LIVE Transfer Talk: Ramos on Man Utd's radar as Kane interest cools

The summer transfer window is open for some leagues in Europe 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: Ramos on Man United’s radar

Manchester United have been offered to sign Benfica forward Gonçalo Ramos after the Red Devils dropped their interest in Tottenham Hotspur‘s Harry Kane, reports the Sun.

Ramos has had a stellar season at Benfica, netting 27 goals across all competitions last season. However, the report states that the club will not accept any fee less than £80 million to transfer their 21-year-old talisman. Ramos is under contract with Benfica until 2026, meaning the Portuguese giants are under no financial pressure to let him go.

Erik ten Hag was keen to bring Kane to Old Trafford, with the England captain having just 12 months left on his contract, however, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is demanding a £100m fee to sign the 29-year-old, which has seen United’s interest cool.

However, with several clubs in Europe in the market for a striker this summer, Kane could still leave North London. The report reveals that Ramos’ agent, Jorge Mendes, hopes a possible Kane departure could ignite a bidding war between the Red Devils and Spurs for the Portuguese forward’s signature.

United are seemingly reluctant to be dragged into overspending on a forward this summer, having also turned their attention away from Napoli‘s Victor Osimhen.

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17.00 BST: Ilkay Gundogan is an important player for Man City, but will they manage to keep him?

16.22 BST: Julian Nagelsmann will not become the next Paris Saint-Germain manager after talks between the two parties broke down, sources have told ESPN.

The French champions have now turned attentions away from Nagelsmann, sources have told ESPN, narrowing their shortlist to four candidates: Luis Enrique, Sergio Conceicao, Marcelo Gallardo and Thiago Motta.

Porto manager Conceicao has been contacted by the club, while former Barcelona and Spain coach Enrique has has some strong support from club officials in Doha.

PSG are also interested former players Gallardo, who now coaches Argentine side River Plate, and Motta, who is in charge at Serie A side Bologna.

15.28 BST: Benfica want to bring winger Angel Di Maria back to Lisbon, according to TyC.

Di Maria, 35, spent three seasons at Benfica after signing from Rosario Central in 2007, before joining Real Madrid for €33m and going on to play for Man United (€75m), PSG (€55m) and then Juventus (Free).

A World Cup winner with Argentina, Di Maria will leave Juve as a free agent this summer after just one season in Turin. He considering his options and has an offer from Inter Miami CF that would see him play alongside Argentina teammate Lionel Messi, but his priority is to remain in Europe.

14.44 BST: Man United are eyeing are considering a move for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, according to The Athletic.

Watkins, 27, is considered a cheaper option than £100m-plus deals for Tottenham’s Harry Kane or Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.

The England international scored 16 goals in 40 games this season and has two years left on his contract.

14.11 BST: Vasco da Gama have made an offer to sign Southampton centre-back Lyanco on loan, Globoesporte reports.

Lyanco, 26, recently completed his second season at Southampton. He made 30 appearances across all competitions but could not help Southampton defend their Premier League status.

Vasco have already agreed personal terms with the former Sao Paulo and Torino star but are waiting for Saints to accept the terms. A permanent option worth €4m to be activated in January would also be included in the deal.

13.55 BST: Liverpool are closely monitoring Boca Juniors midfielder Alan Valera, according to TyC.

Valera, 21, is under contract with Boca until December 2026 but is reportedly also a target of FC Porto and other European clubs.

Since being promoted to Boca’s first team in January 2021, the Argentina U20 international has been a regular in the starting line-up.

13.04 BST: Tottenham have activated an option to sign winger Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus on a permanent transfer, according to Sky Italia, with the two clubs agreeing a €30m fee.

Kulusevski, 23, made 37 appearances across all competitions for Spurs last season. The Sweden international joined Spurs in January 2022, with his loan deal including an obligatory €35m clause to sign permanently if the club qualified for the 2023-24 Champions League.

Spurs missed out on Europe’s top competition after finishing eighth in the Premier League, but have still gone ahead with Kulusevski’s signing after negotiating a lower fee.

12.30 BST: Arsenal are keen on signing Declan Rice from West Ham.

11.48 BST: Italy U20 midfielder Cher Ndour will not stay at Benfica and is expected to join Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.

Ndour, 18, turned down a contract extension with Benfica, with his current deal expiring on June 30. He has played for Benfica’s reserves since the summer of 2021 but has not featured for the first team.

“I would have liked for Ndour to stay,” Benfica president Rui Costa said. “That’s why I made a high offer for him to remain. He believes that his life project is at another club. I can’t tie him here, nor do I want to. I discuss contracts until I understand that there is a desire to represent Benfica. When there isn’t, I don’t argue.”

