Transfer news: Chelsea want striker, Man Utd midfielder approached, Newcastle plans, Rabiot Spurs & more

Posted Monday, March 04, 2024 by Caughtoffside.com

Newcastle director plans, plus Wilson & De Gea updates

It will be an interesting time at Newcastle United as they want to hold important internal discussions about how to replace Dan Ashworth. From what I heard, this is not something 100% clear yet and Newcastle want to take their time as they can't make the wrong move…it's crucial to continue with their project in the best way.

Callum Wilson also seems to be in a slightly uncertain transfer situation at Newcastle following a January saga involving Atletico Madrid. Still, Atletico are not currently in contact with Wilson or Newcastle. Their last contact was early January, and it was a clear no from Newcastle. So I'm not sure they will return, Atletico Madrid only considered that as an opportunity on loan for six months.

Fans also keep asking me about the future of David de Gea after he almost joined Newcastle. He was open to a transfer to Newcastle in November/December when they had a goalkeepers emergency but in the end they decided not to sign any new goalkeeper. Now we have a lot of transfer rumours every week, but there is no update, nothing is happening. He's taking his time to see if right opportunity appears.

Clubs asked about Amrabat transfer

I've seen many reports about Sofyan Amrabat's future as he's on loan at Manchester United from Fiorentina, with a permanent transfer option for the summer of €20m. At the moment there has not been any communication from United to the player side about their decision. This will be decided later, it remains open. They already paid a big loan fee for Amrabat, so let's see how they will decide to proceed.

In the January transfer window there were two clubs asking about the possibility to break the loan from Fiorentina to United, and to sign Amrabat on a new loan from January until the end of the season. My information is that the clubs were Juventus and Barcelona, but United said no.

Barca, you may remember, already wanted Amrabat a year ago, but it was a no from United. There was no intention from United to break that loan in the middle of the season, but let's see what the club will decide by the end of the campaign.

Pochettino's Chelsea future amid Amorim interest

Chelsea's position on Mauricio Pochettino remains the same. They want to see positive results, of course, so let's see what happens in the coming games, but their priority has always been to wait until the end of the season.

This remains the plan at Chelsea – they will assess the situation with the manager and then make a decision. The pressure is there because they want to see better results and something different altogether, but it's important to say that their priority is to discuss Pochettino's future at the end of the season.

Still, it's also important to say, with regards to managers, keep an eye on Ruben Amorim this summer. Many clubs, especially in England, are keeping a close eye on the work of Amorim with Sporting Lisbon for a long time. From what I understand, he has a release clause in his contract worth €30m. Let's see what he will decide about his future at the end of the season, but there is a lot of appreciation from multiple clubs, and not just in England.

Liverpool, for example, even though we know their priority is Xabi Alonso, it looks like it's going to be Liverpool against Bayern and I'll update you on that in the next few days, but Amorim is another manager appreciated by figures at Anfield. We'll have to see what happens with the new structure at Liverpool, and keep an eye on what happens at Chelsea, but overall Amorim looks like a name to watch in the summer domino of managers.

One final point on Chelsea – despite rumours, I'm not aware of any contacts or negotiations over Crysencio Summerville at Leeds. Chelsea's priority for the summer remains a central striker, but let's see who else they look at. There are really many clubs following and monitoring Crysencio in the Premier League and other leagues, so let's see if Chelsea decide to join them, but I'm not aware of anything concrete on this at the moment.

In other transfer news…

Xavi – The Barcelona manager has confirmed what I said a few days ago – he hasn't changed his mind about leaving the job at the end of the season: "I stand firm on my decision to leave the club at the end of the season. There are no changes. I'm gonna leave."

Adrien Rabiot – People at Spurs are monitoring midfielders in general and Adrien Rabiot could be big opportunity for many clubs. Still, I'm not aware of concrete contacts between Tottenham and Rabiot for now. From what I heard, Rabiot will also give priority to talks with Juventus over a new deal before deciding his future.

Nicolo Zaniolo – Nothing has been decided yet on Nicolo Zaniolo's future at Aston Villa – it's one for May/June. Villa will decide their plans as soon as they will know which European competition they will play next season. AC Milan are not working on the Zaniolo deal, I'm not even aware about interest to be honest, despite what may have ben reported elsewhere. Last time Milan were interested was in 2022 with Paolo Maldini as director.