Serie A
AC Milan ready to pay €30 million for Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz
AC Milan are willing to pay as much as €30 million (£26m/$36m) to land Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, with the 21-year-old having made a positive impact during his loan spell with the Serie A side. Goal can reveal that Milan bosses are keen to make the loan move permanent and, although they do not have a purchase option, they are keen to discuss a transfer with Madrid. While Brahim has always wanted to succeed at the Bernabeu, Madrid will now weigh up whether to keep him beyond the end of the 2020-21 campaign or sell for what would be a significant amount amid the coronavirus crisis. Following his loan switch to Milan in September 2020, Brahim immediately took to life in Italy and has become an important member of Stefano Pioli’s first-team squad. He has made 25 appearances in all compet...
Penalty Kings Part I: The Jorginho jump
Although facing a goalkeeper from 12 yards with no-one else in your way might not seem too daunting a task to most, Manchester City fans will lead you to believe that it is one of the more difficult aspects of the game. Recently, İlkay Gündoğan (who was – and still is – in the form of his life) joined an elite club of Cityzens who have a penalty success rate of less than 70% in the Premier League, including Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez. Welcome to the club bro https://t.co/h0qs8pp7fF — Raheem Sterling (@sterling7) February 7, 2021 On the other hand, the likes of Jorginho and Bruno Fernandes (who are dubbed ‘penalty merchants’ by the same fans that watch their team attempt to send spot-kicks into lower Earth orbit) have scored 44% of their combined c...
Report shares how Klopp feels after FSG decided against signing Serie A star last month
According to The Sun, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is annoyed that the club failed to move for Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly last month. The Premier League defending champions suddenly found themselves down to the bare bones at the back following injuries to Fabinho and Joel Matip, leaving Jordan Henderson and inexperienced duo Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips as their only defensive options. With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez already ruled out of the campaign, Liverpool needed to bring in reinforcements and Klopp wanted the £100 million-rated Koulibaly. However, the Reds ended up with Ben Davies from Championship outfit Preston North End and Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke. The German reportedly made it privately clear that he wanted the 29-year-old and is said to have grown increa...
Bielsa lines up an exciting target for Leeds…could be another transfer masterstroke
According to reports from Juve Live, Marcelo Bielsa has identified Douglas Costa as the ideal replacement for Raphinha in case he leaves the club in the summer. Raphinha’s situation Leeds signed Raphinha during the summer transfer window from Rennes for a fee of around £17 million. The jet-heeled winger has dazzled in the Premier League, with four goals and four assists to his name already. He was sensational against Crystal Palace in the last game and earned rave reviews from the UK press. Raphinha v Crystal Palace: 76 touches40/53 succ. passes20 sprints (🌟 most on pitch)18/27 final third passes18 pressures9 progressive ball carries9 pen box touches4 shots2 on-target4 duels won1 tackle won1 nutmeg 🔥1 big chance created Phenomenal. Poor Gary Cahill. pic.twitter.c...
Arsenal clearout, last-ditch Liverpool – the best of January transfers across Europe
It’s been a rather quiet January transfer window. Previous years have seen the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk make big money moves, but nothing of that magnitude happened this time around. Nonetheless, while there wasn’t a headline-making move, there were still some exciting deals being made. Here’s a look at the best signings of the 2021 January transfer window. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal to Fenerbahce, free transfer) Ozil in his first training session at Fenerbahce Once one of the world’s best playmakers, Mesut Ozil’s time at the Emirates had gone sour, having been left out of Mikel Arteta’s 25-man squad back in October. Sitting on a contract estimated to be worth £350k-a-week, the World Cup winner couldn’t be left to sit in the reserves much longer. Along came Fenerbahce, who off...
Report: Serie A giants will look to sign Manchester United defender permanently for £15m
AC Milan are looking at the prospect of signing Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot on a permanent deal this summer, The Sun reports. The versatile full-back joined the Rossoneri on a season-long loan last summer and he has turned out 17 times for the club in all competitions. He has been a regular starter in Europe, but when it comes to the Serie A games he has largely acted as the deputy to Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez. The Serie A giants have been impressed with the displays of the Portuguese and The Sun claims that they are hoping to sign him permanently at the end of the season. Dalot is also keen on staying with the Rossoneri and he is open to extending his temporary deal or signing a long-term contract with the Milan side. SportLens view: Dalot has not started regularly for the Ro...
