Gossip: Haaland’s ‘dream’ club prepare to activate exit ‘clause’; Arsenal sent ‘extraordinary fee’ demand
Real Madrid are preparing to snatch Erling Haaland from Manchester City, while Arsenal have been told to pay an “extraordinary fee” for Douglas Luiz…
THAT HAALAND RELEASE CLAUSE…
Back in March, Haaland‘s agent – Rafaela Pimento – ominously warned Man City that Real Madrid is a “dreamland for the players” she works with and the Spanish giants continue to be linked with the prolific goalscorer.
Haaland has been ridiculously good for Man City over the past 18 months and he already has 67 goals in 70 appearances for the Premier League champions.
But it does feel inevitable that he will have a spell at Real Madrid at some point and he could join the La Liga outfit as early as next year.
Spanish outlet AS claim Real Madrid are ‘always present’ for Haaland after Karim Benzema’s superb form made them decide that the Man City forward ‘was less of a priority in 2022’.
But with their interest in PSG’s Kylian Mbappe uncertain, Haaland ‘continues to appear in the pools for the future Madrid’ and he ‘has a termination clause that comes into play next summer and through which he can leave City for an amount in the region of 200 million euros’.
It remains to be seen whether Real Madrid will go through with activating this ‘clause’ but even at €200m, Haaland would be a bargain and the prospect of a reunion with Jude Bellingham at this stage of their careers is pretty tantalising.
ARSENAL SENT ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ DEMAND
The Gunners snapped up Declan Rice for a huge fee of over £100m in the summer but they continue to be linked with Douglas Luiz, who is loving life at Aston Villa under Unai Emery.
The midfielder is surprisingly among the best finishers in the Premier League this season as he’s found his goalscoring touch for the Villans and Arsenal like what they see from him.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that Luiz (not Ivan Toney) is Arsneal’s ‘top target’ ahead of January, but Villa (and this is hardly a shock) are not ready to let him go.
Football Transfers reporter Steve Kay has indicated that ‘Arsenal already bid for Aston Villa’s Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz last summer and will move for him again in January’.
But according to Kay, it will be pretty difficult to prise Luiz away from Villa. He said: “Arsenal have already approached Villa about Luiz’s availability for January. They flat-out told Arsenal there was ‘no chance’ of a January move happening unless an extraordinary fee was offered and Villa could find a replacement.
“Villa’s league position and run in Europe have emboldened Unai Emery, who doesn’t want to sell his best players.”
UNITED RESPOND TO FERNANDES ‘OFFER’
Manchester United continue to be impacted by the Saudi Pro League with Raphael Varane being heavily linked with a move to the Middle East amid his slip down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
And Bruno Fernandes is also on the radar of Saudi clubs, with Football Insider noting that the prospect of the Portugal international leaving Man Utd is being touted.
‘Jaw-dropping riches’ would be on offer for Fernandes in Saudi but Man Utd are ‘unlikely to entertain any offers’ if they arrive ‘in January or next summer’.
The Red Devils are ‘not keen’ to part with their captain, who still has two years running on his contract. They have the option to extend this deal by another year, which further strengthens their position.
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