Luiz Felipe – CaughtOffside

Newcastle targeting second centre-back alongside Marc Guehi

CJ — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 18:26:10 +0000

Newcastle United are considering a shock bid for Al-Ittihad defender Luiz Felipe, according to reports.

The Magpies have already added Lloyd Kelly to their defensive ranks this summer, but with both Sven Botman and Jamal Lascelles injured for some time yet, Eddie Howe is in need of reinforcements.

Newcastle are being heavily linked with Crystal Palace and England star Marc Guehi but even if he arrives, they will be thin on the ground at centre-back during the opening months of the 2024/25 campaign.

But according to UOLesporte (via NUFC Blog), the Toon Army are also lining up a bid for Felipe regardless of if they land Guehi.

Felipe joined Al-Ittihad from Real Betis for a reported €22m last summer but enjoyed his most successful spell with Lazio between 2017 and 2022, playing 144 times across all competitions for the Serie A side.

Luiz Felipe of Al Ittihad in action during a Pre-Season Friendly match between Real Betis and Al Ittihad at Estadio Benito Villamarin on August 03, 2024 in Seville, Spain.

Born in Brazil but capped once for Italy at senior international level, Felipe is still only 27 years old and may well feel he has a point to prove in Europe following a 27-game spell in Saudi Arabia.

The main sticking point from a Newcastle perspective would be sanctioning large fees for two centre-backs, with attacking areas of the field still requiring reinforcements.

If no further signings were made, Newcastle’s starting centre-back pairing for their Premier League opener against Southampton on Saturday would most likely be new signing Kelly alongside Fabian Schar.

The post Newcastle targeting second centre-back alongside Marc Guehi appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Sporting director arrives in London to agree €20m deal with West Ham

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 11:53:46 +0000

It seems that West Ham could be on the verge of their first transfer capture of the summer window, with Real Betis’ sporting director having flown in for talks with the east London outfit.

With just three weeks to go until the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season, David Sullivan doesn’t have long to acquire any targets that David Moyes and his staff have identified as potential new signings.

After having such a brilliant end to last season, the last thing that Moyes needs is to be hamstrung again at the start of a new campaign because of the club’s inability to get deals over the line.

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Things are looking positive in one respect, however.

Back at the end of June, El Chiringuito TV tweeted that the Hammers had made a €20m offer for Betis’ 26-year-old defender, Luiz Felipe.

? Informa @marcosbenito9:

? "El Betis tiene pensado vender a Luiz Felipe al West Ham a cambio de 20 millones". pic.twitter.com/dvGgq4zrqT

— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) June 30, 2023

Despite being born in Brazil and having represented them at youth level, he now plays for the Italian national side.

Sevilla ABC note that Betis’ sporting director, Ramon Planes, and CEO, Ramón Alarcon, are in England to close a number of deals, one of which is Luiz Felipe to the Hammers.

They could have an ulterior motive, however, as the outlet also suggest that they want to bring Pablo Fornals back to La Liga, a move that the player may well be open to given that he’s not played as much as he surely would’ve liked of late.

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West Ham closing in on €20 million capture of La Liga ace

Saikat Chatterjee — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 11:27:58 +0000

West Ham United have been linked with a move for the Real Betis defender Luiz Felipe.

According to ABC Sevilla, the Hammers are expected to sign the player this week in a deal worth around €20 million.

Apparently, both clubs and the player is looking to finalise the transfer in the next few days.

The Hammers need to improve their defensive options this summer and Felipe could prove to be a quality acquisition.

The 26-year-old Italian international defender can operate as the right-sided central defender as well as on the left. He will help the Hammers tighten up at the back and he could form a quality partnership with Nayef Aguerd.

West Ham looked quite vulnerable defensively last season and they ended up conceding 55 goals in the league. They will have to improve defensively if they want to do well in Europe and finish high up the table.

Signing the defender for €20 million could prove to be a wise investment.

