Euro Paper Talk: Arsenal to pay €60m to beat Real Madrid to superb LaLiga winger; Man City ‘agree fee’ over Barcelona transfer
Arsenal, Real Madrid linked Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo
Arsenal are poised to battle Real Madrid for highly-rated Real Sociedad winger Takefuso Kubo, Barcelona have verbally agreed a fee with Manchester City to sign Joao Cancelo permanently, while Chelsea are eyeing two Serie A stars as Mauricio Pochettino aims to bring in a new left-back – all in Wednesday’s edition of Euro Paper Talk.
ARSENAL, REAL MADRID TO BATTLE FOR KUBO
Mikel Arteta has made some impressive additions to his Arsenal squad this season. The manager has brought in Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and David Raya as he looks to close the gap on Manchester City.
The Gunners are looking to further improve their team in the January window, though, and a report from Spain suggests that they are ready to battle Real Madrid for Real Sociedad winger Takefuso Kubo.
The 22-year-old made 35 LaLiga appearances last term, scoring nine goals and making seven assists. Kubo has got off to an excellent start this season, too, scoring four goals and laying on one assist in six league appearances so far.
The Japan international spent three years with Real Madrid and was unable to break into the starting XI, before making the switch to Sociedad in the summer of 2022.
As part of the deal, Real Madrid included a buyback clause worth €30m (£26m) for Kubo. He also has a release clause in his contract that can be triggered by any club, worth €60m (£52.1m).
The report from Spain, as cited by The Hard Tackle, claims that Arsenal are ‘ready’ to trigger his €60m clause in January.
Real Madrid are also tipped to trigger their much cheaper buyback option to sign Kubo this winter. If both clubs do so, it will be up to the player to choose his next destination.
With the ability to play as a right or left winger or as an attacking midfielder, Kubo could provide competition for the likes of Buyako Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard at the Emirates.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Arsenal can beat Real Madrid to the Sociedad star’s signature.
BARCELONA ‘AGREE’ TO SIGN MAN CITY STAR PERMANENTLY
Barcelona have verbally agreed a €35m (£30.4m) fee with Manchester City to turn 29-year-old Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo’s loan into a permanent deal. (El Chiringuito TV – in Spanish)
Cancelo joined the Catalans on a season-long loan this summer. He has so far made four LaLiga appearances, scoring two goals in the process.
Pep Guardiola is willing to offload the Portugal international permanently, and it’s no surprise to see Xavi keen to get a deal over the line.
In other news, Chelsea are interested in signing Inter Milan star Federico Dimarco and AC Milan defender Theo Hernandez as they look to bring in a new left-back. (CalcioMercato)
Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is ‘ready to leave’, after being linked with Manchester United and Atletico Madrid in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano)
Tottenham are willing to accept an offer of £13m for Giovani Lo Celso in January, with Barcelona interested in signing him. (SPORT)
Napoli and Real Betis are also interested in signing Lo Celso from Spurs this winter. (TuttoMercatoWeb)
LAUTARO MARTINEZ KEEN TO FORCE MAN UTD OR CHELSEA MOVE
Lautaro Martinez is attempting to force his way out of Inter Milan amid links with Chelsea and Manchester United. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Napoli are tracking former Paris St-Germain manager Christophe Galtier following a poor start to the season under Rudi Garcia, while Marseille are also interested in the 57-year-old after former boss Marcelino’s surprise resignation. (RMC Sport)
Royal Antwerp midfielder Arthur Vermeeren has been backed to join a ‘big club’ amid links with Manchester United and Barcelona. (Gazet van Antwerpen)
