The upcoming 2024/25 Season is scheduled to kick off in August later this year. While the Premier League, La Liga and the Ligue 1 have a resumption date of 16th August 2024, Serie A will resume a day later on the 17th and the Bundesliga about a week later on the 23rd.
The transfer window which opened on the 14th of June will close on the 30th of August, and quite a large number of transfers are expected to happen within the 11 weeks as clubs will look to bolster their squads ahead of the new campaign.
Here, the FootballCastle takes a look at some big names in the sport that still have some uncertainties about their future.
Victor Osimhen
With the Nigerian most likely to depart from Napoli this season, he has been linked with a number of big clubs across Europe. The forward’s name has come up in transfer rumours concerning Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Arsenal and even the Saudi Pro League. Although it is no news how rampant such transfer conversations are especially when the market is open.
With an impressive tally of 48 goals over the past two seasons at Napoli, the 25-year-old’s potential move to the English top flight continues to make headlines. Calcio Napoli reports that Osimhen remains ‘confident’ a Premier League side will splash out the £100m release clause later in the window and Napoli’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, earlier revealed his expectation for an imminent departure of the striker, saying:
“We’ve known all this since last summer, which is also why negotiations for the extension of his contract, although friendly, took so long.
We know he’s either going to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or an English club.”
Given the huge fee involved and a possible player merry-go-round between all the clubs involved, this transfer saga could run until close to the transfer deadline.
Conor Gallagher
Chelsea’s stance on Conor Gallagher has not changed as the club prepares to cash in on the midfielder who has exactly 12 months remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge, and is attracting the interest of numerous clubs this summer. Gallagher, who captained Chelsea more than anyone else last season under Mauricio Pochettino, is wanted by Aston Villa, Tottenham and Atletico Madrid.
The midfielder is understood to be keen on staying in the London club but Chelsea view his sale as a possibility to help balance their books after mammoth spending in recent transfer windows.
Chelsea are said to be open to offers in the region of £50 million for the England international, but with just one year remaining on his deal, clubs are reluctant to pay such an extortionate fee. The midfielder is currently in Germany with the England camp for Euro 2024 and his focus remains on helping the Three Lions go as far in the international competition as possible.
However, nothing will be decided until England’s involvement in the Euros is over, but there is still work going on behind the scenes. Villa and Chelsea have already negotiated two deals this summer with Ian Maatsen moving to Villa Park, while youngster Omari Kellyman went in the opposite direction.
Romelu Lukaku
AC Milan would be willing to offer €25 million – €30 million for Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, according to reports in Italy. The forward has been on loan for the past three seasons and it is clear that Chelsea must get the player off their books as the relationship between Lukaku and the club has broken down. While a potential bid seems reasonable, it would fall within Lukaku’s updated release clause which is believed to be around €40m.
Lukaku ‘s future is yet to be decided and Milan are still in contact with Chelsea as talks continue, but Antonio Conte’s Napoli are also interested. The Italian manager has a good working relationship with Lukaku, with both winning the Serie A title together with Inter Milan, but this is linked to any potential exit of Victor Osimhen who should leave the South of Italy this summer. However, at the moment there is no concrete interest in the striker.
Lukaku scored 21 goals in 47 games for Roma last season, once again excelling in Serie A and it’s thought that he would like to continue his time there and finally make it a permanent switch.
A major transfer decision is however expected soon, following Belgium’s exit from the ongoing Euros Tournament.
Alphonso Davies
Real Madrid’s interest in Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies is no secret these days, and if they can pull off his signing, it would be a rather successful summer for Los Blancos following the additions of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick Felipe. However, they may have to be patient.
Over recent months, it has been reported by a number of outlets that Real Madrid have agreed personal terms with Davies, with the Canadian also appearing to be prioritizing a move to Madrid, meaning it will come down to negotiations between Real Madrid and the Bavarians.
Bayern appear to be demanding €50m for the 23-year-old, yet Los Blancos, conscious that he’s out of contract next summer, are looking more at a deal in the €35m range.
It is easy to assume that Real Madrid will get the deal done, as they have a habit of getting signings over the line once they set their mind to it in recent years.
Equally, they are parting from a position of strength in negotiations but they must still work out a deal with Bayern, who have a reputation as tough negotiators.
Jadon Sancho
Sancho’s future at Manchester United appears to be a huge doubt. After a survey conducted by the Manchester Evening News, results revealed that only 33% of Reds fans want the forward to remain at Old Trafford. The England international spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund after a public falling out with United manager Erik ten Hag following a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal in September.
