Transfer Gossip: Man Utd offer new player in bid to win Declan Rice hunt, but West Ham star ‘getting closer’ to rival club; Messi urges Barcelona to sign Tottenham man
Manchester United have begun using a new star in their player-plus-cash negotiations for West Ham captain Declan Rice, although the midfielder is close to joining one of their major rivals, Lionel Messi has suggested Barcelona complete a shock raid on Tottenham, while Friday’s Transfer Gossip reveals how a Manchester City player wants to follow Jadon Sancho’s footsteps by heading to Germany.
DOUBLE UPDATE ON DECLAN RICE FUTURE
The chase for West Ham star Declan Rice is heating up, as Man Utd have added a new player to the transfer discussions but one of their Premier League rivals are moving closer to securing his services.
Arsenal’s talks to sign Rice appeared to be running along smoothly a few days ago. After having two bids for him rejected – which came in at £80million and then £90m – the Gunners were expected to return with a third offer that would have come close to West Ham’s £100m asking price.
However, Prem champions Manchester City then bulldozed their way to the front of the queue for Rice. City have been backed to submit a proposal which immediately matches West Ham’s demands, giving Arsenal a serious problem.
And City have been given encouragement over agreeing a contract with the player, too. While he would ideally like to remain in or around London, where most of his family lives, he is seemingly open to all moves. This means he could be up for a big switch to Manchester.
Arsenal are also now at risk of losing out on the England star to Man Utd. The Red Devils went on a transfer rampage on Wednesday, offering Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire in a player-plus-cash deal for Rice as well as submitting a new £50m bid for Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount.
There has now been a big double update on Rice’s future. The Daily Mail have revealed how Man Utd could soon throw a new player into the mix, with winger Anthony Elanga up for grabs for West Ham.
When the Irons were originally offered Maguire and McTominay, they were excited about the prospect of bringing the latter in as he could immediately replace Rice. However, Maguire moving to West Ham looked unlikely as David Moyes’ side would struggle to meet the defender’s wage demands.
Instead, Man Utd could now offer McTominay and Elanga in a player-plus-cash deal for Rice.
Man Utd, Arsenal may both miss out on England ace
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has also provided his information on the transfer negotiations. He states that City are currently in pole position to sign the 24-year-old. Rice is ‘getting closer’ to a City move as Pep Guardiola’s side are ‘confident’ about reaching a ‘final agreement’ with West Ham.
Despite Man Utd’s best efforts and Arsenal’s laid out plan to get Rice, it seems he will head to the Etihad in the near future.
Such a move would see Rice replace Ilkay Gundogan, who has rejected the offer of a new contract at City in order to take up a new challenge with Barcelona.
City signing Rice will be frightening for the rest of the Prem and possibly the rest of Europe as well. They have just won a fantastic treble comprising of the Prem, Champions League and FA Cup and are now adding another high-quality star to their squad. Under Guardiola’s guidance, Rice could become one of the best midfielders in the world.
BARCELONA IN FOR TOTTENHAM STAR
Gundogan is not the only Prem player Barcelona might sign this summer as they are also targeting a surprise swoop for Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso, according to reports.
While Lo Celso has never managed to impress consistently in a Tottenham shirt, he did well during his loan spell at Villarreal in the recently concluded season.
And the midfielder’s solid displays over in La Liga have resulted in interest from Barca. On Wednesday, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claimed Lo Celso could head to the Nou Camp in a swap deal which would see defender Clement Lenglet join Spurs. Of course, Lenglet spent last season on loan at Spurs, making 35 appearances across all competitions and scoring one goal.
Fellow Spanish source AS have now revealed Barca want Lo Celso to fill up the attacking midfield position Lionel Messi would have occupied if he’d returned to Catalonia from Paris Saint-Germain. Instead, the iconic seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will sign for MLS team Inter Miami.
Interestingly, AS outline a conversation between Xavi and Messi during which they spoke about Lo Celso. It is claimed that Messi told Xavi the Spurs man is one of the best players in the Argentina national team squad, and Xavi has kept a keen eye on him ever since.
Lo Celso is labelled ‘the icing on the cake’ for Xavi’s summer transfer plans following the agreement to sign Gundogan from City.
One potential stumbling block is Barca’s finances, which has presented Xavi with plenty of problems since his arrival as manager in November 2021.
Rather than pay an outright fee to Spurs, Barca will try to sign Lo Celso on a year-long loan with an option to buy.
This will give the Spanish giants 12 months to create funds for the 27-year-old’s permanent arrival through player sales. The initial loan will also give Xavi the chance to monitor Lo Celso’s performances and training standards, in order to make sure the player is the right fit for Barca.
MAN CITY STARLET WANTS GERMANY SWITCH
Cole Palmer is hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow winger Jadon Sancho by swapping City for Borussia Dortmund, as per a report.
Palmer is very highly rated at City. Indeed, Guardiola feels the 21-year-old attacking midfielder could have a similar influence on the City team to Phil Foden in the coming years.
Despite Palmer’s huge potential, he struggles to get into the City starting eleven. He made 25 appearances across all competitions last term, though only eight of those lasted longer than 45 minutes.
According to German outlet Bild, Palmer feels it would be best for his development if he become a regular starter elsewhere rather than having to largely sit on the bench at City.
And the England U21 international has taken inspiration from Sancho, who left City for Dortmund in a £10m deal in August 2017 and went on to shine for the Bundesliga outfit.
That saw Sancho earn a big-money move to City’s rivals Man Utd, although he has not yet managed to replicate his Dortmund form while back in the Prem.
Bild state that Palmer is ‘ready’ to ‘take the next step’ in his career and he feels Dortmund is the perfect place to do just that.
There is one significant difference between Palmer’s potential exit route out of City and the one Sancho took. While the latter left City on a permanent basis, Palmer would only be looking to join Dortmund on loan. This temporary transfer could last one or two seasons.
The idea behind the move is that Palmer would then return to City as a more developed and better rounded player. He could then force his way into the City starting lineup, even though that will be an incredibly tough task.
