.

More Stories / Latest News

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Aug 12 2024, 0:18

Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

Aug 11 2024, 23:38

Chelsea’s €40m transfer falls through after major problem finalising contract

Aug 11 2024, 22:54

It’s a bit like walking out at Anfield under that tunnel sign that says ‘This is Anfield.’

It’s a momentary mind gap that you have to overcome, and I think when you come up against Real Madrid in the Champions League, you just have to forget they’ve won it so many times and just get on with it.

My favourites at this point would be Real Madrid and City but not necessarily in that order.

The post Agent’s column: Man United living in the past, Foden’s a great Ballon d’Or shout, Arsenal UCL comeback assured and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Saudi Pro League team Al-Ittihad are interested in signing Chilean star Alexis Sanchez from Inter Milan in January.

Saudi club’s manager Marcelo Gallardo is already in contact with Sanchez about a transfer next month, according to Italian broadcaster SportMediaset, via FCInterNews.

Sanchez rejoined Inter Milan in the summer having left them 12 months before that after his contract was terminated by the Italian club. He left after they paid him a severance payment.

The former Premier League star only joined Marseille on a one-year contract and left when his contract expired, with the French club not showing any interested to keep a hold of him.

Italian giants Inter Milan signed the 35-year old Chilean to provide cover for their starting XI players like Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram. He was never expected to be a starter for Inter.

Sanchez has faced injuries and fitness issues this season having not done a proper pre-season when he joined Inter. However, the flamboyant attacker has still had his good moments with one of them being a goal against RB Salzburg in the Champions League.

His contract with Inter expires at the end of the season but Al-Ittihad manager Gallardo is keen to bolster his attacking depth in the January transfer window.

Al-Ittihad are sitting at sixth place in the Saudio Pro League and Gallardo is keen to change that soon.

The post Al-Ittihad are looking to sign former Premier League fan favourite in January appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Good morning and welcome to today’s Daily Briefing – click here to subscribe for this round-up ad-free and straight to your inbox, as well as exclusive columns from Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Jonathan Johnson, Christian Falk and Neil Jones!

Today’s top stories:

• Chelsea defender on Manchester United’s transfer list
• Manchester City will push for Premier League star
• The latest on Liverpool’s transfer plans

Ajax

• Mohammed Kudus has successfully completed his medical in London ahead of becoming a new West Ham player.

Arsenal

• Kieran Tierney is in Spain to complete his move to Real Sociedad on loan.

Aston Villa

• Philippe Coutinho has reached an agreement with Qatari side Al Duhail over personal terms but an agreement needs to be reached with Aston Villa.

Barcelona

• Alexis Sanchez was never close to returning to Barcelona, it was all fake news – more info here.

Brighton

• A verbal agreement over a €27m fee, plus €3m in add-ons, has been reached between Lille and Brighton for Carlos Baleba. Personal terms have already been agreed ahead of a move as the player is set for his medical.

Celta Vigo

• Gabri Veiga has completed his move to Al Ahli from Celta Vigo.

Chelsea

• Roma are in talks with Chelsea to sign Romelu Lukaku. An important bid has been submitted with a loan fee but how the striker’s salary will be paid is being discussed. The owners are directly involved in order to get the deal over the line.

• One player Man United have enquired about for the left-back role is Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella – for more info, click here!
• Djordje Petrović has signed for Chelsea on a seven-year contract from New England Revolution.

Crystal Palace

• Crystal Palace are closing in on a permanent deal for Manchester United’s Dean Henderson. The final details of the deal will be completed on Sunday.

Everton

• Udinese striker Beto is set to join Everton after an agreement was reached over a transfer fee, which will be in excess of €30m but under his €35m release clause.

Inter Milan

• Alexis Sánchez has joined Inter on a short-term deal until 2024 as a free agent. The player was never close to returning to Barcelona, it was all fake news – more info here.

Liverpool

• The latest on Liverpool’s transfer plans for the final week of the window can be found here!

