Premier League Transfer News Update
While most of the world may have its attention fixed on the World Cup, it doesn’t mean that the transfer window has gone quiet. Here is a roundup of the some of the latest news from the Premier League.
Manchester United
Towards the end of last week, Manchester United announced the signing of Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos (Fred) from Shakhtar Donetsk. He completed a medical and he has agreed a five-year contract with the option to extend for another year. It is thought that United have paid a fee in excess of £50 million for the Brazilian international.
Jose Mourinho said, “Fred will complement our other midfielders’ qualities, which we need; his creative brain and passing vision will give us another dimension to our game. I am very happy he is joining our club and I believe our players know how important he can be in our team.”
Fred also expressed his delight saying, “This is the biggest club in the world and I am delighted to be a part of this amazing team. To work with Jose Mourinho, who has won so many trophies in his time as a coach, is an opportunity not to be missed. I cannot wait to get started and to meet my new teammates. I would like to thank everyone at Shakhtar Donetsk for everything they have done for me over the past five years. This is a very exciting time for me with my focus now fully on the World Cup with Brazil.”
Last week United also agreed to send goalkeeper Dean Henderson to Sheffield United on a season long loan. Henderson has a contract with United until 2020 and he spent last season on loan to Shrewsbury Town. United also had a £57 million bid for Milan Skriniar rejected by Inter Milan. It isn’t yet known if they will return with a higher offer.
Manchester City
Manchester City are reportedly close to completing a £46.5 million signing of Napoli midfielder Jorginho. The final details are being negotiated between the clubs, with one particular sticking point believed to be the 5% sell-ons that are due to the midfielder’s previous club, Verona.
However, the Italy international is reportedly just waiting to hear from Manchester about when his medical will be and an agreement is expected within days. Jorginho made 37 appearances for Napoli last year, he scored three goals, including one against Manchester City in the Champions League in November.
City are also thought to be keen to sign Riyad Mahrez, but there are reportedly a number of issues to be resolved, primarily City’s and Leicester’s vastly different valuations of the player. Last January, City walked away from a deal to sign the Algeria winger and they are likely to do so again if Leicester don’t agree on a compromise. Leicester reportedly want £75 million and Patrick Roberts for Mahrez, but City are likely to look elsewhere rather than pay such a high price.
Arsenal
Towards the end of last week, reports appeared that Arsenal are eager to sign Sevilla’s midfielder Ever Banega. The team’s new boss, Unai Emery, worked with Banega during his time at Sevilla and is reportedly eager for a reunion. Banega’s agent, Marcelo Simonian, is expected to travel to London in the very near future to begin negotiations.
Meanwhile it looks as if Arsenal could lose their midfielder Jack Wilshere to Fenerbahce. Wilshere is due to leave the Gunners at the end of the month and a number of Premier League teams are reportedly interested in signing him, but a surprise move to Turkey now seems likely.
There are also reports that Sampdoria’s Lucas Torreira may be on his way to the Emirates in the near future. Arsenal are said to have agreed a fee of £26.2 million for the Uruguay international. The deal has been slowed as Torreira is at the World Cup but when asked about his future, he said that he will complete the transfer once he has finished at the tournament.
Speaking after his team’s 1 – 0 win over Saudi Arabia he said, “No, I don’t know what is happening because the most important thing right now is the national team and our progress at the World Cup. Yes, I know Arsenal is a good team, one of the biggest in the world, but right now I am wearing the shirt of my country and my focus is the national team. After the tournament is over it will all be clear but I am not looking at that moment yet. Now I am just feeling very good and very happy for the victory. I am happy for the moment the team is having as a group after getting to the next round.”
Furthermore, Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero also suggested that the transfer is basically complete, ““La Samp doesn’t sell players unless there are excellent offers. We do not look for buyers. We have natural talents whose value increases exponentially. I bought him from Pescara when no one believed. We bet and we won, paying just €3 million. Now the money that comes in will be used to keep the club going.”
Liverpool
After the team’s failure to sign Nabil Fekir, boss Jurgen Klopp is targeting attackers. It looked like things were sorted with Fekir, but at the last minute Liverpool pulled out, possibly because they want a higher quality player.
Instead, Klopp is reportedly set to target Lorenzo Insigne. Insigne has spent his entire career at Napoli, but with interest coming from a number of Europe’s top teams, he may be tempted into making a move this summer. Last season the Italy international scored 14 goals from 48 appearances, and his versatility is likely to be a big draw for Klopp.
However, Insigne rejected Liverpool last year so Klopp will certainly have his work cut out.
Meanwhile, a number of clubs have expressed interest in signing young Liverpool star Rhian Brewster. The 18-year-old is known to be holding discussions with Liverpool about signing his first professional contract at Anfield, but now Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are reportedly interested in him. Brewster received the Golden Boot last October when England won the U17 World Cup in India.
West Ham
Last week was a busy one for West Ham United with a number of signings made. The headline act was the club-record signing of France U21 centre back Issa Diop from Toulouse on a five-year contract.
It is understood that the club plaid £21.9 million for the player, more than the £20 million that they paid Stoke for Marco Arnautovic last summer, and if add-ons are reached then it could reach a new club-record of £25 million.
Diop said, “I am very happy to sign for such a historic English club, and I hope to show my best here. I am a very ambitious player and West Ham is a very ambitious club, as we’ve seen with the appointment of the new coach. I hope to help the team win lots of games and make the fans happy.”
West Ham’s new director of football, Mario Husillos, said, “Issa is a player with fantastic potential who has already shown great quality at such a young age. It is a measure of his character and maturity that he was named captain of Toulouse at just 20 years of age, having already established himself in their team as a teenager.”
West Ham also signed goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from Swansea City on a three-year deal. They agreed a fee of around £7 million for the Poland international, who will fill the gap left by Joe Hart after he returned to his parent club, Manchester City.
Fabianski has said that he is looking forward to a fresh challenge with his new team, “West Ham is a massive club so I’m really happy to be joining at such an exciting time here. I will do my best on and off the pitch to help the team to achieve the best results possible and can’t wait to start this new chapter of my career.”
Over the past four seasons Fabianski has made 499 saves in the Premier League and missed just three top-flight games.
Mario Husillos said, “Lukasz is an experienced and established Premier League goalkeeper, with great quality that he has shown at both domestic and international level. He fits perfectly the mould of the modern goalkeeper, with excellent agility, presence and distribution, and will bring strong competition to the position. Of course, at this moment, Lukasz is fully focused on the World Cup finals with Poland. We wish him all the very best out in Russia and look forward to welcoming him upon his return to England later this summer.”
The team are also holding talks with defender Declan Rice over a new contract. Rice has one year left on his contract and West Ham are keen to secure him on a new long-term contract.
