Transfer rumors, news: Manchester United to announce Christian Eriksen; AC Milan in on Charles De Ketelaere
What’s better than a cup of coffee and the latest transfer news? Join in as CBS Sports provides the latest updates from around the world and what they mean to your favorite teams. Things are heating up as Christian Eriksen is set for Manchester United, Nottingham Forest are making shrewd moves to improve their teams and a few races around the world are coming down to key teams. Bayern Munich and Chelsea both want Matthijs de Ligt while Leeds United and AC Milan chance Charles de Ketelaere.
Let’s get to the transfer moves:
In the six-yard box
The biggest transfer stories of the day. These are the deals that are happening, or at least on the verge of getting done.
Eriksen is set to be unveiled as a Manchester United player
After a stellar half season with Brentford that saw Eriksen score one goal and assist four more while helping the bees secure a 13th place finish, there has been no shortage of interest in Eriksen’s services. But with Erik ten Hag taking charge at Manchester United, he made Eriksen one of his priority targets as the former Ajax midfielder could be key to making his 4-3-3 tick. Eriksen is set to sign a three-year deal to head to Old Trafford and expectations will be high after Manchester United missed out on Champions League soccer last season.
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Entering the penalty area
These moves may not be imminent, but there’s a lot of transfer fire in all the smoke these players and teams might be blowing.
The de Ligt race is coming down to Bayern Munich and Chelsea
Bayern director Oliver Kahn has gone on the record to express their interest in Juventus‘ Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt. Juve expects both Chelsea and Bayern to bid, but Bayern seems to be his preferred destination, according to Manuel Veth. After losing Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea need to secure a top class center back, but progress has been slow during this window. Bayern want to upgrade their own defensive unit after a disappointing season from Dayot Upamecano while also losing Niklas Sule to German rivals Borussia Dortmund. A confident ball-carrying center back, there isn’t a club in the world where the 22-year-old wouldn’t fit in, but it would be quite a loss for Juventus.
Nottingham close in on £16 million deal with Liverpool for Williams
With Djed Spence likely moving to Tottenham, Forest have quite a hole at right back. Neco Williams enjoyed a successful season on loan with Fulham in the Championship last season, scoring two goals and assisting two more while powering the Cottagers to win the league. Forest adding Williams to their ranks would serve a dual purpose of improving the team while also weakening their newly-promoted rivals. Along with adding Spence, Forest also look to add Omar Richards from Bayern Munich according to John Percy.
It has been a busy summer so far for the Tricky Trees as they’ve added Dean Henderson, Giulian Biancone, Moussa Niakhate and Taiwo Awoniye, but these are statement signings. With A large portion of the team on loan last season in the Championship, there were holes to fill for Steve Cooper to have the best squad possible available to him. The hope is that by getting these deals done earlier in the summer, that Cooper will have plenty of time to teach them his system ahead of the Premier League season.
Build-up play
These moves might be speculative but they’re ones to keep an eye on.
AC Milan enter the race for De Ketelaere
Leeds United have already offered upwards of €30 million to Club Brugge for talented attacking midfielder Charles De Ketelaere, but they aren’t alone in their interest. Last season he scored 14 goals and assisted six more in Belgium while adding another assist in Champions League play. Able to perform against the world’s best at only 21, it makes sense that AC Milan see De Ketelaere as someone who can help strengthen their goal of keeping the Scudetto for another season. As they’ve only opened discussions with his agents, it remains to be seen if AC Milan will match Leeds’ bid, but it could be quite the tango between the two clubs.
Keeper punts
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