Speaking about the possibility of Sancho returning to Dortmund on a permanent deal this summer, Sporting Director Sebastian Kehl said: “I don’t know yet but it was great to have him in the last six months. He has increased the quality of the team. He still has a contract at Manchester United. We have no buy-out option so we have to negotiate.”
Sancho has two years remaining on his current deal at Old Trafford and the Red Devils are all set to offload the English star after deciding to stick with Ten Hag as their head coach. The Dutchman is unlikely to work with the attacker until he apologizes to him for their fallout.
Now, reports suggest that United want to sell Sancho outright and have set a €60m asking price, but Barcelona are unwilling to pay a fee, meaning they will have to consider another loan deal.
The Premier League giants reportedly held talks with Barcelona two months ago over the possibility of Sancho’s transfer, however, the Catalan giants rejected the idea after baulking at their valuation. Borussia Dortmund and Juventus have also cooled their interest in Sancho due to his price tag, with a permanent transfer away from United this summer looking unlikely.
Where the 24-year-old will spend the next season remains yet to be seen.
Julian Alvarez
Manchester City reportedly do not want to sell Arsenal and Chelsea-linked Julian Alvarez this summer after reports claimed that the 24-year-old could leave the Premier League champions. Alvarez scored 19 goals across all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side last term but Erling Haaland remains City’s first-choice option as a sole striker up front.
Robin Bairner, chief editor of Football Transfers has offered an update on Alvarez’s future. He claims that the Argentina international is still in City’s plans, but if he does leave it is unlikely he will be allowed to join title rivals Arsenal.
“From what I’ve heard, City don’t want to give up Alvarez unless he specifically comes out and says I want to leave,” he said via PSG Talk Extra Time.
“Now, he’s not done that yet, so his situation is a bit up in the air. In terms of teams that he might go to, Arsenal is potentially one. We’ve seen Manchester City players go there in the past, notably Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
“But I don’t think City are really realistically going to want to sell him to Arsenal, given that they’re clearly their closest rivals in the Premier League.”
Atletico Madrid have also been linked with a move for the World Cup winner but their president Enrique Cerezo recently suggested the striker would be staying at the Etihad Stadium. While Haaland’s injury last season did afford Alvarez 31 Premier League starts, ousting the Norway international on a regular basis looks like a tall order.
When asked about his future while away on Copa America duty with Argentina, Alvarez told ESPN: “These are things that are said, but I am calm; I am comfortable and happy at City; we will see what happens.”
Riccardo Calafiori
Arsenal are close to signing Riccardo Calafiori as the Gunners have seemingly won the race for the 22-year-old after Chelsea pulled out.
The two London clubs are the major teams working on getting the Italian’s signature and Calafiori is open to joining Arsenal. Mikel Arteta has approved of Calafiori’s purchase as they have maintained a good relationship with Bologna since the acquisition of Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Bologna want around €50m and Chelsea were willing to include players as part of a potential deal while a move to Juventus is currently off as the player’s camp is working on a move abroad.
The Old Lady had agreed on personal terms with Calafiori in February, but the relationship between Bologna and Juve is tense after Thiago Motta’s switch. Other clubs like Bayer Leverkusen also hold interest but Bologna believe the Premier League is his most likely destination.
The fees are expected to be high as FC Basel are due to receive almost 50% of the final fee from Bologna.
Xavi Simons
Per Sky Sport in Germany, Bayern have reportedly agreed personal terms with Simons’ representatives and are hopeful of landing the Netherlands international this summer. The Bundesliga giants will now negotiate terms with Paris Saint-Germain as the player still has a contract with them until 2027.
The report further claimed that the 21-year-old has informed the Ligue 1 champions that he does not want to return to Paris. RB Leipzig, on the other hand, remain hopeful that the player will continue with them in the 2024/25 season.
Simons enjoyed an excellent outing while on loan at RB Leipzig last term during which he scored ten goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions, drawing the attention of several clubs across Europe. However, the exciting forward plans to make a final decision on his future only after the Euros.
Bayern are keeping tabs on the player among others, and it will be interesting to see who wins the race for his signature.
Many more deals are still expected in this transfer window and the majority of them will be concluded after Euro 2024 where players put on their best performances in order to attract more lucrative offers.
Written by: Olabode Goodwill
