HERE ARE THE good, the bad, and the unlikely football moves being talked about today…
Catalan radio station RAC1 claim that Philippe Coutinho has asked Liverpool to let him join Barcelona.
Liverpool are reluctant to let the Brazilian leave but reports suggest the player has spoken to manager Jurgen Klopp and expressed his desire to depart Anfield.
Barca have already had a £72 million bid rejected, with the Mirror reporting the Reds could place a £133 million price tag on the 25-year-old to ward off potential suitors.
Barcelona see Coutinho as a possible replacement for Neymar at the Nou Camp.
L’Equipe report that PSG are confident of wrapping up a £198 million move for the striker within the next 15 days.
The Ligue 1 club believe the longer negotiations drag on, the less likely the move is to happen this summer.
With a move for Alexis Sanchez now off the table, the French club are keen on wrapping up a record buy for Neymar quickly.
While Barcelona could replace Neymar with Coutinho, so too could rivals Real Madrid be willing to replace Gareth Bale with Kylian Mbappé.
Should the Monaco striker join the Champions League holders, Bale could move back to the Premier League, report the Independent.
Manchester United have been linked with the Welsh winger ever since his 2013 departure from Tottenham, and could take advantage of Mbappé’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu, as Bale could be surplus to requirements.
Meanwhile the future of Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains unclear. The Times today report that the Swedish striker could sign a new contract with Manchester United.
The player is currently recovering from a cruciate ligament injury suffered during United’s Europa League quarter-final with Anderlecht back in April.
The 35-year-old scored 23 goals in all competitions for United last season and is currently a free agent, with manager Jose Mourinho keen to bring Ibrahimovic back to Old Trafford.
The club have been impressed with the player’s recovery so far this summer and could bring him back to Manchester for the second half of next season, once he regains full fitness.
Finally, Mamadou Sakho has not been included in Liverpool’s 30-man squad for the club’s upcoming tour of Germany.
The defender spent last season on loan at Crystal Palace and the Liverpool Echo suggest the 25-year-old is likely to depart Merseyside alongside Lazar Markovic and Sheyi Ojo, who were both also excluded from Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
The Daily Express say Palace are the bookies’ favourites to sign the French international.
Sakho became a fans’ favourite at Selhurst Park last season despite making just eight appearances before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Retro Deal of the Day: Ricardo Carvalho to Chelsea
On this day in 2004 Ricardo Carvalho joined Chelsea for a fee of just under €30 million from Champions League winners FC Porto.
The defender followed manager Jose Mourinho and team-mate Paulo Ferreira to Stamford Bridge, having been one of the standout performers as Portugal finished runners-up at Euro 2004.
Carvalho had won the Uefa Best Defender Award in 2003/04 and was also named on the 50 player shortlist for that year’s Ballon d’Or, finishing ninth.
He would be regarded as one Chelsea’s greatest ever defenders in the modern era, winning the Premier League in his debut season alongside captain John Terry in central defence.
The defender would go on to win two more Premier League titles with the Blues, in 2006 and again in 2009, before moving to Real Madrid alongside manager Mourinho in 2010.
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