Summer 2023 Soccer Transfer Window

[IthacaMatt]

Big stories early in the window are people moving to the Saudi league, like they did to the Chinese Super League about 5 years ago. Karim Benzema from Real, N'Golo Kante, Edou Mendy, Ruben Neves, Kallidou Kalibally and Hakim Ziyech, and many more deals pending.

Outstanding Saudi Offers: Bernardo Silva (MC), Neymar (PSG), Zaha (CP), Brozovic (Inter), Saul (Athl Madrid).

Bellingham to Real. Will Real sell Tchouameni? Midfield getting crowded.

Chelsea appear to have sold Havertz to Arsenal for 65M, Kovacic to Man City for 30M; Kalibally, Ziyech and Mendy to the Saudis for about 45M Euros. Looks like Man United are close to 50-55M for Mason Mount.

Nkunku has been signed (finalized) from Germany. Looks like we're going to sign a striker from La Liga named Jackson and put him in competition with Broja for Chelsea #9. I have to think one more guy may be coming.

Moise Kean sold by Everton to Juve, as a result of their ouster from the PL.

Inter want Chelsea to bend over for them to make another loan to them for Lukaku possible. Lukaku pushing a showdown, when Chelsea management say, "we're only looking to sell, not subsidize another loan." What??

Inter have been posing in the media that they're going to demand a couple Chelsea players in loan or discount sale, just to take Lukaku on loan again. WHAT?? Chelsea want either Inter's goalkeeper, Onana, Skriniar, Martinez or that little midfielder. Take you pick, and we'll swap.

Liverpool with great early business getting MacAllister on the cheap from Brighton. They need another young energetic midfielder. Man City losing Gundogan on a free transfer is going to hurt. Kovacic, their intended replacement for 30M, has good close control and can advance the ball to the final third, but he has no "final pass', no "end product".

Tottenham make Kulaszevski permanent from Juve.

Aston Villa doing good early business, getting Youri Tielmans from Leicester. They, and Newcastle and West Ham are all looking at guys like Harvey Barnes and James Madison. People still being quoted 80-100M for defensive midfielders like Caicedo, Declan Rice and others.

Looking like Arsenal's window is shaping up to be Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and a defender.

People are talking crazy numbers for Caicedo, leaving others looking at Romeo Lavia from Southampton and the other Onana, the DM from Everton, who is very unhappy at their relegation. I wouldn't mind Chelsea missing on Caicedo, and maybe getting Lavia and Onana together for about the same price.

Brighton already added 3 players in MF Dahmoud from Dortmund, Milner from Liverpool, and Joao Pedro from Watford.

Feel free to add and comments, as the window has only just opened for a week.

 

[IthacaMatt]

June 23 updates - done / imminent deals (significant ones are bolded):

Jude Bellingham - Dortmund to Real Madrid
Moise Keane - Everton to Juventus
Pedro Porro - Sporting Lisbon to Tottenham
Christopher Nkunku - RB Leipzig to Chelsea
Chris Wood - Newcastle to Nottingham Forest
Edin Dzeko - Inter to Fenerbace
Ilkay Gundogan - Man City to Barcelona
Cezar Azpilicueta - Chelsea to Inter
Naby Keita - Liverpool to Werder Bremen
Youri Tielmans - Leicester to Aston Villa
James Milner - Liverpool to Brighton
Joselu - Espanyola to Real Madrid
Justin Kluivert - Roma to Bournemouth
Alexis Mac Allister - Brighton to Liverpool
Jack Butland - Crystal Palace to Rangers
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - Chelsea to Inter

 

[IthacaMatt]

Rumors and newspaper articles - deals that could happen in the next week (or not):

Man United & Chelsea are about 10M apart on a deal for United to take Mason Mount. United threatening to walk, but their alternatives (Caicedo or Declan Rice) are 30-40M more. Now, they may be looking at Adrian Rabiot of PSG, who may be a free agent.

United's real needs are for another striker and a replacement for DeGea in goal, so why are they jerking around with these other guys (Caicedo or Rice) who they are unlikely to sign? Unsettled potential sale of the team hangs over their summer moves, too.

