Transfer news: Osimhen Chelsea still ON, crazy Liverpool saga, risky Man United sale & more
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This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive transfer news via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io
Chelsea still in the race for Victor Osimhen
There have been many reports on the Victor Osimhen story in the last 24-48 hours, but some of these are, from what I’m hearing, not 100% accurate, so I wanted to clear that up here.
First of all, if you’ve been following me on here, you’ll know I always said Osimhen was going to be something for the final days of the window. The only club that had the chance to change this was Paris Saint-Germain back in July – they had an agreement with Osimhen back then, but then everything collapsed.
Then, in August, Napoli and Chelsea started to talk about Osimhen, as well as Romelu Lukaku and these kind of things. I always said that Osimhen would not go on loan – it would have to be a permanent transfer or a loan with obligation. So, now we’re at the final days, what’s going on?
Al Ahli have a delegation in Italy to meet with Napoli and the agent of Osimhen. Meanwhile, Chelsea are still talking with Osimhen and his agent – they are still in a negotiation for Osimhen, as of late last night.
Al Ahli have presented a very important proposal to Osimhen, worth €25-30m per season for the next four years. It’s not true that the player doesn’t want to go to Saudi. He’s never said no to Saudi, he’s never rejected them, despite the statement from his agent. Al Ahli never gave up on this deal, they are still there.
The most important thing for Osimhen, however, is a release clause. He always wanted a release clause with Al Ahli and they have accepted this. They have basically given Osimhen everything he wants – everything is on the table for Osimhen to go to Saudi, and talks are also taking place with Napoli.
But it’s important to say that Chelsea are still not giving up on this deal. Osimhen is still talking to Chelsea and waiting to see if they can reach an agreement – he is giving them a chance, and forget any stories about deadlines, it’s the final two days of the window so it’s obvious that there is not much time to get this done and the next 24 hours will be important, but there is no deadline being set by Osimhen.
So, now it’s important to see if Chelsea can make it happen on the salary point of view and the transfer fee point of view. They have a chance because Al Ahli have made Osimhen exactly the proposal he wants, but he’s still waiting, and it’s on Chelsea to reach an agreement, or he’ll be ready to go to Saudi. It’s not easy for Chelsea to compete with the kind of money the Saudis can offer, but they are really making an effort.
Jhon Duran also remains super appreciated by Enzo Maresca and people at Chelsea, but it looks really complicated now because Aston Villa would need to sign a replacement and there’s not much time left. Ivan Toney could be an opportunity for the final hours, because if Chelsea or other clubs who are interested in a striker find that other strikers are not available, then Toney is there. But as of last night, Chelsea are still trying to find a way for Osimhen.
One in, one out in midfield for Manchester United, plus truth about those Ben Chilwell links
Scott McTominay will be in Napoli today, ready for his medical tests and contract signing. Manchester United will receive €30.5m and a 10% sell-on clause – it’s 100% confirmed. Meanwhile, Manuel Ugarte is coming in at Man United and has been in Manchester already for the formal steps.
Rio Ferdinand has spoken out to warn United about selling McTominay and I can see what he means, even if it’s not an easy situation. The player wanted to play regularly, Napoli can offer that. But I agree with Rio when he says that Scott is probably an underrated, important player and I really rate him. It’s a fantastic signing for Napoli; but for United it was the only way to get the green light on the Ugarte deal.
I also wanted to clarify some further Man United transfer rumours about Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell. We’ve heard this story a few times, but my understanding is that there are no talks, no negotiations have taken place. United are not looking to sign Chilwell, it’s not happening.
Stefan Bajcetic saga and the truth about Darwin Nunez transfer speculation
I wanted to clarify the situation with Stefan Bajcetic as it’s been an important few hours at Liverpool. Firstly, everything was agreed for Bajcetic to move on loan to Red Bull Salzburg, but then Barcelona called and presented Liverpool with a proposal for a loan. It was a €4m loan fee, with no buy option or obligation, and Barca also called the player to try to persuade him.
So, what happened? While Barcelona tried to make this deal happen, they also had big issues with Financial Fair Play, so it was an issue for them to get the green light from La Liga. They spent all day trying to find a way with La Liga, but as of now, still nothing has been approved, so the expectation of the agents of the player, and of Salzburg and of Liverpool and all parties involved, is for Bajcetic to travel tomorrow to Salzburg and complete his move there.
Pep Lijnders, the Salzburg manager and former assistant of Jurgen Klopp, has been calling Bajcetic all day long – he’s been fighting to get the player and to present the project to him in the best way possible. Salzburg are now confident of getting it done.
Staying with Liverpool, I also wanted to say something on Darwin Nunez after some surprise stories about Arsenal. I don’t know where this has come from, but I’ve had many questions about this and so I spoke to some of my sources, and I can honestly say there is nothing.
In general, it’s also not true that Nunez is pushing to leave Liverpool – it’s important to clarify that he is absolutely not planning to leave Liverpool, I can guarantee this. He is really focused on Liverpool and really happy with Arne Slot. Of course it will be an important season for him, but it’s never been a possibility for him to leave this summer and he never asked to go.
As reported yesterday, it’s ‘here we go’ for Federico Chiesa to Liverpool, and I also wanted to clarify that Barcelona never made any bid for the player. It was never anything concrete, and in the end Liverpool moved really fast, though they had also been thinking of Chiesa for a long time. Richard Hughes knows Italian football really well, and he knew Chiesa was a fantastic opportunity.
He’s a player who’s been unlucky with injuries, but I think it’s also important to say that he was unlucky to be at Juventus under a manager like Massimiliano Allegri, who was playing a style of football that was not a good fit for a player like Chiesa. If you look at how Liverpool play, it looks like a very good deal.
Arsenal continue to do well with player sales, but Jakub Kiwior is staying
Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton is a ‘here we go’. The goalkeeper will have his medical today as he’s set to join for a £25m package. And remember that Arsenal have been prepared to go for Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia in order to replace Ramsdale.
He was in the list of Wolves and Bournemouth but they both didn’t want to invest £25m on a GK, Southampton yes and it was quite fast. I think it was a good summer for Arsenal especially on sales, Edu did an important job. It’s never easy to sell players.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have told Jakub Kiwior and his agents two days ago that he has to stay as he’s going to be an important player for them this season. Kiwior was never desperate to leave – he rejected approaches from Premier League and he was only open to returning to Italy, but it was never close.
There have been plenty of stories about a possible Reiss Nelson exit as well, but it depends on proposals, and while I’m writing there is still nothing close on this one.
In other news…
Trevoh Chalobah – Chelsea are still trying to find a solution for Trevoh Chalobah, and his agents too. It’s an open story ahead of the final 48 hours. There’s no lack of suitors but Chelsea have been asking for a permanent move for £30m and it’s difficult for many clubs to invest this kind of money.
Matheus Nunes – Despite rumours, there is nothing concrete into this one as far as I’m aware. Manchester City have not received any bid for Matheus Nunes so far, and my information is that Atletico Madrid can only do a loan which is probably leading them to different candidates.
Rayan Cherki – There is no major update on Cherki now, the situation is open. He’s not interested in a move to Fulham despite some recent reports, and I would not be surprised if he ends up staying at Lyon. PSG were never back in the race in August, it was a fake story.
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