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It is still a work in progress for Manchester United to choose their next sporting director under Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The list of names remains the same as mentioned several times before, including Paul Mitchell and people like that, but I think the name Dan Ashworth is the strongest name and the one most appreciated by INEOS.
Even so, Newcastle remain convinced that Ashworth is focused on his project. He has a contract there, so Newcastle continue to downplay the rumors because they want to continue with him. I hope, however, that INEOS will continue to push for Ashworth in the coming weeks because he really is the strongest candidate. Then we will see if they want to go for a candidate or try something similar to Chelsea recently as they hired several managers, so let’s see what the structure will be at Manchester United.
Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho’s signing for Borussia Dortmund is almost closed. On the player’s part, he has already been doing it for ten days because he wants to leave, so all that is missing is the final details between the clubs and the green light. He is in the final stages and then it will be done.
In my opinion, it seems like a very good measure. Sancho needs to feel loved and play regularly, so he is an excellent choice for Jadon. He can’t waste time, he wants and needs to play immediately, so Dortmund is a great solution to improve his situation. He’s still young and a talented player, so I’m sure he can get his career back on track.
I think a striker is a possibility for United this January as they have spoken to a number of names. Timo Werner was a name, and United spoke to his agents but never directly to RB Leipzig. Serhou Guirassy seemed like another option, but it won’t happen now that he’s at AFCON, so let’s see what happens. It’s also important to see what will happen with Anthony Martial: there have been no offers at the moment, but keep an eye on him because if he and Sancho were to leave this January, it could give United the opportunity to sign a new striker. .
The Radu Dragusin saga was a crazy story: things were too advanced for him to join Tottenham, everything was agreed, but then Bayern Munich also tried to make the move happen. They had contacts from the players and then presented a formal, and important, offer to Genoa.
For Spurs, they included Djed Spence as part of the deal and some add-ons, but Bayern decided to go for a cash proposal of around €30 million and Genoa decided to accept both proposals. Tottenham then decided to change the structure of the proposal and finally got the green light. It is 25 million euros with 5 million euros in very easy add-ons, so 30 million euros are almost guaranteed for Genoa and Spence on loan to the Serie A club.
Conor Gallagher continues to be admired by Ange Postecoglou, the interest is there, but I am not aware of any direct negotiations at the moment. It won’t be easy because Gallagher is an important player for Chelsea. Spurs’ priority this January, in any case, was a defender and an offensive player, which is why Dragusin comes, while Werner is confirmed.
I think that Tottenham will then try to complete some departures, like Eric Dier, we will see what happens with him and Bayern. Bryan Gil could also be someone to watch out for, so it could be an open situation next week, but Gallagher won’t be an easy signing because Chelsea will be asking for a lot of money. I think the most realistic way for Tottenham to deal with the deal would be to sell Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg or loan him out with an obligation to buy, and it’s not easy at the moment.
Ian Maatsen is on his way to Borussia Dortmund, so Chelsea signing a new left-back could be an option to keep open. At the moment they are taking their time because they don’t believe there is any great opportunity in the market.
We’ve had a lot of rumors about Jean-Clair Todibo in recent weeks, but I don’t know anything concrete about it. And also for a left back I don’t think it is something easy or guaranteed. With Maatsen they extended their contract for two more years, and it includes a termination clause that Dortmund can activate in the summer if he wants to keep the player. So, there are many possibilities that are being discussed internally, but at the moment it is not something close.
Eddie Nketiah has the interest of many clubs. Crystal Palace is there, but they are not the only one, although the complication is that Arsenal are not finding it easy at the moment to find a striker on the long-term market. We know how Arsenal works: two years ago, with Dusan Vlahovic, they wanted a striker and he was on their list, but he decided to go to Juventus. Arsenal decided not to panic, they decided to wait and look for a different strategy and look for another striker in the summer. They want the players they want, they are not going to do something they are not 100% convinced of.
At the moment, the players they like are very expensive or not available on the market, such as Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen. So I think Arsenal are going to find it difficult to find a striker, it’s not an easy market at the moment. I’m sure Arsenal will try to get a new full-back this January, but for a striker it’s not easy, and that’s what it would take to give the green light to Nketiah’s departure.
A name linked to Arsenal is Joshua Zirkzee, but I don’t have any update because Bologna is very clear: Joshua will not leave in January, they guarantee it. His former club, Bayern Munich, will not decide now on the buyback clause, that is all a discussion for June, not this January.
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One last point on Arsenal, as some fans have been asking me about Mikel Arteta only having 18 months left on his contract; Right now Arsenal’s priority is to focus on the January window and get better results on the pitch as soon as possible. There is no news about Arteta, but they are in no hurry, they are very happy together. Arteta loves Arsenal and the club is very happy with him, so there is no rush, all parties are relaxed.
A bit of a crazy situation has arisen with the war of words between Victor Osimhen and his Napoli team-mate’s agent, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. It’s not Osimhen’s fault – we’ve had plenty of stories about him in recent months – but seeing the agent of a top colleague speaking publicly about a possible move to Saudi Arabia in the summer was truly surprising.
Osimhen had to react and made a really strong statement. I think the situation around Napoli is quite tense at the moment, but it’s not Osimhen’s fault, it’s really surprising to see another player’s agent mention what’s going to happen to a teammate.
I don’t think that will change Osimhen’s situation much. I don’t see him leaving this January, but it’s still a possibility for the summer because there’s a release clause there. However, if he moves, I’m not sure he’ll be Saudi; It is a possibility, because they wanted him last summer and Al Hilal made an important proposal, but we cannot guarantee that he will go there and I think that is why Osimhen wanted to protect himself from that story.
Paulo Dybala – Despite the rumors about Chelsea, I see Dybala staying at Roma as things stand. I have no updates, nothing has happened for now and his buyout clause is expiring in four days… so it seems difficult and unlikely. I think Chelsea need a striker more than a high-quality offensive player like Dybala.
Ronald Araujo – Bayern like Araujo, we said it months ago, Tuchel loves him but there is nothing in terms of talks so far because he is only focused on Barcelona. At the moment nothing is known about it: the appreciation persists, but I am not convinced by the news that Bayern is willing to pay 100 million euros for him.
Joel Matip – Despite talk of a possible move to Al Ettifaq, Joel Matip will not be leaving Liverpool now. In summer he could be different and the interest of Saudi Arabia could attract him. I don’t see Joe Gomez leaving either, he’s staying.
