Vesper

we need to nail Caicedo down ASAP then, that simplifies the type of DMF we need a big, tall, strong smasher, like A Onana or K Thuram (I am flip a coin on either, can't decide for once, lolol)

Pool getting Lavia (if they can get it over the line) will likely crank up the price on Moisés Caicedo and Amadou Onana and may affect the price of Khéphren Thuram and Nicolo Barella (not a true DMF really, but can play the pivot and is a great all round player) Martín Zubimendi has a set release clause of £51.4m (€60m) so that is stable, but not sure if the Chels board rates him assuming that Real Madrid do not lose their minds and allow Tchou to be sold (I wish), we really are running out of great DMFs to target if Lavia and Onana go into the Red zones: Pool and Manure, with Rice now in the 3rd, Arse) if none of the above work out, the last 3 I can see are Teun Koopmeiners Sofyan Amrabat Florentino (Benfica) (vastly more athletic than the other 2, but also more of a gamble) Alan Varela from Boca Juniors is a wild card

what is Everton asking? it wasn't like I used a supercomputer to correctly predict the £60m for Mount I just split the difference on the first serious price we put on him (£80m, as there was some places that said £85m, but no legit sources backed that up) and then Manure's lowball initial offer (£40m) and said the average of the two would be what he went for (£120m divided by 2 yielded £60m)

might as well post this as we seemingly are hell-bent for Brasilian youth every Brasilian 20yo and younger valued at over €2.5m on TM (there are only 20 of them) Estevão Willian, the RWer of Palmeiras (the 'new Endrick') is not listed as he only just turned 16 and has no valuation yet Blue bold we have (or soon will) Red bold we are linked with strike thru's all are already owned by big clubs if anyone knows of others, let me know and I will edit 1 Endrick Centre-Forward 16 €20.00m 2 Vitor Roque Centre-Forward 18 €18.00m 3 Marcos Leonardo Centre-Forward 20 €15.00m 4 Andrey Santos Central Midfield 19 €15.00m 5 Ângelo Right Winger 18 €13.00m 6 Marquinhos Right Winger 20 €12.00m 7 Gabriel Veron Right Winger 20 €11.00m 8 Giovani Right Winger 19 €10.00m 9 Kayky Right Winger 20 €9.00m 10 Robert Renan Centre-Back 19 €9.00m 11 Matheus Martins Left Winger 19 €7.00m 12 Matheus Nascimento Centre-Forward 19 €7.00m 13 Sávio Right Winger 19 €5.00m 14 Matheus França Attacking Midfield 19 €5.00m 15 Arthur Right-Back 20 €5.00m 16 Sandry Defensive Midfield 20 €4.00m 17 Vinícius Tobias Right-Back 19 €3.00m 18 Kaiky Centre-Back 19 €3.00m 19 Victor Hugo Attacking Midfield 19 €3.00m 20 Luis Guilherme Attacking Midfield 17 €3.00m

dodgy twitter quoting the dodgy Portuguese Record from what I can see

‘See you soon’: Andrey Santos now sends message to £13m Chelsea target on Instagram https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/transfer-news/see-you-soon-andrey-santos-now-sends-message-to-13m-Chelsea-target-on-instagram/ Andrey Santos has just dropped a massive hint on Instagram that Angelo Gabriel may be joining Chelsea very soon. The Chelsea method of signing some of the world’s best youngsters certainly isn’t slowing down, with Angelo Gabriel the latest rising star to be linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. The Athletic claimed last week that Chelsea have agreed a €15million (£13million) deal with Brazilian club Santos for Angelo Gabriel. They added that the 18-year-old Brazilian winger could be loaned out to French side Strasbourg once he officially becomes a Blues-owned player. Now, it looks like one of Chelsea’s current talent has let slip the deal is taking place. Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, who’s just 19, may have just let the secret out with a three-word message on social medica. “See you soon”, he responded to Angelo Gabriel on Instagram. They have represented Brazil’s Under-20s together in recent times, and it looks like the pair will soon be reunited in West London. Let’s hope they can bring some South American flair to Stamford Bridge.

