Everton like the look of Real Betis defensive midfielder Guido Rodriguez according to Cesar Luis Merlo. The Premier League club have been in touch with the player but are yet to make a formal approach for the 28-year-old Argentine international.

Everton avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth last season and are keen to strengthen their team this summer to ensure that doesn’t happen again. A sitting number six has been identified as a clear priority and Guido fits the bill.

Guido, who’s earned 24 caps for the Argentine national team and will be part of Lionel Scaloni’s squad heading to the Qatar World Cup later this year, joined Betis in 2020 and has since made 100 appearances for the club. He’s been a key part of the team that, under Manuel Pellegrini, has qualified for the Europa League two seasons running and managed to win the Copa del Rey last year.

Villarreal is in direct negotiations with Tottenham to bring Giovani Lo Celso back to Spain.

The 26-year-old has been on the transfer list at Spurs for a while and the London club hopes to sort a move for the Argentine this summer in order to bring in some cash and free up space in their squad.

Lo Celso spent the second half of last season on loan at Villarreal and was impressed during the spell under Unai Emery. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Argentine is top of the tree on the Villarreal coach’s list of targets but talks are still ongoing, as there are other clubs also interested.

That interest is coming from Italy and more specifically, Napoli being one of the interested parties. Area Napoli report that the Naples club have identified Lo Celso as the man they would want to sign if Piotr Zielinski joins West Ham in the coming weeks.

Villarreal is in direct negotiations with Tottenham for Gio Lo Celso. He’s still top of the list for Emery but talks are still ongoing, as there are other clubs also interested.

According to Marca Villarreal are interested in a permanent switch for the 26-year-old but if Spurs look to recoup their transfer fee of roughly £30m from back in 2020, it could cause a problem for Unai Emery’s team.

That’s where one of the Italian clubs can pounce and take advantage of the La Liga’s sides weak bargaining position.

Chelsea is reportedly considering a transfer move for Villarreal defender Pau Torres this summer after appearing to miss out on the signing of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, who is heading to Barcelona instead.

Torres has shone in his time in La Liga, as well as in major European competitions such as the Champions League and the Europa League, and it would be intriguing to see what he could do in English football.

The Spain international is now one of the options being eyed by Chelsea as an alternative to Kounde, according to 90min, with other big names like Milan Skriniar and Dayot Upamecano also mentioned in the report.

Manchester United’s recruitment team identified Torres as a good option for the club this summer, only for new Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag to push to sign Lisandro Martinez from Ajax instead, according to a recent report from the Telegraph.

It would certainly be interesting to see if Torres could come and be a success at Stamford Bridge and get the chance to compare him to Martinez at Man Utd.

One imagines MUFC could live to regret not going for the more proven option in defence if Martinez struggles and if Torres were to end up proving ideal to fix Thomas Tuchel’s problems at the back.

Kalidou Koulibaly joined CFC this summer, but further additions are surely needed after Antonio Rudiger’s move to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen’s switch to Barcelona.

Gianluca Scamacca will sign his contract to become a West Ham player today, says Fabrizio Romano in his latest exclusive column for CaughtOffside.

The Hammers are closing in on the Italy international, who is set to have a medical with the club, with an announcement to follow soon afterwards.

It’s an exciting move for David Moyes, who is finally landing the prolific striker he needs in his squad, and Romano has updates on other potential West Ham targets as well.

The reporter states that West Ham’s move for Scamacca has come as talks over Armando Broja broke down, while the likes of Amadou Onana could be targeted by the east Londoners next.

 

“Gianluca Scamacca will undergo medical tests and sign as new West Ham player today, then an official statement will follow soon,” Romano explained.

“Another target up front was Armando Broja, but is a deal off for West Ham as things stand, as Chelsea have not accepted the £30m proposal.

“I believe that West Ham’s priority now is to focus on Eintracht Frankfurt left-back Filip Kostic and Lille midfielder Amadou Onana, but also other possible targets.”

This has the potential to be a very exciting summer for West Ham, who have made great strides in Moyes’ second spell in charge of the club.

Scamacca looks a particularly promising purchase after his prolific form with Sassuolo in Serie A, and that fresh goal threat could really take WHUFC to the next level as it’s really the only thing they’ve lacked in the last couple of years.

