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Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Daily Transfer Roundup. With the transfer window opening in another few weeks, there is no dearth of excitement on and off the pitch in the footballing world.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top transfer news, rumours and updates that made headlines on 18 May 2019.
Manchester United make contact with Fulham over Ryan Sessegnon
The Red Devils have initiated contact with Fulham over left-back Ryan Sessegnon. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to leave no stones unturned in their bid to shore up that leaky defence. The club also wants to invest in young talent with an eye on the future.
Ryan Sessegnon will turn 19 over the weekend and after a disappointing season in the Premier League with the Cottagers, this could potentially be the big break a player of his calibre deserves.
Manchester United, however, are not the only parties who are interested in the 18-year-old. European giants Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in Ryan Sessegnon. But Manchester United are the only club that have made contact with Fulham so far.
Fulham's return to the Premier League was quite underwhelming and the Cottagers finished the season at 19th and will return to the Championship. The Englishman, however, does not want to go back to playing in the Championship and wants to ply his trade in the Premier League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Manchester United to sign young homegrown talents and Ryan Sessegnon fits the bill to a T. Fulham are also resigned to letting Sessegnon leave in the club. The youngster only has one more year remaining on his current contract. So if they don't sell him this summer, they run the risk of losing him on a free in the next.
Manchester United are short on quality defensive players and are desperate to reinforce their defence over the course of the next few months.
Pep Guardiola shuts down Leroy Sane rumours; says club are looking to give him a new deal
Leroy Sane has not been wholly able to nail down a starting spot in Pep Guardiola's team and this had to the suggestion that the former Barcelona manager is open to selling him in the summer. However, the gaffer himself has now come out and quelled all such claims and said that the club is looking to tie Sane to the club with a new deal.
He also said that the club intends on extending both Sane's and Gundogan's deals. Pep also touched upon the importance of having a selection of top players if they're to challenge on all fronts in the upcoming season.
Speaking to the press ahead of their FA Cup final fixture against Watford, Guardiola said,
"We are one-and-a-half years trying to sign his [new] contract. We want him. If you want to extend his contract, it's because you want him. You're not going to extend his contract because you don't want him.
"It's like [Ilkay] Gundogan, for example – it's the same case. About the transfer window, the hypothetical incomings and outgoings, it's not the time. It's after the game and after the game I'm on holiday.
"He's competing with Sterling and Bernardo Silva. It's not easy. If you want to play in for competitions for the quadruple we need Leroy, Sterling, Riyad [Mahrez], Bernardo, we can't compete for the quadruple with just two wingers.
"They have to fight each other and play the best as possible to convince me to put them in the line-up."
Zinedine Zidane gets annoyed at questions about Keylor Navas' future
We do not get to see the Real Madrid gaffer lose his calm often. A reporter, however, managed to get his goat by asking him if Real Madrid's team selection was entirely up to him. Visibly annoyed by the question, Zidane did not exactly hold back. He said,
"It's my decision, obviously. Who do you think decides the team? This is clear like water... If I don't do what I want with my team, I leave,"
Zidane was attending the press conference ahead of Real Madrid's last league game against Real Betis on Sunday. Zizou added,
"Let's be clear about it. I have not asked the club for him to be second goalkeeper next year.
"Those are things that will be decided at the end of the season, just like with every other player,"
There has been much speculation surrounding the future of both Real Madrid goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois and Keylor Navas.
Messi and Suarez do not want Antoine Griezmann at Barcelona
Despite a heavy number of reports linking Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona, it looks like the Frenchman won't end up at the Camp Nou. The latest set of reports suggest that the likes of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi are not at all pleased with the idea of the Atletico Madrid man coming to Catalonia.
Messi and co. are not impressed by Griezmann's antics with the World Cup winner's documentary on saying 'no' to Barcelona when they came knocking for him last summer. Some Barcelona players still feel betrayed by how things panned out last summer.
The report adds that the players have communicated their disapproval of the potential signing to Eric Abidal and Josep Maria Bartomeu. To add to the list of reasons that the current squad has against the Frenchman joining, Griezmann plays in a position that will interfere with both Messi's and Suarez's game
Florentino Perez wants Christian Eriksen but Zizou wants Pogba
It's quite a confusing time to be a Real Madrid fan. With the club having just come out of a torrid season, Zinedine Zidane is expected to oversee a massive squad overhaul in the summer with several first-team fixtures tipped to depart in the summer to make way for fresh signings.
One of the things that Real Madrid have prioritized is securing the services of a quality central midfielder who can take over from Toni Kroos or Luka Modric. However, it seems like the President, Florentino Perez, and the manager, Zinedine Zidane, are on completely different pages.
Perez wants to sign Tottenham Hotspur's Christian Eriksen. The Dane is more of a consistent performer than Pogba and even Sergio Ramos reportedly believes that Pogba can lower the spirits in the dressing room after his exploits at Manchester United. However, Zinedine Zidane insists that the Frenchman is the right man for the job.
Pogba is keen on a switch. However, he won't wait forever for the Blancos to make a move. However, Zidane has asked Pogba to show some patience in order to secure the move.