All MFers (all types) valued £40m (€46.7m) and up on TM (it's less than you think, only 28 on the planet atm) blue is a player we were/are linked to or had at one point or have now red is never linked (as far as I know) strike-thrus are no chance Jude Bellingham Jamal Musiala Pedri Federico Valverde Gavi Declan Rice Rodri Martin Ødegaard Eduardo Camavinga Florian Wirtz Aurélien Tchouaméni (pipe dream) Enzo Fernández Bernardo Silva Moisés Caicedo Frenkie de Jong (pipe dream) Nicolò Barella Bruno Fernandes Joshua Kimmich Bruno Guimarães Kevin De Bruyne Alexis Mac Allister Mason Mount James Maddison Manuel Ugarte Dominik Szoboszlai Sandro Tonali Mikel Merino Sergej Milinković-Savić

Declan Rice - here we go! https://caughtoffside.substack.com/i/133134440/declan-rice-here-we-go It’s an historic day in English football because Arsenal have finally got their man - Declan Rice to Arsenal, here we go! The agreement is done between Arsenal and West Ham, things were finalised late last night and now it’s complete - the fee, the payment terms, everything. Rice will now undergo medical tests with Arsenal this week, probably on Friday, that’s the plan for all parties right now, and then an official statement. Rice will be an Arsenal player, the most expensive English player in the history of the game, and the most expensive signing in the Gunners’ history - £105m. This is a very important moment, and I want to share some more behind-the-scenes details of this story. Mikel Arteta and Edu, they never lost their patience at the key points in this story. When Manchester City entered the race, Arsenal didn’t panic, they decided to wait and then send in their best proposal - the strategy was very clear. They decided back in January that Rice would be their top target, and now they’ve got their man after long and complicated negotiations. I’ve also been saying in the last couple of weeks that if Rice becomes an Arsenal player, it’s going to be thanks to Arteta - behind the scenes, he’s been pushing, and explaining to Rice just how crucial he’s going to be to the project, on and off the pitch. Rice was really attracted to the plan. Arteta also pushed internally with the directors and owners to give him this signing. This also means Arsenal can now give the green light to Granit Xhaka to join Bayer Leverkusen as they were waiting to finalise the Rice deal. And after that, an agreement with Ajax for Jurrien Timber is very close, and now that Rice is done, the focus will be to complete the signing of Timber.

Real Madrid launch bid for Arda Guler https://caughtoffside.substack.com/i/133134440/real-madrid-launch-bid-for-arda-guler Last night, Real Madrid submitted an improved proposal for Arda Guler. They are offering a guaranteed €20m to Fenerbahce, which is more than his release clause, and also a 20% sell-on clause. There would also be add-ons, so it’s a big package, and an agreement is really close, even if not 100% completed yet. Real Madrid now believe Arda Guler will be their player, they think the deal is going to be done. It’s a crazy story because many clubs wanted him, but Real Madrid are now in a strong position to make it happen. They feel he wants to go there, and it’s just about final details now.

Who could be leaving Chelsea next? https://caughtoffside.substack.com/i/133134440/who-could-be-leaving-Chelsea-next We’ve seen so many players leave Chelsea this summer, and I have further updates on some big names who could follow the likes of Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Kai Havertz and Kalidou Koulibaly out of Stamford Bridge. I’ll start by saying that Christian Pulisic is really, really tempted by Serie A. AC Milan asked about Pulisic one year ago when they spoke to Chelsea about Rafael Leao, but then the Portuguese forward was, and remains, untouchable. Still, talks are ongoing - Pulisic is in the club’s plan and he’s pushing to join Milan, but Chelsea want €25/30m so I expect Milan to bid again soon. Conor Gallagher has been on Newcastle’s list since May. Of course, after signing Sandro Tonali they are now discussing internally about how to spend money in the next weeks, but Gallagher has always been appreciated by West Ham and Newcastle, these two clubs. Ben Jacobs has reported on Chelsea’s stance on Gallagher here. At the moment, the situation is quiet around Hakim Ziyech after his move to Al Nassr fell through. For sure all parties will try to find the best solution together in the next days. As he’s hinted on social media, Ziyech believes that many stories in the recent days were not correct, I’m sure he will clarify his position soon. As many of you will have seen, Mount also finally said his goodbyes to Chelsea fans in a video message last night, and he’s now set to be officially unveiled as a Manchester United player today.

yep, woke up and couldn't sleep, lol

her

so. just watched multiple podcasts on the Saudi project they all said the Saudia are going to try and get into the Champions League my big question is, how the hell do they do that if UEFA insists on FFP for them? they are committing 20 billion euros in just the next 6 years to build up the Saudi league's biggest teams how can European clubs compete with that???

