LIVE Transfer Talk: Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, Man City want Lavia

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: Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Man City keen on Lavia

Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City are all hoping to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia during the summer transfer window, according to a report by Football Insider.

The 19-year-old may be part of a Saints team that are struggling at the bottom of the Premier League, but he has made an impact since being signed for £10 million from Man City in the summer before making a single appearance for the first team.

City have a £40m clause to re-sign the Belgian, although that doesn’t come into effect until 2024 and there will likely be plenty of competition for his signature before then.

Chelsea have already shown they are not shy when it comes to transfers, while Arsenal are also increasing their interest, while Man United are keen but see a clause which requires 20% of any transfer fee to go to rivals Man City as a potential issue.

If the Saints are relegated, Lavia is expected to leave Southampton and a deal could possibly be completed for between £40m-£45m this summer with clubs expected to use Man City’s clause as leverage.

LIVE BLOG

21.30 GMT: Tottenham Hotspur will only consider offers for talismanic striker Harry Kane that are over £100m up front, reports The Times. This comes as they aim to deter Manchester United from trying to make a summer signing of the 29-year-old, who is Spurs’ all-time top goalsorer and has 22 goals across all competitions this term.

20.55 GMT: Champions League quarterfinalists Benfica are monitoring the situation of Internacional attacking midfielder Mauricio, according to Ekrem Konur. The 21-year-old has got off to a strong start to the 2023 campaign, scoring three goals and assisting another three in 12 Campeonato Gaucho matches ahead of the league campaign starting in April.

20.22 GMT: Watford winger Ismaila Sarr is set to leave the club in the summer regardless of whether the Hornets earn promotion to the Premier League, reports the Athletic. Aston Villa came close to completing a £25m move for the 25-year-old Senegal international last summer, while the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Crystal Palace have also looked at the player.

19.49 GMT: Midfielder Marcelo Brozovic will leave Inter Milan in the summer if a good offer comes in, reports Gazzetta dello Sport. This comes despite the 30-year-old having a contract that runs until 2026, with the Croatia international struggling to get regular starts as the club have lost their past three Serie A games where he’s been on from the beginning.

19.16 GMT: Arsenal want to extend goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale‘s contract, reports Ekrem Konur, with the 24-year-old’s current deal expiring in 2025. It is also stated that the north London club will listen to offers for 27-year-old defender Rob Holding, who has played just 107 minutes in the Premier League this term.

18.43 GMT: Galatasaray right-back Sacha Boey is being looked at by clubs in Germany, England and Italy, according to Foot Mercato. This offers an indication of continued interest after they previously reported interest in the 22-year-old old Frenchman from Crystal Palace, Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg ahead of the January transfer window.

18.10 GMT: Leeds United are keeping an eye on FC Salzburg forward Noah Okafor, according to Football Insider, with the 22-year-old Switzerland international being widely linked with a summer move away from the Austrian club. Leeds have already signed Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen and Maximilian Wober from Salzbrug in recent windows.

17.36 GMT: Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien has joined D.C. United on loan for the next four months, the MLS club announced on Monday. The short-term arrangement expires on July 16, but includes an option for the 24-year-old to make the move permanent.

⚫️ 𝐋𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬 𝐎’𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐑𝐞𝐝 🔴

📰 D.C. United sign midfielder @Lewis_OBrien98 on loan from Nottingham Forest F.C.#DCU || #VamosUnited

— D.C. United (@dcunited) March 20, 2023

17.14 GMT: Manchester City are growing confident they can land Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund this summer, although Real Madrid remain in the race for the midfielder’s signature, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson and Rodrigo Faez.

Bellingham is among City’s top targets ahead of the summer transfer window despite Dortmund not giving up hope of keeping the 19-year-old for at least one more year. Liverpool and Manchester United are also interested in Bellingham, but sources have told ESPN that City and Madrid remain the most likely destinations should he leave Germany at the end of the season.

16.22 GMT: Real Madrid are ready to offer €80m plus defender Nacho Fernandez to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, says Calciomercato.

Osimhen, 24, is one of the top strikers in Europe and has 25 goals in 29 games this season as Napoli lead Serie A by 19 points already.

The Nigeria international is going to be one of the most sought-after players in the next transfer window, with Chelsea and Man United also keen, but Madrid are looking to bolster their strikeforce and won’t return for PSG star Kylian Mbappe after he snubbed them to stay in Paris last summer.

15.50 GMT: Calciomercato says that Bayern Munich are targeting a striker and have eyes on Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez or Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic.

Bayern had been tracking Tottenham’s Harry Kane but a transfer fee of over €100m has proven an issue.

The German giants extended 33-year-old Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting‘s contract, but manager Julian Nagelsmann wants a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski up front.

15.13 GMT: Should Man United hand their manager a new contract?

14.48 GMT: Brighton are SO good at signing players and then picking up a massive transfer profit when they move on and Kaoru Mitoma could be the next on the list.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City are all keeping tabs on the Japan international forward, reports TEAMtalk.

Mitoma, 25, has nine goals in 27 games this season and only signed from Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale for £2m in August 2021.

14.00 GMT: Former United States international and D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid has signed with USL Championship side Memphis 901, sources have told ESPN.

The deal, which is still pending league and federation approval, is for the duration of the 2023 season. The approvals are expected to take place in time for Hamid to play in Saturday’s match against Oakland Roots SC.

Hamid, 32, had recently been linked with Scottish Premiership side Dundee United, but manager Jim Goodwin told The Herald last week that the club “decided to go in a different direction.”

13.39 GMT: Manchester City have made a €12m bid to sign Hajduk Split centre-back Luka Vuskovic, says The Athletic.

Vuskovic, 16, is highly rated in Croatia and signed his first professional deal with the club until 2026.