Liverpool have done well to get MacAllister, a WC champion with Argentina, from Brighton on a bargain. They need someone more athletic beside him, just like Chelsea does with his WC teammate Enzo Fernandez. Liverpool are looking at Romeo Lavia of Southampton, who were relegated. His asking price is around 50M.

Arsenal have seen 80M and 90M bids for Declan Rice batted back by West Ham, despite Rice only having one year left on his contract.

Interesting article in the Athletic about Kylian Mbappe telling PSG that he won't take up his player option next year. He's apparently watching people like LeBron and Kevin Durant and thinking that short term deals maximize your options. But Mbappe is already on such high wages that really, only a couple teams can afford him. So how much "leverage" does he really have? If he's sold this summer, it will be to Real Madrid, who is the only team that can afford to pay a transfer fee of around 150M for him, plus his wages.

Like Chelsea, United have a massive list of contracts they'd like move out - a total of 18 guys in all, for whom they'd like to get around 150M. United doesn't have any sales of any of those guys yet.

Chelsea have done a lot of work early, and already have 170M in sales - on the 2022-23 season's books, which close on June 30. That doesn't count Mason Mount, who is likely to go for 60M.

Juve is looking at losing Vlahovic as center forward this summer, and a swap deal with Chelsea is being mooted for Lukaku (plus around 30M or so, I would guess). That could be a "win win" for both teams.

Bobby Firmino is also looking like he will leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia, like so many others this summer.

Central defender Aymeric Laporte may be the next to leave Man City, having fallen down to 5th choice center back. City will look to Josko Gvardial of RB Leipzig if Laporte leaves. Gvardial had a great World Cup for Croatia.

Jaden Sancho is on the block for Man United, too. Dortmund expressing some interest in taking him back. One Chelsea beat writer suggested a swap of Mount for Sancho, which is pretty interesting.

French striker Marcus Thurham is about to move on a free transfer this summer to Inter. Chelsea won't loan Lukaku back to them this summer, and Lautauro Martinez is looking to leave, with Pochettino interested in his fellow Argentinian, who is shockingly still only 25 years old. Now they've got some cover, although they lost Dzeko, too, to a team in Turkey.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Harry Kane, in the last year of his Spurs contract, has contacted Thomas Tuchel at Bayern to let them know they are his preferred destination over Manchester United.

Kyle Walker is also considering a move to Bayern Munich as opposed to returning to Man City. Missing out on the Champions League final really wounded his relationship with Guardiola.

Newcastle bought Sandro Tonalli from AC Milan, who are now looking at Yunus Musah as his replacement. Looks like Newcastle are also about to sign Tino Livramento from Southampton.

Spurs open with a 40M offer for James Madison of Leicester. Leicester are reportedly hoping to get 60M.

City place a bid of 80M + 10M in add-ons for Declan Rice, compared to Arsenal's 75 + 15 offer.

Roma are bargain hunting, talking to Leicester about attackers Patson Daka and Kelechi Ihanacho.

Manchester United trying to get involved with Marcos Thuram, the French striker who played in Germany last year. Inter are already pretty close to a deal; seems like United may have moved too late.

James Ward-Prowse is also of interest to Eddie Howe at Newcastle, along with his Southampton teammate Kyle Walker-Peters.

Fulham looking to grab Brendan Aaronson from Leeds on a loan to play the #10 position for them.

Looks like Adrian Rabiot was using Man United's interest to get a better offer to stay at Juventus.

Arsenal suddenly scrambling at defensive midfield after City's offer for West Ham's Declan Rice; sound out Monaco about midfielder Youssof Fofana.

West Ham look about to sign DM Dennis Zakaria from Inter, who spent the season on loan mostly on Chelsea's bench. Seems like a good athletic defender.

"Worrying lack of interest" in Pulisic means he may join AC Milan for 15M, give or take, along with Ruben Loftus-Cheeek.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looks like Daniel Levy of Tottenham has gotten James Madison from Leicester without going above 40M.