11.11 BST: Juventus are in talks with Leicester City to sign right-back Timothy Castagne, Sky Italia reports.

Castagne, 27, joined Leicester from Atalanta in 2020 and has two years left on his contract. The Foxes, who were relegated to the Championship last month, want €15m for the Belgium international’s transfer but Juve are hopeful of reducing that fee.

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri is an admirer of Castagne and wants the player as one of his summer additions.

10.51 BST: Athletico Paranaense CEO Alexandre Mattos is in Barcelona negotiating Vitor Roque‘s transfer to Barca, reports Mundo Deportivo.

Roque, 18, has a long-term contract with Athletico and Barca will have to offer around €40m to land the player this summer. Considered among the best players of last season’s Copa Libertadores and the recent South American U20 Championship, Roque has scored 10 goals in 25 games for his club this campaign.

The Brazilian striker is a reported target of Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham. However, his priority is to move to Camp Nou.

The departure of coach Luiz Felipe Scolari from Athletico Paranaense this week could speed up the transfer and the player’s agent, Andre Cury, is also in Barcelona this week to try to advance the negotiations.

10.15 BST: Karim Benzema‘s departure to Saudi Arabia is “a very important loss” for Real Madrid and for LaLiga, according to Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele.

Dembele believes Madrid will be less competitive without the 35-year-old Benzema, who was second leading scorer in LaLiga last season with 19 goals befor leaving on a free transfer to join Al Ittihad.

“Without Benzema, Real Madrid loses a lot because he is the Ballon d’Or winner and a great player,” Dembele told Marca. “Real Madrid without Benzema is not the same. It will be a very important loss. Also for the league because he is a footballer who scores many goals, gives assists … and is a phenomenal player.”

09.37 BST: Manchester City are on the brink of completing a deal worth around €40m to sign Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, sources have told ESPN.

Talks between the two clubs have progressed well in recent days with a broad agreement on the fee leading to more detailed conversations about how the payments are structured.

One of the few remaining outstanding issues centres on how much City will pay Chelsea up front. The west London club are under pressure to raise funds through player sales by the end of this month after spending in the region of £600m during the first year of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s ownership of the club only to miss out on European qualification altogether.

09.00 BST: Bayern Munich are in talks with Kyle Walker over a move to the Allianz Arena with Manchester City prepared to offload the Champions League-winning full-back, sources have told ESPN.

Walker, 33, is under contract at the Etihad until the end of next season, but negotiations over an extension to the England defender’s existing deal have yet to progress.

Sources have told ESPN that Walker is prepared to move to the Bundesliga to extend his career at the top level after becoming frustrated by the absence of a firm offer from City to discuss new terms.

The former Sheffield United right-back, who is also the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, was dropped for the Champions League final win against Inter Milan in Istanbul last week with manager Pep Guardiola opting instead to use Manuel Akanji at full-back.

PAPER GOSSIP (by Rajan Hothi)

– Chelsea have agreed personal terms with forward Nicolas Jackson with the Blues keen to negotiate a deal with Villarreal, per the Athletic. The 21-year-old has a release clause of €35m, however, the west London outfit may attempt to negotiate a lower price with the LaLiga club. The report indicates that Chelsea will satisfy the release clause, if required. Jackson netted 13 goals in all competitions last season, with the Senegal international reportedly close to joining AFC Bournemouth in January.

– Bayern Munich are close to a full agreement on personal terms with defender Kim Min-Jae, according to Fabrizio Romano. The tweet suggests that the Bavarian club intend to meet the Napoli defender’s release clause, which is reported to be close to £60m for non-Italian clubs, which would see the 26-year-old sign a deal with the German champions until 2028. Manchester United were heavily linked with the South Korea international, but Romano reveals that they have made no fresh bid.

– Newcastle United are interested in James Maddison but are not willing to meet Leicester City‘s £50m valuation of the midfielder, according to Football Insider. The England international is under contract with the Foxes until next June, however, he will likely depart the club this summer following Leicester’s relegation from the Premier League. The report indicates that the Magpies are willing to spend £30m to secure the services of Maddison, with Leicester under pressure to do a deal this summer to ensure he does not walk for free next year.

– Negotiations between defender Josko Gvardiol and Manchester City are progressing well but RB Leipzig will demand a “huge” fee, reports Fabrizio Romano. The Croatia international reportedly has a release clause of €114m, which Leipzig will demand is met. Romano suggest the German outfit are happy to keep the 21-year-old at the club for another season if that clause is not met, despite the progress between Gvardiol and City regarding personal terms.

– Al Hilal are interested in signing Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to Foot Mercato. The 31-year-old could be one of several players to depart Stamford Bridge this summer as the Blues look to balance the books following a year of heavy spending. Koulibaly made just 20 starts in all competitions last season, and it has been reported that Internazionale also hold an interest in the Senegal international.