Transfer Talk: Arsenal confident on signing Rice over Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd

The January transfer window may be closed around Europe, but teams are looking ahead to the summer and there’s plenty of gossip swirling around. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!

TOP STORY: Arsenal confident on Rice move

Arsenal are confident they can land West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice ahead of Premier League rivals Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, as per the Evening Standard.

The report reveals that the Gunners feel that with their title charge, alongside the promise of Champions League football next season, that they are in pole position to sign the 24-year-old, who is their priority signing for the summer.

Arsenal are looking to build a team that can compete in Europe next season, as well as domestically, with defensive midfielder Rice seen as the perfect fit for the club. The England international has made his desire to play in the Champions League and win trophies clear in recent months, further escalating rumours regarding a transfer.

Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move for Rice in recent months, as he is a former academy prospect and has a close relationship with Blues midfielder Mason Mount. However, with Mount’s own uncertain future and the likelihood of no Champions League qualification, a move to Stamford Bridge is doubtful.

Both Manchester clubs have also been reported to hold an interest in Rice. City captain Ilkay Gundogan could depart the Etihad at the end of the season, which could increase the need for midfield reinforcements, while United have been chasing Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong for months but could turn their attention to Rice instead.

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21.30 BST: Liverpool are monitoring the situation of Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Matheus Nunes, writes Fabrizio Romano. Manager Jurgen Klopp is putting together his shortlist of potential options ahead of the expected departures of both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita, and it is said that Nunes, 24, remains on the Reds’ radar alongside Chelsea‘s Mason Mount.

20.57 BST: Talks are set to be held between Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur over a permanent move for defender Clement Lenglet, according to Sport. The 27-year-old has been on loan in north London this season, and with the Premier League side said to be keen to keep him at the club, an offer in the region of €14m should be enough to seal the deal.

20.24 BST: Leeds United forward Rodrigo will look to leave Elland Road if they are relegated from the Premier League this season, reports Football Insider. The 32-year-old has been a key player for the club this season with 11 league goals from 20 games, and is set to enter the final year of his contract in the summer, but has no plans to see out his contract in the Championship.

19.51 BST: Barcelona are considering an attempt to sign Juventus winger Angel Di Maria, reports Calciomercato. The 35-year-old Argentina international is reported to be keen to continue playing in Europe beyond this summer, when his contract expires at the Allianz Stadium, but the Bianconeri are waiting to hear the outcome of their appeal to a 15-point penalty for transfer irregularities before restarting talks.

19.18 BST: Brighton & Hove Albion are looking to ward off interest in striker Evan Ferguson by rewarding him with a new contract, according to the Sun. Manchester United are said to be among the top sides in the Premier League who are keen on his services, but manager Roberto De Zerbi is keen to make him a long-term part of his project, with plans to hand the 18-year-old Republic of Ireland international improved terms despite recently signing a professional deal in October.

18.45 BST: Crystal Palace and Borussia Monchengladbach are tracking six-foot-seven Sochaux midfielder Skelly Alvero, writes Fabrizio Romano. It is reported that interest from across Europe is growing in the 20-year-old, who has made 22 appearances in Ligue 2 this season, and he could be transferred in the summer for a fee in the region of €4m.

18.12 BST: Eintracht Frankfurt have confirmed the signing of Royal Antwerp centre-back Willian Pacho, the Bundesliga club have announced. Arriving in July on a free transfer and signing a five-year contract, the 21-year-old once-capped Ecuador international looks set to arrive as a potential replacement for Evan Ndicka, who is yet to sign new terms at Deutsche Bank Park.

Willian Pacho will join Eintracht in July 2023!

The 21-year-old defender arrives from @official_rafc on a deal until 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣8️⃣. 👏#Pacho2028 | #SGE pic.twitter.com/Z5VsMewO4j

— Eintracht Frankfurt (@eintracht_eng) March 30, 2023

17.39 BST: A deal is close between Sevilla and Espanyol‘s pending free agent left-back Adria Pedrosa, reports Relevo. The 24-year-old isreported to have already decided his next step, with only a signature required to make his switch to the Andalusian club official.

