Transfer Gossip: Red Devils want Sterling, Barca reject €100M for Fati

Football may be (mostly) on hiatus, but that’s not dampening the never-ending nature of transfer talk. Here’s a look at the wild rumors making the rounds this week.

Manchester United keep options open

Manchester United are in the market for attacking reinforcements this summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to craft his squad. Simply extending Odion Ighalo’s loan deal seemingly isn’t going to cut it here.

While the Red Devils have been linked with a bevy of names in recent weeks, the Manchester Evening News says Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has emerged as the club’s priority signing … that is, unless United thinks it has a real shot at nabbing Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen. Tough luck, Jack.

Raheem Sterling sweepstakes

Should Manchester City fail in their upcoming appeal to overturn the team’s Champions League ban, many are suggesting the club could witness a mass exodus of star players. The sauciest of those rumors comes from the Independent, which claims City rivals United would try to poach Raheem Sterling. Just imagine the banter.

Don’t get too excited, though, as that same report says Sterling is far more likely to end up at Real Madrid if he departs from the Etihad.

Speaking of Real Madrid …

Another week, another set of marquee names linked with moves to the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid are the latest side to begin monitoring Jadon Sancho, according to Spanish outlet AS, while manager Zinedine Zidane has apparently spoken directly to Paul Pogba’s agent, reiterating his desire to bring the Frenchman to Madrid this summer.

Add those names to the reports suggesting Real Madrid will try to ink Havertz, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, and Eduardo Camavinga in the near future. Money grows on trees in the Spanish capital.

Barcelona reject €100M Fati offer

Speaking of cash, let’s check in on a team that doesn’t have any. The coronavirus pandemic has completely decimated Barcelona’s transfer budget, according to reports this week. Various outlets claim the club needs to raise nearly €70 million by the end of the month just to balance the books.

Given Barca’s apparent predicament, Sport’s suggestion that president Josep Maria Bartomeu flatly denied a €100-million offer for teen phenom Ansu Fati certainly raises some eyebrows. The 17-year-old winger sure looks like a star in the making, but that’s a lot of money to turn down, especially in the current economic climate.

Defensive dominoes at PSG, Inter

Paris Saint-Germain are expected to wave goodbye to captain Thiago Silva in the coming weeks, as the 35-year-old defender’s contract expires at the end of the month. Both Everton and AC Milan are interested in bringing the Brazilian aboard, according to Le10Sport in France, with Carlo Ancelotti particularly keen on reuniting with the veteran center-back.

To fill what would be a significant hole in the heart of their defense, PSG are eyeing Inter Milan stalwart Milan Skriniar. They’ll need to pony up, though, as Tuttosport believes €80 million will be required to close the deal. After working with Inter on the recent Mauro Icardi transfer, perhaps PSG can negotiate a favorable discount.

Juventus active in the market

Juventus remain busy trying to improve their squad, with reports out of Spain and Italy claiming they’ve identified Ousmane Dembele and Marash Kumbulla as targets, respectively. Of course, last week it was said Juve wasn’t interested in Dembele because of his injury history, while reports that Inter are actually leading the race for Kumbulla’s signature shot down that excitement.

Before they can make any purchases, Juventus will likely need to offload some pieces, and Adrien Rabiot’s name pops up often. After being picked up on a free transfer, the French midfielder could return a tidy profit amid claims from Tuttomercato that Everton and Arsenal are interested.