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A big ‘here we go’ from yesterday as Chelsea have their new manager – Enzo Maresca is set to replace Mauricio Pochettino, and, as I previously said, don’t worry too much about stories about him wanting to stay at Leicester; he always wanted to go to Chelsea.
Now it’s done and Maresca can be considered the new Chelsea manager. There is a total agreement over the contract, which will be for five years, despite the initial discussions being over a three-year deal. Now it’s a deal until 2029 and also with the option to extend it until 2030.
This shows Chelsea’s excitement about Maresca – their conversations over the weekend were super positive, and the Chelsea board decided to fly to Marbella to meet face to face with Maresca. They like his ideas and believe he’s a very positive coach – a dynamic, modern, young manager obsessed with possession football to control a game. I said last week when Chelsea were considering firing Mauricio Pochettino that this was the kind of manager they wanted, and here he is.
The agreement is done for Maresca and his staff, with the Italian manager set to earn around €5m a season salary, with some add-ons. Chelsea and Leicester are also closing in on an agreement on the compensation fee – my understanding is that Chelsea will pay around €10m for Maresca, and they’re also finalising the details for his staff, and then it will all be signed.
And remember – it will be a busy summer for Chelsea, with around five signings, maybe less, maybe more, but for sure they are looking at goalkeepers, maybe or one or two centre-backs, and they’re also looking at central strikers and wingers. Chelsea will be busy, and Maresca will be involved.
Of course, one signing is already agreed and that’s for talented Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian – everything is being reviewed and signed for this big signing for the future, who will join in 2025 from Palmeiras.
I wanted to clarify some reports on Manchester United. We know there will be some players leaving the club this summer, with Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial already confirming that they will leave on free transfers, but there will be some players sold as well.
My information remains that Manchester United are open to selling Casemiro in the summer. This remains clear, and although there have been reports of United wanting around €35m for the midfielder, I’m told the price tag will be decided soon. In any case, Casemiro could leave United in the summer transfer window, as there is interest from Saudi, though no formal proposals yet.
There’s also been fresh speculation about Mason Greenwood as his loan with Getafe comes to an end. One name being mentioned in the media is Borussia Dortmund, but they are focused only on the Champions League final, so there’s nothing yet about new names.
Greenwood is attracting interest from Italy, England, Germany, Spain… it’s really open. For sure, Manchester United want to sell him on a permanent transfer so I think it will be difficult for Getafe to make it happen to keep the player.
There are also some player exits to clarify at Arsenal this summer, with the goalkeeper situation one to watch as they want to find a solution for Aaron Ramsdale. Although there have been replacements like Justin Bijlow linked with the Gunners by some sources, my understanding is that no decision has been made on this yet.
Ramsdale is expected to leave for sure, but there’s nothing advanced with any club yet, so it’s not clear yet how much Arsenal will get for him. Before having a replacement lined up to serve as the backup to David Raya, they want to make sure that they find the best solution possible for Ramsdale.
The future of Mika Biereth will also be discussed in the next few days with Arsenal. No decision has been made yet, we have to wait on this one because Arsenal will decide with player’s camp and at that point it will be clear. He’s been on loan at Sturm Graz and performed very well, but it’s still not decided yet if he could go back there or somewhere else, and there’s nothing confirmed yet on if he’ll go out again on loan or leave permanently.
Finally with Arsenal, they’ve been one of a number of clubs linked with Archie Gray at Leeds United. There’s interest in Gray from Germany and England, for sure. Leeds were hoping to keep both Gray and Crysencio Summerville but it might be difficult now after they missed out on promotion to the Premier League, so yes – I expect movement on these two players and we will see how Leeds will react.
Timo Werner is staying at Tottenham, already officially confirmed by the club. A deal has been agreed for Werner to stay at Spurs, though they have not triggered his buy option that was there in the loan they agreed in January – it is going to be a new loan. So, Werner will stay at Tottenham on loan until July 2025, and they will pay his salary and have a buy option again next summer for €15-16m.
Werner said yes to the move after talks with Ange Postecoglou, and he’s really excited to be staying with Tottenham, becoming their ‘first’ signing of the summer. But Spurs are still looking at more options in attack – it could be a new winger, with Bryan Gil expected to leave the club, or it could be a new striker.
Werner is staying, but expect more movement at Tottenham this summer, depending on what they will decide to prioritise in the attacking positions.
Paris Saint-Germain will be busy in the next days to replace Kylian Mbappe – we’ll see if they go for a new winger or a new striker, but these are things which will be discussed internally at PSG.
One player they like for sure is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at Napoli, but the intention of the Serie A giants is to keep him at the club. PSG will look at several options, so let’s see what will happen in that position, as there have also been linked with Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva for some time.
Kvaratskhelia and Bernardo Silva play in different positions, so despite what has been reported elsewhere, it’s not linked one to the other. PSG wanted Bernardo last summer, there were no new contacts in the recent weeks but let’s see what happens in the next months, he has a release clause so it’s an open case. Kvaratskhelia is on PSG’s list for this summer but Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis insists on keeping him, and he wants to offer him a new deal.
Today will be Hansi Flick day at Barcelona – he’s already in the city and can be considered the new Barcelona manager. Meanwhile, Barca have also agreed the terms of Xavi’s exit – he will not receive the full salary of the season that he had in his contract, only the €2.5m he paid to Al Sadd to join Barcelona.
So, Xavi will get that money back, but apart from that he will let Barcelona use the money for what they need. It’s a super classy act by Xavi, and Flick will now be officially announced as his replacement later today.
There’s been some talk about Rodrygo’s future after people reading too much into comments along the lines of ‘you never know what can happen in the future’, but I’ve looked into it and I can guarantee that he has no plans to leave Real Madrid. His future is only pointing in one direction and that’s staying with Real Madrid.
Rodrygo wants to stay, he plans to stay, and he’s only thinking about Real Madrid – he loves the project and those close to the player believe it’s the best project in the world. There is no concern on Rodrygo’s side, no intention to leave, and he doesn’t want to create any problems for the club.
Nothing is happening there, so forget about this being a topic for this summer’s transfer window. Rodrygo already extended his contract last year – it’s a long-term deal with an important salary, and in general he’s very happy. Of course we’ll see Endrick and Kylian Mbappe joining in the summer, but it won’t change the story with Rodrygo – he’s not planning to leave, even if interest is always there, he is very happy with Real Madrid and they are very happy with him.
