Folarin Balogun for sale; Piotr Zielinski says goodbye to Napoli for Saudi; David Moyes wants a revolution inside the West Ham squad. Here are some of the main stories over the last few days of the transfer market from TribalFootball’s transfer expert Rudy Galetti.
OSIMHEN, MITROVIC AND FELIX – AL-HILAL TO CHOOSE 2 FROM 3
Al Hilal are desperately looking for at least a new striker, even if the Saudi club really needs to sign 2 offensive players in this summer transfer session.
Victor Osimhen is for sure the current main target: Al Hilal sent a new huge offer (more than €170m) to Napoli, but the Italian team is adamant on the price tag, asking for at least 200 million euros to evaluate any proposal.
For this reason, Al Hilal will reopen talks for Aleksandar Mitrovic, which in this moment are on hold. With Fulham, a general understanding is already in place, however, there are some details not yet resolved that the clubs have to discuss to close the distance.
Al Hilal – as mentioned – need at least 2 offensive players, that’s why they are working on many negotiations: including the one with Joao Felix.
The Portuguese player is not in the Diego Simeone’s plans and Atletico Madrid are eager to send him away as soon as possible. Joao already reached a verbal agreement with the Saudi club that now is in talks with the Spanish team to negotiate his departure.
In Europe, Aston Villa are set to open talks with Atletico Madrid for Felix, but the feeling is that he’s on his way to Riyadh.
BALOGUN, INTER DRAW UP CUT-PRICE PLAN
Following the arrival of Yann Sommer and with Lazar Samardzic in finalisation, now Inter Milan are ready to fully concentrate on another extremely important subject: a new striker.
Folarin Balogun is the name at the top of their list: the American striker has always been the Inter’s priority to strengthen their attack, with the Nerazzurri that never stopped contacts with Arsenal and the player’s agent also during the talks with West Ham for Gianluca Scamacca.
Folarin, on his side, is keen to play in the UEFA Champions League with Inter. Not for nothing, the player – in recent days – has published many social clues related to the Nerazzurri.
New developments are expected for sure in the next few days: Arsenal would like to sell Folarin this summer, considering that he’s not in Mikel Arteta’s plans. This could impact his price tag in the medium to long term, decreasing his value. That’s why the Gunners don’t want to miss out on a potential important transfer.
Despite some statements, the English club slightly lowered the initial requests and now it’s asking for €40/45m to let him go.
Inter are on the verge of offering €30m + add-ons, including in the package a percentage of the future sale. Will it be enough? On Inter’s side, there is a quiet optimism the deal will be settled: only time will tell.
ZIELINSKI, BYE BYE NAPOLI – SAUDI IS CALLING
In the summer transfer session 2023 we will certainly remember the negotiating power of the Saudi clubs. Many top players have decided to embrace their project and the latest seems to be Piotr Zielinski.
After a long negotiation – beginning in mid-July – Al Ahli and the Polish midfielder reached a verbal agreement on personal terms.
In the last contacts, the player and the Saudi club were distant on the years of the contract, but Al Ahli decided to give him what he wanted, and so Piotr accepted the proposal. Now it’s up to clubs: Zielinski has a contract with Napoli that expires in 2024, but – for sure – the president Aurelio De Laurentiis doesn’t want to lose the midfielder next year as a free agent.
If the proposal of Al Ahli will be considered suitable, the agreement could be closed positively in a short time.
The bid on the Italian club’s table seems to be reasonable and, for this reason, the champions of Italy have started to explore some profiles as possible replacements.
Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta) is for sure one of the names at the top of their list: the player appreciates a lot the destination but his current club is not so open to letting him go. As an eventual new midfielder, under their radar there are also Lucas Torreira (Galatasaray) and Matteo Guendouzi (OM).
WEST HAM, MOYES ASKS FOR SQUAD REVOLUTION
After a domestic season to forget, West Ham are now working hard to strengthen the squad and give David Moyes a group of players more competitive.
Starting from the defence, the Hammers are in talks with Man Utd for the potential move of Harry Maguire.
Moyes was clear with the board, confirming that Harry is the right profile for his tactical idea. Despite the recent rumours about Luiz Felipe – talks with Real Betis stalled – the coach of West Ham has no doubts: he wants Maguire.
In the midfield, the Mexican player Edson Alvarez will replace Declan Rice: Ajax will receive around £35m for his transfer.
In attack, West Ham are looking for a new striker after the farewell of Gianluca Scamacca.
The Hammers asked for info for Folarin Balogun, but the American player – as revealed – only wants to join Inter. Another target is Armando Broja, who could leave Chelsea, also on loan, to find space after his knee injury.
On the strikers’ list, West Ham have also Youssef En-Nesyri, Anthony Martial and Elye Wahi. Anyway, no final decision has been made as of now.
CANCELO, BARCELONA ON THE WAY – BUT SAUDI IN BACKGROUND
There is a certainty in the future of Joao Cancelo: he will leave Manchester City this summer. Nothing has changed in Pep Guardiola’s mind: after his experience at Bayern Munich, Cancelo will have to leave definitely this summer, at any cost. The bad relationship with the manager – cracked months ago – cannot be resolved.
On paper, Arsenal are still interested in him, but, without important exits in that role, the incoming market of the Gunners – apart from the goalkeeper issue – has to be considered completed.
Barcelona, at the same time, remain attentive to the Portuguese player: the Spanish club put Joao at the top of the list as a new possible right-back, as Xavi appreciates him a lot. First contact between clubs, the manager of Barca and Cancelo took place: however, Barcelona can’t waste time because the competition for Joao is quite fierce.
The last club to join the race for him is Al Hilal. The Saudi team started official talks with the Portuguese player to understand his willingness to leave Europe. To date, also leveraging on the personal terms agreed with Barca, he prefers to remain in Europe but nothing is to be excluded.