17.06 BST: Inter Milan are interested in Chelsea forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to Sport. The 33-year-old Gabon international is said to also be on Barcelona’s radar, but with the Blues looking to receive a transfer fee for him — having paid a £12m fee in the summer to sign him — it looks as though they would prefer for him to land in Serie A despite his desire to return to the Camp Nou.

16.33 BST: West Ham, Crystal Palace and Bundesliga high-flyers Union Berlin are in the race to sign Barcelona right-back Sergino Dest, says Sport.

Dest, 22, moved to Camp Nou from Ajax in 2020 for €21m but has struggled to assert himself in the squad and has been on loan at AC Milan this season.

The United States international hasn’t played much in Milan either and Barca could accept transfer offers of around €12m to land him this summer.

16.00 BST: Who are the best 39 young players in the game? Tor-Kristian Karlsen tells you.

15.19 BST: Manchester United are still interested in signing Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong this summer, says The Daily Mirror.

De Jong, 25, almost left Camp Nou last summer, having agreed an €85m move to United, but opted to stay and fight for his place. Barca are keen to bring in Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer at the end of the season, so that could impact the Netherlands international’s future.

14.28 BST: Chelsea are willing to let midfielder Mason Mount depart, but only for a transfer fee of £70m, according to The Athletic.

Mount, 24, has been at Chelsea his whole career but has slipped down the pecking order. Liverpool and Bayern Munich (now under former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel) are leading the chase for his signature but Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham are interested too.

Chelsea are seeking £70m, even though he is entering the last year of his deal, which could ward off any summer move.

13.25 BST: Football Insider claims that Man City defender Aymeric Laporte is a target for Paris Saint-Germain.

Laporte, 28, could leave City this summer, having played less than expected — he has started just six Premier League games this season.

City want to bring in RB Leipzig superstar Josko Gvardiol and need to raise funds to make that happen.

12.22 BST: Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen is drawing interest from several Premier League teams, sources at the Catalan club have told ESPN.

Christensen, 26, is enjoying a fine debut campaign with Barca after arriving as a free agent from Chelsea last summer and a source close to the player says he has no intention of leaving.

Barca do not want to transfer the Denmark international, either, but sources would not go as far as to completely rule out an exit due to the club’s delicate financial situation.

The Blaugrana need to shave more than €150m from their outgoings this summer to comply with LaLiga’s fair play rules and be able to register the new contracts already signed by Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Marcos Alonso.

12.02 BST: Will Harry Kane stay at Tottenham?

10.52 BST: Arsenal have jumped ahead of Barcelona in the race to sign young Brazilian striker Vitor Roque, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Roque, 18, became the youngest Brazil debutant in almost 30 years last week and there are a queue of clubs lining up to sign the Athletico Paranaense Forward, who is valued north of €30m.

After missing out on €72m teenager Endrick to Real Madrid, Barca have turned their focus to Roque but the financial limits imposed by LaLiga are holding them back from committing to a deal.

Arsenal would have no such problems and, per the report, are now best placed to land the teenager ahead of Barca and Chelsea.

The Premier League side’s sporting director Edu Gaspar has strong connections in the Brazilian market and is said to have been working on a deal for Roque for months.

Mundo Deportivo adds that Arsenal are also keen on Barca defender Eric Garcia, who worked under coach Mikel Arteta during their time at Manchester City together.

Garcia, 22, is struggling for game time at Camp Nou, with Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo all preferred and Barca, as reported by ESPN this week, also close to signing Inigo Martinez on a free transfer.

10.13 BST: Oliver Giroud is edging closer to signing a new contract with AC MIlan, according to Calciomercato.

Giroud, 36, has scored 12 goals and set up six more in 34 appearances across all competitions for the Rossoneri this season.