More Stories / Latest News

Former Everton chief executive drops West Ham points deduction verdict after £110m signings

Aug 12 2024, 0:18

Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

Aug 11 2024, 23:38

Chelsea’s €40m transfer falls through after major problem finalising contract

Aug 11 2024, 22:54

Manchester City

• Man City will push for Matheus Nunes until the transfer window shuts – full story here.

Manchester United

• One player Man United have enquired about for the left-back role is Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella – for more info, click here!
• Sofyan Amrabat has once again not been called up for Fiorentina’s next game. The player won’t play or train until his future is resolved and he is waiting for Manchester United.

• Crystal Palace are closing in on a permanent deal for Manchester United’s Dean Henderson. The final details of the deal will be completed on Sunday.
• The latest on Donny van de Beek’s future can be found here!
• Altay Bayindir is in England ahead of €7m move from Fenerbahce to Manchester United.

Real Sociedad

• Kieran Tierney is set to complete his loan move to Real Sociedad. The player arrived in Spain on Saturday.

Roma

• Roma are in talks with Chelsea to sign Romelu Lukaku on loan. An important bid has been submitted with a loan fee but how the striker’s salary will be paid is being discussed. The owners are directly involved in order to get the deal over the line.
• Sardar Azmoun has signed for Roma from Bayer Leverkusen as part of a loan deal until June.

Sevilla

• West Ham are currently in talks to sign Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri – more info here.

Sporting CP

• Iván Fresneda is ready to join Sporting CP from Real Valladolid. His contract is until 2028 and it is a €9m plus €3m add-ons package agreed between both clubs.

West Ham

• Mohammed Kudus has successfully completed his medical in London ahead of becoming a new West Ham player.
• West Ham are currently in talks to sign Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri – more info here.
• For more information on West Ham’s pursuit of Ibrahim Sangaré – click here!

Wolves

• Man City will push for Matheus Nunes until the transfer window shuts – full story here.

The post Transfer news: Man United enquire about Chelsea star, Man City to push for Premier League midfielder, talks ongoing for Lukaku & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Good morning and welcome to today’s Daily Briefing – click here to subscribe for this round-up, ad-free and straight to your inbox, as well as exclusive columns from Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Jonathan Johnson, Christian Falk and Neil Jones!

Today’s top stories:

• Latest developments on Kane, Hojlund and Caicedo
• ICYMI – Johnathan Johnson’s column!
• Arsenal star may now stay at the Emirates

AC Milan

• Samuel Chukwueze has joined AC Milan as part of a €20m deal plus €8m in add-ons from Villarreal.
• Yunus Musah still wants to join AC Milan as soon as possible and hopes Valencia reach an agreement with the club. Valencia want €25m for the player, AC Milan offered €18m fixed fee.

Ajax

• Calvin Bassey will join Fulham from Ajax as part of a €21m deal.

Atalanta

• Paris Saint-Germain have submitted a €50m bid for Rasmus Højlund, but Atalanta have always wanted at least €70m plus add-ons for the player. Man United still lead the race for the striker with a higher €60m package with new round of talks scheduled for this week.
• Atalanta have reached an agreement with Almería for El Bilal Touré. €28m fee with €3m in add- ons, 15% sell-on clause also included in the contract. The player will undergo his medical on Friday.

Al Ettifaq

• Al Ettifaq have completed the signing of Jordan Henderson from Liverpool for £12m plus add-ons.

Al Hilal

• Marco Verratti has reached an agreement with Al Hilal on a three-year deal. The player wants to move but the transfer depends on PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi. He has no intention of accepting the €30m proposal but that will be improved soon by Al Hilal.

Al Nassr

• Al Nassr are set to offer around €37m to Bayern Munich for Sadio Mane and are confident of getting the deal done. Talks are in an advanced stage as Mane’s agent is negotiating the terms of the contract with Al Nassr.