just saw this this is crazy Karim Benzema's FULL EPIC Al-Ittihad unveiling ceremony

which ones? I am not stressing over any that have left

so you have the big 6 in Saudi Al-Hilal Al-Nassr Al-Ittihad Al-Ahli Al-Shabab Al-Ettifaq my father thinks that 6 other nations (all of the Arabian peninsula except for war-torn, poor Yemen) may try and get at least one one team in the league United Arab Emirates (at least 2 teams, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and maybe Sharjah ) then one each from Qatar Bahrain Kuwait Oman Jordan

He is more of a CMF, has played there pretty much exclusively since November he scored 9 of his 11 goals as a CMF, and 3 of his 4 assists came from CMF all of his goals and assists were in La Liga

well, watch this list, I posted it before, it is quite expansive bold are my main options CMFs by valuation Frenkie de Jong (pipe dream) Nicolò Barella Alexis Mac Allister Mikel Merino Sergej Milinković-Savić Matheus Nunes Vitinha Rodrigo de Paul Nicolò Fagioli Marcos Llorente Gabri Veiga (PSG will likely get him, grrrrrr) Manu Koné Ryan Gravenberch Orkun Kökcü Carlos Soler Seko Fofana Eljif Elmas Youssouf Fofana Maxence Caqueret Fabio Miretti Luka Sucic youth João Neves Hugo Larsson next summer (as he is only 17yo now) Warren Zaïre-Emery DMFs by valuation Aurélien Tchouaméni (extremely unlikely) Moisés Caicedo Manuel Ugarte Sandro Tonali Amadou Onana Martín Zubimendi Roméo Lavia Khéphren Thuram Teun Koopmeiners Sofyan Amrabat Manuel Locatelli Danilo Guido Rodríguez (probably too old now) Florentino Alan Varela youth Arthur Vermeeren Lesley Ugochukwu

