Transfer news live: Arsenal plan Gyokeres medical, major Man Utd deal update, Madueke to be finalised

Transfer news, rumours and latest done deals

• Arsenal are closing in on a move for Viktor Gyokeres in a deal worth £60m plus add-ons
• Gyokeres expected to undergo medical after agents land in London
• Noni Madueke underwent his Gunners medical over the weekend
• Barcelona want loan deal for Marcus Rashford
• Petrovic finalising Bournemouth move

Man Utd legend appointed new Under-18s manager after leaving key role

Darren Fletcher has taken over as Manchester United’s Under-18 coach as the former technical director takes on another role at Old Trafford.

United believe that Fletcher, a graduate of their academy who went on to become vice-captain and make 342 appearances, can help them develop world-class players.

The 40-year-old, who also played for West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City, returned to United in 2020 and has since occupied a series of positions, from coaching the Under-16s to becoming technical director – a title he lost to Jason Wilcox – and being a first-team coach last season.

Chelsea eye shock move for Donnarumma

Chelsea are considering a move for Gianluigi Donnarumma with his PSG future unclear.

L’Equipe reports that the Blues would be keen to bring in the Italy goalkeeper, with his contract set to expire in 2026.

Man United and Man City would also be keen if an extension cannot be agreed with the European champions.

Three Premier League clubs want Ekitike

Eintracht Frankfurt are making a major push to keep Hugo Ekitike.

The Germans want to attack the Champions League and see the French forward as a vital part of that bid.

But Sky Sport Germany reports the Bundesliga club expects many offers to arrive soon for the former PSG star.

Liverpool is “a concrete option,’ while Newcastle and Manchester United remain keen.

Chelsea’s interest has cooled after signing João Pedro, with Ekitike likely to cost €100m.

Brighton’s shrewd recruitment has set up Chelsea’s success — but they risk making the same mistake

One of the more famous headlines after Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit combined for the third goal in Brazil’s defeat at the Stade de France in 1998 was “Arsenal win the World Cup”.

It would have sounded especially unlikely in the 1990s, when they were battling relegation from the Football League or exiled to play their home games in Gillingham.

PSG ready to sell trio after Club World Cup final

Gonçalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in and Lucas Hernández could all be sold by Paris Saint-Germain after Sunday’s Club World Cup final.

According to L’Équipe, Luis Enrique has identified the three players as potential sales in moves to help further boost his squad with purchases to come later this summer.

PSG’s main target appears to be Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, with the Cherries ready to fight to keep their defender.

Bayern Munich want Malo Gusto

Bayern Munich are chasing Chelsea full-back Malo Gusto.

That’s according to L'Equipe, who claim Vincent Kompany is keen to bring the defender to the club.

Bayern are said to have already sounded out Chelsea to outline their intentions before submitting a bid.

Rodrygo ignores question over potential Arsenal move

Real Madrid star Rodrygo has been linked with a move to Arsenal this summer.

The Brazil international appears to be out of Xabi Alonso’s plans after a limited role at the Fifa Club World Cup.

ESPN Brasil reports PSG are keen, but a fan reportedly confronted Rodrygo in New York, as per El Chiringuito, asking him if he would join Arsenal, with the forward opting to ignore the question.

Rodrygo Goes is a potential target for Arsenal this summer (Getty)

Newcastle target Chelsea defender Axel Disasi

Axel Disasi is determined to stay in the Premier League, even if his future looks to be away from Chelsea.

Disasi went to Aston Villa on loan last season, but no move to make the deal permanent has developed, leaving the former Monaco centre-back’s future unclear.

Vlahovic urged to join Man United

Former Juventus striker Darko Kovacevic has urged his compatriot Dusan Vlahovic to leave Turin and move to Manchester United

“I’d tell Dusan to move right away. It’s not easy to leave Juventus, and I say that from personal experience,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“However, sometimes you need to challenge yourself again to be happy and reach the top level. Someone like Vlahovic should always be a starter, whether at Juventus or elsewhere.

“We can’t afford him at Olympiakos, but Milan or Manchester United could be good options for Dusan,” Kovacevic replied.

“Maybe even Nottingham Forest. Just joking, we share the same ownership, but I only work for Olympiakos.”

Inter Milan target Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku

Inter Milan look to boost Christian Chivu’s squad this summer by registering interest in Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku.

Corriere dello Sport claims the Nerazzurri want both the Chelsea forward and RB Leipzig’s Loïs Openda, with the idea to upgrade on Mehdi Taremi.

Douglas Luiz back to the Premier League?

Ex-Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz could be on his way back to the Premier League.

The Brazilian, who is currently on the books at Juventus, is being eyed by West Ham as they undergo a squad overhaul.