Arsenal

• Thomas Partey has a good chance of staying with Arsenal ahead of the new season. Saudi clubs approached the Gunners days ago, whilst Juventus called in June, but no club close to €40/45m package requested by Arsenal. A huge bid needs to arrive for Partey to leave as Mikel Arteta is happy to keep him.

Barcelona

• Nico González is ready to join Porto from Barcelona with just documents left to be signed. Barca will receive €8m for the player with a 40% sell-on clause in the contract and a buy-back clause.
• Chadi Riad has joined Real Betis from Barcelona with Barca receiving a €2.5m fee in June 2024. There is a 50% sell-on clause in the contract and also a buy-back option.
• Ferran Torres has said about his Barcelona future: “I’m going to stay at Barça, no doubts. I will stay, I have a contract — no plans to leave at all.”

Bayern Munich

• Bayern Munich’s board are set to meet Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to discuss Harry Kane deal on Friday. Bayern are prepared to improve their bid of €80m plus add-ons.
• Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are getting closer to an agreement for goalkeeper Yann Sommer as talks are at an advanced stage.
• Al Nassr are set to offer around €37m to Bayern Munich for Sadio Mane and are confident of getting the deal done. Talks are at an advanced stage as Mane’s agent is negotiating the terms of the contract with Al Nassr.

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Brighton

• Chelsea have submitted a new bid for Brighton midfielder Moisés Caicedo. The offer was £80m and it was immediately rejected. Negotiations are still ongoing between the clubs but no agreement reached at this stage.

Chelsea

• Chelsea have submitted a new bid for Moisés Caicedo. The offer was £80m and it was immediately rejected by Brighton. Negotiations are still ongoing but no agreement reached at this stage.
• Fulham have made a verbal proposal of around €4m for Callum Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea want £8m for the player, negotiations are advanced.

Fulham

• Calvin Bassey will join Fulham from Ajax as part of a €21m deal. Marco Silva wanted the player and Fulham hope to get the deal done by Saturday.
• Fulham have made a verbal proposal of around €4m to Chelsea for Callum Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea want £8m for the player and Fulham are confident of getting the deal done in the coming days. Negotiations are advanced.

Inter Miami

• Luis Suárez will not be joining Inter Miami this summer as the negotiations have collapsed. The player will stay with Gremio until December.

Inter Milan

• Inter Milan are getting closer to reaching an agreement with Bayern Munich for goalkeeper Yann Sommer as talks are at an advanced stage.

Juventus

• Juventus are the favourites to sign Facundo González from Valencia as an agreement in principle is now on the verge of being reached.

Leicester City

• Stephy Mavididi is in England to complete his transfer to Leicester City from Montpellier. The deal between both clubs is €7.5m plus a sell-on clause.

Liverpool

• Liverpool have confirmed the transfer of Jordan Henderson to Al Ettifaq for £12m plus add-ons.
• Liverpool are waiting for Al Ittihad to send all the official documents for the Fabinho transfer so they can check it before giving it the final green light.
• Liverpool continue to work on signing Romeo Lavia from Southampton with both clubs in contact over the transfer on Thursday. The new bid is expected to be around £42.5m plus £2.5m in add-ons but Southampton still want €50m to let the player leave.

  

Manchester City

• Manchester City legend David Silva retires from professional football after his recent injury.

Manchester United

• Manchester United are still leading the race for Atalanta’s Rasmus Højlund with a higher €60m package on the table. The player has also given priority to Man United since day one as new talks are scheduled for this week between United and Atalanta after Paris Saint-Germain submitted a €50m bid for the striker.

Newcastle United

• Karl Darlow underwent his medical ahead of a transfer to Leeds United on Thursday. Agreement already sealed between the two clubs.

Nottingham Forest

• Nottingham Forest have never had any talks or conversations with Alexis Sánchez over a transfer. No negotiations taking place at this stage despite reports as Forest remain focused on Dean Henderson and Ismail Jakobs deals.