Levy has also made a statement that "Harry Kane is not for sale this summer". I guess Levy is going to let him run down his contract, in the hopes that Spurs' new coach, and a few new signings, can turn them into contenders this year. Or, it could just be bluster to try to get the highest possible price right before Labor Day. I guess we'll see.

It looks like Manchester City's bid for Declan Rice of West Ham put the fear into Arsenal, who have been favorites to sign him. Arsenal bumps their last offer of 75M + 15M in incentives to a full 100M up front, plus 5M more in incentives. Boom. That should get it done in the next day or two.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Looks like Daniel Levy of Tottenham has gotten James Madison from Leicester without going above 40M.

Levy has also made a statement that "Harry Kane is not for sale this summer". I guess Levy is going to let him run down his contract, in the hopes that Spurs' new coach, and a few new signings, can turn them into contenders this year. Or, it could just be bluster to try to get the highest possible price right before Labor Day. I guess we'll see.

It looks like Manchester City's bid for Declan Rice of West Ham put the fear into Arsenal, who have been favorites to sign him. Arsenal bumps their last offer of 75M + 15M in incentives to a full 100M up front, plus 5M more in incentives. Boom. That should get it done in the next day or two.

My son is Spurs fan so I follow them. They are a disaster of a franchise.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Harry Kane, in the last year of his Spurs contract, has contacted Thomas Tuchel at Bayern to let them know they are his preferred destination over Manchester United.

Kyle Walker is also considering a move to Bayern Munich as opposed to returning to Man City. Missing out on the Champions League final really wounded his relationship with Guardiola.

Newcastle bought Sandro Tonalli from AC Milan, who are now looking at Yunus Musah as his replacement. Looks like Newcastle are also about to sign Tino Livramento from Southampton.

Spurs open with a 40M offer for James Madison of Leicester. Leicester are reportedly hoping to get 60M.

City place a bid of 80M + 10M in add-ons for Declan Rice, compared to Arsenal's 75 + 15 offer.

Roma are bargain hunting, talking to Leicester about attackers Patson Daka and Kelechi Ihanacho.

Manchester United trying to get involved with Marcos Thuram, the French striker who played in Germany last year. Inter are already pretty close to a deal; seems like United may have moved too late.

James Ward-Prowse is also of interest to Eddie Howe at Newcastle, along with his Southampton teammate Kyle Walker-Peters.

Fulham looking to grab Brendan Aaronson from Leeds on a loan to play the #10 position for them.

Looks like Adrian Rabiot was using Man United's interest to get a better offer to stay at Juventus.

Arsenal suddenly scrambling at defensive midfield after City's offer for West Ham's Declan Rice; sound out Monaco about midfielder Youssof Fofana.

West Ham look about to sign DM Dennis Zakaria from Inter, who spent the season on loan mostly on Chelsea's bench. Seems like a good athletic defender.

"Worrying lack of interest" in Pulisic means he may join AC Milan for 15M, give or take, along with Ruben Loftus-Cheeek.

Weah to Juve.

Conflicted.

As a Fiorentina fan, hate Juve with a passion but had to root for them when McKennie was there. Then he left and I was free to hate again. Now I have to root for them again.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looks like Daniel Levy of Tottenham has gotten James Madison from Leicester without going above 40M.

Levy has also made a statement that "Harry Kane is not for sale this summer". I guess Levy is going to let him run down his contract, in the hopes that Spurs' new coach, and a few new signings, can turn them into contenders this year. Or, it could just be bluster to try to get the highest possible price right before Labor Day. I guess we'll see.

It looks like Manchester City's bid for Declan Rice of West Ham put the fear into Arsenal, who have been favorites to sign him. Arsenal bumps their last offer of 75M + 15M in incentives to a full 100M up front, plus 5M more in incentives. Boom. That should get it done in the next day or two.

I mentioned 2 or 3 times above that Everton was relegated. Obviously not true. My bad.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Weah to Juve.

Conflicted.

As a Fiorentina fan, hate Juve with a passion but had to root for them when McKennie was there. Then he left and I was free to hate again. Now I have to root for them again.

I just hope he gets to play.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I just hope he gets to play.

