CBS Sports soccer insider Fabrizio Romano is here to bring you the latest news and notes from the world of soccer transfers, coaching moves and more. Last week we looked at Paris Saint-Germain hiring Mauricio Pochettino to replace Thomas Tuchel and Real Madrid negotiating an extension for 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric. This week we take a look at PSG's first order of business under Poch, Real Madrid in the race for Bayern Munich defender David Alaba and much more. Here we go!
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Real Madrid are not planning to make any January signings, but the Blancos' 2021 opens with new contacts for David Alaba. There is no agreement signed yet, but Real are among the five clubs that have made contact with the agent of the Austrian defender who is expected to leave Bayern Munich as a free agent in the summer. Last week on our "Here We Go" column, we broke down how Bayern was upset over Alaba's possible exit. Alaba has dreams of suiting up for Real Madrid and they're trying to convince him to make the jump to La Liga, but the race is on and there are other persistent suitors on the market. The negotiations for Alaba's new home are underway. Meanwhile, after contacting Luka Modric's agent whose renewal is very close, Real are also planning to directly reach out to Sergio Ramos' agent for a decision on his future in the coming weeks. | |
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Speaking of free transfer in La Liga, Barcelona reached an agreement with Eric Garcia last week. We can confirm that there is an agreement for a five-year contract. The defender has turned down Manchester City's continuous attempts to persuade him to stay and wants to join Barca ahead of the 2021-22 season unless the new president (yet to be elected) does not change strategy. Garcia's future looks more and more Blaugrana. | |
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PSG finally announced the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino at the end of last week, but the Argentine manager has already been planning the January transfer market with Leonardo for days. The club reiterated to Pochettino that the priority is to renew the contracts of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar -- a pair of negotiations so difficult that they might as well count as new signings for PSG. A new meeting between Pochettino and Leonardo is scheduled this week to establish the forthcoming strategies for sales and purchases. | |
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Manchester United want Amad Diallo to join the club immediately. The talent born in 2002 has all the documents ready to fly to the United Kingdom as soon as possible. Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini revealed over the weekend that the club is "trying to get Diallo on loan until the end of the season." It should be noted that Papu Gomez wants to leave Atalanta precisely because he is in a dispute with Gasperini, which could be why they want Diallo to stay for a little longer. But Manchester United has made it clear they want Diallo to fly to England right away, and the player is anxious to join the club and meet manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. | |
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While Arsenal are planning for future signings, they are also thinking about making some sales in this window. After left-back Sead Kolasinac, 27, officially agreed to rejoin Bundesliga minnows Schalke, the focus has shifted toward selling Greek center-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos and German midfielder Mesut Ozil. The German midfielder has been offered to Juventus in recent weeks, but the Bianconeri have refused because they are betting on Dejan Kulusevski as a future talent in that role. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expects a quality midfielder in January as a reinforcement. | |
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AC Milan, currently top of the Serie A table after stringing together three consecutive wins, are extremely active on the market. There is an ongoing negotiations with Strasbourg for the services of 20-year-old Mohamed Simakan, who could become their new starting center-back. The club has also approached the agent of Manu Kone, the 19-year-old talented midfielder of Toulouse, as the Rossoneri seek to improve the roster in hopes of winning the Scudetto as well as the Europa League. | |
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Juve, on the other hand, have denied that they've reached an agreement to buy 19-year-old Bryan Reynolds from Major League Soccer's FC Dallas. The young American right-back is a hot commodity among a number of clubs, including Juventus, Roma and Club Brugge, but no kind of agreement has been reached at this moment. Juventus are also waiting for Sami Khedira to find the right suitor since his days in Italy are likely over. The 33-year-old veteran German midfielder dreams of an opportunity in the Premier League. | |
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Finally, Bayern Munich are working on the agreement that will lead to the extension of Leon Goretzka's contract. The 25-year-old midfielder has been arguably one of the more integral pieces of the team that captured just about every trophy imaginable in 2020. As a result, the team plans to be in touch with the agents of Goretzka in 2021 to negotiate a renewal. | |
