Cliff Notes – Transfer window weekly: Sancho, Rashford headed to Juventus?
- Juventus is unlikely to secure both Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford from Manchester United due to financial constraints and existing player contracts.
- Liverpool remains firm on retaining Luis Díaz despite interest from Bayern Munich and Barcelona, having rejected a €67.5 million bid.
- Manchester City and Real Madrid are not expected to make further signings unless current players depart, with both clubs focusing on maintaining their existing squads.
Every Friday until September, we’ll bring you the latest updates and insights on the biggest transfer news.
Juventus are linked with Jadon Sancho AND Marcus Rashford from Man United. Could they land both on the cheap?
I think it’s highly unlikely that Juventus will get both players, for a number of reasons. Juve are not in a strong position financially, and their priority right now is figuring out how to deal with striker Dusan Vlahovic, who has a year left on his contract and is on an enormous salary. They have to either extend him — though he’d need to take a significant pay cut and has no real incentive to do so — or shift him; but that’s tricky, partly because of his wages, partly because he can also wait and move on a free next year.
In a sense, Sancho is in a similar boat. He also has a year left on his contract and is on a wage that is far higher than his production was in recent seasons. It’s hard to see him moving to Juve on a permanent basis for the same reason he didn’t stay at Chelsea: he’s going to have to take a major pay cut if he wants a multiyear deal, and he wasn’t willing to do that at Stamford Bridge. The only way you can see this happening is a six-month loan deal with United covering a part of his wages. But something like that would happen only late in the window. And, bear in mind, Juventus already have a number of wingers.
As for Rashford, United are on the hook for another three seasons with him. You can’t see this being a permanent deal, but he could fill the Randal Kolo Muani role (he’s on loan from Paris Saint-Germain and while Juve would like to keep him, it’s not an easy negotiation) and would get to play Champions League football. Of course, this would be predicated on United paying a big chunk of his wages and, again, that’s unlikely to happen at this stage of the window. — Gabriele Marcotti
Will Luis Díaz still be at Liverpool when the season starts, or will Bayern Munich or Barcelona land him?
Liverpool have been pretty firm in their stance that Díaz is not available for transfer this summer. The Colombia international enjoyed the most productive season of his Anfield career last term and was an integral part of the team which romped to the Premier League title.
Over the past few weeks, Liverpool have rebuffed advances from both Bayern and Barça, rejecting a €67.5 million (£58.6m) bid from the latter on Tuesday. But everyone has a price and, should any potential suitor return to the negotiating table with a significantly improved bid, Liverpool’s resolve could be tested.
Of course, the club would need to be convinced they could find a replacement before September’s deadline. But, with just two years remaining on Díaz’s contract and no indication that progress is being made on a new deal, the situation is definitely one to keep an eye on. — Beth Lindop
What would Hugo Ekitike bring to Liverpool?
Jan Åge Fjørtoft analyses the future of Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike.
And will the Premier League champions sign a striker amid interest in Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike?
Having already made four major first-team signings this summer — including a £100 million move for forward Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen — Liverpool have now turned their attention to finding a new No. 9.
With Darwin Núñez likely to depart, Arne Slot’s side are in need of reinforcements at center forward and raised eyebrows this week when they approached Newcastle United to enquire about the availability of star striker Isak.
While the Sweden international has long been Liverpool’s dream target, Newcastle have so far shown no indication they would be willing to sanction his exit this summer. And the Reds have now turned their immediate attention to Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ekitike, having opened negotiations with the Bundesliga club earlier this week.
Although a deal is yet to be struck, it looks increasingly likely that Ekitike — also the subject of interest from both Newcastle and Manchester United — could be heading to Anfield. — Lindop
Will João Félix leave Chelsea? And what’s next for his career?
Félix has a residual transfer value of £36m on Chelsea’s books and six years remaining on a contract that pays him £6.5m per season. Do the math. For Chelsea not to take a financial hit, a club would need to commit £75m in transfer fees and wages to sign the 25-year-old forward. It’s hard to see anybody doing that.
While there is reported interest from Félix’s former club, Benfica, and the ways of agent Jorge Mendes are infinite, Chelsea accept they will still have to pay him next season, since the most viable solution is a loan deal and Chelsea will have to cover some of his wages. (Unless, of course, Mendes manages to make some sort of deal with a Saudi club, like he has managed to do in the past.)
Could USMNT star Christian Pulisic leave AC Milan amid interest from Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr want to sign AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic, but the Serie A team have yet to receive a formal offer. Pulisic, who did not take part in the United States’ Gold Cup campaign this summer, has two years to run on his contract at San Siro and has impressed for the Rossoneri since signing from Chelsea in 2023.
With the 26-year-old yet to agree a new deal with Milan, Al Nassr have identified the former Borussia Dortmund winger as a potential new attacking teammate for Cristiano Ronaldo. But despite being aware of Al Nassr’s interest, sources have said that Milan have not yet had an offer arrive.
Manchester City have done a lot of early business. Is there anything left to do?
Manchester City are adamant that Nico González has not been made available for transfer this summer and the midfielder is part of Pep Guardiola’s plans ahead of next season. The €60m January signing from FC Porto hasn’t played as much as he would have liked and faces competition for a place from Rodri, Ilkay Gündogan, Tijjani Reijnders and Mateo Kovacic. But Guardiola is keen to keep González as part of his squad and, at this stage, it’s more likely that Gündogan could leave if there are any departures.
City are also telling potential suitors for young left back Nico O’Reilly that he’s not available this summer.
