Transfer Talk: Hazard to leave Real Madrid and join Ronaldo at Al Nassr?
With the January transfer window now open around Europe there’s plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Hazard to join Ronaldo at Al Nassr?
Al Nassr are keen to acquire Eden Hazard from Real Madrid in hopes of lining him up with Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Foot Mercato.
The Saudi Arabian side are looking to sign Hazard in the summer, and it is reported that they will look to utilise the relationship he has with their current manager Rudi Garcia, who managed him during his time at Lille.
Hazard joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in July 2019 on a €100 million transfer fee. He is under contract until the summer of 2024, and is on reported wages of €9m-per-season.
Hazard, who turns 32 on Saturday, has continued to face struggles at the Santiago Bernabeu, having made just one start in LaLiga under Carlo Ancelotti this season. In all, he has just six goals since joining Madrid.
Should Hazard leave for Al Nassr, he’d link up with Ronaldo, who signed a 2½-year deal worth $75m a year on Dec. 30. Ronaldo watched Al Nassr’s match on Friday from the stands, serving the first of a two-game suspension due to knocking a phone out of a fan’s hand after Manchester United‘s defeat at Everton
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14.19 GMT: FIFA will next week introduce widespread rule changes on how football agents operate, including a cap on the transfer commissions they receive and the introduction of an exam, the sport’s governing body said on Friday.
Fees paid by clubs for the services of intermediaries were $622.8m in 2022, FIFA said last month, marking a 24.3% increase in their spending on fees compared to 2021.
Following the approval of changes agreed at a FIFA Council meeting in Doha, agents can take a maximum 3% commission for any transfer above $200,000 (£168,166) and 5% for deals under $200,000.
Under the new regulations, which come into force on Monday, agents must also make all transactions public, allowing fans to see how much they are paid for deals.
The other major changes include the introduction of a mandatory licensing system and the prohibition of multiple representation to avoid conflicts of interest.
13.51 GMT: Chelsea have completed the signing of 20-year-old striker David Datro Fofana from Norwegian club Molde FK, the Premier League side announced on Wednesday.
Fofana, an Ivory Coast international, joins the club for a reported fee of $13.15m (£10.93m) after signing a contract that runs until 2029.
He is the third young player to arrive at Stamford Bridge on a long-term deal this week, following the arrivals of France international defender Benoit Badiashile from Monaco and midfielder Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama.
Fofana made his debut for the Ivory Coast national team in a 4-0 friendly win against Burundi in November. The striker has enjoyed a fruitful recent season with Molde in the Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football, contributing 15 goals and five assists in 24 matches. He also scored four goals in 10 appearances in the Europa League conference qualifiers and main tournament this campaign.
Our forward, Fofana! 💪 pic.twitter.com/IGlnswKYVs
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 7, 2023
13.20 GMT: Crystal Palace coach Patrick Vieira is waiting to see if Wilfried Zaha will sign a new deal with the Premier League club as Juventus and Barcelona reportedly wait to pounce.
Zaha, 30, is out of contract at the end of the season and the London Evening Standard reports that the forward is attracting interest from Juve and Barca, who are both looking to exploit the free agents market in the summer.
“We know the situation and we want to keep him,” Vieira said ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Southampton. “He’s an important player for the club and he’s loved here.
“We have to wait and see what he will decide to do. What matters is the commitment he is showing in the games.”
Zaha has contributed eight goals in 16 Premier League appearances this season, scoring six and setting up two more. He came through the club’s academy before joining Manchester United, returning to Palace on a permanent basis in 2015.
12.27 GMT: Djed Spence is increasingly likely to leave Tottenham Hotspur on loan this month in search of first-team football, sources have told ESPN’s James Olley.
The 22-year-old right-back signed from Middlesbrough last summer for £19m but has made just five substitute appearances across all competitions, totalling 32 minutes this season. Although Spence is determined to make a success of his move to north London, there is a recognition on all sides that he needs to play more, with Spurs head coach Antonio Conte preferring Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal in that defensive role.
Sources have told ESPN that Spence has attracted interest from at least four Premier League clubs, plus Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, among various alternatives. However, no agreement with any club is close as of now, and Spence will assess his options now the January window is open.
An injury to Doherty or Royal could force a rethink. but as things stand, Spurs are ready to allow Spence to leave on a temporary basis.
Reports suggesting Royal could leave the club this month are thought to be wide of the mark at this stage, and one source with close connections to Tottenham has played down speculation of an imminent move for Sporting CP right-back Pedro Porro, who would cost around £40m.
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11.34 GMT: Atletico Madrid aren’t happy with reports that Yannick Carrasco is feeling angry and undervalued at the club, Marca reports, with sources claiming it was the Belgium winger who turned down their last offer of a new contract which included a 25% pay increase.
According to Marca, Atletico were keen to reward Carrasco’s superb 2020-21 season with an improved deal, but the terms were rejected by the player, who felt his conditions should match those of veterans such as Koke and Saul Niguez.
