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Summer Transfer Talk 12th July 2023

I’m not sure if it’s been a quiet week or not, but it just seems that the same transfers are rumbling on. Arsenal yet to finalise the Declan Rice deal, although West Ham have been assured this will be done by the weekend. Jurrien Timber is the same. Perhaps they are waiting on outgoings with Partey set to be the latest player to move to Saudi Arabia. Rob Holding has been the subject of a £2.5m bid from Fenerbahce but this is well below Arsenals value for him.

 

Chelsea now, who are trying to make themselves the busiest club in every window it appears! Lukaku is the main one, apparently he has not turned up for pre-season training. Not sure whether this has been authorised by the club or not but he is notoriously one-track minded and wants the Inter Milan move. He is one of only a few players who has turned down Saudi Arabia and i guess for that he can be applauded. Inter Milan and Chelsea are getting closer to a deal and I’m sure it will end up getting done around the £30-35m mark. Cristian Pulisic has left for the red half of Milan for a fee of around £20m. Incomings are a bit quiet though, the club are very keen still on Caicedo and seem to be the clear frontrunners, but £100m may be too much for them and they also have an interest in Lyon winger Rayan Cherki. The prices I have been seeing seem unbelievably high for him, £50m in some quarters. Undoubtedly talented, but i rate him around £30m.

 

Manchester United seem to have the same issues as Arsenal, Onana seemingly wants to move to the club, a fee very close to being agreed and personal terms no issue, but Inter are stubborn negotiators. In pre-season Dean Henderson actually picked up an injury so they are down to just Tom Heaton as the recognised senior keeper at the club, that just won’t do. Crazy rumour that Antonio Rudiger may be coming to the club, I can’t see that one happening myself but perhaps he is unhappy in Spain and Real Madrid seem to be recruiting a younger profile of player at the moment. Sofyan Amrabat is someone very much on their radar though and he made a huge impression on everyone at the World Cup for Morocco as a tough tackling all energy midfielder. £30m seems to be the price, but they may be waiting to offload Fred who has interest from Fulham and Turkey at the moment. 

 

Nothing really going on at City at the moment, just Mahrez out as Saudi Arabia looms. They would need a replacement if he goes as they seem light in that position. I almost forgot, they are still driving forward with a deal to make Josko Gvardiol the most expensive defender ever.

 

Newcastle have secured the signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan. That one is massive in my opinion, constant links with him and the great Andrea Pirlo, and rightly so. They boy oozes class, not sure he’s quite as good at free kicks as Pirlo but he has a tremendous eye for a pass, loves to come deep and conduct play and will make Newcastle’s midfield formidable with Bruno Guimaraes already in there. Harvey Barnes has been heavily linked although Tottenham are also very keen. Moussa Diaby of Bayer Leverkusen is another one i thought may be heading to St. James Park, however reports seem to suggest Aston Villa are leading the race there.

 

Talking of Aston Villa, they have secured the services of Pau Torres of Villareal, a fee of between £30-35m plus add-ons agreed. The guy is a Spanish international and although only had one year left on his deal is an absolute Rolls-Royce of a player. Fantastic with the ball at his feet, yet tall and powerful and great in both boxes aerially. They have got themselves a bargain.

 

Tottenham are still scouring the market, they need a fair bit of strengthening, particularly at Centre back. They have been linked with Levi Colwill although I can’t see that happening. Harry Maguire too, but thats also a weird one. Micky Van De Ven of Wolfsburg seems more realistic. Strong, powerful left sided defender, with a lightning turn of pace in recovery situations, he would be just what Tottenham need. Hojberg looks like he may be off to Atletico Madrid and the Harry Kane saga is definitely not over, but I don’t think Bayern will stump up the kind of cash they are looking for. Right now, the smart money says he stays with Spurs and signs a new deal, rumours of a £400k a week deal on the table as well as coaching or manager role after he retires.

 

That’s the summary of it this week folks, I hope you were entertained, informed and I’ll catch you next week for all the juiciest rumours and transfer here on Football For Kids

 

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Arsenal

Summer Transfer Talk 14th June 2023

£20 notes

Well a lot changes in a week in football. Developments and steps have been made in the market. Declan Rice looks on the verge of joining Arsenal. I reported as much last week however I had my doubts as to whether Arsenal could win trophies and he would actually sign. Looks like £100m up front with a few add-ons is enough to get this deal over the line, and Arsenal are continuing to build an exciting young squad. They are still hopeful of signing Moises Caicedo, too from Brighton to fully overhaul that central midfield but we shall see as they have lots of competition for his signature.