Bayern Munich sign Mathys Tel from Rennes

Mathys Tel flew to Germany on Monday to complete the deal with Bayern Munich. The player underwent his medical and he’s now set to be announced by his new club as a new signing. The striker, born in 2005, will move to Bayern for €20 million, with €8.5 million of potential add-ons. Tel will sign a five-year deal until 2027.

Barcelona and Chelsea fighting for Kounde

Barcelona and Chelsea are again dueling for the same target. After the Spanish club won the race to sign Brazilian winger Raphinha from Leeds United earlier this month, the two clubs are at it again over Jules Kounde. Barcelona have received indications from Kounde’s camp that the player would be prepared to accept the personal terms Barcelona proposed and Xavi himself personally called the player. Chelsea still don’t have final agreements with either the player or Sevilla in place.

Napoli are close to signing Simeone

Napoli are still working to sign a back-up for Victor Osimhen, with current backup Andrea Petagna in talks to become a new AC Monza player. Talks are on with Hellas Verona for the transfer of Argentinian striker Giovanni Simeone, report Calcio Mercato. This will be a crucial week for the possible move after the player expressed his desire to move to Napoli.

Salernitana want to sign Dries Mertens

Over the weekend Napoli have officially announced that club legend Dries Mertens won’t extend his contract with the club and will leave Napoli after eight years. The club and the player didn’t find an agreement to extend his deal for a further season despite the fact he wanted to be there. Now Mertens is looking around for some options, including Lazio and Salernitana that would be interested to keep Mertens in the same league where he performed so well over the past decade.

Rennes are in talks for Theate

Rennes have submitted a proposal to Bologna to sign Belgian center-back Arthur Theate, as Sky Italia reported. Talks are ongoing to reach an agreement after missing out on both Kim Min-Jae and Morato. The Korean defender he’s now set to become a new Napoli player after that the Italian side won the race last week.

Chelsea ‘trying to hijack’ PSG transfer at 11th hour with Timo Werner swap deal proposed

CHELSEA could react swiftly if their move for Jules Kounde is successfully hijacked by Barcelona.

Chelsea are reportedly trying to hijack Paris Saint-Germain’s move for Nordi Mukiele, despite the French side already agreeing a £13million fee with RB Leipzig. The Blues have seemingly been forced into swift action with their Jules Kounde pursuit hanging in the balance, and offering Timo Werner back to the German side could make the difference.

Much of Chelsea’s summer has been spent chasing centre-back recruits after losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen at the end of June. Kalidou Koulibaly’s arrival from Napoli was an impressive statement, and they wasted no time in moving onto Sevilla defender Kounde.

Despite agreeing a £55million fee for the Frenchman, Barcelona told him to sit tight and, after activating a financial ‘lever’ last week, they are reportedly on the verge of hijacking the deal. Kounde sparked concerns that his move to Stamford Bridge could be off when he rejoined Sevilla’s pre-season tour on Thursday.

Hedging their bets, Chelsea are now plotting an audacious move to hijack Mukiel”s switch to PSG. Footmercato claim that the Blues want to include Werner in a swap deal, which would see the German return to his former club.

Whichever way the move turns out, it is likely to be concluded quickly with PSG hopeful that the 24-year-old can join up with their squad by Wednesday. A £13m fee had already been agreed with RB Leipzig, and Mukiele was poised to undergo a medical before signing his contract in Paris.

What’s better than a cup of coffee and the latest transfer news? Join in as CBS Sports provides the latest updates from around the world and what they mean to your favorite teams. Paris Saint Germain are close to completing a move for Nordi Mukiele deal with RB Leipzig, while Mathys Tel will be announced as a new Bayern Munich as soon as Monday. Chelsea and Barcelona are fighting for Jules Koundé and Napoli are eyeing Giovanni Simeone as a new striker, while Dries Mertens has officially left the club. Let’s get to latest:

In the six-yard box
The biggest transfer stories of the day. These are the deals that are happening, or at least on the verge of getting done.

PSG to complete the Mukiele deal
Paris Saint-Germain has agreed to a deal in principle with RB Leipzig for the transfer of Mukiele. The French right-back will move to France in the coming week, and the two sides are now working to complete the deal in the shortest time possible. PSG will pay almost €12 million guaranteed, plus add-ons up to a total of potentially €16 million and the player will sign a five-year deal until 2027. He’s expected to fly to Paris in the next few days before the end of the current week.