That's according to reports in Italy, who suggest the Hammers are keen on bringing Luiz back to England.

Premier League duo fight Turkish giants for Inter star

Fulham and Nottingham Forest will battle it out for Inter Milan striker Mehdi Taremi, reports Corriere dello Sport.

Besiktas are also keen and the report details the player’s agents making contact with Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.

Taremi would cost in the region of €10m (£8.6m).

Jadon Sancho 'agrees' personal terms with Juventus

A new start for Jadon Sancho looks closer than ever, with reports stating that the Man United winger has agreed personal terms with Juventus.

Tuttsport reports that an agreement in principle is now there between player and the Old Lady.

Now the Italian giants must strike a deal with United.

The Sancho wages will likely come to more than €5m (£4.3m) per season, over four years, a considerable pay cut from his Old Trafford wages.

How Chelsea justified the Club World Cup’s existence by sinking PSG in stunning final

Chelsea have done the unthinkable. At the culmination of a tournament that has been widely detracted for non-footballing matters, the beautiful game prevailed. They’ve beaten the planet’s best to become champions of the world, against all odds.

Paris Saint-Germain, a team whose recent success stems from a philosophy that focuses on the collective, were dismantled by an individual. Cole Palmer has endured a tough six months, but provided an overwhelming reminder of his quality to guide the Blues to immortality. Scoring two and setting up the third, “cold” became the epitaph of a tournament that has been synonymous with heat.

Alexander Isak's next club?

It looks like Newcastle will hold onto Alexander Isak this summer, with Champions League football and a possible title challenge if things fall the right way in front of Eddie Howe and the Magpies.

But long term, where is the Swede’s future? The bookies still think Liverpool is the logical next destination, be that next year or the year after potentially.

Liverpool - 13/8

Arsenal - 13/2

Barcelona - 9/1

Real Madrid - 22/1

PSG - 25/1

Brighton’s shrewd recruitment has set up Chelsea’s success — but they risk making the same mistake

One of the more famous headlines after Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit combined for the third goal in Brazil’s defeat at the Stade de France in 1998 was “Arsenal win the World Cup”. Perhaps some in Sussex will be tempted to script a sequel on Sunday. “Brighton win the Club World Cup”? It would have sounded especially unlikely in the 1990s, when they were battling relegation from the Football League or exiled to play their home games in Gillingham.

It wouldn’t be strictly true now but Chelsea’s two goals in the semi-final came from Joao Pedro, who started July as a Brighton and Hove Albion player. He has made an increasingly familiar journey. The joke, if not a particularly new one, is that it would have been cheaper for Chelsea simply to buy Brighton than to carry on paying them for personnel. At £115m, Moises Caicedo cost a British record fee. At £62.5m, Marc Cucurella is another of Albion’s three biggest ever sales: all were to Chelsea.

PSG ready to sell trio after Club World Cup final

Gonçalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in and Lucas Hernández could all be sold by Paris Saint-Germain after Sunday’s Club World Cup final.

According to L’Équipe, Luis Enrique has identified the three players as potential sales in moves to help further boost his squad with purchases to come later this summer.

PSG’s main target appears to be Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, with the Cherries ready to fight to keep their defender.

Man Utd optimistic of reaching Mbeumo deal

Manchester United remain optimistic of a deal to sign Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo, according to Sky Sports News.

United are expected to make an improved offer, possibly as soon as this week. Brentford are understood to want £65m and Mbeumo is eager to join United.

It is thought the deal will come down to the structure and conditions, as United’s last offer was not far away in terms of total fee.

Bryan Mbeumo has been heavily linked with a summer switch to Manchester United (Bradley Collyer/PA) (PA Wire)

Djordje Petrovic putting finishing touches on Bournemouth move

Djordje Petrovic is on the brink of becoming a Bournemouth player and will undergo a medical later today after the club finalised terms of a deal with Chelsea.

The two clubs agreed a £25m transfer fee for the goalkeeper and Petrovic is set to sign a five-year deal with the Cherries having also negotiated and agreed personal terms.

Bournemouth has booked him in for a medical on Monday 14 July with an announcement of his signing expected sometime on Tuesday 15.

Petrovic finalising Bournemouth move

Djordje Petrovic will be a Bournemouth player next season having finalised the details on his move from Chelsea.

The deal is for £25m and has been agreed by both clubs with Petrovic set to sign a five-year deal with the Cherries.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper will undergo a medical today and his announcement is expected on Tuesday.

Petrovic set for Bournemouth medical

Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic is set to undergo a medical at Bournemouth this afternoon, according to Sky Sports.

