No sooner had David Moyes done his David Pleat-style break for ecstatic freedom in Prague than the glare of speculation turned to Declan Rice, with the West Ham captain widely tipped to leave the club after the Europa Conference League final.
Arsenal? Manchester United? Manchester City? Liverpool? Bayern Munich? Or will he do what Steven Gerrard did post-Istanbul 2005 and go back on the decision to join Chelsea? The price, should anyone wish to pay it, will be commensurate with the £106m it cost Chelsea to buy Enzo Fernández. “I love this club and I love playing for this club,” said Dec in the afterglow of victory. And yet.
One place young Dec won’t be going is Saudi Arabia, though a swathe of players could still be snapped up by Saudi clubs, particularly in light of Lionel Messi choosing Miami over Mecca. Riyad Mahrez may find Saturday’s Champions League final is his last for Manchester City with Al-Ahli wanting the Algerian.
Sergio Busquets, previously linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, could also be heading to Miami along with Ángel Di María, Messi’s old mates from Barça and Argentina respectively. Oh, and Luis Suárez is joining the party, too, having played recently for Grêmio in Brazil.
David de Gea, mind, doesn’t fancy leaving Manchester United just yet, or joining Miami, and would rather stay on than head to Saudi. Harry Maguire really wants to leave and Aston Villa are happy to take him, while they are also interested in Pau Torres of Unai Emery’s former club Villarreal. Also heading for the Old Trafford exit will be forgotten man Donny van de Beek.
United, meanwhile, have made Kim Min-jae of Napoli a leading target. With a buyout clause of £42m he’s very gettable, though Newcastle, flush with Saudi money, want him too. Here comes another test of how attractive Newcastle can make themselves compared to the traditional elite. Should Kim not land in Manchester then Benjamin Pavard is seen as an alternative target. Yes, really.
United maintain an interest in Harry Kane but with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the hunt whomever owns the club this summer – that remaining somewhat undecided – may find themselves in a bidding war with the continental giants.
Perhaps instead they could turn to Victor Osimhen, the Napoli striker, whose price is lowered to a mere £103m according to reports in Italy. Rather cheaper, though perhaps not in wage terms, is Moussa Dembélé, who has left Lyon on a free.
Mason Mount update: he will still cost £70m despite some attempted haggling by United and other suitors for Chelsea’s former future captain.
As Arsenal look for powder to fire next season’s attack to winning honours, there’s a clearing of the decks: Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Cedric Soares, Charlie Patino, Auston Trusty, Marquinhos, Alex Runarsson, Folarin Balogun and Nicolas Pépé can all go. Only Marquinhos is expected to be loaned out. Balogun has both the Milan clubs as options.