 

Tottenham are rumoured to have agreed personal terms with David Raya of Brentford, who in my opinion was the best goalkeeper in the Premier League last season. His distribution is exceptional and he had the highest save percentage in the whole league. But David De Gea wins the Golden Glove? Don’t get me started on that! So just a fee to be agreed between the clubs, Tottenham want to pay £20m, Brentford want £40m, but a deal looks close.

 

The Harry Kane interest seems to have died down, and it looks ever more likely he will stay at the club. With only a year left on his contract though, will he sign a new one or leave for free next Summer? Daniel Levy is insistent he will not sell to a rival and Real Madrid look like they are now on high alert with Kylian Mbappe as a replacement for Benzema, who departed for the Saudi League.

 

And what’s going on with that now? Benzema and Kante this week have gone, Lukaku, Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech and more are being strongly linked. No one was taking them seriously but if this keeps happening for a few years then they may become a serious threat to European leagues. Not necessarily the premier leagues best stars, as the economics are far higher than other leagues but one to be wary of.

 

Newcastle have been linked with a couple of players. Harry Maguire for £30m, seems a strange one for me, but he would certainly have a point to prove and under the right management he may still have a lot to offer. Great experience, in both International and European competition, he would aid in thickening their squad for the Champions League campaign this season. Talks of a double raid from Leicester City emerging for both Harvey Barnes and James Maddison, although Leicester ant £60m for the latter. For a man with one year left on his deal, it looks to be a waiting game there, Leicester can’t afford to lose him for nothing but £60m is unrealistic given their position.

 

Chelsea are busy as usual, many ins and outs on the cards. Outs will include Kepa, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech, Aubameyang and possibly Trevoh Chalobah. Mateo Kovacic looks close to signing for Manchester City, seems kind of a strange deal to me, but perhaps he is a replacement for Gundogan who hasn’t renewed a contract yet. Andre Onana, Inter Milans superb keeper has reportedly agreed personal terms and a fee should be agreed. They are also looking to raid the other half of Milan for their keeper Mike Maignan but the player and club seem much more resistant. A much more exciting development might be the Victor Osimhen rumour. It will take a fee over £100m but they need a number 9 and he would be exceptional for many years.

 

The main story this week though is still the ongoing saga with the Manchester United takeover. It still isn’t completed but it doesn’t seem to be stopping them in the market. The thought I’ll leave you with this week though is if they do get taken over should they go all out for Mbappe and really try to challenge Man City?

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Arsenal

Summer Transfer Talk 7th June 2023

boots in the air

This is my favourite part of the season, still a couple of big matches to finish off, namely the Champions League Final. But most of the clubs and players are on their holidays and after the longest season in History thanks to the last Winter World Cup they deserve it.

 

Behind the scenes clubs have been planning for months about who they should sign and what players are considered “deadwood”.

 

The furthest story along is Brighton’s Alexis MacAllister moving to Anfield to rejuvenate an ailing and ageing Liverpool Midfield. Reports suggest it could be as low as £35m as a fee, which begs the question why was the release clause so low?

 

He just signed a new deal before the world cup, presumably to tie up the player on the basis of him performing well there and his value increasing. But then the £35m price seems oddly low for a world cup winner and an integral piece of what made Brighton so special this season. Either way I believe its an absolute snip for Liverpool and they don’t tend to make too many mistakes in the transfer market and this further concretes that record.

 

Where is Kane going? Perhaps new manager Ange Postecoglou has spoken to him and convinced him to stay and has plans to massively improve Tottenham Hotspur. It won’t be difficult as they were extremely underwhelming this season, plus the amateur dramatics of Conte thrown in for good measure. Rumours are that Real Madrid are sniffing around as a replacement for Karim Benzema who is the latest victim of the corruption of Saudi money.

 

Bayern Munich have also been talked up but i just can’t see him moving abroad. Perhaps that’s British bias, but also he is 47 goals away from reaching Alan Shearer’s all time goalscoring record, and I think he has his eyes on that. So that leaves Manchester United who do need a striker but is he the right option for them stylistically? Erik Ten Hag is very focussed on his own style and it means hard workers and high pressing and Kane likes to drop off and get involved, he doesn’t do the high intensity press as well. Then you have Chelsea who certainly have the money but they also have Lukaku coming back who will be an option, although likely he will be moved on. Perhaps Newcastle could send out a statement to the league by taking Kane, but will Daniel Levy, a notoriously tough negotiator let that happen?

 

Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice are constantly being talked about, Rice looks likely to move to Arsenal, although he has stated he wants to go somewhere he can win trophies, but I don’t believe Arsenal will do that. Their chance was this season, when a lot of the big clubs were off the boil, plus they have the complication of Champions League football on top and a thin squad. So it would surprise me, I think Caicedo may be a better option for Arsenal anyway and Chelsea want the Ecuadorian too. He looks an absolute beast, could make it right to the top, if he isn’t already there.