The Cherries agreed a deal with Chelsea for Petrovic on Friday, with the fee understood to be around £25m.

(Getty Images)

Bukayo Saka’s back-up or Gabriel Martinelli’s replacement? How Noni Madueke will fit in at Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given the green light to the deal for the 23-year-old, who has impressed in spells at Stamford Bridge.

Madueke regularly featured on the right wing for the Blues but, along with many other members of the squad, found continuity hard to come by, and he will leave with many fans thinking he never got the time to really show what he could do in west London.

And Gunners fans will have questions of their own, with the club currently employing one of the world’s best right wingers in Bukayo Saka and some fans feeling the money could have been used better elsewhere.

Here, The Independent looks at how Madueke might fit into the Arsenal team, and whether we can expect the youngster to be a starting player right away.

Premier League clubs want Ekitike

Eintracht Frankfurt are making a major push to keep Hugo Ekitike.

The Germans want to attack the Champions League and see the French forward as a vital part of that bid.

But Sky Sport Germany reports the Bundesliga club expects many offers to arrive soon for the former PSG star.

Liverpool is “a concrete option,’ while Newcastle and Manchester United remain keen.

Chelsea’s interest has cooled after signing João Pedro, with Ekitike likely to cost €100m.

(Getty Images)

Garnacho rejects Saudi move

Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho has rejected the opportunity to pursue a move to Al Nassr.

The Telegraph reports that the 21-year-old is prioritising European clubs after having initial discussions with the Saudi Pro League side, who Cristiano Ronaldo plays for.

Garnacho has been told he can leave United after becoming one of a quintet of ‘exiles’ aiming to exit, which also includes Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia.

(PA)

Arsenal book Gyokeres medical

Viktor Gyokeres seems likely to become an Arsenal player before the end of the summer and his agents have landed in London.

The Gunners are preparing a medical for the forward after coming to an agreement with Sporting over a fee.

The deal is worth €63.5m plus €10m and the medical for Gyokeres is likely to be soon says Fabrizio Romano.

Joao Palhinha wanted by Man Utd and Spurs

Manchester United and Tottenham are both targeting Bayern Munich’s former Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha.

According to reports in Germany, the 29-year-old is keen on a return to the Premier League after falling out of favour at Bayern.

Palhinha only moved to the Bundesliga a year ago for a £43.4m fee from Fulham and still has three years left on his deal, meaning he probably won’t come cheap.

Joao Palhinha endured a tricky first season at Bayern Munich (Getty)

Travers to undergo Everton medical

Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers will undergo a medical at Everton this afternoon after reaching an agreement over personal terms.

Bournemouth will earn £4m plus add-ons for the goalkeeper.

The Cherries are in the process of bringing in Chelsea's Djordje Petrovic as Travers’s replacement.

Viktor Gyokeres tipped to fire goals in Premier League

“He always believed he’d play in the Premier League, it didn’t happen for him straight away,” former Coventry City team-mate, and current Charlton striker, Matt Godden told Sky Sports.

“He increased his profile at Sporting. He’s come back a completely different animal, worked on his physical side.

“He deserves whatever he gets. Very driven, self-minded. Two or three defenders come, his mentality is he’ll run through all of you. He comes across a bit raw, but he’s improved.

“Now is the time to come to the Premier League, being the No 9 he is, he’s going into a team, all sorts of rumours, if he’s going there, they create chances for him.

“If they create chances for him, he will score, I’ll back him,” he added.

What Tottenham’s spending spree tells us about new-look Spurs under Thomas Frank

As Thomas Frank gave his first thoughts on the Tottenham team he has taken over, the temptation was to assume his initial recruitment drive would be focused on the defensive half of his new side.

"They've clearly shown over the last two seasons that the ability to score goals is fantastic,” he said; the numbers showed Tottenham scored as many times in finishing 17th in the Premier League as Chelsea did in coming fourth. “I know the ethos and the history of the club is massive on attacking football, and I think there's so much attacking talent in the squad.”

A month on, there seems to be rather more attacking talent. Frank’s first major signing, albeit after a loan that meant he was part of the squad the Dane inherited, was Mathys Tel. His second – albeit after the £5m acquisition of the young Japanese defender Kota Takei – was Mohammed Kudus. His third, despite Nottingham Forest’s complaints about Spurs’ approach and suggestions of legal action, could be Morgan Gibbs-White. It would amount to a £150m overhaul to Tottenham’s creative contingent; a £150m upgrade, perhaps. At 20, 24 and 25, they look the shape of Spurs’ future.

West Ham agree deal to sign left-back

West Ham have agreed a deal to sign Slavia Prague left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf reports Sky Sports News.

