Football transfer rumours: Dejan Lovren to leave Liverpool for Milan?

It’s been a sorry time to be a Milan fan. Having seen their team fail to qualify for the Champions League and then get banned from the Europa League for breaching FFP rules, the venerable old club’s followers need some good news. The kind of exciting transfer talk that places them at the front of the queue to sign one of the best defenders in the world. Yes, it says here that Dejan Lovren may be on his way out of Anfield to San Siro after his agent held talks with the Serie A club over a £25m move. Just £25m! What value! OK, so yes, he’s 29 and played only 13 times in the league for Liverpool last season due to a list of ailments that The Mill’s granddad would blush about, but they’ll get a confident defensive vibes man; a believer who will stridently ignore his own failings – and Milan’s. If he ever plays. Just £25m! Take that FFP!
Manchester United want a new collection of racy young midfielders who will run around a bit for the cause instead of sulking like grounded teenagers. First on the list is Rumour Mill favourite, Bruno Fernandes. They’ve reportedly submitted a £31m offer for the midfield dynamo but have been told by Sporting to get serious and come back with considerably more cash. United beancounters have also set aside £25m for Newcastle’sSean Longstaff. It’s the kind of money that would help fund Mike Ashley’s main hobby of buying up failing retail chains on the British high street. So watch this space. Oh, and on the subject of brooding midfielders, Paul Pogba has been training alone in New York while his teammates report back for training. Make of that what you will.

 year after almost signing for Liverpool, Nabil Fekir is still very much keen to play for a Premier League team who play in red – and he may get his wish if Arsenal turn their attention away from Wilfried Zaha for a moment, and throw in a £30m bid for the unsettled Lyon playmaker. Reports in France suggest Fekir is being touted around like cheap meat in a dodgy pub. It’s a cut-price deal for sure, as Liverpool were primed to sign him for £50m last season before medical concerns caused the transfer to collapse.

Crystal Palace have targeted jinking Carl Jenkinson as a replacement for Aaron Wan Bissaka at right-back. Jenkinson, who has been loaned out for the best part of a decade, is still an Arsenal player, apparently. He will cost Palace just £5m and the Gunners will probably be delighted to have the opportunity to negotiate with Palace so they can keep badgering them about lowering their asking price for Wilfried Zaha to something slightly less ludicrous than £100m.

It seems that Barcelona may be up to some fun and games to get their mitts on Antoine Griezmann for a little less than the £107m Atlético Madrid want for the 28-year-old striker. You see, reports in Italy suggest the club are willing to pay £100m for the 21-year-old Inter and Argentina striker Lautaro Martínez, also known as “The Bull”. The Mill can smell a bit of that here. Expect Griezmann, not Martínez, to wind up at the Camp Nou.

And in red-hot managerial news, Derby are set to hold further talks withPhillip Cocu over replacing Chelsea-bound Frank Lampard as manager. Cocu has been kicking his heels since October, when he was sacked by Fenerbahce.

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Alberto Moreno to Villarreal

Alberto Moreno is set to join Villarreal.

The Spanish left-back was released by Liverpool after his contract expired on July 1.

And according to ESPN FC, Moreno will undergo a medical at Villarreal in the next few days.

Barcelona, Sevilla and Aston Villa were all credited with interest - but Villarreal look to have the 27-year-old’s signature wrapped up.

Transfer News: Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Barcelona gossip 

Divock Origi to sign new deal

Liverpool are reportedly optimistic that Divock Origi will accept a new contract offer this summer.

Origi has a year remaining on his current deal but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is keen to keep the Belgian at Anfield.

The striker scored some crucial goals for Liverpool last season, including a fine effort as the Reds beat Tottenham in the Champions League final.

Origi was not Klopp’s first choice in Liverpool’s attack though with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane all favoured ahead of the 24-year-old.

That led to fears that Origi could opt for a move away from Merseyside this summer.

Transfer news LIVE: The latest on Liverpool ace Divock Origi 

Football transfer rumours: Liverpool to beat Barcelona to Harvey Elliott?

Liverpool have been quiet in the transfer market this summer so their fans will be happy to hear they have been scurrying away behind the scenes to snap up English football’s next big thing.

Harvey Elliott made the world sit up and notice in May when he became the youngest player ever to appear in the Premier League aged 16 years and 30 days. Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG and Leipzig quickly joined the race for the England Under-17 international midfielder but reports today suggest Liverpool have won the race for his signature. The Reds will have to pay the Championship side a significant compensation package for a player Tom Cairney says has the ‘wow’ factor. “His attitude and his belief in himself at such a young age is frightening,” said Fulham’s captain after Elliott’s Premier League debut as a late substitute against Wolves. “He’s got a great football brain, an eye for goal and is a very entertaining player.”

Reports in Portugal suggest Bruno Fernandes has his heart set on joining Manchester United and will put the finishing touches on a £53m move to Old Trafford this week. The 24-year-old, who contributed 28 goals and 14 assists from midfield for Sporting last season, has instructed his agent to fly to Manchester on Wednesday to thrash out personal terms. He might have to wait outside Ed Woodward’s office for a bit though as Italian media reckon the Lazio sporting director, Igli Tare, has flown to England to hold talks about the sale of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The 24-year-old midfielder, a Mill staple last summer, has apparently seen his value plummet from €120m to €80m after a poor season, although you won’t hear Tare saying that.

