Players on the move: Join Razeen Gutta for a weekly roundup of all the biggest deals taking place around South Africa and Europe.
Joao Felix makes the headlines as the Atletico Madrid starlet closes in on a big move to Chelsea. Meanwhile closer to home, Arthur Zwane looks to bring some talent to Soweto.
Europe
According to leading football journalist Fabrizio Romano, the deal between the Spanish giants and the Blues for Felix is all but done.
The loan move will last until the end of the season, with Chelsea paying the Portuguese his wages in full alongside the fee in the region of £10 million (R200 million) to Atletico.
In another done deal in the Premier League, Unai Emery and Aston Villa look to have landed their man Alex Moreno with GOAL reporting that the Real Betis defender is set to make the move in the region of £10.5 million (R210 million).
On the other side of England, Manchester United continue their pursuit of new attacking talent following the release of Cristiano Ronaldo last month.
The Red Devils’ radar includes the likes of Netherlands forward Wout Weghorst as well as Spaniard Dani Olmo.
The Weghorst move looks the likelier of the two as it stands, with a loan move also on the cards with a fee in the region of £3 million (R60 million) between United and Besiktas.
Weghorst currently plays for Besiktas on loan, however his parent club remains Burnley, where he will return to following this season.
Obtaining the signature of Olmo might not be an easy task for Erik ten Hag’s side, with the RB Leipzig man expressing his desire to return to Spain “some day”.
Whether or not his former club Barcelona are keen on signing him remains to be seen; and from what the player himself said, his focus seems to be fully on Leipzig for the time being.
“I have a contract until 2024. Right now I don’t think about that, only about the next games. We have three competitions ahead of us,” Olmo told Bild.
“Things happen so fast in football, things can change all the time. I have my adviser who takes care of it. Me, I only focus on football.”
Another potential transfer to keep an eye on is that of Sergio Busquets to Saudi Arabia. Al Nassr have been closely linked with the Barcelona man as they look to further bolster their squad after signing Ronaldo.
South Africa
Closer to home, Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs are “looking to add value” to their squad according to head coach Zwane.
The Chiefs boss spoke to iDiski Times following their defeat to Sekhukhune United on the weekend, and gave a glimpse into what exactly Amakhosi are looking for this month.
“Any available quality player, we will always go for them, it depends. Obviously we want to bring in players that can add value, that can deal with pressure,” he said.
“When you look at the good players we have right now, we feel we want to give them a fair chance to prove themselves. That is why you can’t be specific when it comes to where we want to beef up.”
“But if we get another good defensive midfielder, why not, we’ll bring him on board, there’s no doubt about it. Even a striker, so we’re just looking for players who can come in and add value to the team.”
Pictured above: Joao Felix
Image source: @FabrizioRomano