 

Who will Newcastle sign, they will have money burning a hole in their pockets too. They need to sign 5 or 6 players at least as again they have Champions League football, but a thin squad. They have lined up a Gambian winger who looks to be one for the future, but could we see a couple of statement signings to send a message to the rest of the league.

 

Rest assured, I will update you here with the very latest news so keep it locked to Football For Kids and comment below on what you think will happen in this summer window and who’s on the move. 

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Football Guides

Who should Newcastle sign to improve next season?

There are 2 trains of thought here. There are people speculating that Newcastle will have a huge war chest of £200-300m in the Summer, others like myself believe they may have the funds but are looking to build the club up sustainably and Eddie Howe is very much a cautious manager in terms of signings. He likes players’ characters and ones he can mould and improve rather than buying ready-made stars.

 

So I will look at a few options and let you know who Newcastle might sign this Summer based on those budgets. It is looking increasingly likely they will qualify for the Champions League too next season, which is a wonderful achievement given where they were when Eddie Howe took over 18 months ago.

 

Before we look at summer signings though we need to review the squad and what Howe has available to him. Pope in goal is nailed on to stay, one of the best keepers in the league, sure he isn’t very good with his distribution but he is fantastic at keeping the ball out of the net and commanding his box. At 30 or close to he still has a good 5 years of peak performance in him.

 

At the back, we have Kieran Trippier, whose set pieces are amazing, as well as his all-round defensive play. He likes to get forward but is honest, works hard to get back into shape and is solid. Still at least 2 more years left in him. No issues.

 

Next to him comes our first place of improvement. While Sven Botman is young, a Rolls Royce of a player on the ball, and physically dominant, Fabian Schar next to him would be a concern. His game has definitely improved under Eddie Howe but he is prone to the odd clanger and he lacks mobility like Botman so when better-quality teams come in the Champions League they will be in trouble. Down the left we have Dan Burn, born in the North East and a Newcastle fan, you can tell he is passionate about the shirt. A weapon at set pieces but again going up a level he is far too slow and will get caught out. His back up Matt Targett, could stay as backup to a new left back.

 

In midfield, we have Bruno Guimaraes who is a nailed-on starter when fit, can play as a defensive midfielder but is better further up so a DM would be a priority. The rest of the cast like Joelinton, Willock, and Longstaff are all at a similar level but again I don’t think they are quite good enough to maintain a top 4 team. I would also be looking at more creativity so maybe a number 10 or a progressive midfielder would also be worth looking at.

 

On the wings, they have Allan Saint Maximin, who on his day is unplayable, but has been in and out of the side this season. I’d keep him around as he can do things others just can’t with the ball, and gets the St James Park crowd off their seat. On the other side, Almiron has upped his attacking numbers this season, adding goals and assists and he works so hard for the team. He stays too. But I think someone who can play either side as an option would be good.

 

Up front Isak and Wilson are a handful, and there is no need to sign anyone else with young Garang Kuol coming through, and he looks so exciting!

 

Left back: Expensive option – Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) There has been talk he is not happy at the club, Zinchenko coming in has changed the way they play but Arsenal will want a lot of money from a rival.

Cheaper option – Marcus Acuna (Sevilla) A winger converted into a left back, so we know he is great going forward. Sevilla have been poor in the League, unless they win the Europa League will have no Europe next season and they are in debt so would be available cheaply.

 

Defensive Mid: Expensive option – Declan Rice (West Ham) £80-100m to sign him but would revolutionise the team. England international and will be for the next 10 years. Top player!

Cheaper Option – James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) Best Free kick taker the premier league has ever seen? Some say Beckham but I think this man edges the great man out. Southampton going down, so would be available for around £25-30m I would think.

 

Attacking Midfielder: Both options are quite expensive here but I think achievable. Mason Mount will be cheaper but wages will be enormous. James Maddison will be more expensive but Leicester even if they stay up have financial issues, lots of players out of contract and other areas they need to strengthen.

 

Winger: Expensive option – Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) £60-70m would be enough to buy him. Electric pace, and just needs to up his output in regards to goals, but a hard worker, who can go both ways and play on either wing. Also helps the homegrown quota.

Cheaper Option – Martin Terrier (Rennes) Has been performing exceptionally for 3 seasons now. A left foot wand, but can play either side or as a 10. Tremendous output with plenty of goals and assists. Has only managed 16 league games this season but has 9 goals and 4 assists. Talks swirling that he’s available for around 30-35m euros. Bargain!

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