Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: Felix WANTS Chelsea, Man Utd GET De Ligt & Mazraoui, Arsenal COLLAPSE

Tom Weber

Updated: 12 Aug 2024 21:28 BST
7 min read

Fabrizio Romano has provided the latest on all the big transfer stories, including Joao Felix to Chelsea, Matthijs de Ligt completing his Man Utd medical and Liverpool's push for Martin Zubimendi.

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Chelsea once again shocked the world of football on Sunday when it was revealed late in the evening that their deal to sign Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid had collapsed.

Romano then pulled a rabbit out of the hat in his own right by claiming that talks between Chelsea and Atletico had shifted to Joao Felix as both clubs remained keen on sending a player to Stamford Bridge in exchange for Conor Gallagher.

Romano on Omorodion, Felix and Osimhen

Speaking on YouTube, the Italian transfer expert has now provided an update on the story: "Let's be clear, the deal for Samu Omorodion to Chelsea is off. So as I told you yesterday night, it's over between Chelsea and Omorodion."

"Formally, Samu will return to Atletico Madrid and they will look for a new club for Omorodion because the priority remains to leave the club in the summer transfer window. But now Chelsea and Atletico are in a very tense situation."

"Trust me, very, very, very tense between the two clubs and they are trying to find a solution to save the Conor Gallagher deal because Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid is okay, is signed, is completed, is official. But Atletico still need to save the deal for Gallagher from Chelsea and Chelsea want the same because Chelsea also want Gallagher to go to Atletico Madrid, but they needed to find another player."

"Now, Chelsea and Atletico are negotiating with Jorge Mendes, the agent of the player, for Joao Felix. Any moment could be crucial. What we can add today is that Felix gave his green light to the Chelsea move, so he's keen on the move to Chelsea. Joao Felix was very happy at Chelsea when he joined on loan from Atletico Madrid one year and a half ago."

"Then basically what happened is that the Chelsea board and Chelsea directors and Chelsea owners wanted to keep Joao Felix at the club, but the new manager, one year ago, Mauricio Pochettino, said, 'no thanks,' I don't want Felix. But the feeling between Joao Felix and Chelsea has always been very good. And so Joao would be happy to return to Chelsea, to return to Premier League, and to try a new opportunity in London."

"Still no concrete update on the future of Victor Osimhen, but we can say that Napoli, as expected, as I told you, are working at the same time for Romelu Lukaku. Napoli are in contact with Chelsea, pushing with Chelsea to get the Lukaku deal done as soon as possible. Lukaku is already sending some messages, texting, speaking to Antonio Conte."

Man Utd's triple transfer

Romano then revealed that Man Utd are set to complete the triple transfer of Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Aaron Wan-Bissaka within the next 24 hours.

"Everything okay for Wan-Bissaka at West Ham. Medical test okay, contract signed. And so Wan-Bissaka from Man United to West Ham, £15 million. Meanwhile, important to say that Manchester United today had their new two faces, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt, both players at Carrington, with their agent, Rafa Pimenta to sign the contracts at Man Utd."

"Medical test completed. So De Ligt and Mazraoui completed the test. Everything was OK. Everything was excellent. Now time to prepare all the documents. United and Bayern, €45m plus €5m for De Ligt, €15m plus €m5 for Mazraoui. And now the clubs are signing and exchanging the documents in 24 hours."

"De Ligt and Mazraoui are expected to sign all the documents, to do all the media stuff at Manchester United, and then to become two new faces of the project for Erik Ten Hag. They already met with Ten Hag today, very good feelings and Ten Hag is ready to have Mazraoui and De Ligt all ready for the game against Fulham."

Liverpool push for Zubimendi - and Mamardashvili

Romano subsequently confirmed that Liverpool are still pushing for Martin Zubimendi and he confirmed reports from Spain that they are considering Giorgi Mamardashvili.

"For Liverpool, let me mention once again that Liverpool are working on the story of Mamardashvili, so keeping a close eye to the situation of Mamardashvili. Because they can have the possibility to sign the Georgian goalkeeper and loan him out. This would be the idea. And the deal is still on the table. So still a possibility for Liverpool. Let's see what Liverpool decide."

"But Liverpool are busy with Zubimendi. Liverpool prioritise Zubimendi. Liverpool this week want to resolve the story for Martin Zubimendi. There is no formal deadline. But Liverpool will not wait forever, obviously. So work in progress on the Zubimendi story with Liverpool absolutely on point. Liverpool pushing on the player side."

"Many of you are asking me about the player being forced to pay the release clause by himself by Real Sociedad. This is how it works in Spain. When a player leaves a club in Spain, triggering the release clause, it's the player paying the release clause, not the club. So formally, the club is giving money to the player, his agent, his consultants, and the player is formally paying the release clause in LaLiga offices in Madrid."

This is what happens always in Spain. So this is not the crucial point. The crucial point is that Liverpool are prepared to pay whatever Real Sociedad want, release clause, more than this, but to have better payment terms, so an agreement between clubs will be okay. It's on Zubimendi to decide. Liverpool are waiting. Liverpool are absolutely still there."

Nketiah deal collapses

Eddie Nketiah's move from Arsenal to Olympique de Marseille is dead in the water, with the Ligue 1 side on the verge of signing RC Lens striker Elye Wahi.

"For Olympique Marseille, one more striker and Nketiah is not going to Marseille. The deal with Arsenal is collapsing. Marseille didn't want to pay €30m. And they are signing Elye Wahi, the striker from Lens."

"Deal done, €25m plus €5m in add-ons, 15 per cent of the future sale. And this is the deal for Wahi, medical test tomorrow in Marseille."

Coman a Williams alternative

Barcelona are considering Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman as an alternative for Nico Williams, according to Romano. "Athletic Bilbao announced that Nico Williams gets the shirt number 10. This is an important point because they are convinced that Nico is staying. And Nico in a video says that he wants to make history at the club."

"On Williams, no breakthrough, no changes, and Athletic still convinced to keep the player at the club. So, no substantial changes with Barcelona. What I'm told is that Barcelona are already considering other options in the internal meetings they're having with Hansi Flick, with the director Deco, with the people on the board, and one of the names they mentioned internally is Kingsley Coman."

"Coman can leave Bayern on an initial loan with a buy-close, so details of the deal are still to be discussed, but in the internal discussions, Coman has been mentioned at Barcelona. He's a player that Hansi Flick knows very well, a player he appreciates, a player he highly rates, believing that Coman on loan with the buy-close could be a big opportunity, so Barca have an interest in Coman.

"The salary is very high, and this is an issue, and also important to say that in terms of the conditions of the deal, they are still at early stages. But the interest is there, he is one of the names discussed, and there are also other clubs interested in Coman. So, let's follow the situation, but for sure, one to watch for Barca."