Rafael Benítez may have finally escaped to China but he has taken his love ofSalómón Rondon with him. Flush with cash after taking over at Dalian Yifang, Benítez wants to see the big Venezuelan hitman putting himself about all over the Chines Super League an is willing to pay £25m for the privilege. Newcastle fans console themselves with the news their club has joined Burnley in the race for Norwich City’s teenage goalkeeper Jon McCracken.

Having agreed a deal to sign Tyrone Mings from Bournemouth, Aston Villaseem intent on sprinkling some fabled ‘Premier League experience’ across their newly-promoted squad. Gary Cahill is close to rejoining his boyhood club on a free transfer from Chelsea while Villa have also made inquiries about snapping up Fabio Borini from Milan. Crystal Palace are also interested in the striker who flopped at Liverpool.

Gabriel Jesus scored one goal and assisted another before being sent off as Brazil won a first Copa America title in 12 years, beating Peru 3-1.

Manchester City forward Jesus set up Everton to volley in the opener before scoring the decisive second.

Paolo Guerrero had briefly given Peru hope when he equalised from the penalty spot minutes before Jesus struck.

Jesus w

as shown a second yellow with 20 minutes left but Richarlison's late penalty sealed the win.

Victory will have been a huge relief for Jesus, who was in tears when he was sent off, kicking a water bottle and then pushing over the VAR monitor as he left the pitch.

It is the ninth time Brazil have won the Copa America and is their first tournament success since winning a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.

The victory also maintained their record of winning the Copa America every time they have hosted it.

From joy to tears to joy again for Jesus

There will have been few Brazilians celebrating as wildly at the final whistle as Jesus, who went through the rollercoaster of emotions during the match.

The striker has, at times, struggled to deliver on the international stage - he failed to score a goal in five games at the 2018 World Cup - but was the standout performer in the first half of Sunday's final.

His cross for Brazil's first was excellent, holding the ball up on the right before spotting an unmarked Everton at the back post, then picking out the striker with a pinpoint delivery.

Peru, who had upset the defending champions Chile in the semi-finals, were back on level terms just before the break when their all-time top scorer Guerrero converted a penalty, awarded by VAR for a handball by Thiago Silva.

But Jesus took centre stage once again, tucking a neat finish in at the near post deep into first-half stoppage time.

Jesus was furious when he was sent off, with a water bottle joining the VAR monitor in being the focus of his frustration

Brazil looked in control from then on, but the game took another twist midway through the second half when Jesus jumped into the back of Carlos Zambrano. Referee Roberto Tobar had no hesitation in producing the second yellow.

The 22-year-old was in tears as he left the field and sat on the steps inside the tunnel, fearful that his dismissal would aid a Peru comeback.

But he was able to celebrate when Brazil were awarded a penalty four minutes from the end after Everton was fouled by Zambrano. Substitute Richarlison kept his cool to convert from the spot and end Brazil's Copa America trophy drought.

Barcelona set Samuel Umtiti asking price with Man Utd, Arsenal, PSG and Juventus interested

Barcelona have reportedly set an asking price of €60m (£53.8m) for Samuel Umtiti as some of Europe’s biggest clubs monitor the situation.

Manchester United and Arsenal are both interested in the centre-back’s services, while the likes of Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are also keen on him, but it will take over £50m to bring him in, according to the Mirror.

With Arsenal’s transfer budget heavily restricted this summer, thought to be around £45m, this asking price appears to have ruled the Gunners out of the race, however, they are keeping an eye on the situation and will try to pounce if they offload some players. United are pursuing Harry Maguire as their primary centre-back target, but after a £70m bid was rejected, they may well turn to Umtiti as a cheaper option.

The France international has made 97 appearances for Barca since arriving from Lyon in 2016, but fell down the pecking order last season. The commanding defender made just 14 appearances last campaign due to inconsistent form, a knee injury and Clement Lenglet taking his place in the centre of defence. However, despite this, Spanish publication Marca report that Umtiti does not want to leave the Nou Camp and will reject offers to move away, even if the club are keen to end his stay at the Nou Camp.

OFFICIAL: Real Madrid send Sergio Reguilon to Sevilla on loan deal

Real madrid and Sevilla officially announced the loan deal involving left-back Sergio Reguilon, who will play for Julen Lopetegui in Sevilla next season. Reguilon will be a Sevilla player until June 2020 and will therefore get the minutes he needs to continue his development.

Reguilon was a relevant player for Lopetegui during his short tenure in Real Madrid, so it’s fair to assume that the Spanish coach was impressed by his talent and it’s likely that he gets a relevant role next season.

Real Madrid completed the signing of French left-back Ferland Mendy a few weeks ago and that meant that Reguilon needed to find another club.

This club allowed me to be the player and person I am today and I would not change a thing. Thank you to the club, my teammates, the coaches and most of all tank you to the fans. I feel their love and support and that’s something I truly appreciate. I’m facing this new challenge knowing that I always gave my very best for this badge. See you soon! #HalaMadrid,” tweeted Reguilon immediately after the deal became official.

It will be interesting to see what the young defender can do if he starts for Lopetegui on a consistent basis.