Chiesa likely leaving so that will remove one big obstacle to seeing the field.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Manchester United buy Mason Mount from Chelsea for 60M - 55M up front and 5M in incentives. Chelsea hit 230M in sales applied to last year's accounts (and all that spending these last 2 windows). They are now in the black, considering amortization and over 5M/month (!) in salary dumped to date.

United was reportedly interested in Caicedo of Brighton (as was Arsenal), but I have to think that interest in making a 80M investment in midfield is going to diminish for both United & Arsenal, now that they just spent big money on others in midfield, and have other pressing needs (#9 and GK for United; CB for Arsenal).

Pierre-Emile Hojberg, a tenacious midfield brought to Spurs by Antonio Conte, appears to be on the market and available from Spurs. Athletico Madrid with early interest.

Coach Tata Martinez is hired by InterMiami to coach Lionel Messi (and Sergio Busquets) again. Good hire, but they need to work on the roster, after their financial fair play punishment a year ago from MLS. Tilt the scales in favor of putting a quality team around Messi, MLS. What are you thinking?

Aston Villa have made another good signing, adding central defender Pau Torres, who Coach Unai Emery previously won a Europa League with at Villareal.

Man United reportedly working hard to get Andre Onana, the GK from Inter, who is valued at 40-50M. They have withdrawn their pending new contract offer to David DeGea, so it looks like he will finally be leaving.

Angel DiMaria may move to Benfica in Portugal after spending the last year in Turkey.

Looks like Lukaku to Inter may happen, with Chelsea considering a one-year loan move with Inter obligation to buy at 30M next year.

Arsenal finalize signings of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz. These moves clearly improve their midfield for next year. They still need another central defender, and maybe one more guy in attack, IMO. They haven't played in Champions League in years, and need a bit more depth in the squad.

Dani Parejo, a MF for Villareal, is of interest to Barca.

PSG looking to acquire Lucas Hernandez from Bayern Munich. Hernandez is part of the France World Cup team, so he's not chopped liver. Bayern looking for a fee around 45M.

Juventus dumping Paul Pogba this summer; looking to Cesare Casadei of Chelsea (and star for Italy U21 WC team) to fill his spot. I really don't think Chelsea want to sell him so soon, and if I were Chelsea, I would prefer to loan him to an English side, to get used to the Premier League. If you send him to Italy, the pressure on the kid to join a top Italian side will be enormous, and we might have a hard time keeping him.

Frank Kessie and Ansu Fati are a couple young MFs who haven't made the cut at Barcelona, but don't want to leave, to open up funds to buy new players. Barca is pushing Kessie toward a deal in Saudi Arabia. Same thing happening with Callum Hudson-Odoi. If these guys can't get a good contract in Europe, Saudi is turning into a legitimate alternative (at least for the time being).

AC Milan was first to express interest in Yunus Musah of USMNT and Villareal, who was thought to be available for around 20M. Now, Inter and Monaco have also expressed their interest, likely driving up his price to 25-30M.

Arsenal having a medical with Jurrien Timber of Ajax, a young CB / RB, about to sign him for 40M.

Looks like Liverpool may have their next player for their midfield rebuild, Kephram Thuram (the younger brother of the French striker), a big athletic MF, for about 40-45M. Good type of partner to MacAllister in MF, and then choose among Henderson, Curtis Jones, Fabinho or Thiago Alcantera, depending on the opponent, and fitness levels. If I'm Liverpool, I might want one more central defender, but otherwise, their front line and their midfield now look pretty complete.

Spurs, having just signed James Madison from Leicester for 40M, are now making a move for his former teammate, Harvey Barnes. Barnes is valued at 30M; Newcastle also showing interest.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Looks like Pulisic to Milan is going to happen. Need to agree on a price with Chelsea.

Liverpool come out of nowhere to sign Szoboazlai from Leipzig for 70mm euro. This kid from Hungary looks to be better than Mount. If Livepool get Thuram as well it will have been an amazing summer. I hear they might go after a CB but I think they get by with what they have especially if the midfield is improved. It will be interesting to see how Klopp will fit Elliott, Jones, Hendo, Thiago, TAA, that young kid who broke through last year but got hurt, plus three new signings into the midfield.

