Juventus are working on Alejanrdo Grimaldo, Harry Kane and Bayern Munich could unite as early as January and Houssem Aouar finally can have Real Betis in his future. Here are some of the big market stories of the last few days from Tribalfootball’s transfer expert Rudy Galetti:
Juventus-Grimaldo: talks underway as Benfica seek a replacement
Alejandro Grimaldo is undoubtedly the first Juventus option to replace Alex Sandro who, at the end of the season, will say goodbye to the Bianconeri: the contract of the Brazilian player won’t be renewed and they will part ways June. Same fate as the Benfica left-back, close to leaving the Portuguese club already this summer: Grimaldo won’t extend his contract that expires in eight months and he’s looking for a new destination after seven seasons with the Eagles.
In recent days, there was a new contact between Juventus and the entourage of the former Barcelona player, who is also closely followed by Inter, Napoli, Manchester City and Arsenal. At the moment, however, the Bianconeri seem to have a preferential channel with Grimaldo who has now communicated to his current club his will to leave and start a new experience elsewhere.
It’s no coincidence that Benfica have already started looking for a replacement, seeking to explore various profiles for the left side of the pitch. In all likelihood, Juventus will wait until summer for an assault for the Spaniard, but the Portuguese club, to avoid losing him as free agent, could decide to sell Grimaldo during the winter session to the highest bidder. For this reason, the Bianconeri, to avoid being caught unprepared, still continue to follow Ramy Bensebaini who, in turn, will close in June his contract with Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Harry Kane is Bayern Munich’s first target: an assault already in January?
The next transfer market session already has its one to watch: Harry Kane. Manchester City tried to get him last year, but the 120 million euros offered to Tottenham weren’t enough to convince the chairman Daniel Levy, who was asking at least for 160 million to let the captain leave. Now it will be Bayern Munich, perhaps as early as January, to attempt a new assault to snatch him from the Spurs.
The Bavarians started an approach already in the last days of August, but without success. The watchword of Antonio Conte was clear: Kane isn’t to be touched. Bayern, however, don’t seem to have given up and are ready to resume contacts with the executives of Tottenham. Kane is willing to leave the Premier League: being Robert Lewandowski’s heir in Bundesliga tempts the centre-forward.
The agreement with the player’s entourage would not be an issue, the hardest part will be convincing Spurs. To do this, considering that the contract of the English striker will expire in 2024, about 100 million euros could now be enough: the game to decide Kane’s future is open more than ever.
Many options in Jude Bellingham’s future
The race for Bellingham has begun: Liverpool, Real Madrid and, in part, Man City are on the trail of the Borussia Dortmund player who – at just 19 – is already doing great things in Bundesliga.
Jurgen Klopp needs a midfielder with technical and physical skills like the English player, particularly now that the Reds are restructuring the midline of the squad, currently not so convincing both in terms of performance and physical condition. Liverpool could, as early as January, try to approach Bellingham’s entourage, although the player may not see a real career growth by choosing Anfield.
That’s why the Real Madrid option, at the moment, seems to be the most interesting one: with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos now well over 30 – especially the Croatian, 37 – Bellingham could become, in the next season, one of the key players in the midfield choices, together with Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni. Real Madrid are following Jude closely and in the next summer transfer session may already decide to make an offer for the English talent. Borussia Dortmund, however, don’t seem to have the idea of selling him soon: indeed, the German club intends to renegotiate the player’s contract – expiring in 2025 – by increasing his salary and including a monster release clause.
Agreement in principle between Aouar and Betis: the midfielder is heading towards Seville
Unless there’s a sensational twist, Houssem Aouar will be a new Real Betis player next season. A draft agreement is already in place between the parties, with the midfielder who will leave Olympique Lyon in June – his contract is expiring in 8 months – and will join the Spanish club after a year of courtship. Yes, because Aouar was the main target of Betis throughout the last market session, with the French player who did everything to land in La Liga. However, the delicate economic situation of Real Betis has complicated his purchase: the agreement with Lyon at one point seemed to be very close, but in the end it didn’t materialise.
Aouar, however, rejected any approach from other clubs, always waiting for Betis. And the marriage will take place: the will of both sides has not changed, Aouar always wanted Betis and Betis always wanted Aouar. And so, we are today, with a draft agreement reached for next summer. Less likely – although we cannot completely rule it out – is his possible arrival in Spain as early as January: the margins of negotiation with OL and the spending capacity of Betis in the winter session still remain to be understood.
AC Milan-Leao renewal, everything is on stand-by until after the World Cup
Even in the incredible victory against Empoli in the last round of Serie A, Rafa Leao proved to be the most important player of AC Milan and among the 5 most decisive in Europe. One more reason to continue talking about the renewal of his contract which will expire in the summer of 2024. The Rossoneri will certainly make an offer to the Portuguese and, possibly, the new ownership will approve the increase of the salary cap to 7 million euros.
No coincidence that Paolo Maldini, a few days ago, also confirmed that he is confident that Leão will sign a new contract with AC Milan. However, no progress in the negotiations is expected until the next World Cup: Maldini, Ricky Massara and the Portuguese’s entourage will talk about the renewal only starting from 2023. Still a few months of stalemate, therefore, before resuming discussions and trying to find an agreement. In addition to the Premier League clubs, Chelsea and Man City above all, Real Madrid stay always tuned to the situation of the left winger.
One thing is certain, Rafa Leao will lead AC Milan throughout the season: the aim of the Portuguese is to reconfirm himself in the Scudetto victory, get some satisfaction in Champions League and – as he himself stated with a story on Instagram – continue to serve up many assists for his teammate Olivier Giroud.
