Exclusive: Arsenal surprise, Chelsea exits, plus Liverpool & Spurs updates – Fabrizio Romano

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Hello and welcome to the latest edition of my Daily Briefing – click here to subscribe if you want these delivered to your inbox five mornings a week!

Arsenal

Arsenal, expected to decide the next step for Ivan Fresneda as Cedric Soares closes in on a loan move to Fulham. The Cedric deal is on the verge of completion – he’ll join on loan until the end of the season, no buy option, and full salary covered by Fulham.

Mikel Arteta on new midfielder: “We need some more cover in midfield ideally if we can — in this market it’s difficult to do that. There are concerns, Elneny is injured so let’s see.”

Arsenal are one of the three clubs exploring the potential Moises Caicedo deal after he changed agents. Chelsea and Liverpool are also being kept informed on the player. I wouldn’t exclude anything happening in the final days, after last summer Arsenal tried on Deadline Day for Douglas Luiz out of nothing. Let’s see for Caicedo, it’s important to underline that Brighton have no intention to sell unless they receive an important bid.

Eddie Nketiah was close to leaving Arsenal for TWO clubs this summer – click here to find out why he stayed.

Barcelona

I’m aware there’s speculation about Raphinha being warned about his future at Barcelona, but let’s see what happens as it’s too early to say for sure. I think Raphinha will do his best to stay at Barcelona, he only wanted Barca last summer and he hasn’t changed his mind as of now. His plan is to fight for Barca; then we will see what will happen in July.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich want to keep Ryan Gravenberch, they consider him an important player for their project, even though he’s not had an easy season. They will not accept any loan proposal for him, and Liverpool are not in talks for him, despite rumours.

Understand FC Bayern’s full-back Nick Salihamidzic is on the verge of joining Italian second division side Cosenza on loan until the end of the season. Medical tests have been scheduled for Friday if all goes to plan.

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund would be open to let Ivan Fresneda stay at Real Valladolid on loan until the end of the season, but there’s no decision yet from the player. There’s one more German club also interested.

Bournemouth

Uruguayan left back Matias Vina is set to join Bournemouth on loan from AS Roma. Deal will cost €1m loan fee and also include buy option clause of €15m, not mandatory. He’ll be in England for his medical in the next 24 hours.

Brighton

Brighton have submitted a new official proposal for Mykola Matvienko, understand it’s worth €16m guaranteed fee plus €4m in add-ons up to €20m package. Shakhtar Donetsk have rejected also this fresh proposal as they want €30m fee for Matvienko.

Celtic

Official: Celtic have completed the signing of striker Hyeon-Gyu Oh from Suwon Bluewings for a fee close to £2.5m. The talented 21-year-old has agreed a five-year deal, club confirms.

Chelsea

Lyon right-back Malo Gusto has an agreement on a long-term contract with Chelsea, he’s been very clear that he wants to move to Stamford Bridge. Now it’s on Lyon to agree to the sale, but it’s not easy to negotiate with them. Chelsea will try again with a verbal offer, let’s see what Lyon will decide because they are determined to keep Gusto until the end of the season.

I’m told there are negotiations ongoing between Thiago Silva and Chelsea, it’s up to the player and his family to make final decision. Despite his age, I think Thiago in a top team is always a good idea, he has great leadership and quality, and still so much to offer at the highest level.

Chelsea want to terminate Tiemoue Bakayoko‘s contract. It’s a possibility, but the player has to give the green light. The negotiation is with Turkish side Adana Demirspor, but Bakayoko has to decide.

Benfica coach Roger Schmidt on Enzo Fernandez and Chelsea: “I’m confident on Enzo staying with us, yes. I see him very happy, in great condition. I don’t expected any player of our starting XI to leave the club now.”

Chelsea invested €12.5m on Brazilian wonderkid Andrey Santos at the end of December… …and his value is rising as he scored three goals in three games from midfield at the U20 South American Championship. City Group and Newcastle wanted him too, but he picked Chelsea.

Newcastle and Crystal Palace are interested in Conor Gallagher. Chelsea would ideally loan him out but could be open to a permanent sale for around £35-40m – click here for more details.

Conor Gallagher in action for Chelsea

Everton

Frank Lampard being sacked as Everton manager was one of the factors that made Arnaut Danjuma change his mind and sign for Tottenham. He was very close to joining Everton – all the documents had been exchanged with Villarreal, he had his medical and even recorded an announcement video before Spurs acted fast to hijack the deal.

It’s been a disastrous January for Everton and it could be about to get worse as Anthony Gordon enters into advanced talks over an exit from the club – click here to find out more.

Leeds United

There’s an agreement between Weston McKennie and Leeds on the contract and personal terms; but Leeds and Juventus are still discussing so it’s not a done deal yet. Chelsea and Spurs were not negotiating for McKennie in January, let’s see what’s going to happen because it’s still Leeds leading now.

Leeds are also still in for Angers midfielder Azzedine Ounahi – click here to find out more.

Cody Drameh is set to join Luton Town on loan. A medical has been booked for Thursday morning. Decision on long term future of Drameh will be taken in the summer when the player enters the final year of his contract. Jesse Marsch wants him to return to Leeds next season.

Liverpool

Despite Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain being linked as a target for Brighton, I don’t think Liverpool will let any midfielder leave in January… let’s see what happens in the summer. Besides, for now Brighton’s priority is a new centre-back.

Lyon

Lyon are showing an interest in Brighton right-back Tariq Lamptey as a potential replacement for Malo Gusto. He’s one to watch in the last days of the transfer window as other European teams are also interested.

Manchester City

Erling Haaland will have a €200m release clause for non-Premier League clubs that becomes active in 2024, but that doesn’t mean he’s planning for life away from Manchester City – click here to find out more.

Manchester United

Manchester United have not yet given the green light for Facundo Pellistri or Anthony Elanga to leave the club on loan this January. There is interest in both players, but let’s wait and see if United agree to let them go.

Manchester United youngster Charlie Savage has completed medical tests to join League One side Forest Green on loan. Deal won’t include any clause or buy option, straight loan until end of the season.

Erik ten Hag on Marcus Rashford contract talks: “It’s confidential — but I think Marcus understands Manchester United is his club. Marcus knows that in this team he’s playing his best football. We need him”.

Ten Hag is pushing in public and private to get new long term deal done.

Marcus Rashford in action for Manchester United

Napoli

Pierluigi Gollini signs as new Napoli GK on loan with buy option from Atalanta — here’s former Spurs goalkeeper after medical tests. Loan deal will be valid until June 2024.

Tottenham

Tottenham are closing in on Pedro Porro, with all parties feeling confident it could be done in 24-48 hours. There’ll be a new round of talks today to try to get this deal sealed, with payment terms being the final point of discussion.

Arnaut Danjuma: “As soon as Tottenham came through for me, it was a no brainer. It’s a massive club, brilliant coach, brilliant staff, brilliant club and the facilities are unbelievable. I am really looking forward to working with Antonio Conte.”

Danjuma will be on loan with Spurs until the end of the season and there’s the option of making the move permanent for €30m, not mandatory.

More Stories Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Andrey Santos Anthony Elanga Anthony Gordon Arnaut Danjuma Azzedine Ounahi Cedric Soares Charlie Savage Conor Gallagher Douglas Luiz Eddie Nketiah Enzo Fernandez Facundo Pellistri Ivan Fresneda Malo Gusto Marcus Rashford Pedro Porro Raphinha Ryan Gravenberch Tariq Lamptey Weston McKennie