TRANSFER MARKET
Sterling and Sancho seal deadline day loans to rival clubs, Toney makes Saudi move
A flurry of activity on transfer deadline day finished with frozen out England wingers Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho finalising loan deals with rival Premier League clubs while Ivan Toney sealed a move to Saudi Arabia on Friday.
While Sterling crossed the London divide to move from Chelsea to Arsenal, Sancho left Manchester United on loan once again to effectively replace his international teammate at Stamford Bridge, the British media reported.
Sterling was told by new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca that he had no place in the squad and Arsenal swooped in to sign him with manager Mikel Arteta an admirer having worked with the winger at Manchester City during his spell as assistant coach.
England Training – Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre, Hertfordshire – 16/11/15 England’s Raheem Sterling during training Action Images via Reuters / John Sibley/File Photo
Sancho had been at odds with United boss Erik ten Hag and despite being an 85 million euros ($93.90 million) recruit, the Old Trafford club saw fit to let him go on loan a second time after his spell with former club Borussia Dortmund last season.
Toney, once Brentford’s lynchpin in attack, has moved to Al-Ahli for 40 million pounds ($52.50 million) after the club cashed in on the striker who helped them gain promotion to the top flight in 2021.
But Toney did his career no favours when he received an eight-month ban for 232 breaches of betting rules, which saw him miss half the 2023-24 season.
“I’m happy he has an opportunity to try something new in his life and career,” Brentford coach Thomas Frank said.
“We thank him for so many magic moments and wish him all the best for his next chapter. Ivan leaves as a Brentford legend.”
Arsenal were quite busy with players leaving on deadline day as goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale made a permanent switch to Southampton, which forced the north London club to sign Neto on loan from Bournemouth.
PALACE AND WOLVES BUSY
Meanwhile, Eddie Nketiah became the latest academy player to leave Arsenal as he moved to Crystal Palace for around 30 million pounds while Reiss Nelson joined Fulham on loan.
Palace also signed centre back Maxence Lacroix while Matt Turner arrives for a season-long loan. Wolverhampton Wanderers had three incoming transfers on deadline day – keeper Sam Johnstone, midfielder Andre and winger Carlos Forbs.
Chelsea allowed Armando Broja to join Everton on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent in 2025.
Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay ended a 22-year stay at United, a club he joined when he was five years old, to make the switch to Serie A side Napoli for 30.5 million euros. The Italian club also signed his Scotland teammate Billy Gilmour.
McTominay’s departure allowed United to sign their primary target Manuel Ugarte from Paris St Germain on a five-year deal in a deal worth 50 million euros.
AC Milan added to their attacking options by snapping up AS Roma striker Tammy Abraham on a season-long loan.
-Reuters
A source close to Wydad Casablanca told Reuters on Wednesday that the Moroccan club is not in talks to sign Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo from Al-Nassr.
Spanish outlet Marca reported that Wydad were hoping to sign five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo to lead their attack at the Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States and starts next month.
“It was just a friendly talk between Wydad’s president and an agent close to Ronaldo, without going beyond informal discussions,” a source told Reuters.
Ronaldo, 40, is the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League with 24 goals this season.
Wydad, the last African Champions in 2022, will face Manchester City on June 18 before taking on Juventus and Al-Ain in Group G of the Club World Cup.
-Reuters
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There are strong indications that Super Eagles and AC Milan winger, Samuel Chukwueze, could exit the Guiseppe Meazza this summer following interest from Turkish Super Lïg side, Besiktas JK.
The 25-year-old joined the Rossonerri from Villarreal in the summer of 2023 but has never really settled in at Milan as he’s largely been a bit part player at the San Siro.
The AFCON 2023 silver medal winner with Nigeria has played paltry 82 minutes since the new manager, Sergio Conceicao, took over as Milan’s head coach, worsening his story with the seven-time UEFA Champions League winners.
According to Europa Calcio, Chukwueze’s future seems increasingly distant from Milan. The player’s agents have suggested him to Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s side, Besiktas, who have immediately started contacts to bring him to the Turkish Süper Lig.
The 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner was linked with a move to Alex Iwobi’s Fulham in January, but time disparity in the transfer market didn’t allow the move to materialize.
Additionally, Milan’s technical director, Geoffrey Moncada, revealed his side were delighted the Super Eagles winger didn’t make a deadline-day transfer to Fulham.
The former Manchester United boss has given the green light to the deal, as he considers Chukwueze to be a valuable reinforcement in the attacking department.
The Turkish club are currently working on a loan-with-obligation-to-buy proposal, and are hopeful their strategy will convince Milan, who intend on recuperating the fees to secure Chukwueze from Villareal two years ago.
Chukwueze on the other hand, is seriously considering a move to Besiktas as he’s aware that he is not part of Milan’s long-term plans. With few opportunities under Sergio Conceicao, the former Villarreal player could accept the Turkish destination to re-establish himself.
Additionally, one of Chukwueze’s best friends, Victor Osimhen, has had nothing but good things to say about the Turkish Super Lig as he enjoys his loan spell with Galatasaray.
In conclusion, a move away from Milan would be a win-win situation for all parties, allowing the Rossoneri to free up space in the squad and for the player to regain the form which saw the Italian side snap him up initially.
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TRANSFER MARKET
Man Utd sign two and lose 10 players as disastrous window for Ruben Amorim slams shut
In spite of their awful season, Manchester United have offloaded 10 players, including Marcus Rashford, on loan while making just two new signings as the winter transfer market closed on Monday night.
The once-great team now sits 13th on the log of the Premier League table and the graph tends to slope downward rather than looking upward as the season progresses.
Any thought of European football next season is more of a mirage. Some more signings would potentially have gone a long way to getting them back on track.
Attacking recruits in particular would have been very useful given United’s goalscoring troubles this season. But it is in defence where United chiefs have chosen to strengthen this time around.
They have signed Lecce defender, Patrick Dorgu who significantly is the first signing since Amorim’s arrival. Manchester United have paid £29.2million for his signature and he has signed a contract until 2030.
The Danish left-back was also joined by another young defender Ayden Heaven, who moved in from Premier League rivals, Arsenal.
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