Fabrizio Romano transfer news: NEW Tel bid, CRAZY Arsenal offer, Dorgu DELAY

Robin Bairner

31 Jan 2025 01:51 CST
5 min read

Mathys Tel, Fabrizio Romano, Ollie Watkins — © IMAGO

Football transfer news reporter Fabrizio Romano has discussed the latest headlines as transfer deadline day looms.

Mathys Tel: New Premier League interest

Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel is perhaps the most-wanted player in the final days of the window, with many clubs chasing the France U21 striker.

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Tottenham are making a particular push to sign the 19-year-old.

Romano told his YouTube channel: “All the top clubs in England have decided to call Mathys Tel. Today, Tottenham had direct contact with Daniel Levy working on this deal. Spurs are ready to play €6m to Tottenham and Bayern are ready to let him go. Now it all depends on Tel. Tottenham are ready with an agreement with Bayern but Aston Villa are also trying and have the money in their pocket after selling Jhon Duran.

“Also, Man Utd are interested on a loan and still pushing on the player’s side. And then there’s Arsenal and Chelsea. Chelsea have been pushing from the beginning but they have many offensive players and Tel really wants to play, so it’ll take a big convincing action to get the green light.”

Current ETV

Mathys Tel

F (C), M (L)

Bayern

Mathys Tel

F (C), M (L)

Bayern

ETV Range

€24.8M - €41.3M

Arsenal need to make ‘CRAZY’ Watkins bid

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is set to make a renewed offer to sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa, but Romano says that it will take something extraordinary for the deal to be done.

“Arsenal want Ollie Watkins but they’ve had their first bid rejected. Aston Villa insist they want to keep the player. Unai Emery told the board that he absolutely wants Watkins to stay. Arsenal would have to do something very big, almost crazy, to get him. Otherwise, they’ll look at different targets,” Romano said.

STATS

Ollie Watkins

F (C)

Aston Villa

Ollie Watkins

F (C)

Aston Villa

20

Games
8

Goals
4

Assists

Al-Nassr chase Mitoma as €77m deal locked down

One of the reasons that Aston Villa will not sell Watkins is because Jhon Duran is heading to Al-Nassr in a €77m deal.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s club are also pushing to sign Kaoru Mitoma from Brighton.

“Jhon Duran is going to Al-Nassr to play with Cristiano Ronaldo,” Romano said. “The deal is off for Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen. It was advanced but never done.

“Al-Nassr tried to approach Brighton for Mitoma. They had an offer rejected by Brighton. It was €65m. It’s true, it’s confirmed.

“Now they could try another attempt but otherwise they will look at other opportunities. From Brighton, the first answer is that they’re not interested in selling now. Let’s see if Al-Nassr can do something special or if the player will end up staying at the club.”

© IMAGO - Jhon Duran is on the verge of a big move away from Aston Villa

Villa still pushing for Joao Felix

Aston Villa continue to push to sign Joao Felix from Chelsea but are also looking at the possibility of signing Marco Asensio from PSG.

“Villa had more contact with Joao Felix, a player that Unai Emery loves. They’ve been discussing him since the beginning of the week,” Romano says.

“Joao Felix has the same agent as Marco Asensio at PSG. He could leave in the final days of the transfer window. Aston Villa made a call today to understand the conditions of a deal from PSG. Asensio is for sure on their list. Mathys Tel is a desire but it depends on what the player wants to do.”

STATS

João Félix

F (L)

Chelsea

João Félix

F (L)

Chelsea

11

Games
1

Goals
1

Assists

Why has the Dorgu deal been delayed?

Romano has revealed why Patrick Dorgu’s expected move to Manchester United has been held up. And the reason is a simple one that should relieve any concerned Red Devils.

“What happened with Patrick Dorgu? Man Utd fans were quite worried about the situation, so what happened? The medical was booked for today in Manchester but the plan changed. But Lecce played on Friday. They need him to be part of the matchday squad. On Saturday morning, he’ll fly to England and sign his contract. No surprise is expected here,” Romano confirmed.

Xavi Simons still one to watch

Confirming the information revealed on The Transfers Podcast, Romano says that although Xavi Simons is now a RB Leipzig player on a permanent basis after joining for an initial €50m from PSG, he is not expected to stay that way for long.

“Xavi Simons has signed for RB Leipzig on a permanent transfer. PSG needed one more loan slot to let Milan Skriniar move to Fenerbahce. They knew the story of Simons in Paris was over because of many reasons. They decided to trust Desire Doue,” Romano said.

“Now Simons is a RB Leipzig player, no longer on loan. But the contract is valid until June 2027. In the summer, he will be one to watch. Premier League and LaLiga clubs are ready to attack. Many top Premier League clubs, all of them closely monitoring the player. It could be a very interesting situation.”

FABRIZIO ROMANO TRANSFER UPDATE: Arsenal striker MADNESS, Duran BOMBSHELL, Rashford CHANCE

Read more about: Bundesliga Ligue 1 Premier League Pro League Al-Nassr Arsenal Aston Villa Bayer 04 Bayern Brighton Chelsea Lecce Man Utd PSG RB Leipzig Tottenham Désiré Doué Jhon Duran Joao Felix Kaoru Mitoma Marco Asensio Mathys Tel Milan Skriniar Ollie Watkins Patrick Dorgu Victor Boniface Xavi Simons