The end of the transfer window is only a week away, so which players should you be keeping an eye on? Here are some stars likely to make headlines before the deadline on Sept. 1 arrives.
Cristiano Ronaldo, FW, Man United
Dropped from the first XI for the win against Liverpool on Monday, Ronaldo’s future will continue to be the subject of debate until he clarifies things one way or the other. The 37-year-old wants to leave United to play Champions League football, but is running out of options and time. Sources have told ESPN that Ronaldo will stay at United, but there are concerns about his negative attitude impacting the dressing room and things could take a turn as the deadline draws near.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, FW, Barcelona
Aubameyang only joined Barcelona in February, after his Arsenal contract was terminated. Now Barca want to move him on for around €25m so they can register their €55m new arrival Jules Kounde under LaLiga’s salary cap.
Chelsea are the front-runners and have been interested for some time but, although Aubameyang is reportedly keen to link back up with former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel, he is 33 years old so the Blues will be wary of spending too much to sign him.
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Frenkie de Jong, CM, Barcelona
De Jong has dominated the headlines this summer, but the saga has since turned ugly. The midfielder already reduced his wages in October of 2020, but sources told ESPN that Barca want him to do so again (citing irregularities with his current contract.) Barca have agreed an €85m deal with Man United, but De Jong reportedly wants to play Champions League football and now has Bayern Munich and Chelsea sniffing around.
The player is still owed €20m in salary, so an agreement over his exit is proving tough and it’s likely he may end up staying if Barca can offload other players to fix their salary issues. Which, by the way, manager Xavi is fine with.
Wesley Fofana, CB, Leicester
Fofana was dropped from the Leicester squad last weekend vs. Southampton after missing a training session, and Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers said the 21-year-old defender is “not quite in the right frame of mind at the moment to play.” Chelsea have reportedly made three transfer bids up to £70m, but Leicester want at least £80m and aren’t keen on letting him go. At that kind of money, it seems that either Fofana will get his move to Chelsea (in what would be a world-record fee for a defender), or be forced to stay put for at least another six months.