West Ham agree deal to sign £17m Italy international

Magnus Eriksen — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 09:57:30 +0000

West Ham United are reportedly closing in on a transfer deal for Real Betis centre-back Luiz Felipe, according to reports in Spain.

ABC Sevilla claim the Hammers are set to agree a £17million deal to sign the Italy international this summer, with both clubs having now struck an agreement.

Felipe has shone in his time in La Liga and there looks like there’s surely room for him in David Moyes’ squad, with the team struggling defensively last season as they almost got dragged into a serious relegation battle.

26-year-old international set for West Ham after £17m bid

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 10:08:22 +0000

It promises to be an interesting summer for West Ham United, and it’s likely to be all systems go in the transfer market once the club have received the money for the Declan Rice deal.

As long as Arsenal pay for the Hammers captain under the terms set down by the east Londoners, David Moyes should hopefully be able to reinvest most, if not all, of the £100m or so that the club are expecting.

It would give the club the power to be able to strengthen in all areas, not just in the defensive midfield slot that Rice has occupied for the Irons over the past few years.

Given how poor West Ham were during the first part of last season, defence would be a fine place for Moyes to begin his squad reshaping.

It appears that the club are already working hard in that department, with Spanish news outlet, El Chiringuito, tweeting that the Hammers have offered €20m/£17m for Real Betis’ Italian defender, Luiz Felipe.

Born in Brazil, the player apparently qualifies for the Italian national team via a great-grandfather.

? Informa @marcosbenito9:

? "El Betis tiene pensado vender a Luiz Felipe al West Ham a cambio de 20 millones". pic.twitter.com/dvGgq4zrqT

— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) June 30, 2023

The 26-year-old international has extensive Italian top-flight experience having played more than 100 games for Lazio before his switch to Betis via Salernitana.

With a career average of 88.3 pass completion success, per WhoScored, and 1.3 aerial battles won per game, Luiz Felipe could be just the dominant and ball-playing centre-back that Moyes has been crying out for.

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Barcelona are ready to turn to a former target in January if they can’t agree a fee for Man City’s Eric Garcia

Tom McNeil — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 14:16:13 +0000

It was recently reported by Marca that Barcelona’s squad was broken after the board tried to impose a 25% pay cut on them.

The majority of the players signed a letter informing those in charge that they wouldn’t give in, only for a few of them to break rank and sign new deals with a pay cut included.

Gerard Pique was among those to do that and it looks like he’s leveraged this situation to get himself a new long term deal when there’s no way he would get one otherwise.

Barca are clearly short of money and that’s why they are trying to do this, but it will be interesting to see how the players react if the club then go out and buy players in the January window.

Barcelona stance on target touted amid talk of €30m+ offer being prepared

Ron Carne — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 07:42:42 +0000

Speculation this week suggested that Barcelona were readying a €30m+ offer for Lazio defender Luiz Felipe, but the latest reports have cast doubt over that idea.

The Catalan giants lead the way in La Liga as things stand, boasting a two-point advantage over nearest rivals Real Madrid with 11 games to go.

SEE MORE: Barcelona ready to listen to offers for stalwart as talented starlet set for step up

While scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for them with 63 in those 27 outings which is the most of any side in the Spanish top flight, conceding them has been an issue.

Barcelona have let in 31 goals in 27 league games, and that gives them the second-worst defensive record of the top six sides in the standings.

With Gerard Pique turning 34 next year, coupled with Samuel Umtiti’s injury problems dating back to last season, that leaves Clement Lenglet as their only other senior option in the heart of the backline.

In turn, with Calciomercato reporting that Barcelona were ready to offer between €30m and €40m for Felipe to prise him away from Lazio having enjoyed a stellar season so far this year, it seemed to make sense for various reasons.

However, it doesn’t appear as though an offer will be submitted, as Mundo Deportivo now report that although the reigning La Liga champions were following the 23-year-old, they don’t believe that the Brazilian is of a sufficient level to meet their needs.

With that in mind, it’s suggested that Lazio will have an easier task of agreeing a contract renewal with Felipe now, as it seems as though Barcelona will focus their attention elsewhere in their bid to bolster their defensive options moving forward.

