Xavi on Dembele links with PSG: He had an offer we couldn’t match (0:53)
Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez talks about Ousmane Dembele’s desire to join Paris Saint-Germain. (0:53)
- ESPN
Aug 7, 2023, 06:00 PM ET
The summer transfer window is now open in Europe , and there’s plenty of gossip swirling around. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course,done deals!
TOP STORY: Salah the latest Liverpool target for Saudi Arabia move
Liverpool have already lost Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino to the Saudi Pro League, and reports in the country suggest that Mohamed Salah is the next Reds player on the wanted list.
Jurgen Klopp’s preparation for the new season has been badly hampered, but losing the talismanic Salah would be the biggest blow so far.
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- Read on ESPN+: Explaining the language of the transfer window
Al Riyadiah reports that Al Ittihad, who so far have signed Fabinho and Karim Benzema, have entered into “serious negotiations” to sign Salah, who has scored 186 goals in 305 games in all competitions for Liverpool.
The report adds that Salah will be offered a salary of £180m for a two-year contract, while Liverpool would receive a transfer fee of £60m.
However, Salah’s agent has taken to social media to insist Salah will not be leaving the club.
“If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer,” Ramy Abbas Issa posted on X. “Mohamed remains committed to LFC.”
If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer. Mohamed remains committed to LFC.
— Ramy Abbas Issa (@RamyCol) August 7, 2023
PAPER GOSSIP
- Atalanta and West Ham United have agreed on a fee of €32m for the transfer of striker Gianluca Scamacca , according to Sky Sports. The Hammers will receive €26m up front plus a further €6m in performance-related add-ons, and they’ve also secured a sell-on clause into the deal, too. The 24-year-old Italian is set to have a medical in Rome. Atalanta beat Internazionale and AS Roma to the signing of Scamacca, who will replace outgoing Danish forward Rasmus Hojlund, who left to join Manchester United last week.
- After the departures of Declan Rice to Arsenal and Scamacca to Atalanta, West Ham have a significant transfer kitty to play with but also plenty of holes to fill. Football Insider believes David Moyes’ side are close to landing top target James Ward-Prowse , as well as Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay.
- PSG are making contingency plans for the possible exit of striker Kylian Mbappe , and AS believes they’re targeting Ansu Fati as well as Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona. The French champions have already signed backup goalkeeper Arnau Tenas from Camp Nou, while Dembele is on the verge of a move back to France. Now, PSG boss Luis Enrique wants to add the 20-year-old Ansu to his squad after having already worked with him in Catalonia.
- Chelsea’s busy summer of ins and outs continues, and the Daily Mail is reporting that the Blues are keen to sign midfielder Tyler Adams from Leeds United. Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino would need to activate the United States international’s £20m release clause, while Adams himself is keen on a move and a return to the Premier League. The 24-year-old wasn’t part of Leeds’ starting lineup in the 2-2 draw in their opening Championship match of the season against Cardiff City, and he could head to west London in time for the Blues’ opener against Liverpool.
- Gazzetta dello Sport says Inter Milan are planning on assembling a new strike duo consisting of Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun and, alongside him, either FC Porto’s Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi , or Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata. Taremi, 31, has scored 80 goals in the past three seasons for the Portuguese side and is a target for Tottenham Hotspur, who might need to move quickly to replace Harry Kane should he move to Bayern Munich. Morata, meanwhile, is open to a move back to Italy.
