Transfer News: Lionel Messi Could Join Manchester City After his Contract Expires
In today’s transfer news, Manchester City believes they are in pole position to sign Lionel Messi and reunite him with his former manager Pep Guardiola if the 33-year-old Argentina playmaker wants to leave Barcelona. Borussia Monchengladbach is plotting a move for Lyon forward Maxwel Cornet, who scored the opening goal in Saturday’s Champions League win over Manchester City, and the 23-year-old Ivorian is also wanted by Wolfsburg.
Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is the leading candidate to be the next Barcelona manager, with the club planning to sack Quique Setien in the coming days. The manager received the highest defeat in European competition after Bayern Thrashed his team 8-2, but Pochettino could still reject the offer as he is saying he will not coach rival clubs and he has coached Espanyol before.
Also in the transfer news, Watford’s 37-year-old former England keeper Ben Foster has become a summer transfer target for both Chelsea and Everton, Watford has appointed a new manager to manage the team for a year with the option to extend the deal. West Ham is holding out for a fee in excess of £80m for England midfielder Declan Rice, 21, who is a Chelsea target. Leicester is chasing Sevilla’sSpanish goalkeeper Sergio Rico. The 26-year-old is currently on loan at Paris St-Germain.
Chelsea is inching closer to a deal to sign long-term target and England left-back Ben Chilwell, 23, from Leicester, who are holding out for £80m. Chelsea is also closing in on a £40m move for another defender capped by England – Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, 28.
Ex-Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, 42, does not plan to return to football until Christmas as he recharges his batteries following his departure from the Cherries. Another player in the transfer news is Manchester United and Brazilian midfielder Andreas Pereira is set to leave Manchester United with Benfica interested in the 24-year-old as well as a number of German and Spanish clubs.
Moise Kean’s agent Mino Raiola is trying to engineer a move for the 20-year-old striker to AC Milan. Although Everton would want a fee in the region of £22.5m, Raiola wants a loan-to-buy deal.
Midfielder Jeff Hendrick is set to sign for Newcastle United on a free transfer. The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international left Burnley after his contract at Turf Moor expired on 30 June. Newcastle is also interested in Oxford United defender and captain Rob Dickie, 24.
Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, 30, who spent last season on loan at Roma, is not interested in a move to Newcastle. Inter Milan are set to make a £20m bid for England international Smalling, who could link up with former United team-mates Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.
Thiago Alcantara has already said goodbye to his Bayern Munich team-mates as the 29-year-old Spanish midfielder eyes a move to Liverpool this summer. Borussia Dortmund is set to sign Real Madrid’s 18-year-old Brazilian midfielder Reinier Jesus on a one-year loan with an option for another season.
Napoli is also in the transfer news, they believed to be winning the race to sign Real Madrid’s Spanish left-back Sergio Reguilon, 23, who has been on loan at Sevilla. Southampton has revived their interest in Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham, but Everton and West Ham are also interested in the 24-year-old Frenchman.