Manchester United and Liverpool have been in talks to try and acquire the services of 18-year-old phenomenon Renato Sanches from Portuguese club Benfica. This week, Arsenal also got into the bidding war and are among the favorites to acquire the midfielder’s services. If Arsenal wins the bid, their midfield will be one of the best in the Premier League, and their online sportsbook soccer odds of winning the league next season would significantly increase.
According to reports, Manchester United has been tracking Sanches’ progress since the start of the year. While playing for Manchester United is still attractive to a lot of players, the current instability of the manager’s job and the club’s disappointing finish this year won’t make Old Trafford as attractive as it used to be to some players.
With the uncertainty at Manchester United, Arsenal feels they have a very good chance of landing the coveted prodigy.
Sanches’ current contract with Benfica has a $60 million release price, and Manchester reportedly offered the club $40 million. Benfica countered the offer and asked for an additional $8 million, and it is unclear if Manchester United is willing to pay the extra sum.
Despite Sanches being interested in playing for Manchester United, Benfica will certainly entertain other offers if they don’t pay the extra $8 million. This will open the door for Clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool to make their own offers for the young star. Arsenal already has a lot of depth at the position, but adding Sanches will give the team a young midfield they can keep together for years, which will allow them to get rid of some of their older and more expensive midfielders.
In Italy, Udinese player Piotr Zielinski Told Reporters that he has been in talks with Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp about playing in Anfield next season. Zielinski, who is currently on loan with Empoli, played well in the Serie A this season, scoring four goals in 30 games.
Zielinski told reporters that the rumors of his interest in playing for Liverpool are true, he also said Jürgen Klopp was very interested in signing him.
Officials at Liverpool have scouted Zielinski in the past. Now that he has shown interest in playing for the club, the chances of him suiting up for Liverpool next season are very high.
Italian national team coach Antonio Conte is expected to take over the manager’s position at Chelsea and recently told reporters that he wants Thibaut Courtois to remain with the club.
Courtois’ future at Chelsea has been cloudy because the team failed to qualify for the Champions League, and there have been reports about him leaving for Real Madrid this summer.
In the past, Courtois has spoken about wanting to return to Spain at some point in his career because he enjoyed his three year stint with Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately for Courtois, he might have to wait longer to play in Spain because Chelsea put a $73 million transfer tag on him and it is unclear if Real Madrid is willing to pay that much for Courtois, since they have shown more interest in Manchester United’s David de Gea, a player they feel fits their system more.
Conte has said on occasion that he is a big fan of Courtois. However, he might have a hard time convincing the young goalkeeper to remain at Stamford Bridge.