 

[cusefan88]

Arsenal supporter here. Not sure what to make of Havertz or Rice even. Just happy they are playing UCL football again.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looks like Pulisic to Milan is going to happen. Need to agree on a price with Chelsea.

Liverpool come out of nowhere to sign Szoboazlai from Leipzig for 70mm euro. This kid from Hungary looks to be better than Mount. If Livepool get Thuram as well it will have been an amazing summer. I hear they might go after a CB but I think they get by with what they have especially if the midfield is improved. It will be interesting to see how Klopp will fit Elliott, Jones, Hendo, Thiago, TAA, that young kid who broke through last year but got hurt, plus three new signings into the midfield.

I think a couple of the older guys are going to be phased out. As much as he has a fighter's mentality, Henderson is past his "sell by" date, IMO. Fabinho is also getting older. I don't think that Thiago Alcantara ever really reached the heights they hoped for.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Arsenal supporter here. Not sure what to make of Havertz or Rice even. Just happy they are playing UCL football again.

Arsenal's midfield looks a lot better now, IMO, and the pieces fit together well - Rice (or the often-injured Thomas Partey) as your holding MF, Haveretz as an attacking MF who combines well with others, and Odegaard, who can make the killer pass.

 

[OrangeFoo]

I think a couple of the older guys are going to be phased out. As much as he has a fighter's mentality, Henderson is past his "sell by" date, IMO. Fabinho is also getting older. I don't think that Thiago Alcantara ever really reached the heights they hoped for.

Agree… Thiago is a great player but he is always hurt and I’m not sure gengenpress suits him. Bottom dropped out on Fab and I love Hendo but they need to put him in the elevated statesman, Milner role.

Klopp is planning for the next 5 years with this summer and last summers moves.. last year was the overhaul of the forwards, this year is midfield. Next year will be back line.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Arsenal supporter here. Not sure what to make of Havertz or Rice even. Just happy they are playing UCL football again.

Lol Havertz… not sure what he actually does that well. Isn’t rice gonna allow you to replace Xhaka? What are arsenal doing with Balogun… will he get a shot?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Lol Havertz… not sure what he actually does that well. Isn’t rice gonna allow you to replace Xhaka? What are arsenal doing with Balogun… will he get a shot?

I'm as disappointed in Havertz as any fan can be. But I will say that if you look at all the advanced metrics, he's kind of like Bobby Firmino used to be for Liverpool, at his best. Did not score a lot of goals, but presses well, takes up good positions between defensive lines to keep offensive play flowing, and he covers a lot of ground running at the top of the press. He's an excellent glue guy.

Chelsea needed him to score more goals, playing him a lot at the number 9. On Arsenal, I think he's going to be very useful. They've got lots of goals in the team already, so the pressure on him to score won't be as great, and I think he will fit in well with how they play.

 

[cusefan88]

Lol Havertz… not sure what he actually does that well. Isn’t rice gonna allow you to replace Xhaka? What are arsenal doing with Balogun… will he get a shot?

I'm thinking he plays as the "10" in a 4-3-3 type deal. Hopefully that gets the best out of him. Tbh Chelsea has had so much turnover and turmoil it's tough to peg what their departing players can truly do

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looks like Pulisic to Milan is going to happen. Need to agree on a price with Chelsea.

Liverpool come out of nowhere to sign Szoboazlai from Leipzig for 70mm euro. This kid from Hungary looks to be better than Mount. If Livepool get Thuram as well it will have been an amazing summer. I hear they might go after a CB but I think they get by with what they have especially if the midfield is improved. It will be interesting to see how Klopp will fit Elliott, Jones, Hendo, Thiago, TAA, that young kid who broke through last year but got hurt, plus three new signings into the midfield.

Lyon jumps in with a 25M offer, when Milan wouldn't go above 14M, and asked Pulisic to take a big pay cut. At Lyon, he would be an important player, on a reasonably good team. They finished 7th last year in Ligue Un, but they made a Champions League Semifinal in 2020, just 3 years ago.