The deal is worth £19m plus performance-related add ons and Diouf will now undergo a medical.

He played 41 times for Slavia Prague having joined in January 2024 and scored seven goals with three assists.

Diouf will likely replace Aaron Cresswell, the Hammers’ long-standing left-back, who has left the club this summer.

Porto confirm Sainz signing

Porto have confirmed the signing of Borja Sainz from Norwich in a deal worth £14.5m.

The 24-year-old has signed a five-year deal at the club with Sky Sports News saying Norwich have inserted a significant sell-on clause into the deal.

Konate rejects latest Liverpool offer

Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has reportedly rejected the latest offer of a new contract offer.

The defender has begun his final 12 months under his current deal and is holding out for a better wage packet which he feels were too low in the offer put on the table.

Konate was left out of the Liverpool squad that faced Preston North End in a pre-season friendly on Sunday but captain Virgil van Dijk and No.1 goalkeeper Alisson Becker also missed the game.

Ferguson heading to Roma?

A strange rumour but Brighton’s promising young striker, Evan Ferguson, is set to move to Serie A.

The 20-year-old is being rumoured to leave the Seagulls in this window despite a contract lasting until 2029 with the club willing to listen to offers.

Celtic had reportedly been interested in him but Calciomercato claim that Ferguson favours a move to Roma.

Liverpool pay emotional tribute to Diogo Jota at Preston friendly

For seven minutes after the final whistle, Liverpool players and staff stood in front of their supporters at Preston as they chanted Diogo Jota’s name.

Sunday’s pre-season friendly at Deepdale was originally envisaged as a day to kick-start preparations for Liverpool’s Premier League title defence, but it played out as a memorial service for Jota and his brother Andre Silva, 10 days after they died in a car accident in Spain.

On the pitch Liverpool eased to a 3-1 win through goals from Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo but thoughts of Jota and Silva remained at the forefront throughout the day.

Gunners continue Mosquera talks

Arsenal have scheduled a new round of talks for Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera.

Personal terms between player and club were agreed weeks ago but Arsenal still need to secure a transfer fee with Valencia.

Fabrizio Romano says that talks will continue this week after Arsenal had an initial bid of £12.9m rejected.

Barcelona director 'reluctant' to sign Rashford

Take this one with a pinch of salt but a report from CaughtOffside claims that Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, is ‘reluctant’ to secure a deal for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

That same report claims that Rashford is Barca’s ‘priority signing’ of the summer which seems to conflict with Deco’s view.

Deco’s reluctance comes from the costs involved in securing a deal with Rashford priced at a £52m market value though United would probably settle for a sum closer to £40m.

Rashford’s £375,000 per week wages mean that any deal will be difficult to navigate for United who won’t want to be footing a bill for him to play elsewhere.

Barcelona only want loan move for Rashford

This is possibly Marcus Rashford’s best route out of Old Trafford but is seemingly a long way off.

Barcelona are interested in the forward and Rashford wants to go to the Spanish giants.

However, his huge wages are a real problem and Barcelona only want a loan move for the 27-year-old while Manchester United want to sell him permanently.

Little progress is being made and Barcelona have not made an official enquiry just yet.

Marcus Rashford will return to Manchester United following his loan at Villa (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Noni Madueke leaves Club World Cup camp to complete Arsenal move, Enzo Maresca confirms

An update on Noni Madueke from Will Castle in New York:

Enzo Maresca has all but confirmed Noni Madueke’s imminent switch Arsenal after revealing that the winger has left the Chelsea camp ahead of the Club World Cup final.

Madueke looks set to become the latest player to swap blue for red in London after a £48.5m fee was agreed between the two clubs, with Chelsea giving him permission to undergo a medical.

Gyokeres agreement reached with fee decided

They say that £54.9m of that fee will be paid up front, with the remaining £8.6m made up of future add-ons.

Gyokeres' agent waived their fee in order to force the move through after a long-running dispute with Sporting.

Personal details had previously been agreed between the striker and Arsenal with Gyokeres set to sign a five-year contract. Expect movement on this transfer in the next couple of days.

Arsenal 'in process of completing' move for Gyokeres

On Sunday, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that Arsenal are now “in [the] process of completing move for Viktor Gyokeres after taking final steps in negotiations with Sporting Lisbon”.

It is believed the Gunners made formal advances on the deal over the weekend, with a five-year contract lined up for the 27-year-old.

Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres faces disciplinary action from his club (Zed Jameson/PA). (PA Archive)

Good morning

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live transfer news blog.

This blog will bring you all the latest transfer news and rumours from around the world’s top leagues, as fans wait for updates on the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Alexander Isak and more.

We’ll have all the latest updates right here.