Welcome to our daily transfer rumour round-up which see Manchester United and Liverpool fight to sign the talented striker while Jose Mourinho sanctions another departure at Old Trafford. Elsewhere Chelsea have made a club record bid for the Champions League winner while Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal will complete their fourth summer signing this week.
On that note, here are the most popular transfer news and rumours doing the rounds on August 21st.
Serie A
- Keisuke Honda has snubbed a chance to join Sunderland this summer who are ready to offer €10million for the Japanese international. However, Calcimercato are certain that AC Milan will accept the bid as they do not see Honda as a key player for their plans this season.
- Just weeks after arriving from Fenerbahce, Turkey international Caner Erkin could be leaving Inter again. Erkin arrived on a free transfer and was signed by Roberto Mancini. However, SportItalia claim that new manager Frank De Boer is not interested in keeping Erkin at San Siro and has asked Inter to find the left back a new club.
- Juventus are fearing that Chelsea will make a £25million bid for their Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic. Gazzetta dello Sport have reported the story where they claim that Antonio Conte wants Mandzukic as the preferred partner to Diego Costa once he switches to the 3-5-2 formation.
Mandzukic emerged as the number one target following Romelu Lukaku’s decision to snub Chelsea and stay at Everton.
Bundesliga
- Serie A champions Juventus are in talks with VfL Wolfsburg over the transfer of Luiz Gustavo, Bild understands. The 29-year-old Brazilian has been seen as the ideal replacement for Paul Pogba who left Juventus to sign for Manchester United in a deal worth €101million.
- Hamburger SV are interested in signing Roma midfielder William Vainqueur who only moved to the Serie A last year. As per the reports from Laroma 24, AS Roma are ready to listen to offers for Vainqueur who is also linked with Crystal Palace.
- Schalke have failed in their initial £10million bid to sign Tottenham outcast Nabil Bentaleb, according to reports from Sports Bild. Bentaleb is looking for a move away from White Hart Lane after dropping down Pochettino's pecking order but Chairman Daniel Levy has turned down the initial £10m offer and wants in the region of £15m for the Algerian midfielder.
Premier League
- Chelsea have lodged a club record £60m bid for Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez, according to The Daily Express. The Blues are keen to complete a marquee signing this summer after missing out on Everton striker Romelu Lukaku. Real Madrid are yet to respond to Chelsea’s recent bid for the Colombian star.
- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the club are close to completing their fourth summer signing. Gunners are heavily linked with a move for Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi and Daily Star has reported that a £24.5million agreement has been reached between the two clubs.
To further confirm the news, Wenger told BT Sports: "Yes we are close [to another signing].”
- Manchester United and Liverpool are fighting it out to sign Gremio forward Luan Vieira. Both clubs have already held talks with the player, who has a €80 release clause. According to Express, Gremio want close to £39million (€45m) to let go of their star striker.
La Liga
- Antoine Greizmann has revealed that he had big money offers from other clubs to quit Atletico Madrid this summer. As per Daily Mirror, Manchester United had offered £70million for the French star which was turned down even without negotiations.
- Barcelona have turned their attention to Joe Hart as their goal keeping option for the season. Manchester City have agreed to sign Claudio Bravo which has left Barcelona looking for another keeper with Marc-Andre Ter-Stegen currently injured. Pep Guardiola is willing to let Hart leave this summer with Barcelona ready to sign him on a season-long loan.
- According to L’Équipe, Spanish side Sevilla have made a €7m offer for Rennes winger and Polish international Kamil Grosicki. West Ham, Schalke and Lazio are also in talks with the Ligue 1 side for Grosicki’s signature but Sevilla are the first ones to submit a concrete offer.
Rest of Europe
- Sporting Lisbon have unveiled Arsenal star Joel Campbell as their latest summer signing. Campbell has joined the Portuguese side on a season-long loan. the Costa Rica International had to leave Emirates after he was told that Arsene Wenger cannot guarantee him enough minutes on the pitch this season.
- Manchester United youngster Cameron Borthwick-Jackson looks set to be joining championship outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan according to Gianluca Di Marzio. The talented left-back enjoyed a breakthrough season under Louis Van Gaal but has been deemed as a surplus to requirement by Jose Mourinho.