Lyon has Alexandre Lacazette at center forward, a talented guy, although he's getting older. They are likely to sell their dribbling winger, Rayan Cherki. But they have Corentin Talisso, a good midfielder who couldn't quite make it at Bayern Munich before his move to Lyon. Dejan Lovren and Nicolas Tagliafico are familiar names in their defense.

Pulisic would be a main stay on this team. They would probably play in Europa League.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Lyon jumps in with a 25M offer, when Milan wouldn't go above 14M, and asked Pulisic to take a big pay cut. At Lyon, he would be an important player, on a reasonably good team. They finished 7th last year in Ligue Un, but they made a Champions League Semifinal in 2020, just 3 years ago.

Lyon has Alexandre Lacazette at center forward, a talented guy, although he's getting older. They are likely to sell their dribbling winger, Rayan Cherki. But they have Corentin Talisso, a good midfielder who couldn't quite make it at Bayern Munich before his move to Lyon. Dejan Lovren and Nicolas Tagliafico are familiar names in their defense.

Pulisic would be a main stay on this team. They would probably play in Europa League.

From a prestige and competitive perspective Lyon is a huge step down from Dortmund, Chelsea, Milan or even Newcastle. Pulisic needs to find playing time though and it seems he needs to resurrect his brand if he’s getting so little action at 25mm pounds. He would be better off on a loan deal for a year while he waits for his contract to run out vs a permanent transfer to Lyon.

 

[IthacaMatt]

From a prestige and competitive perspective Lyon is a huge step down from Dortmund, Chelsea, Milan or even Newcastle. Pulisic needs to find playing time though and it seems he needs to resurrect his brand if he’s getting so little action at 25mm pounds. He would be better off on a loan deal for a year while he waits for his contract to run out vs a permanent transfer to Lyon.

Yeah, but the problem was that he wasn't a regular at Dortmund, either.

Milan I believe just sold Sandro Tonali, but Rafael Leao hasn't been sold yet, and they play the same position. Divock Origi will also be competition, as he can play anywhere across the front. They also have a talented young guy named Daniel Maldini in MF.

Milan offers Champions League next year, and yes, all that prestige of multi-time European Champions. But what if he goes there, and only has 10 or 15 starts and 35 appearance again?

Maybe he's just not good enough to play at an elite squad. At least not until he learns how to handle his body and prove that he can be healthy for a full season. I'd love to see him go to Newcastle, or even to West Ham, who will be playing Europa League, and he could continue living in London. He would be an important player to West Ham, too. That's what he has to be looking for right now is fit, and real opportunity.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Yeah, but the problem was that he wasn't a regular at Dortmund, either.

Milan I believe just sold Sandro Tonali, but Rafael Leao hasn't been sold yet, and they play the same position. Divock Origi will also be competition, as he can play anywhere across the front. They also have a talented young guy named Daniel Maldini in MF.

Milan offers Champions League next year, and yes, all that prestige of multi-time European Champions. But what if he goes there, and only has 10 or 15 starts and 35 appearance again?

Maybe he's just not good enough to play at an elite squad. At least not until he learns how to handle his body and prove that he can be healthy for a full season. I'd love to see him go to Newcastle, or even to West Ham, who will be playing Europa League, and he could continue living in London. He would be an important player to West Ham, too. That's what he has to be looking for right now is fit, and real opportunity.

Yeah agreed… his career is at a crossroads. He’s only a couple of mediocre years away from being an mls all star

 

[IthacaMatt]

From a prestige and competitive perspective Lyon is a huge step down from Dortmund, Chelsea, Milan or even Newcastle. Pulisic needs to find playing time though and it seems he needs to resurrect his brand if he’s getting so little action at 25mm pounds. He would be better off on a loan deal for a year while he waits for his contract to run out vs a permanent transfer to Lyon.

Milan has reportedly upped their offer for Pulisic from 14M to 22M in response to the Lyon bid. I think he moves for around that price.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah agreed… his career is at a crossroads. He’s only a couple of mediocre years away from being an mls all star

Milan says they will keep Leao on the left, use Pulisic at the 10 behind Giroud or Origi at the 9. Origi can also play from the right of an attack.