Transfer Centre
Moving into July, we are at the point where transfer windows really start to become heated and the big clubs are not backing down from making tempting offers that star players really can’t deny. Clubs all across Europe are currently in a race to bag the most popular players.
Recently, the Premier League champions, Manchester City, confirmed the club-record signing of Rodri after paying the £62.6million buyout clause for the Atletico Madrid midfielder. The Spain international was Pep Guardiola’s first choice to succeed Fernandinho in the midfield anchor role.
The Spanish club announced on 3rd July that Rodri will be playing with the Blues as of now after he was forked out by City with a whopping fee that exceeds the £60m paid for Riyad Mahrez last summer.
The Champions League winners, Liverpool, have also been involved in a £1.3m deal for the 17-year-old Sepp van den Berg. The manager, Jurgen Klopp, is looking to improve the already world-class team in any way he can and is so invested in the project at Liverpool and returning the club to the top of Europe. Van den Berg is expected to flourish and train under the mentoring of world-class defender Virgil van Dijk, although his former manager, John van’t Schip, believes comparing the two is “stupid”. Van’t Schip thinks people need to leave him to develop in his own way and insists the teenager isn’t ready for the likes of football in the big leagues.
Even though van den Berg has only played 20 games in the Eredivisie, he has been called ‘a great talent’ by Netherlands and Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt. Also, there was quite the competition for signing the 17-year-old and he was pursued by Bayern Munich, PSV and Ajax.
In other news, the Red Devils have also been up to some crucial re-construction of their team. They are the one club who you can confidently predict will spunk well over £100 million on transfers, but since Ole Gunner Solskjaer has never been in charge of a budget that big, the question is: will he spend it wisely? So far, Man Utd have made a fresh and improved offer to David de Gea in an attempt to convince him to extend his stay at Old Trafford.
Read More | David De Gea – Old Trafford’s Eagle-Eyed Guardian |
The Spaniard has been heavily linked with a move away from United this summer after failing to agree on a new contract, with his current deal set to expire in just 12 months. Although the two parties have failed to reach an agreement, it is believed that de Gea wants to remain at Manchester but has to be properly rewarded financially for being the world’s best goalkeeper and club’s top player.
If he accepts the deal, it’ll make him the highest-paid goalkeeper in the world which is something that the 28-year-old’s representatives have been pushing for in previous negotiations. It’s not easy to say whether de Gea will accept or decline the offer since he’s been linked to clubs the like of PSG and Juventus, so it looks like he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. Also, the Red Devils have failed to qualify for next year’s Champions League after a season that failed to portray the Sir Alex Ferguson-type glory and this may push their star players into moving away.
Even though de Gea didn’t have a good season, fans and critics have still been supportive since they’ve seen his true potential, which also makes a good reason for Man Utd wanting him to stay. Nonetheless, nothing is confirmed or denied yet and there is still a chance that de Gea may choose to remain with Man Utd as they seem pretty determined to tie him down for a few more years.
El Arte Del Futbol is now an official content creator for One Football. Find more original features, Player Profiles and tactical analysis on www.elartedf.com