The defender, who is 6-foot-4 already, reportedly has Milan and some other top clubs on his trail, but City have moved to offer €10m plus another €2m in add-ons.

13.11 GMT: Liverpool’s chase for a central midfielder continues as Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is being linked with a €50m summer move.

Calciomercato reports that the Serbia international is ready to move on from Lazio after a season which has seen them rise to second place in Serie A.

Lazio had previously wanted over €100m from clubs looking to sign him, but may accept less as his contract expires in 2024.

12.25 GMT: Chelsea are among the clubs monitoring Andreas Pereira‘s situation at Fulham as they begin considering replacements for Mason Mount, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.

Contract talks between Chelsea and Mount have stalled, raising the possibility that the England international could leave Stamford Bridge in the summer before becoming a free agent in 2024.

Sources have told ESPN that Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City are looking at Mount while Chelsea are considering Pereira to fill the void after the midfielder’s impressive season at Fulham.

Pereira’s form at Craven Cottage in his first campaign following his summer move from Manchester United has also attracted attention from Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid. Only five players have registered more than his six Premier League assists this season and he is viewed by PSG, in particular, as a cost-effective signing in the region of £30m while they deal with Financial Fair Play concerns.

Sources added that Pereira is happy at Fulham but would find the opportunity to join one of Europe’s leading clubs hard to turn down.

11.55 GMT: Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby is attracting plenty of interest from the Premier League, says CaughtOffside.

Diaby, 23, is one of the top young players in Europe and has Arsenal, Newcastle and PSG on his trail.

The France international is reportedly available for around €70m in the summer.

11.17 GMT: Everton are targeting a summer move for West Ham striker Michail Antonio, says The Sun.

Antonio, 32, has nine goals in 33 games this season and Everton are looking to improve their strikeforce if they manage to stay in the Premier League and avoid relegation.

Sean Dyche’s side are also reportedly looking at Coventry’s Viktor Gyokeres.

10.15 GMT: Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz is being tracked by Chelsea and Newcastle, according to The Sun.

Diaz, 23, moved to Madrid for €17m in 2019 from Manchester City after failing to break into the first team, but has now been on loan at AC Milan for the last three years.

Milan reportedly have an option to sign him for around €24m at the end of his current spell. He has scored 16 goals and registered 10 assists in 110 games across all competitions.

09.50 GMT: Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto can’t understand why PSG fans would boo Lionel Messi.

Messi, 35, was booed by his own fans in Sunday’s 2-0 league defeat against Rennes, having been knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich last week.

“You can’t understand why, he is having good seasons in Paris, scoring many goals and also setting up many,” Sergi Roberto said. “Because of the elimination [from the Champions League], they have it in for him but he is a spectacular player and you feel bad that a player of this level is treated like that. We will treat him very well if he comes here.”

Messi’s contract with PSG expires in June and the Argentina captain is reportedly considering a return to Barcelona, having left on a free transfer in the summer of 2021 due to financial issues at the club.

Sergi Roberto said: “We would welcome him with open arms, who isn’t going to be prepared for Messi’s return? In the end, we don’t want to talk a lot because he, the president, the coach or whoever has to decide, but if it’s up to the players, we are waiting for him now.”

09.00 GMT: Celta Vigo star Gabri Veiga says he is not getting carried away despite being monitored by top Premier League clubs.

Sources have told ESPN’s Adriana Garcia that Veiga, 20, is a target of Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle among other clubs in England and Spain (see Paper Talk section below) after making a huge impact in his first season in Celta’s first team.

The Spain U21 player scored his ninth league goal of the season in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Espanyol. He is under contract with Celta until June 2026 and has a €40m release clause.

Veiga said: “I am managing all this in the calmest way. Yes, it is true that very nice things are coming [my way,] but you have to keep your feet on the ground as always and keep working every day because I still have a lot to improve to be an even better player”.

According to Estadio Deportivo, the midfielder is open to leaving Celta this summer and his preference would be a move to Arsenal. Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is an admirer of Veiga and believes the player’s characteristics would be a good fit for his team.

PAPER TALK (by Danny Lewis)

– West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Chelsea are all monitoring the situation of 23-year-old Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier, according to Ekrem Konur. This comes with the Daily Mirror reporting that Chelsea have told 30-year-old goalkeeper Edouard Mendy that he can leave in the summer as the Blues aim to further revamp Graham Potter’s squad ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

– Liverpool are frontrunners to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Matheus Nunes, according to Football Insider, who add that the Portugal international has the same agent as Darwin Nunez. This comes despite the 24-year-old only having joined Wolves from Sporting CP during the summer.

– Juventus beat Internazionale 1-0 in the latest Derby D’Italia, but Calciomercato reports that the Serie A giants will be competing again during the summer transfer window. They are both interested in several of the same players: Monza left-back Carlos Augusto, Spezia right-back Emil Holm and Borussia Monchengladbach left-back Ramy Bensebaini (although they are both expected to miss out to Borussia Dortmund for Bensebaini.) Neither club will be able to afford the €35m Atalanta are demanding to sign 19-year-old centre-back Giorgio Scalvini.

– Real Madrid and top Premier League clubs have sent scouts to watch Celta Vigo attacking midfielder Gabri Veiga multiple times, reports Fabrizio Romano, who adds that the 20-year-old has a €40m release clause. So far, he has scored nine goals and assisted a further three in 25 LaLiga appearances this season.

– Premier League clubs are monitoring the situation of RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, reports Ekrem Konur, with the 27-year-old having recorded 13 goals and five assists in 29 appearances across all competitions this season. A summer move would see the Germany international return to England just a year after he re-joined RB Leipzig from Chelsea.