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Manchester United have realised they still have a Scott McTominay-sized hole in their midfield and want to fill it with the former Bayern Munich playee Corentin Tolisso. The box-to-box midfielder turns 31 in August but has just had one of the best seasons of his career at Lyon – scoring 10 goals and registering nine assists in all competitions – and, given the French club’s financial problems, there may be a deal to be done for around £15m.
After weeks of negotiations, United are also reportedly closing on a move for Bryan Mbeumo after agreeing terms with Brentford. The fee is thought to be north of £60m, with the shrewd Bees keen on using some of that money to buy a replacement in Omari Hutchinson. The winger flickered in a struggling Ipswich side last season but was one of England’s best players in their under-21 Euros campaign, scoring in the final against Germany.
Another transfer with a domino effect is Noni Madueke’s impending move to Arsenal. The winger’s move from Chelsea to the Gunners is all but finalised and should pave the way for the departure of Leandro Trossard. The 30-year-old was preparing to fly to Istanbul for talks with Fenerbahce but could be persuaded to pivot to Bavaria, with Bayern Munich also interested after missing out on a number of other targets, including PSG’s Bradley Barcola.
The Australian wonderkid Nestory Irankunda signed for Bayern only last summer but now seems poised to leave Germany for the English second tier. Watford have tabled a bid of about £2.5m with a 50% sell-on clause, and the teenager is expected to sign a four-year deal. Quite the coup for the Hornets.
The issue with Chelsea signing lots of players on expensive seven- or eight-year contracts is that they become rather hard to shift when they become surplus to requirements. Benoît Badiashile may be a bit-part player (at best) at Chelsea these days but is only a third of the way through his seven-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge, which is due to expire in 2030. Marseille are interested in the defender’s services but are unlikely to afford Badiashile’s wages, unless a loan deal can be arranged.
Someone that could join Marseille (again) is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is said to be leaving Al-Qadsiah. The Gabon striker left Marseille in 2024 to join the Saudi side and now appears to be making the reverse move.
Juventus are interested in signing Jadon Sancho but are unwilling to meet Manchester United’s £25m valuation. The Italians are instead keen on arranging some sort of swap deal with Douglas Luiz, Dusan Vlahovic, and Timothy Weah all offered to the Premier League club. Sancho is willing to take a cut from his £300,000-a-week salary to make the deal happen.
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Another left-winger who is almost certainly on his way out at Old Trafford is Alejandro Garnacho. It is perhaps surprising that Chelsea are keen on the 21-year-old, given they have just splurged £48.5m on Jamie Gittens, but also not that shocking, given that it’s Chelsea.