20 billion euros ring-fenced for Saudi pro football from now thru the 2029/30 season. That is all backed by a 1.5 trillion euro fund. Insanity.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea squad assessed: Youth, potential, but one or two glaring holes https://theathletic.com/4660339/2023/07/03/Chelsea-pochettino-squad-assessed/ Chelsea have officially entered the Mauricio Pochettino era. Pre-season training begins at Cobham this week, with players filtering back in groups to embark upon a gruelling fitness and conditioning regime that will lay the groundwork for a series of high-profile friendly matches in the United States. The dressing room dynamic they walk into will have a brand new feel too; between the massive recruitment drive of the first two transfer windows of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s ownership and the successful sales push of recent weeks, Pochettino inherits a very different squad to the one that proved unmanageable for Graham Potter after January. Only five of the players who started for Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final remain on the books at Stamford Bridge and of those, Mason Mount will undergo a medical to finalise a £55million move to Manchester United on Monday and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta looks set to be allowed to leave to sign for Atletico Madrid after 11 years of service. What remains for Pochettino is a slimmer, considerably younger group with plenty of individual potential and collective chemistry to build, but also with one or two notable holes to fill. The Athletic runs through how Chelsea’s squad is shaping up this summer… GO DEEPER Premier League players who need a transfer before pre-season Goalkeepers Edouard Mendy’s departure to Saudi Pro League club Al Ahli brought to an end an untenable situation that had persisted for almost three years. Chelsea could not go forward with two goalkeepers paid like No 1s. Kepa Arrizabalaga regaining his position as first choice last season was a positive development from the club’s perspective, because he also remains impossible to sell for positive value on a gargantuan contract that still has two years left to run. Starting next season with Kepa in goal should be no disaster for Pochettino, either, in terms of playing style or quality — even if it is not ideal. Chelsea will assess their transfer options for a long-term succession plan or short-term competition, but acquiring a new goalkeeper is not currently regarded as an urgent priority with Marcus Bettinelli and Gabriel Slonina to call upon. Defenders Pochettino’s traditional preference for playing a back four placed an immediate burden on co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley to reduce the number of centre-backs at the club, and progress has been made on that front. GO DEEPER Analysed: The style of football Chelsea fans should expect from Mauricio Pochettino Kalidou Koulibaly is gone, and that is important for convincing the coveted Levi Colwill that there will be a genuine pathway to regular minutes next season — though the enduring presence of prized recent signings Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana mean it may still not be an entirely straightforward pitch for Pochettino to make once the former has recovered from injury. Thiago Silva remains, and Chelsea will hope he is happy to transition away from being an indispensable starter and fully embrace his off-field status as mentor to his younger defensive team-mates. Trevoh Chalobah is a strong option to provide cover at centre-back and right-back, though whether he is content with such a limited role remains to be seen. Chelsea are well stocked with the kind of gifted attacking full-backs that are crucial for playing Pochettino’s football. Reece James has had plenty of time to recover from an injury-plagued 2022-23 and, in January signing Malo Gusto, this squad finally has a player better equipped to replicate his attacking thrust and athletic dynamism than the veteran Azpilicueta was. On the left, Ben Chilwell has signed a new long-term contract and will clearly be first choice. Behind him the situation is more fluid. Marc Cucurella’s constituency at Chelsea has shrunk after a disappointing debut season with Thomas Tuchel (the coach who wanted him) and Potter (the coach who unlocked him at Brighton) both now in the rearview mirror. Lewis Hall has an opportunity to push on from a breakthrough 2022-23 campaign and establish himself in the eyes of Pochettino as the better alternative on the left of defence, despite the fact that the 18-year-old still regards himself primarily as a midfielder. The same goes for returning loanee Ian Maatsen, who is enticed by the prospect of another season on loan at Burnley if he cannot see an immediate first-team pathway at Chelsea. Malang Sarr and Baba Rahman are highly unlikely to be involved while new homes are sought for both of them. Ethan Ampadu is also a prime candidate to be sold despite offering some first-team utility as a centre-back or defensive midfield option. GO DEEPER Chelsea's forgotten January signing analysed: What Malo Gusto will bring Midfielders In what would have seemed an outlandish notion only 12 months ago, Chelsea’s squad is now actually rather threadbare in the middle of the pitch. The departures of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and, most likely, Mount inside six months have further clarified the position of club-record signing Enzo Fernandez as the linchpin of Pochettino’s midfield. More specifically, as Frank Lampard identified towards the end of his ill-fated stint as caretaker manager, Chelsea are in dire need of a true No 6 who can protect the defence, initiate possession and enable Fernandez to utilise his progressive passing instincts a little further forward. Brighton star Moises Caicedo is the primary target, and Pochettino will be hoping he can be secured before he takes his new squad to the U.S. The loss of Mount — a player whose skill set appeared particularly well suited to Pochettino’s high-pressing style — will sting, but fellow Cobham academy graduate Conor Gallagher is equipped to provide some of the same qualities as he looks to build on a positive individual 2022-23 campaign. It would be a surprise at this stage to see Chelsea look to cash in on him given the thinning of first-team midfield options. Having finally acquired a UK work permit, Brazil Under-20 captain Andrey Santos provides an intriguing new option for the No 6 or No 8 positions who will be looking to make an early impression on Pochettino in pre-season. Carney Chukwuemeka should also get more exposure in the U.S. than he did under Tuchel and Lampard, though Cesare Casadei is regarded as being one year and one loan move away from contributing despite an outstanding Under-20 World Cup. GO DEEPER Cesare Casadei was the U20 World Cup's best player - so what next for him at Chelsea? There is no shortage of tantalising young midfield talent for Pochettino to work with and mould in these early weeks, but Chelsea need Caicedo or another more polished midfield partner for Fernandez if they want to be immediately competitive at the upper end of the Premier League. Attackers Chelsea’s worst scoring season of the 21st century has had rapid squad-building consequences, with Kai Havertz sold to London rivals Arsenal and the long-awaited arrival of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig supplemented by the acquisition of Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal in a deal worth a little more than €35million (£30m; $38.1m). GO DEEPER Ruthless finishing, 'Neymar' dribbles and pace: Why Chelsea signed Jackson At the very least, Pochettino will go into pre-season with two talented, young No 9 options in the form of Jackson and Armando Broja — who is nearing a return from an ACL injury — and a rounded, versatile scoring forward in Nkunku. That lessens the pressure on Chelsea to secure a high-profile lead striker in this summer window, even if it cannot be ruled out. Around them, recent signings Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke will be expected to show their true quality in a more coherent pre-season. David Datro Fofana is much less refined at this stage and likely to go on loan — perhaps to Chelsea’s new partner club, Strasbourg — even if he does secure minutes during the U.S. tour. Overall there is plenty of speed, skill and direct running in Chelsea’s attacking options; Pochettino’s most important early task will be to build a level of combination chemistry that has been sorely lacking in the last two years. The list of attackers not in Pochettino’s pre-season squad may outnumber the list of those in it. Romelu Lukaku has given no sign of being prepared to report to Cobham as he pushes for a return to Inter Milan while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic — the subject of bids from Lyon and Milan on Sunday — and Hakim Ziyech are all clearly outside the club and the new head coach’s plans. Callum Hudson-Odoi, now in the final year of his contract, is also weighing up options to leave Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are light on proven Premier League quality in the final third aside from Sterling, but it is almost impossible to be as bad in attack next season as they were in 2022-23 and if Nkunku is anything close to the player who lit up the Bundesliga in the last two seasons, Pochettino could have some real firepower at his disposal from day one. GO DEEPER Chelsea have signed a gem in Christopher Nkunku - now they must maximise his talents History suggests that Pochettino does his best work with relatively lean squads filled with younger, more malleable talent. Chelsea are much closer to fitting this profile than they were even when they confirmed his appointment at the end of May. The process of first-team trimming is far from over and some of the remaining cases will be more difficult to resolve than others, but Stewart and Winstanley have at least whittled down the squad to a level that should be practically manageable for Pochettino as he puts his new players through their paces at Cobham ahead of the U.S. trip. Caicedo is a vital signing to offset the exodus of proven midfield quality and restore the balance of Chelsea’s depleted options, and a swift agreement with Brighton would allow Pochettino to assimilate him into the heart of the team next to Fernandez well before the real matches begin. Beyond that, there are no positions which look in desperate need of an immediate upgrade. Pochettino has, at the very least, what he needs to start building an exciting new team.

