Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: Chelsea Garnacho BOOST, NEW Man Utd bid, Barcelona Rashford DREAM

Tom Weber

• Updated: 22 Jan 2025 21:13 GMT
• 6 min read

Fabrizio Romano has provided some massive updates on the biggest transfer stories from around Europe, including the latest on Chelsea's interest in Alejandro Garnacho, Man Utd's new bid for Patrick Dorgu and Barcelona's dream transfer of Marcus Rashford.

Walker to join AC Milan

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano announced that AC Milan have reached a full agreement to sign Man City captain Kyle Walker.

"The deal for Man City captain Kyle Walker to leave City and join AC Milan is done. It's a 'here we go.' On Thursday, he will be in Italy to complete the documents, to complete the medical test. He's joining Milan on a loan deal with a buy option of around €5 million.

"Milan will cover his salary till the end of the season. And then if they activate the buy option clause in the summer, he will sign a two-and-a-half-year deal at AC Milan, so valid until June 2027."

READ MORE: Exclusive - Arsenal talks to sign Dusan Vlahovic break down

Barcelona seal Araujo deal and dream of Rashford

Next up, Romano revealed that Barcelona and Ronald Araujo have agreed on all the terms of a new contract and that fresh talks were held with Marcus Rashford's representatives.

"Ronald Araujo signs a new deal at Barcelona in the next 24 hours. Everything sorted with the agents also this week. Barcelona director Deco has been crucial in these negotiations as Deco was involved first with the player, he spoke face to face, then spoke with the agents, then was able to reach the financial agreement...until 2031.

"Something else to say on Barcelona is that on Tuesday, the agents of Marcus Rashford met with Barca. The director Deco was there, obviously, because it was in Lisbon, this face-to-face meeting. It was quite a positive meeting because Rashford would like to go to Barcelona.

READ MORE: Premier League January transfers 2025 - All the Done Deals

"I always told you Spain is the biggest desire of the player. On the other side, Barcelona are quite open to signing Rashford. What's the [issue]? Financial Fair Play. To make it happen, they need space from the financial point of view.

"And so, Eric Garcia, interest from Como, €7m bid. Interest from Girona. And also the situation of Ansu Fati. Stay, leave, loan, permanent? What does the player want to do? Because Fati, as of today, is still not giving the green light to an exit.

"But in case there will be some outgoing, Rashford and Barcelona will be one to watch. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund remain candidates, but now big trouble at Dortmund because the coach Nuri Sahin is gone and so one big change at Dortmund. And on the other side, some sources close to Marcus Rashford don't rule out the possibility of staying at Man Utd at least until the end of the season."

Garnacho opening for Chelsea?

Regarding the interest in Man Utd winger Alejandro Garnacho, Romano reports that Chelsea may have been given an opening as Napoli are stepping up their pursuit of alternative target Karim Adeyemi.

"We know the dream of Napoli is Alejandro Garnacho from Man Utd, but also important to mention, as I always told you, financially it's not an easy deal. So Napoli had a direct meeting with Man Utd, they offered €50m, add-ons included. Man Utd rejected it.

"From what I'm told, Man Utd insist on €70m. At the same time, Chelsea are still considering a bid for Garnacho. Chelsea are discussing internally, but Chelsea are really considering Garnacho as one of several names on the list. Chelsea love Jamie Gittens but it's more than unlikely that Dortmund will open doors to a January exit, so seems really, really difficult."

"Meanwhile, Napoli remain in contact with Man Utd for Garnacho in case the situation financially changes on United's side. Napoli have other options and, exclusive story, Napoli made contact with Borussia Dortmund for Karim Adeyemi. My understanding is that there is already direct contact. There is a direct approach.

"Napoli want to make a bid. They will do that as soon as they have the green light from the player on terms. Last summer, Adeyemi had the possibility to go to Juventus, but the player said, 'I want to stay at Dortmund.' Now there is Napoli and let's see what happens between Napoli and Adeyemi because Napoli are prepared to make a big effort.

"My understanding is that Dortmund are quite open to selling Adeyemi if they receive a good proposal. So watch out for Karim Adeyemi, could be an interesting one for the final weeks of the January transfer window."

Man Utd plot new Dorgu bid

A potential replacement for Garnacho or exit-bound Antony could be Patrick Dorgu, with Man Utd plotting a new approach after having an opening bid rejected by Lecce.

"First bid has been rejected, €27m, Lecce asked for €40m. Why? Because they know that Napoli are interested in Patrick Dorgu, that Napoli could be open to doing the deal now and let Dorgu stay at Lecce until the end of the season on loan, so that would be interesting for Lecce.

"Man Utd remain in contact with the player. Man Utd remain in contact also with Lecce. So discussions remain ongoing. Remember that Antony is going to Real Betis. And from a financial point of view, Man Utd remain keen on the Dorgu deal. They also have other options, including a buy-back clause for Alvaro Carreras, the left-back who is now at Benfica.

"Dorgu remains a strong possibility. Man Utd really love him because he can play on the left, he can play also on the right, he is a physical player, not just fast, also with some international experience playing for Denmark. First bid rejected, but they want to try again."

Chelsea make Luiz approach

Finally, Romano confirmed that Chelsea have approached Juventus over a potential loan deal for Douglas Luiz.

"Chelsea are also assessing options for the midfield. In case they find a good opportunity, they could consider bringing in one more midfielder in this January transfer window. I don't think it's going to be a superstar name.

"The feeling is that they want an opportunity on the market because they have Enzo Fernandez, [Romeo] Lavia, for the future they also have Andrey Santos, who is doing fantastic at Strasbourg, so they see the future well covered, but if they have one more player they can bring in in January, Chelsea would consider that.

"Chelsea in the last 24 hours reached out to Juventus, they are speaking about Renato Veiga going to Juventus from Chelsea - it's s a strong possibility on loan - [but] Chelsea also asked about the situation of Douglas Luiz. Juventus' answer was quite clear, they don't want to loan the player. It has to be a permanent transfer.

"There is interest from Chelsea and also from Man City. Remember that Man City and Juventus are talking about Andrea Cambiaso, the full-back, who is of interest to Man City. In this conversation, City also showed interest in Luiz. But at the moment, Juventus have no interest in doing the deal."