Manchester United are looking for centre-backs; AC Milan are moving for a Chelsea midfielder; Max Allegri, Arab temptation. Here are some of the main stories over the last few days of the transfer market from TribalFootball's transfer expert Rudy Galetti.
MANCHESTER UNITED CENTRE-BACK MISSION
Manchester United are fully in the running for a top 4 place in the Premier League which would mean qualifying for the next edition of the Champions League. A minimum target for Erik ten Hag, who needs to strengthen the squad in all roles during the summer.
Focusing on defence, the Red Devils are planning at least two incoming moves to replace some transfers – like Eric Bailly who will return to OM at the end of the loan, and as Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire who are likely to leave in June.
On the list of Manchester United there are two big names that represent their main targets: Kim Min-jae and Jurrien Timber. With the Napoli centre-back, who has an important release clause, some contacts between his agent and the English club already took place and the talks seem to be well underway.
The Dutch player - who is well known and appreciated by Ten Hag who coached him at Ajax - has been on United's list for more than a year. And that's not all: Man Utd are also monitoring the Crystal Palace centre-back, Marc Guehi, who is performing at the highest of levels this season.
AC MILAN MOVE FOR CHELSEA MIDFIELDER
The season of AC Milan isn't over yet, but while waiting to know their European destiny - which will certainly influence the budget that Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara will have - the Rossoneri are already looking at the next transfer market session, monitoring some profiles to strengthen the midfield.
To date, among AC Milan's most favorite names, there is Ruben Loftus-Cheek: Chelsea are planning to sell their player in the summer, after having already tried to get him to leave - unsuccessfully - in January. The contract of the English midfielder expires in June 2024 and the Blues would like to monetize in the coming months, also easing their signing budget.
The Rossoneri are following the situation of Ruben with interest and the cost of a possible transfer to Milan shouldn't be a problem. What scares, however, is the wage of Loftus-Cheek who, in order to embrace the Milanese project, will have to drastically reduce his millionaire salary. Convincing him won't be easy, but the Italian club - in the event of qualifying for the next Champions League - will certainly try to do it.
NEWCASTLE STILL INTERESTED IN MADDISON
After the first attempt in January, Newcastle are still working to sign James Maddison in the summer. The English midfielder is having an excellent season again this year – with 10 goals and 9 assists so far in the Premier League – but despite this, "his" Leicester will most likely be relegated to the Championship.
And it's just because Foxes are almost doomed, that his farewell in June – despite a contract until 2024 – is mostly certain. With the relegation, his cost will also be reasonable: that's why the Magpies have started contacts with Leicester. Newcastle want to speed things up for a new midfielder, especially given the high chances of qualification for the next Champions League, where they want to arrive with a very competitive squad.
So, the Magpies absolutely need to add more creativity, assists and goals in the central area of the pitch: for this reason, Maddison – followed by many clubs in Europe - is not the only name in their list. Another Leicester player, Tielemans, who will leave the Foxes as a free agent at the end of the season, and Khephren Thuram (Nice) are the other 2 profiles monitored with attention by Newcastle.
AL NASSR WANT ALLEGRI - WILL HE TEAM UP WITH CR7?
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has come in the sights of the Saudi club Al-Nassr. Known all over the world for having convinced Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Europe, now the club that sacked Rudi Garcia a few weeks ago, entrusting the team to the former youth trainer, Dinko Jelicic, is thinking of Allegri as head coach for the next season.
The manager of the Bianconeri has a contract until June 2025 with a salary of 7 million euros plus 2 million bonuses a year, but the offer from Saudi team - which is currently thinking about the proposal to be submitted to the former AC Milan coach – will certainly be richer. Allegri, for his part, at the moment is completely focused on the season finale with Juventus, trying to secure placement in the top 4 positions of Serie A and trying to win the Europa League competition.
Should the coach decide to accept the Arab offer, he would find Cristiano Ronaldo on his way, once again: the two worked together at Juventus in the 2018-2019 season, and despite the fine words offered by CR7 on the Italian coach, the relationship with Allegri is not the best. Developments are expected.
LIVERPOOL SEEK TO STRENGTHEN MIDFIELD
The UEFA Champions League race is still open also for Liverpool. The team coached by Jurgen Klopp, thanks to six wins in a row, is incredibly back challenging for a place in the top European competition.
Despite this, the Reds want to be competitive again in the Premier League and for this reason one of the main targets of the next summer transfer market is to strengthen the midfield. At the moment there are many names on their radar, but two profiles are at the top of their list: Declan Rice and Alexis MacAllister. The first preliminary contacts have begun with both West Ham and Brighton, but the competition is fierce.
As known, for Rice – who will leave the Hammers at the end of the season - there has been strong interest from Arsenal since last year, while Manchester United is also interested in the Argentine midfielder who has decided to wait for June before making a decision on his future. It will not be easy to sign these 2 players and, for this reason, Liverpool are also following other names that fit with their needs: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio) and Moises Caicedo (Brighton) are the other players that the Reds are taking into consideration in case they are unable to sign their main targets.
