Chelsea are negotiating with Juventus over the Netherlands' Matthijs De Ligt

Transfer rumours and football gossip: Matthijs de Ligt, Raphinha, Nathan Ake


Friday's transfer gossip and rumours in the world of football, including Chelsea homing in on three big summer transfer targets.

Chelsea's negotiations with Juventus over a move for Matthijs de Ligt are progressing (Telegraph) but Barcelona are ready to make an offer worth up to £60m for Raphinha in an effort to beat the Blues to the signing of Leeds forward Raphinha (Times).

Thomas Tuchel's side are also interested in engineering a return to Stamford Bridge for Nathan Ake (Telegraph) but Manchester City will tell them to forget about re-signing the centre-back on the cheap (Sun).

Brennan Johnson has given Nottingham Forest a huge boost by agreeing a new four-year contract at the City Ground (Times).

Bruno Fernandes has attempted to end speculation surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo's future by claiming the Portuguese is set to stay (Sun).

Celtic are applying the finishing touches to a £6.5m deal to sign Portuguese winger Jota on a permanent four-year contract (Daily Mail).

Arsenal are intending to keep William Saliba at the club next season and are hoping to tie him down to a new contract while fellow defender Gabriel Magalhaes remains a target for Juventus but it remains unlikely the Gunners will sell this summer.

In-demand Stephen Kelly looks set to leave Rangers before the close of the window despite returning to training at Auchehowie (Daily Record).

The latest updates in our transfer blog

Birmingham City manager Lee Bowyer is seeking assurances over his future as the protracted takeover of Birmingham has left him with 12 players, no assistant and poor training facilities just weeks before the start of the Championship season (Daily Mail).

Barcelona boss Xavi has ruthlessly told first-team stars Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite, Oscar Mingueza and Riqui Puig to skip pre-season training as the Catalans attempt to kick-off a summer exodus (Mirror).

West Bromwich Albion owner Guochuan Lai has admitted he borrowed £5m from the club more than a year ago and has still not paid it back (Daily Mail).

Croatian striker Antonio Colak has been labelled as 'easily replaceable' as a move to Rangers from PAOK edges closer (Daily Record).

Neil Lennon has tapped into his SPFL knowledge again by adding former Rangers and Hibs winger Brandon Barker to his Omonia Nicosia squad (Scottish Sun).

The done deals from the summer transfer window

More from Sporting Life

Like what you've read?

MOST READ FOOTBALL

Sporting Life
Join for free!
Access to exclusive features all for FREE - No monthly subscription fee
Race Replays
My stable horse tracker
giftOffers and prize draws
newsExclusive content

FOOTBALL TIPS

We are committed to Safer Gambling and have a number of self-help tools to help you manage your gambling. We also work with a number of independent charitable organisations who can offer help and answers any questions you may have.
Gamble Aware LogoGamble Helpline LogoGamstop LogoGordon Moody LogoSafer Gambling Standard LogoGamban Logo18+ LogoTake Time To Think Logo