GM, Free Agents. Happy Friday.

Welcome to the The Free Transfer— the 5-min daily newsletter making you smarter about football.

Transfer round-up time before the weekend:

• This week’s transfer round-up 🤠🔄 

  • Caicedo

  • Rice, Mbappe, Havertz, Bernardo

  • Tottenham mega round-up

  • New striker target for Madrid

TRANSFER ROUND-UP 🤠🔄 

Moises Caicedo 🇪🇨 

The situation moved from this ⤵️ 

To this ⤵️ 

…in a matter of hours yesterday.

Chelsea are still looking for a new #6 to pair with Enzo Fernandez after having their deal for Manuel Ugarte hijacked by PSG.

Although he will be pricier, Moises Caicedo is PL-proven & a fantastic player. He would be the rightful heir to Ngolo Kante at Chelsea. If you look at the stats from Caicedo this past year vs. Kante in one of his prime years at Chelsea— they are eerily similar. On top of that if you watch Caicedo play, the similarities to Kante stick out immediately.

It was leaked yesterday at Tony Bloom wants between £100-120mm for Caicedo, and he is not one to usually back down on an asking price. That being said, Chelsea could possibly look to offer another player in the deal— for example, Levi Colwill. Chelsea don’t want to let him go but also he could be used as a great make-weight. There are others like Connor Gallagher they could try to offer as well.

Fabrizio mini round-up 🔄 

Declan Rice 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 

It was reported yesterday that Arsenal’s first bid of £80MM+10MM for Rice was rejected immediately by West Ham. Soon after, it was reported that Manchester City may try to join the race. Arsenal will now reportedly prepare a second bid reaching £100MM+ in total to try & wrap it up. One to watch.

Kylian Mbappe 🇫🇷 

PSG’s stance is still the same— extend the contract or be sold this summer.

Mbappe continues to say he will not extend, & stay to play at PSG next year.

Maybe he has an agreement to join Madrid on a free transfer next season? This one could heat up if Madrid decide to make a bid.

Kai Havertz 🇩🇪 

The German international has reportedly accepted Arsenal’s proposal to join them this summer from London rivals Chelsea. Chelsea are holding out for close to £70MM, which Fabrizio Romano has reported that Arsenal will “absolutely not pay”.

It is known that Chelsea must sell to balance their books before the June FFP deadline, which Arsenal could use to try & get a better deal. This one seems to be moving very quickly. Watch this space.

Bernardo Silva 🇵🇹 

Per Fabrizio, PSG are still in talks to sign Bernardo Silva from Manchester City this summer. Will this be complicated by Mbappe’s potential departure? How does that affect how potential transfer targets view the club? This one seems to be a “wait & see” situation.

Maybe Nagelsmann’s appointment at PSG could be a draw for some top players…

Tottenham

Lenglet & Danjuma 🇫🇷 🇳🇱 

Lenglet goes back to Barca after his loan came to an end.

• He had no buy clause to stay at Spurs, so Spurs will have to negotiate a fee with Barca if they want to keep him.

After playing very little during his loan, Danjuma is unsurprisingly headed back to Villarreal.

Leicester lads 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 

Spurs are looking to bid for both James Maddison & Harvey Barnes after Leicester’s relegation.

James Maddison floating around Kane for Spurs could be deadly.

Harvey Barnes would be a like-for-like replacement for Son Heung-Min, should Spurs look to move Son on this summmer after a very poor season.

• With only 2 years left on his contract, it’s a crucial summer for the South Korean international.

A deal for both would probably cost between £80-100MM, based on reported price tags.

Dejan Kulusevski 🇸🇪 

Spurs are working to lower the purchase fee for Dejan Kulusevski, who wants to stay at Spurs.

Kulusevski has been a key player for Spurs over the past 18 months, despite a dip in form this season.

Davinson Sanchez 🇨🇴 

Former club record signing Davinson Sanchez will leave the club this summer. After 6 seasons in North London, the Colombian failed to ever impress.

• His departure likely means Spurs will get serious about signing another CB this summer (potentially along with Lenglet). Harry Maguire? 👀 

Randal Kolo Muani 🇫🇷 

This is an interesting one. French international Randal Kolo Muani could be a slightly cheaper alternative for Los Blancos than Harry Kane. He has been linked heavily to Bayern, PSG, & Manchester United this summer. Bayern always seemed like the most likely candidate.

RMCSport is a solid source for French transfers, so we’ll have to watch this space carefully!

Go prepare yourself for the UCL final. Pop your popcorn, grab a Heineken 0.0, & strap in for the ride. It’s the last match of the season!

Cheers,

—The Gaffer