Report: Everton interested in Christian Eriksen
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, Everton are interested in signing Inter Milan attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen. The Danish international has featured sporadically under Antonio Conte this season, making 15 appearances across all competitions and starting on just five occasions. TuttoMercatoWeb claimed that the Toffees made a ‘timid approach’ to get him but it could develop into something bigger in the coming days. A lot depends upon how Carlo Ancelotti’s side perform and on Inter’s stance on Eriksen following his late winner against AC Milan on Tuesday. Conte claimed after the match that the Danish international won’t leave the club. Sportslens View Not long ago, Eriksen was considered to be one of the best attacking midfielders in the world. However, his form has dipped and there has ...
Opinion: Tomori’s Chelsea exit a huge blunder
Chelsea F.C. have come to an agreement with AC Milan to loan out Fikayo Tomori with the option to buy him after the loan period. Tomori is a 23-year-old English defender who joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight. During his time with Chelsea’s senior team, he has been loaned out to Brighton & Hove Albion, Hull City, and Derby County. Tomori makes this loan move to Milan due to the lack of playing time having played only four matches this season. One of those matches was in the Premier League, in which he came off the bench against Liverpool back in September. Tomori will join Milan on a six-month loan deal until the end of the 2020/2021 season. At the end of the loan, Milan will have the option to buy him for £25 million, which suggests Chelsea are open to selling the playe...
Napoli star Victor Osimhen recovers from coronavirus
Serie A club Napoli have announced Victor Osimhen has recovered from coronavirus. Osimhen, 22, is also expected to start individual training on Saturday following a shoulder injury according to Sky Sport Italia. The forward tested positive for COVID-19 upon his return from Christmas holiday. Napoli confirmed that the Nigeria international received a negative result from the last swab test. “Victor #Osimhen has recovered from #COVID19 💪, “reads a tweet on the club’s official Twitter handle on Friday. The former Lille of France striker dislocated his shoulder while on international duty with Nigeria in November 2020. Osimhen has not played for Napoli since he scored the winning goal against Bologna on November 8, 2020. He has scored twice in eight league appearances for the Partenope...
AC Milan join race for Barcelona’s Junior Firpo
AC Milan have become the latest club to show interest in Barcelona defender Junior Firpo, according to ESPN. Firpo joined Barcelona in the summer transfer window of 2019 after two seasons in Real Betis’ first team. Since then, he has struggled to nail down a spot in the starting XI, finding himself stuck behind Jordi Alba in the pecking order. Firpo’s time at Barcelona hasn’t gone as hoped It was hoped that the 24-year-old would be Alba’s long-term replacement, given that the former Valencia man is now in his 30s. However, this has not materialised, and he has since begun to seek a move away from the Camp Nou. Now ESPN are reporting that Serie A table-toppers AC Milan could set him free from his time at Barcelona. Stefano Pioli’s men have been flying this season. They currently sit at the ...
Italian giants set to sign Chelsea ace on loan till the end of the season
Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori set to join AC Milan on loan According to the reliable journalist, Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori is all set to join Italian giants AC Milan on loan. The Serie A giants were keen on securing the 23-year-old if they failed to land Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan. The 20-year-old is also on Chelsea’s radar. With RB Leipzig also now pursuing Simakan, competition for his signature has gotten tougher. Milan, meanwhile, appear to have settled for Tomori. The defender has found opportunities difficult to come by at Chelsea. So far he has made just four appearances and is the club’s fifth choice centre-back. He will now spend the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign at the San Siro. The Rossoneri are currently top of Serie A as they chase...
AC Milan close to signing Fikayo Tomori on loan with buy option
Serie A leaders AC Milan are aiming to secure the loan signing of Fikayo Tomori from Chelsea with a buy option in the next few days, reputed journalist Fabrizio Romano reports. The England international has hardly played for the west London giants this term and he has made only four appearances in all competitions. Blues boss Frank Lampard recently said that Tomori could be loaned out and the Rossoneri are currently the leading candidates to sign him. However, the Serie A leaders want to keep hold of Tomori for the long-term and they are hopeful of negotiating a buy option for the centre-back worth €30m. The Blues are yet to given the go-ahead for the proposed deal, but Romano reports that the 23-year-old is prioritising a move to Stefano Pioli’s side. Tomori had a bright breakthrough seas...
