Darmian leaving for Parma, Barcelona agree stunning swap deal for Neymar, Keylor Navas agrees to join PSG and more: Transfer Roundup, 30 August 2019

Who's going the other way?
Who's going the other way?

We've just got 3 more days remaining in the European summer transfer window and if reports coming in are to be believed, we're in for quite a roller coaster ride. Without further ado, let's take a look at the top transfer news of the day.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Darmian will follow Sanchez and Smalling to Italy

Matteo Darmian in action against Manchester City
Matteo Darmian in action against Manchester City

Speaking to the press ahead of Manchester United's weekend game against Southampton, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that Matteo Darmian is also likely to be offloaded before the transfer window shuts.

He said,

"I can see maybe Matteo [leaving]. There has been some interest in Matteo over in Italy, wanting to go back home,"

Subsequently, Gianluca DiMarzio tweeted that Matteo Darmian will join Parma on a permanent deal and is all set to undergo his medical tomorrow.

However, he confirmed that Argentine centre-back Marcos Rojo will be staying at the club.

"Marcos is staying definitely so we have a squad now that's less in numbers but still big enough and strong enough to have coverage in all positions."

Alexis Sanchez joined Inter Milan on loan. Speaking about his departure, Ole said,

"I think Alexis [Sanchez] needed to go because he's been here for 18 months and it's not really worked out for him,"
"For him as well to restart and get himself playing regularly, get himself scoring goals, that will only benefit everyone in the end.
"For us we are going to watch every weekend now to see Alexis and Romelu [Lukaku] playing together."

Ole also offered an update on Chris Smalling. He has confirmed that the Englishman will join AS Roma on loan for the year.

"It's just come up the last couple of days, this opportunity for Chris and we've sat down yesterday and discussed it,"
"At the moment we have six fit centre-backs and I couldn't promise Chris regular football and he's on the plane over now. I think he'll enjoy the experience over there.
"It's a good club, a big league. There aren't many English players who have had the chance to play in Italy and I'm sure he will come back stronger and better for it."

Fernando Llorente agrees 2-year deal to join Napoli

Off to Italy
Off to Italy

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente has agreed to join Napoli on a 2 year deal. Llorente's contract with Spurs had expired back in June and has been a free agent over the past couple of months. He is now all set to undergo a medical at Napoli this weekend.

The striker chipped in well for Spurs during their Champions League journey to the final last season with important goals against the likes of Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. Napoli had been stalling on Llorente as they were trying to engineer a deal for Inter Milan outcast Mauro Icardi.

However, that failed to materialize and Napoli decided to focus their attention on the former Juventus striker who plied his trade in the Serie A from 2013 to 2015.

Icardi wants to stay at Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri are willing to offer him a new deal if he agrees to go on loan for the season with the club preferring AS Monaco as his destination. It remains to be seen what is going to happen on that front.

Unai Emery confident Mesut Ozil will stay

Mesut Ozil and Unai Emery
Mesut Ozil and Unai Emery

Arsenal manager Unai Emery remains confident that playmaker Mesut Ozil will not leave the club this season. Ozil is yet to play for Arsenal this season owing to safety concerns and illness. As has been the case every summer, there has been speculation over his future.

But Emery remains confident the German will stay at the club after the transfer window shuts on September 2nd. However, he also added that there could be more departures on or before the European transfer deadline.

“We are not speaking about the possibility for Mesut to leave. We finished here our transfer window and in Europe, it is going to finish on Monday.
“We cannot sign another player, but we have some players who have a possibility to leave in the four days before the transfer window closes.
“The club is working; some players know the situation and my focus and the team’s focus is to prepare for the match on Sunday and exclusively on Sunday.”

Keylor Navas set to join Paris Saint-Germain

Keylor Navas may have played his last game for Los
Keylor Navas may have played his last game for Los Blancos

The Costa Rican goalkeeper is finally going to call it a day on his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. The 32-year-old has agreed terms with Paris Saint-Germain. As per reports, Keylor Navas will sign a 3-year deal which will see him earn a whopping €6 million per year.

Navas told Real Madrid of his intention to leave on Wednesday after perusing the deal offered by the Ligue 1 giants. The report claims that PSG and Navas had reached an agreement in May. However, this was prior to Leonardo taking over as the sporting director at PSG.

Paris Saint-Germain had been looking to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma from AC Milan all summer. However, they couldn't reach an agreement with Il Rossoneri.

Though there was a feeling that Navas would leave this summer, as the window dragged on, Zidane was expecting him to stay. Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are yet to reach an agreement but the report claims that a deal will be sealed for around €15 million.

Barcelona agree cash + 3 players deal for Neymar

Neymar's got his wish
Neymar's got his wish

It is happening. According to Gianluca DiMarzio, Neymar is all set to return to the Camp Nou after 2 years in the French capital. Barcelona have now agreed to a deal with PSG and have reached an agreement with Neymar over personal terms as well.

It is not clear how much money is going to be involved. However, Barcelona's offer included 3 players- Todibo, Ivan Rakitic and Ousmane Dembele. The only stumbling block is that La Blaugrana are yet to convince Ousmane Dembele to part with them and join Paris Saint-Germain.

The report claims that the representatives are working on the last details of the deal and that the deal will be sealed before the transfer window shuts on September 2. The Brazilian has been trying to force a return to Barcelona all summer and it looks like the biggest transfer saga of the summer has reached its conclusion.

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Edited by Sripad