That left Carrasco, 29, still on his current contract which is due to expire in June 2024.
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10.41 GMT: Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore is focused on helping the club avoiding relegation from the Premier League and will then turn his attention to his own future.
Traore, 26, is out of contract in the summer but says survival comes first under new coach Julen Lopetegui, with talks with the Wolves hierarchy planned at some point.
“I think everyone has been asking about my contract,” Traore told Sky Sports News. “For me, right now, it is important to help the team grow and after we’ll see what will happen.”
Traore spent the second half of last season on loan back at boyhood club Barcelona, and while he has been regularly linked with interest from Premier League clubs including Tottenham Hotspur. However, he told supporters not to believe everything they read about his future, although he said he relished the pressure he is under to help Wolves stay up at the same time as sorting out his own future.
“The fans don’t see the situation, the pressure and the things behind the scenes,” he added. “They see what is going on social media, sometimes it’s fake. The most important thing for the fans is to understand what’s in the media is not true, sometimes you have to listen to the player.
“Players take pressure differently, for me it’s part of my job, I enjoy being a football player and I work hard to be on the pitch and enjoy the game. I like pressure, I like to prove people wrong.
“The contract thing — it will depend on the club, the club have to talk to me and we’re going to talk and we’ll see what happens…”
09.48 GMT: Atlanta United has loaned midfielder Marcelino Moreno and transferred defender Alan Franco to clubs in Brazil’s top league.
The MLS club announced Friday that Moreno is being loaned to Coritiba of Brazil’s Serie A for the 2023 season, which is set to begin in mid-April.
Franco, meanwhile, was sold Thursday to Sao Paulo for an undisclosed fee, opening up an international roster slot.
In another move, Atlanta waived 32-year-old forward Dom Dwyer, who scored four goals while starting in five of 22 MLS appearances last season.
The 28-year-old Moreno, a native of Argentina, appeared in 68 games with 53 starts over three seasons with Atlanta.
He had a career-high nine goals and five assists during the 2021 season, but his playing time decreased in 2022 as he scored two goals with eight assists in 18 starts.
09.00 GMT: Randal Kolo Muani is attracting interest from many Premier League clubs including Man United and Chelsea, sources have told ESPN’s Julien Luarens, but the France striker is keen on finishing the season with Eintracht Frankfurt before assessing his options in the summer.
The German club, who will face Napoli in the Champions League round of 16, want to keep the 24-year-old for the remainder of this campaign before perhaps allowing him to leave in the summer if a suitable offer is received. Their desired transfer fee for the Parisian, who arrived on a free transfer last summer from Nantes, is likely to be up to €90m as he will still have four years left on his contract and, sources have told ESPN, doesn’t have a release clause.
Kolo Muani’s excellent World Cup, on the back of a strong club season so far (22 games, eight goals and 10 assists in all competitions), have alerted some top clubs. At 24, he is a late bloomer, having not gone through an academy and only making his Ligue 1 debut two years ago.
However, Kolo Muani is happy and settled in the Bundesliga, and it would be his preference for his next club to be in the same league. If Frankfurt are back in the Champions League next season, he would not be against staying, but Bayern Munich, who are still looking for a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski, and Borussia Dortmund, who are yet to commit Youssoufa Moukoko to a contract beyond the end of the season, are also admirers of the forward.
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PAPER GOSSIP (by Adam Brown)
– Juventus have made an enquiry to Barcelona regarding Jordi Alba, reports Sport. With current left-back Alex Sandro set to be out of contract in the summer, it looks as though the Bianconeri have identified Alba as a replacement. They are optimistic that a deal can be done with Barça manager Xavi Hernandez having a number of left-backs at his disposal. Alba, 33, has made eight LaLiga starts this season.
– Ruben Neves remains on the shortlist of potential candidates to replace Sergio Busquets, but not all of the club’s hierarchy are convinced, writes Marca. The 25-year-old Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder was linked with Barcelona in the summer, and with the La Liga side failing to progress in a move for Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi, the latest indicates that they could still consider a move for the Portugal international.
– Caglar Soyuncu plans to join Atletico Madrid in the summer if a deal can’t be agreed this month, understands Fabrizio Romano. Talks are set to continue over a move for the 26-year-old Leicester City centre-back, who is out of contract at the end of the season, but it looks as though he has already made his decision in terms of his next destination.
– Napoli have proposed an offer of €19m to sign Azzedine Ounahi, reports Foot Mercato. A number of clubs have been interested in the 22-year-old midfielder following a run of impressive performances for Morocco at the World Cup, and he is understood to be keen on the switch to the Serie A side despite suitors in the Premier League.
– Contract talks between Adrien Rabiot and Juventus are set to be paused, reveals Gazzetta dello Sport. Just six months remain on the 27-year-old midfielder’s deal at the Allianz Stadium, and while it is reported that he intends to stay at the club for the rest of the season, it is unclear whether he plans to extend his contract into the next. Rabiot has enjoyed improved form in the current Serie A campaign, having contributed to five goals in 12 matches.