Paris Saint-Germain

• Paris Saint-Germain have submitted a €50m bid for Atalanta’s Rasmus Højlund, who have always wanted at least €70m plus add-ons for the player. Man United still lead the race for the striker with a higher €60m package and the player has given priority to Man United since day one.
• Marco Verratti has reached an agreement with Al Hilal on a three-year deal. The player wants to move but the transfer depends on PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi. He has no intention of accepting the €30m proposal but that will be improved soon by Al Hilal.
• The latest on the Kylian Mbappe saga – Johnathan Johnson has more.
• Roma want to sign Renato Sanches on loan for the season as Jose Mourinho likes the player. Negotiations will continue in the next few days but it’s up to PSG.
• PSG keen on Harry Kane but only in the case where the Bayern deal collapses.
• Mauro Icardi will be unveiled as a new Galatasaray player tonight. PSG will receive €10m for the transfer.
• Read Jonathan Johnson’s Column here.

Real Betis

• Chadi Riad has joined Real Betis from Barcelona with Barca receiving a €2.5m fee in June 2024. There is a 50% sell-on clause in the contract and also a buy-back option.

Real Madrid

• AS Roma are signing Julen Jon Guerrero from Real Madrid on loan with a free-buy option clause. Real will keep 50% of future sale.

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Real Sociedad

• David Silva retires from professional football after his recent injury with Real Sociedad.

More Stories / Latest News

Former Everton chief executive drops West Ham points deduction verdict after £110m signings

Aug 12 2024, 0:18

Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

Aug 11 2024, 23:38

Chelsea’s €40m transfer falls through after major problem finalising contract

Aug 11 2024, 22:54

Roma

• José Mourinho is insisting on PSG’s Renato Sanches to be brought to Roma. The Italians are hoping PSG will allow the player to leave on loan as negotiations will continue over the coming days.
• AS Roma are signing Julen Jon Guerrero from Real Madrid on loan with a free-buy option clause. Real will keep 50% of future sale.

Tottenham

• Bayern Munich’s board are set to meet Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to discuss Harry Kane deal on Friday. Bayern are prepared to improve their bid of €80m plus add-ons. PSG also keen but only in case Bayern deal collapses.

Valencia

• Yunus Musah still wants to join AC Milan and has asked Valencia to let him go as soon as possible by agreeing a fee for the transfer. Valencia want €25m for the player, Milan have offered an €18m fixed fee.
• Juventus are the favourites to sign Facundo González from Valencia as an agreement in principle is now on the verge of being reached.

The post Transfer news: Man United and PSG pushing for talented striker, key day for Kane/Bayern Munich saga, good chance Arsenal star will now stay and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Nottingham Forest managed to secure their Premier League status by the skin of their teeth last season, and credit must go to Steve Cooper and his side for believing that it was possible right until the bitter end.

The City Ground was bouncing at times last season but the good times in England’s top division looked set to end until wins over Brighton, Southampton and Arsenal in their final few games saw them climb out of relegation trouble.

Retaining their top-flight status allows the club to continue to dream big, and that certainly appears to be what they’re doing with one particular transfer.

According to El Futbolero, the club are looking to do a deal to bring Alexis Sanchez back to the Premier League.

The Chilean was inspired as an Arsenal player, but after he made the move to Man United in a deal which took Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the Gunners, his reported £505,000 per week salary (per The Sun) appeared to weight heavy on his shoulders.

He was never close to being the same player at Old Trafford as he was at the Emirates Stadium, and it was no real surprise when he was moved on.

More Stories / Latest News

Former Everton chief executive drops West Ham points deduction verdict after £110m signings

Aug 12 2024, 0:18

Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

Aug 11 2024, 23:38

Chelsea’s €40m transfer falls through after major problem finalising contract

Aug 11 2024, 22:54

That he would consider moving back to England and to a club with no European football to speak of hints at how far this former Inter Milan and Barcelona star has fallen, with the greatest respect.

If Forest can pull off a one-year deal, however, Sanchez might just surprise us all.

The post Forest set to sign former Premier League star who once earned £505k per week appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Hello and welcome to today’s Daily Briefing – click here to subscribe for the ad-free version of this and other exclusive content straight to your inbox!