Midfielder James McAtee is still expected to leave, although City are demanding a significant fee for the England U21 captain. Interested clubs have been looking at a deal for between £20m and £25m. City, however, value McAtee’s transfer at closer to the £40m they got for Cole Palmer when he signed for Chelsea. — Rob Dawson
Real Madrid have done the same, but what’s remaining for them?
Despite Madrid being busy — with Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Franco Mastantuono and Álvaro Carreras all signed already for a total of almost €200m — there are still some pretty glaring weaknesses in the team, especially in central midfield.
But, right now, the messaging from the club is that they won’t make any further signings unless players leave. If that were to happen, the two most likely departures would be forward Rodrygo, whose hopes of a fresh start under new boss Xabi Alonso already look under threat after his bit-part role at the Club World Cup, and midfielder Dani Ceballos, another player who has been sidelined by Alonso after becoming important under predecessor Carlo Ancelotti.
If one of them were to go, then Madrid would look again at whether they can strengthen. — Alex Kirkland and Rodra
Lucas Vázquez said goodbye to Real Madrid on Thursday and, according to sources, his priority would be to continue his career in MLS. However, the versatile 34-year-old has not yet received any offers to play in the United States and the only approaches have been from Saudi Arabia. Vázquez is not ruling out any options at the moment, and there are also some teams in Serie A, where Luka Modric has just moved to join AC Milan, monitoring his situation.
Ceballos is open to leaving this summer, and sources said that Real Betis are best placed to sign him, but they also believe it would be a complex operation due to the player’s high salary.
Do Tottenham need Morgan Gibbs-White?
Gab Marcotti and Rob Palmer debate if Tottenham need Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of his potential move.
Any other interesting deals in the works?
Ademola Lookman has two years left on his contract with Atalanta, and it’s an open secret that they wouldn’t mind shifting him if they could get a fee north of €50m. If they don’t, they’d have to give him a new deal to preserve his value on their books and that would be extremely expensive. Plus, the 27-year-old had another outstanding campaign last year. Inter Milan have been linked, though he’s not going to be a priority at that price, and the rumors are likely designed to draw out other potential suitors.
That said, Atalanta are by no means desperate to move him on; they’ve already cashed in on Mateo Retegui’s reported €70m move to Al Qadsiah (they have a readymade replacement coming back from injury in Gianluca Scamacca) and have signed Kamaldeen Sulemana from Southampton. — Marcotti
Atlético Madrid midfielder Rodrigo De Paul is set to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami in the coming weeks on a loan deal with the option to make the move permanent in 2026, sources confirmed to ESPN. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas traveled to Spain earlier this month to negotiate with the player and Atlético to ensure the deal comes to life. — Lizzy Becherano
– Atlético have already signed three midfielders this summer in Johnny Cardoso, Álex Baena and Thiago Almada, but they’d now be open to bringing in a replacement for De Paul, too. De Paul was important for them last season, playing 34 times in LaLiga, and none of those three new arrivals offer quite the same skillset in central midfield. Otherwise, Atlético are looking to refresh their options in wide areas, too. They’d consider a departure for Samuel Lino, a talented player who hasn’t quite performed with enough consistency and end product, and one of the wide options the club likes is Atalanta’s Lookman, if a deal could be struck with the Serie A club. — Kirkland and Rodri Faez
– Cesc Fabregas’ Como are following the situation of young Real Madrid academy defender Jacobo Ramón. Meanwhile Real Betis, Valencia and Rayo Vallecano are all interested in Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic after he spent last season on loan with Las Palmas. Also, Wolverhampton Wanderers have shown interest in Getafe midfielder Christantus Uche, and the player is considering a move to the Premier League. — Rodra
– Keylor Navas’ transfer to Pumas from Newell’s Old Boys is becoming more complicated. Although the 38-year-old goalkeeper’s entourage has confirmed to ESPN that his priority is to play for the Liga MX team, Newell’s want a fee of around $5m. Pumas made an offer of $1m, which was rejected, so the club are already analyzing new options, including Mexico legend Guillermo Ochoa, who is currently without a team, Monterrey’s Esteban Andrada and former Arsenal shot-stopper David Ospina. — Fernando Villa, ESPN Deportes
– Cruz Azul are working to arrange the departure of striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, in order to open up a spot in the team to be filled by Luka Jovic. One of the most prominent options to sign the player is MLS side Charlotte FC, who have been closely monitoring the Greece international for several months. Giakoumakis has already experienced American soccer after his time with Atlanta United.
– Club América recently received a €7m offer to sign Brian Rodríguez from Qatar Stars League side Al Rayyan. Sources confirmed to ESPN that the Uruguay striker is considering the offer, but América would be willing to let Rodríguez go for that amount. The 25-year-old attacker — who signed with the Águilas in August 2022 — has one year left on his contract.
– Matías Perello and an unnamed center back have backed away from their previously agreed deals to sign for Brazilian club Sport. After the bottom-placed team failed to win a single game in the Brazilian Championship, fans stormed the club’s training facilities, with some players being assaulted. After that, both of the players’ representatives called on the club to revoke the deals.
– Club World Cup standout Richard Ríos remains a Palmeiras player, at least for the near future. The Brazilian club are not planning any further exits from their squad after three players already left, but would listen to offers around €30m. Deals with Roma and Zenit have already fallen through, while rumors that Internazionale and Porto also interested in the Colombia international have surfaced.
– Current Libertadores champions Botafogo are interested in Nottingham Forest defensive midfielder Danilo. The former Palmeiras player has attracted attention after the departure of Gregore, who was an instrumental part of the club’s winning season last year, to Al Rayyan. Danilo is already in negotiations with Lyon, but Botafogo are also an option.