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Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Daily Transfer Roundup. Thanks to the summer transfer window, there is no dearth of excitement in the football world. As top clubs across Europe line up to make the most of the transfer window, we expect quite a few transfer records to be broken over the course of the next couple of months.
Today's top transfer news involves Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City among several others. Without further ado, let's take a look at the top transfer news, rumours and updates that made headlines today.
Matthijs De Ligt to take his time to take a decision
The Matthijs De Ligt transfer saga is going to be the story of the summer. Several top clubs across Europe are ready to roll the red carpet out to welcome the 19-year-old Ajax sensation who played a huge role in their staggering journey to the last 4 of the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester United and Barcelona are the frontrunners even though several other clubs including Juventus are interested in securing his services. Both clubs are willing to offer De Ligt hefty wage packages in order to lure him to their respective clubs.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a huge fan of the Dutchman and wants Manchester United to break the bank to sign him as the Norwegian tries to solve the defensive problems at Old Trafford. Barcelona have their own set of problems in defence with Pique well into his 30s and Samuel Umtiti's future hanging in the balance.
Matthijs De Ligt has provided an update on his future. He chose to remain coy on his future when quizzed about it after their UEFA Nations League final defeat against Portugal.
He said,
“Now I will go on vacation, I'll think carefully about what is best for me and then I'll decide,” he said.
“For a young player like me, it's important to go to a club where I can play consistently. That's the main issue.”
Maurizio Sarri set for Chelsea exit imminently
Chelsea's problems seem to be multiplying by the second. Following the imposition of a transfer ban and the subsequent departure of Eden Hazard, Chelsea have now found themselves in a fix. They will have to go looking for a new manager now that Maurizio Sarri is all set to join Juventus.
It is being claimed in Italy that Sarri will be allowed to leave Chelsea after taking over just last summer. The Italian manager won the Europa League with Chelsea after defeating Arsenal in the final. He also helped them secure Champions League qualification after finishing 3rd on the Premier League table.
Massimiliano Allegri left his job as the Juventus manager and several managers including Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were being linked with the Old Lady. However, now the former Napoli manager is all set to take over in Turin.
Manchester United and Manchester City to battle for Harry Maguire
Now that the UEFA Nations League has come to a conclusion, both the Manchester giants will go head-to-head in a bid to sign Leicester City centre-back Harry Maguire.
Both the Manchester clubs are on the lookout for a top quality centre-back and have earmarked Harry Maguire as the ideal candidate. The report claims that both the clubs are willing to smash the transfer record for an English defender in order to secure the services of the 26-year-old.
However, Leicester City do not want to sign Maguire and haven't even slapped a price tag on him. The report goes on to claim that sources have revealed that the Foxes value him in the ballpark of £80 million. This is £5 million more than the amount Liverpool paid for Virgil Van Dijk when the signed him from Southampton in the winter of 2018.
Barcelona want Marcus Rashford as Philippe Coutinho replacement
It would be fair to say that Philippe Coutinho's dream move to Barcelona has not entirely worked out as well as anyone would have wanted. After impressing in his initial days, Coutinho's form faded and his contributions dwindled to a trickle.
Now, he has fallen out of favour with the Camp Nou faithful and Barcelona are looking to offload him in the summer. The Cules have now reportedly made Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford a priority.
Signing Rashford would be a great solution to Barcelona's problem. They can fill in the void on the left side and Rashford could also replace Suarez as the striker when the Uruguayan finally calls it a day at Barcelona.
Barcelona are willing to offer Philippe Coutinho in exchange for the 21-year-old. It remains to be seen whether or not the Red Devils will sell one of their brightest prospects.
Manchester United ready to drop Pogba price; Perez to go ahead
On the back of signing Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt, Eden Hazard from Chelsea and Ferland Mendy from Olympique Lyon, Real Madrid are now going to focus on bringing Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid had been torn between Christian Eriksen and Paul Pogba for a while now. However, with Manchester United ready to lower their asking price and prepared to let go of a player who doesn't want to say, Real Madrid are hoping to sign him up for around €135 million.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos had come under much criticism as Real Madrid endured a difficult season on all fronts. As such, they have been looking to reinforce their midfield. Zinedine Zidane has been vocal about his admiration for Pogba and the latter had reciprocated by saying that Real Madrid would be a dream move.