In truth, it did seem slightly premature to single out Felipe as the solution despite him having now been with Lazio since 2017. For that kind of money though, Barcelona will surely want someone who is more proven with a track record of performing at the top level consistently.

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Barcelona preparing €30m+ offer for Brazilian ace to address key issue

Ron Carne — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 08:10:55 +0000

Barcelona are reportedly prepared to offer between €30m and €40m in their attempt to try and prise Luiz Felipe away from Lazio.

The 23-year-old joined the Italian giants in 2017 and has gone on to play a crucial role for Simone Inzaghi’s side this season as they challenge for the Serie A title.

SEE MORE: Barcelona ace tipped as viable option to include in swap deal offer for €111m target

With 23 appearances across all competitions as two injury setbacks forced him to miss a couple of league outings, he’ll hope to build on that and continue to play a key part in Lazio’s pursuit of success when the campaign resumes.

However, it has also now been reported that perhaps his fine form for Lazio has attracted interest from elsewhere.

According to Calciomercato, Barcelona are prepared to put between €30m and €40m on the table to try and prise the Brazilian defender away from the Stadio Olimpico as they eye defensive reinforcements.

Gerard Pique turns 34 next year while Samuel Umtiti has been dogged by injury problems since last season which has severely limited him.

That leaves Clement Lenglet as the only other senior option to play in the heart of the backline, and for a giant of European football looking to compete on multiple fronts year in and year out, that is surely not enough while also lacking a long-term plan.

With that in mind, the touted pursuit of Felipe makes sense, as he could offer them a short term and long term solution at the back, although perhaps it’s still a little early to be fully convinced that he’s the ideal choice to address that particular issue.

Meanwhile, the report goes on to note via the paper edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, that Lazio president Claudio Lotito is looking to agree a contract renewal with Felipe to strengthen their position and perhaps insert a release clause.

In turn, Felipe’s decision on whether or not to sign a new contract could be decisive in how his future plays out.

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Barcelona identify three centre-back options for next transfer window

Jaikuran Randhawa — Sun, 12 Apr 2020 09:30:04 +0000

According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are targeting a move for a young centre-back in the next transfer window to bolster their defensive ranks.

Mundo Deportivo report that the Blaugrana are eyeing the addition of a centre-back before next season due to legend Gerard Pique approaching the end of his career and the injury troubles of Samuel Umtiti.

The report claims that Barcelona have identified Lazio’s Luiz Felipe (23), Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte (25) and RB Leipzig talent Dayot Upamecano (21) as their options to strengthen at centre-back.

33-year-old Pique approaching the final years of his illustrious career seems to have urged Barcelona to make a move in order to secure the long-term ability of their defensive line.

In addition, Umtiti’s struggles with injuries have left the Blaugrana short-staffed in a key area over the last two seasons, it would be incredibly risky for Barcelona to head into another campaign without a new option at centre-back.

Clement Lenglet has started to emerge as Barcelona’s main man in defence, the La Liga champions need to find a reliable long-term partner for the French star.

Mundo Deportivo add that both Felipe and Upamecano’s contracts expire in 2021, this could perhaps allow Quique Setien’s side to sign either talent in a cut-price deal.

Laporte, who came through Athletic Bilbao’s ranks before establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the world, is the highest-profile option on Barcelona’s list of targets.

With the ace being such a key figure for Pep Guardiola’s current side, it would seem like a massive bid would be needed to bring the ace to the Camp Nou.

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Barcelona now face competition from Bayern Munich for €25M rated Summer target

Tom McNeil — Sat, 28 Mar 2020 20:18:23 +0000

Barcelona do require several signings to help revamp their squad, so it will be interesting to see what approach they take.

It seems unlikely that they can throw a lot of money at 6/7 different signings, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one or two big signings and a few gambles to fill out the squad.

A report from Football Espana has suggested they are looking to sign Lazio defender Luiz Felipe this Summer, and he would represent a gamble.