LIVE Transfer Talk: Manchester United, Juventus in bidding war for Benfica star Dias

[ad_1]

The transfer window for Europe’s biggest clubs is closed, but you can click here to review all the deals. Transfer Talk will continue to scour the world’s media and set correspondents loose to see what’s on the agenda for the summer.

TOP STORY: Juve likely to pip United to Benfica star

Manchester United’s race to shore up their leaky defence could see them enter a bidding war for Ruben Dias. The 21-year-old is another prodigy to emerge at Benfica and has already been targeted by the likes of serial Serie A winners Juventus.

But United’s defensive ineptness has encouraged the club to throw its hat into the ring. According to Portuguese newspaper Record, United have opened negotiations with the Portuguese giants over the player, although Benfica look set to play hardball in demanding that whoever comes in for him shell out the €60 million release clause in his contract.

And time is not on United’s side. Juve are understood to be in pole position to sign Dias and the promise of Champions League football is a sizable carrot — one that United are unlikely to be able to offer, unless something remarkable happens in the last couple of weeks of the season.

Atletico Madrid are also reported to have been keen on the player. But Diego Simeone’s side is now understood to be focusing its attention on landing Porto defender Felipe instead.

LIVE BLOG

08.00 BST: Manchester United are so desperate to see the back of Alexis Sanchez that they are willing to subsidise half of his £500,000-a-week wages for whichever club they can offload him to, according to the Daily Mail.

The newspaper reports that Sanchez — who earns up to £26 million a year, including bonuses — will be shipped out of Old Trafford to help fund an overhaul of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad, just 18 months after he arrived from Arsenal.

Since then, the Chile international has been a shadow of the player who starred for the Gunners, scoring just three Premier League goals since he was signed in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go the other way.

United would prefer to send Sanchez to a club outside of the Premier League, rather than potentially strengthen a domestic rival, and the preference would be for an initial loan deal with a view to a sale in the summer of 2020.

Sanchez, 30, still has three years to run on his contract at United.

PAPER TALK (by Richard Edwards): Lala land? Arsenal and City both in the hunt for Strasbourg star

Arsenal may be trailing Manchester City by a country mile in the Premier League, but the two clubs are reportedly neck-and-neck in the chase for Strasbourg defender Kenny Lala.

The 27-year-old has shone in Ligue 1 this season and has turned the heads of some of the biggest names in European football. And while Arsenal looked to have a clear run at the player this summer, party-poopers Manchester City have now come along and rained on their parade.

French outlet le10sport reports that City are keen to bring Kenny to the Etihad in the summer, with Pep Guardiola looking for a right-back to keep Kyle Walker on his toes. All of which will come as news to Arsenal, who had been hoping to nab the player after a season that has seen Hector Bellerin out of action since suffering a serious injury against Chelsea back in January.

The defender has previously been linked with a move to Newcastle, while Serie A side Lazio have also been sniffing around for his services.

Danilo lining up Inter move

Manchester City full-back Danilo could be off in the summer — with Inter Milan his most likely destination. That’s the rumour being fuelled by Gazzetta dello Sport, which claims that the City defender has already agreed a “four to five year contract worth a tidy €3.5m a year.”

That’s yet to be ratified by City but would be understandable for a player who is desperate for first-team football, having seen his path to the first team at the Etihad blocked by the sizable figure of England star Walker.