AC Milan

Official, confirmed by club statement: AC Milan have fired Paolo Maldini – he’s no longer their director. The club has decided to sack Ricky Massara and legend Paolo Maldini to begin a new era with a new vision for the club.

Christian Pulisic is expected to leave this summer as Chelsea are open to letting him go. AC Milan are among the clubs interested in Pulisic. He was mentioned in recent talks held with Chelsea. For now, however, talks over Ruben Loftus-Cheek are on stand-by after Maldini’s sacking.

Al Hilal

Sources close to Al Hilal have denied that they’ve made an improved proposal to Lionel Messi. It’s still the same bid on the table that they made to the player back in April — close to €1B package salary for two years. Messi’s still waiting to make a final decision. For more exclusive info on his situation, click here to read yesterday’s guest column from Ben Jacobs.

Al Ittihad

Official: Karim Benzema has signed for Al Ittihad on a two year deal with the option for a further season. Benzema will earn almost €200m per season net salary, commercial deals included.

Al Ittihad delegation has presented an official bid to N’Golo Kante and his camp. Al Ittihad are confident of getting the green light soon. The deal is worth €100m inclusive of the image rights, commercial deals and a creative ‘investment portfolio’.

Arsenal

Reiss Nelson is now very close to agreeing a new contract with Arsenal. There has been interest from other clubs in England and Europe, but he’s now edging closer to accepting the offer of four years plus the option of one more to stay at the Emirates Stadium.

Barcelona

Xavi on the latest on Lionel Messi: “Messi has the frying pan by it’s handle — it’s up to him. The situation is in the hands of Laporta and Jorge Messi, we’ll see how it ends.”

Inigo Martinez has just confirmed that he’s set to leave Athletic Club, and he will soon be announced as Barcelona’s first signing. A deal has been in place since March, while Martinez signed official documents in May. He’s signed a contract that will be valid until June 2025.

Gavi has been officially registered by La Liga, never been in doubt on Barcelona and player side despite some rumours of a potential free transfer to Premier League clubs. His new deal is valid until June 2026 with a release clause of €1bn.

Benfica

Angel Di Maria is now officially available as free agent. Benfica are dreaming of Di Maria’s return after his departure from Juventus, but there are several options available to him, and no decision yet. It’s an open race for his signature.

Borussia Monchengladbach

Official: Gerardo Seoane has been now appointed as new Borussia Monchengladbach head coach, signing a contract until 2026.

Brighton

Brighton are preparing a club-record bid for Levi Colwill worth close to £40m to be submitted soon. Chelsea turned down an offer of £30m last week. Chelsea have always had the same position: Colwill is part of long term project and they have no intention of selling him.

Celtic

Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley is attracting interest from clubs in England and Germany — with Brighton being one of the teams considering him for this summer. Decision time in the next days/weeks, waiting for concrete proposals.

Chelsea

Chelsea and Kai Havertz are on same page: the club are prepared to let him leave — while Havertz is open to trying new chapter elsewhere. Chelsea hope for more clubs to join the race for the German forward soon after Real Madrid registered their interest last week.

Chelsea have no plan to sell Levi Colwill, having already turned down £30m from Brighton for the defender. Brighton are now set to try again with a club-record £40m offer.

Christian Pulisic is expected to leave this summer as Chelsea are open to letting him go. AC Milan are among the clubs interested in Pulisic. He was mentioned in recent talks held with Chelsea. For now, however, talks over Ruben Loftus-Cheek are on stand-by after Maldini’s sacking.

Chelsea are set to escalate talks over an alternative to Manuel Ugarte – click here to find out more!

Crystal Palace

Wilfried Zaha has not agreed terms with Al Nassr at this stage. The Saudi club has approached him but nothing done. Zaha’s priority seems to be to remain in Europe, and he’s attracting strong interest from Champions League clubs.

