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Bruno Fernandes is pretty much the only person to come out of Manchester United’s season with any credit, and it turns out that has got Al-Hilal’s scouting boffins very excited, so much so that the Saudi club have reportedly offered a £100m transfer fee and a total wage package of £200m over three years to land the Portuguese. That sort of money for a player who turns 31 in September is not bad going for any party (apart from Al-Hilal), but Fernandes has – according to Fabrizio Romano – rejected the move as he “wants to play at [the] top level in Europe”. There’s a joke there somewhere about Manchester United and the “top level in Europe” but the Mill isn’t going to stoop. Fernandes was pictured at the birthday party of João Cancelo, who plays for Al-Hilal, over the weekend and now both have joined up with the Portuguese national side for their Nations League semi-final against Germany on Wednesday evening.
One man that could join Fernandes at Manchester United is Bryan Mbeumo after his 20-goal season for Brentford. The Cameroon international has interest from Champions League sides Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle but is said to favour a move to Old Trafford. United are expected to open talks with Mbeumo in the next few weeks but will likely have to sell before they buy: Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund are both being linked with Inter, with the Dane previously shining in Serie A for Atalanta.
The lovely pink front page of Gazzetta dello Sport has a Federico Chiesa quote all over it, with the Italian linked with a move back to his former club. “Juventus? I still love the club. Returning there one day? why not?” teased the forward. “Thiago Motta [the now departed manager at Juve] didn’t want me there. He told me that I was not part of his plans, and should go find a team.” Chiesa did find a team last summer in Liverpool but after an underwhelming season in red, it may be that the Premier League champions are willing to part with Chiesa, who reportedly earns a six-figure weekly salary on Merseyside.
Some confusion on the Chelsea transfer front, although that is nothing new. The club have activated Liam Delap’s £30m release clause at Ipswich Town but are now also being linked with another striker nearly triple the price: Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike. And while that is not surprising for a club that has a history of stockpiling elite players, it might also be unsettling for young Delap, who would presumably hope to arrive at Stamford Bridge as the main man up top. Both deals for Delap and Ekitike are far from done, though, with Frankfurt wanting £84m for the latter – which would eclipse even the 2023 sale of Randal Kolo Muani to PSG.
Three players who could leave Chelsea to make room are Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku and João Félix, with the latter apparently in advanced talks to rejoin Benfica just one year into his seven-year contract and his £45m move to the London club last summer. João Félix moved to Milan on loan in January but again was disappointing in Serie A and could move back to Portugal, perhaps even in time for Benfica’s Club World Cup campaign later this month.
Borussia Dortmund are in pole position to sign Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland, despite the Black Cats’ promotion to the Premier League. Given his brother’s experience at Dortmund, and subsequent rise to astronomical stardom, that is also not a huge shock, with RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt also said to be interested. But Dortmund’s sporting director, Sebastian Kehl, met with Bellingham last week in Ibiza … presumably with Wayne Lineker acting as some sort of intermediary?
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Meanwhile, Espanyol keeper Joan García has chosen Barcelona over Arsenal, Liverpool remain open to selling Luis Díaz with the Colombian’s contract now down to just two years, while Spurs are interested in Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
