Transfer news: Zirkzee and De Ligt to Man Utd latest, Chelsea still trying for striker & more

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Zirkzee, Van de Beek and De Ligt latest at Manchester United

Manchester United are set to sell Donny van de Beek to Girona. The Dutch midfielder was also a target for Girona back in the January transfer window, but it wasn’t possible at that time as he decided to join Eintracht Frankfurt on loan. However, Girona are still there and have now agreed a deal with Manchester United.

Many of you have been asking me about the strange structure of this deal, because it’s been reported that the initial fee will be just €500,000. This would obviously be an incredibly cheap fee for Van de Beek, but the reality is different.

For now, this is a potential fee as it’s still subject to a personal agreement with Van de Beek and on the player passing a medical. Girona have an agreement with Man United but there are still some steps, and early next week we should know more. As for the fee, it is €500k initially, but there is a big structure of add-ons. There would be around €4-5m paid to Man United if Van de Beek plays a certain number of games, and this is expected to be quite an easy number. If he achieves more in his time at Girona it could even end up being around €10-15m.

Staying with Dutch players and Man United, I can confirm that Joshua Zirkzee remains an important target, he’s high on their list. Between Friday and Saturday there were new contacts between United and the agents of Zirkzee. So, what’s the situation? We know Zirkzee has been on United’s list and that the €40m release clause is there – it’s valid until August, so United have time, but the internal decision will be crucial.

United are now advancing in talks with Zirkzee and his agent. Zirkzee already reached an agreement with AC Milan, and Man United would match that proposal with similar numbers, but Milan don’t want to pay the big commission, while United are prepared to meet that number.

Erik ten Hag wants the player and has been calling Zirkzee on a regular basis, but then other key figures at Old Trafford will also have to decide, such as key figures deciding on transfers like Dan Ashworth, Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell. So, the internal discussion is ongoing, and it’s up to them now to decide if they want to proceed with Zirkzee or go for another player.

Finally on United, negotiations continue for Matthijs de Ligt between all parties involved. There’s still no substantial update but negotiations are ongoing, and going well. De Ligt has only approved Man United as the club are in talks with his agent, I’m not aware of contacts with any other clubs now, despite some rumours about PSG.

Juventus to start Teun Koopmeiners talks with Atalanta soon

Despite some rumours about Liverpool entering the race for Teun Koopmeiners, my information is that the only club in negotiations for the Atalanta midfielder right now is Juventus. Of course it could change and we’ll see what happens in the next days, but Juventus have agreed terms with Koopmeiners, and he seems keen on staying in Serie A.

Everything is agreed on the player side, and so now Juventus have to reach an agreement with Atalanta. Talks will start very soon after Juve already signed Khephren Thuram, which should be announced in the next days, while Douglas Luiz has also been confirmed as joining in another exciting move to strengthen the Juve midfield.

Juventus are working on it with Koopmeiners, and we’re just waiting now for their first bid to Atalanta, which should come really soon.

Al Ittihad chaos casts doubt over Kevin De Bruyne transfer

We’ve had more Kevin De Bruyne Saudi rumours again, with some reports over the weekend about the Manchester City playmaker possibly becoming an Al Ittihad player, but my understanding is that nothing is close or imminent as of today.

The situation at Al Ittihad is really complicated at the moment, and it’s possible that their move to hire Stefano Pioli as manager will collapse, while the president could also leave the club. It’s a confusing situation at the club, and so they are not advancing for De Bruyne, as you can imagine. It’s not something happening today, maybe later in the summer, as we know interest from Saudi in De Bruyne has been there for some time, but it’s not close to happening now.

De Bruyne is now on holiday after the Euros and he still has one year left on his contract at Manchester City. As for Al Ittihad, we’ll have to see what happens later on in the summer because right now the situation has become very complicated and confusing.

Chelsea close in on Veiga, but what about Omorodion?

Renato Veiga is on his way to Chelsea in a €14-15m move from FC Basel. He’s seen as someone who can play centre-back, left-back or defensive midfield, so he covers a lot of positions. Chelsea see Veiga as a talent with huge potential, and available for a cheap price. He’s the perfect profile for what they wanted and needed. There are no add-ons or sell-on because Chelsea preferred to agree on €14m fixed fee believing it was a good deal for them. Now the priorities for Chelsea on the market will be a right-footed winger, and a new central striker.

Samu Omorodion remains one of the names appreciated by Chelsea for the striker position this summer. Omorodion is a player they like, as I reported 20 days ago when Chelsea had a bid rejected by Atletico Madrid. For now it remains the case that Atletico don’t want to sell Omorodion, but Chelsea are still keeping contacts active with those close to the player.

In case Atletico change their stance on Omorodion later in the transfer window, Chelsea could then have a chance to contact the Spanish club about this talented young striker again. It’s not guaranteed, because Omorodion is very happy in Madrid and Atletico don’t want to sell, but in case the situation changes, Chelsea still appreciate the player and will hope the door can perhaps open for them at some point.

Let’s see what happens, but for sure Chelsea really rate Omorodion as a player with big potential, so they’re keeping a close eye on his situation, but let me also say that he’s not the only name on their list for the striker position. It’s not guaranteed that Chelsea will make a move for a new signing in that position as we’ll have to see how players like Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu perform in pre-season, but for sure Omorodion is a player they appreciate.

Emerson Royal Barcelona links – what’s the truth?

There have been some reports about Barcelona looking to re-sign Emerson Royal from Tottenham as he could be on the move out of Spurs this summer.

However, I don’t have this information about Barca. As previously reported, AC Milan are in talks for Emerson – they already spoke to Tottenham but Spurs want around €20m to sell the Brazilian full-back

There’s still a gap in valuation, so let’s see what happens, but Emerson himself is keen on the move to AC Milan.

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