Crystal Palace are set to sign Jefferson Lerma. The Colombian’s free transfer from Bournemouth has been completed, documents are sealed on a deal until 2027.

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Inter Milan

Hakan Calhanoglu on his future: “I’m gonna stay and extend my contract at Inter. I’ve no intention to leave the club, I’m very happy here.”

The Turkish midfielder has already signed a new contract valid until 2027, which will be officially confirmed after the Champions League final.

Liverpool

Alexis Mac Allister has completed his medical with Liverpool and is set to sign his contract today! He’ll put pen to paper on a deal until 2028.

Liverpool have been in direct contact with the agents of both Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram this week. Internal talks are taking place over official proposals. Liverpool have asked for some time to finalise the Alexis Mac Allister deal and then they’ll decide on further signings in midfield.

Click here to find out more about Liverpool’s midfield targets!

Manchester United

Manchester United are preparing for several key departures this summer. Wout Weghorst will be one, there is no intention to keep him after his loan. Everton and Spanish clubs are interested in the Burnley striker.

Harry Maguire is another player to keep an eye on – clubs were interested in January but Erik ten Hag said no at the time. Still, the feeling now is that the best solution is for him to leave this summer. There will be a meeting next week, but the idea is for Maguire to leave the club.

Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks to sign Dean Henderson on a permanent transfer after his loan at the City Ground. Terms have almost been agreed also on the player side. Manchester United, however, are not ready to give their final green light until David de Gea signs new deal.

Donny van de Beek will explore options on the market in the next weeks as he could leave Manchester United. Donny loves the club and is a big fan of Erik ten Hag, but he needs and wants to play more regularly next season. He should also be ready for pre-season after his long injury layoff.

Diogo Costa quotes after winning Taca de Portugal Final last weekend: “Man United deal? This is the internet…I love Porto — it’s the club of my life. I would give my life for it.”

Marseille

Saudi club Al Fateh have now submitted an official proposal to Alexis Sanchez. €10m salary per season has been offered to Marseille’s Chilean forward. The contract would be valid until 2024 with the option for a further season.

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks to sign Dean Henderson on a permanent transfer after his loan at the City Ground. Terms have almost been agreed also on the player side. Manchester United, however, are not ready to give their final green light until David de Gea signs new deal.

PSG

Christophe Galtier is set to be sacked by PSG, with Julian Nagelsmann currently their priority target and a concrete option to replace him. The Ligue 1 giants are working on bringing in the former Bayern Munich boss, who was also linked with Chelsea and Tottenham jobs in recent months.

Paris Saint-Germain interest in Marcus Thuram is concrete. He’s one of the names on the list at PSG. He’s available on a free this summer, and talks will follow soon. There are more clubs in the race, but not AC Milan or Atletico Madrid as things stand, despite reports to the contrary.

Real Madrid

Karim Benzema: “It really hurts… it’s not easy, I really wanted to retire here but sometimes directions change. I’ll always be watching Madrid games and I will always support Real Madrid, the best club in the world.”

Chelsea and Kai Havertz are on same page: the club are prepared to let him leave — while Havertz is open to trying new chapter elsewhere. Chelsea hope for more clubs to join the race for the German forward soon after Real Madrid registered their interest last week.

Could Real Madrid really win the race for Harry Kane? Click here to find out the latest, plus their interest in two other forwards!

Real Madrid’s plan is to present Brahim Diaz as their new signing already next week — first step is extending the contract until 2027, then to ‘unveil’ Brahim.

Real Madrid have sent documents to Nacho in order to tie him down to a new short term contract in the next hours. Nacho has told Inter Milan he won’t be joining them. He’s staying with Real Madrid until 2024.

Roma

AS Roma are prepared to unveil Houssem Aouar as their first summer signing on free transfer from Lyon. The Frenchman will sign a five-year deal, which was agreed in principle last month.

AS Roma have offered a five year deal to Evan Ndicka to join on free transfer this summer. Talks are ongoing for the Eintracht Frankfurt defender.