The France international becomes a free agent this summer but wants to remain at San Siro — on a two-year contract worth €4m per season — and Milan are working on meeting the player’s demands.

09.40 BST: Inter Milan are in talks to extend Alessandro Bastoni’s contract, according to his agent.

Bastoni 23, has made 148 appearances for Inter and is a regular in Simone Inzaghi’s starting XI. The Italy international is contracted to Inter until June 2024, but with Inter set to lose centre-back Milan Skriniar, who is set to join Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent this summer, the Nerazzurri are woking on Bastoni’s future.

“These are the initial meetings, there will be others,” Bastoni’s agent Tullio Tinti told reporters after a meeting with Inter executives. “Reassure the fans? I don’t understand why they should be agitated, Bastoni has always been an Inter fan. He has great interest in staying at Inter.”

09.14 BST: Real Madrid will not enter a summer bidding war with Liverpool and Manchester City to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, Diario AS reports.

Bellingham, 19, is under contract with Dortmund until June 2025 and the German club are looking to keep him for at least one more season.

Bellingham is Madrid’s top target this summer but Los Blancos have already told the player’s entourage they will not offer beyond €120m to sign the England international. The former Birgminham player has scored 10 goals and set up six more in 34 appeareances for Dortmund this season.

08.34 BST: Roma coach Jose Mourinho has told his club he wants to honour his contract, which runs until June 2024, according to Corriere dello Sport.

Amid reported interest from Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain in Mourinho, the Portuguese coach has already informed Roma executives of his intention to continue at the Stadio Olimpico beyond this summer.

Mourinho, 60, is in his second season in charge of Roma.

08.00 BST: Tottenham have said they are “urgently seeking further clarification” from FIFA after their managing director of football Fabio Paratici had his ban extended worldwide on Wednesday.

FIFA announced earlier that it had extended bans imposed on past and present Juventus officials, including Paratici, to apply globally.

In January, Serie A’s Juventus were deducted 15 points for the season by an Italian football court investigating the club’s transfer dealings and finances.

The court also imposed bans from holding office in Italian football on a number of the club’s officials.

These included a 30-month ban for former sports director, Paratici, who joined Spurs in 2021 following an 11-year stint at Juventus.

PAPER GOSSIP (by Rajan Hothi)

– Real Madrid are interested in Chelsea full-back Reece James, according to AS. Los Blancos are reported to be in the market for a right-back in the summer and have identified the England international as an ideal fit. Whilst James’ contract at Chelsea runs until 2028, the Blues may be forced into transferring key players in the summer to balance the books, giving the LaLiga giants hope of signing the 23-year-old.

– Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are monitoring the situation of Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, as per Ekrem Konur. The 25-year-old is entering the final 12 months of his contract at Old Trafford, but sources told ESPN on Thursday that there is progress toward a new deal. The Englishman has endured a stellar season for the Red Devils, netting 27 goals in all competitions to reignite his career.

– Al Nassr are not interested in signing defender Sergio Ramos despite contrary reports, according to Rudy Galetti. The ex-Spain captain sees his contract with PSG expire in the summer, however, the Saudi Arabian club have no concrete interest at this stage. Ramos, 36, has been pivotal for PSG this season, making 36 appearances in all competitions.

– Newcastle United are interested in Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen, report Sport. The report reveals that while the player and club do not want to part ways, due to the Catalan giants needing to offload players to comply with LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play regulations they could be forced into a transfer. Newcastle coach Eddie Howe sees Christensen as a contributor on a team that can compete for the Premier League title next season.

– Napoli have earmarked Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund as a potential replacement for Victor Osimhen, according to Calciomercato. While Napoli do not want to lose the Nigeria forward, Hojlund has been identified as an ideal replacement. The 20-year-old has impressed for Atalanta this season, netting 14 goals across all competitions, which has attracted the attention of several top clubs in Europe.