Callum Hudson-Odoi wants to leave Chelsea this summer https://theathletic.com/4665051/2023/07/04/Chelsea-transfer-hudson-odoi/ Callum Hudson-Odoi has decided to leave Chelsea this summer. Hudson-Odoi, who spent last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, still has one year left on his contract. The England international is reporting for the first day of pre-season training at Chelsea on Tuesday afternoon under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino but does not expect to be at the club much longer. Chelsea were already prepared to listen to offers for the 22-year-old, who has been at the club since he joined the Under-8s team as a boy. Hudson-Odoi made his debut for Chelsea in January 2018 and has gone on to make 126 appearances. He has won the Champions League, Europa League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup during his time with the senior squad. But Hudson-Odoi feels the time has come to move to a club where he has a better chance of regular first team football. Nottingham Forest, Fulham and AC Milan are among the clubs who are interested. A transfer fee to seal Hudson-Odoi’s departure has still to be agreed but the winger is expecting to resolve his future soon so he can prepare for the season at his new club. GO DEEPER Pochettino's Chelsea squad analysed: Youth and potential, but one or two glaring holes

Tottenham close to agreement for Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven in £30m transfer https://theathletic.com/4664861/2023/07/04/tottenham-transfer-news-van-de-ven/ Tottenham are close to reaching an agreement with Wolfsburg to sign defender Micky van de Ven for a fee in the region of £30million. A deal is not yet done but personal terms will not be a problem and there is growing confidence that the transfer will happen. New manager Ange Postecoglou, who is expected to switch to a back four, is seeking to bolster his defence and Van de Ven is a centre-back who can also play on the left side. The 22-year-old impressed in the Bundesliga last season, featuring in all but one of Wolfsburg’s league games as they narrowly missed out on European qualification. Van de Ven, who started his career at Volendam before joining Wolfsburg in 2021, captained the Netherlands Under-21 squad at the ongoing European Championship. He played 90 minutes in all three group-stage games against Belgium, Portugal, and Georgia, but despite conceding just two goals, three draws saw the Netherlands exit the competition. Tottenham have already signed Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison, as well as making Dejan Kulusevski’s stay permanent. The club have also agreed a deal to sign Manor Solomon on a five-year contract. Postecoglou’s side kick off their pre-season with a friendly against West Ham in Perth on July 18. Their first Premier League game is at Brentford on August 13.