Sevilla

Official: Jose Luis Mendilibar has signed a new contract at Sevilla valid until June 2024. The club extended his contract for one more year after their Europa League win.

Tottenham

Officially confirmed yesterday: Ange Postecoglou is the new Tottenham manager, joining on a deal valid until June 2027.

Daniel Levy: “Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play. He understands the importance of the link from the academy, crucial for the club.”

Rennes director Maurice announces that Joe Rodon will return to Tottenham as “buy option clause won’t be triggered. As for Joe, there is a very high purchase option. Evidently, it won’t be possible for us to raise that amount.”

Toulouse

Toulouse have confirmed the signing of Cesar Gelabert on a free transfer, with a four year deal sealed for the former Real Madrid academy talent.

The post Transfer news: Liverpool medical done, major Man United talks scheduled, Chelsea exits & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Former Arsenal and Manchester United star Alexis Sanchez has posted a telling video on social media ahead of today’s big game in the Premier League.

The Chilean forward, who controversially left the Gunners for a move to Old Trafford in January 2018, had a very mixed spell in English football, so it’s perhaps not too surprising to see where his fondest memories came.

Sanchez was a star player for Arsenal between 2014 and 2018, but proved a spectacular flop at Man Utd, and later revealed that he regretted the move almost as soon as it happened, asking his agent if he could return to Arsenal after his first training session with the Red Devils, as reported by Sky Sports.

See below as Sanchez looked ahead to today’s game between his two old clubs by posting a goal scored for Arsenal against United…

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The caption clearly expressed how emotional he felt at the mention by Arsenal’s Instagram account, saying: “You remembered me. I will never forget you too. You will always be in my heart. You were my first family in England, and everyone took good care of me especially the fans! All the best Gunners!!”

Sanchez will surely have angered a lot of Arsenal fans by leaving for one of their biggest rivals, but it seems he knows he got it badly wrong and still feels very fond of the north London giants.

The post Alexis Sanchez makes it clear where his loyalties are ahead of Arsenal vs Manchester United clash appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Anna Modler, the ex-girlfriend of former Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, has confirmed her engagement to Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier on social media.

Eric Dier has had quite an eventful week. He was involved in Tottenham’s crucial Champions League match against Marseille in midweek, helping his team come back from a goal down to win 2-1 and knock former Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez’s team out of the competition.

And just a few days later, he proposed to the South African beauty, who happens to be Alexis Sanchez’s ex girlfriend.

The Sun confirmed in September that the pair are dating and that the model was spotted watching her partner in several Tottenham matches this season. She was also seen in the stands as Dier scored and helped his team to a 6-2 win over Leicester City in the Premier League.

A friend of the couple told The Sun:

“Eric and Anna are blissfully happy. They have been seeing a lot of each other.

“Eric has told pals it has been a great few weeks – getting back into the England squad and landing a stunning girl who was previously on the arm of an Arsenal star.

“He can’t stop scoring on the pitch, and has netted a cracker off of it.

“Anna is smitten and has told friends Eric could be ‘the one’. They are getting serious, so watch this space.”

The model reportedly even joked that she is the reason for the London club’s strong start this season.

Anna showed off her engagement ring in her most recent Instagram post, in which she is seen standing next to Dier, and wrote, “I said ja.”

Fans were quick to point out the coincidence that Dier decided to pop the question the same week he knocked his fiancee’s ex-boyfriend out of the Champions League.

Eric Dier knocked Alexis Sanchez out of Europe and wifed his Ex in one week? pic.twitter.com/y8UE5wvtGK

— Football Paparazzi (@FutbalPaparazzi) November 5, 2022

Eric Dier sent Alexis Sanchez out of Europe and engaged with his ex Mrs in the same week? Not your everyday type of shithousery??? pic.twitter.com/YQc16Oo2cM

— Liam (@LiamTHFC98_) November 5, 2022

The post Tottenham star Eric Dier gets engaged to Alexis Sanchez’s ex just days after knocking him out of the UCL appeared first on CaughtOffside.