Bayern Munich now believe ‘unbelievable’ player is going to join Chelsea https://tbrfootball.com/bayern-munich-now-believe-unbelievable-player-is-going-to-join-Chelsea-journalist/ Bayern Munich were interested in signing Moises Caicedo during the summer transfer window, but have now dropped out of the race as they believe that he has agreed terms with Chelsea. That is according to journalist Christian Falk who has taken to Twitter to suggest that the Bavarian giants are not planning to make a bid for the Ecuador international. It may be a surprise to some that Moises Caicedo remains a Brighton player at this stage of the window. Many would have anticipated that he would be one of the first big movers of the summer. Bayern think Caicedo is heading to Chelsea Chelsea have made a first attempt to sign the 21-year-old. As reported by the Daily Mail, the Blues have made a £60 million bid for Caicedo. Brighton however, want £80 million for the ‘unbelievable‘ midfielder. Chelsea obviously have some work to do to meet the Seagulls’ demands. But it would appear that one club believe that he is indeed Stamford Bridge-bound. Bild writer Christian Falk has taken to Twitter to claim that Bayern Munich have backed away from a move for Caicedo as they think he is edging closer to joining Chelsea… Caicedo would have the potential to be an outstanding signing for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Obviously, last year was terrible. But there is still a lot of quality in that squad. If they can balance the ranks more, Chelsea are definitely going to be one team to watch next season. And bringing Caicedo in would definitely be one way for the Blues to build further excitement ahead of the start of the Pochettino era. There is still work to be done. But Bayern believe that he is likely to end up at Chelsea.

Barcelona not ruling out the sale of €75 million-rated superstar despite reassuring statements https://barcauniversal.com/barcelona-not-ruling-out-the-sale-of-e75-million-rated-superstar-despite-reassuring-statements/ Given Barcelona’s current situation, they are keen on offloading players in the coming days so as to improve their Financial Fair Play situation by reducing the salary mass and generating revenue. Players returning from loan and some of the stars that are not a big part of Xavi’s plans have been put up for sale. At the same time, there are some who are regarded as ‘untouchables’. As per multiple reports, midfield mainstay Frenkie de Jong is one of those players who are counted as an ‘untouchable’ for whom no offers would be entertained. Despite that, journalist Achraf Ben Ayad is reporting that Barcelona are not ruling out the possibility of selling de Jong even though there have been reassuring statements coming forth from the club. This update comes after club president Joan Laporta confirmed that the club had an offer of €100 million for the Netherlands international last summer but decided against the sale. “We had an offer of €100 million for De Jong and we were right not to accept it. We’ve received offers for Pedri, Ansu Fati, Christensen, de Jong, and Araújo but we think they have to continue. They are the present and the future of the club,” he had said. However, it must be remembered that multiple reliable sources had reported that Barcelona had agreed to sell de Jong to Manchester United last summer and the move did not go through only because the player dug his heel and refused to leave. And it appears that despite what the president says, the possibility of de Jong being sold if a ‘special’ offer were to come along is not entirely ruled out. De Jong continues to attract interest from Manchester United while Bayern Munich are also said to be looking at him as an option. As per Gerard Romero, though, de Jong still does not want to leave Barcelona and has told Xavi the same already. Like last summer, it is expected that the Dutchman, with a market value of €75 million, will once again reject any advances from elsewhere. So, an exit would be off the table despite Ben Ayad suggesting that the club are not ruling out his sale.

Liverpool end Khephren Thuram pursuit to focus on Romeo Lavia https://caughtoffside.substack.com/i/133003718/liverpool-end-khephren-thuram-pursuit-to-focus-on-romeo-lavia Liverpool are no longer actively pursuing Nice’s Khephren Thuram despite reports of scheduled talks with Nice this week. There’s no doubt Liverpool explored the deal, but the arrival of Dominik Szoboszlai means other targets are being looked at instead now. Liverpool were certainly not put off by the price. Thuram is available for far less than the €60m that is sometimes reported. Thuram is quite prepared to leave Nice for the right suitor. But he will want regular game time with a view to making France’s 2024 Euros squad having been capped for the first time this year. Liverpool are very much in the race for Romeo Lavia, though. Arsenal and Chelsea are considering the Southampton midfielder as well, but neither club are quite as active yet. Of course that can change. Chelsea are focused on Brighton’s Moises Caicedo (and I am told to expect a hectic week on that front) and Arsenal, after completing the Declan Rice deal, will wait and see if Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka leave. Neither club can be discounted for Lavia just yet. Southampton want £50m for Lavia, although a deal for a lower fee may be possible, especially with Southampton relegated last season. Although Manchester City’s £40m buy-back clause doesn’t kick in until 2024, suitors are very much using it as a valuation yardstick.