The latest on all the transfer market news from the day just gone to the archives. Between rumors, negotiations and behind the scenes, here are the most important news.
HOT HOURS FOR GUDMUNDSSON AT FIORENTINA: THERE IS A WAITING FOR GENOA’S RESPONSE. FOR TESSMANN THERE IS AN AGREEMENT WITH VENEZA, BUT NOT WITH THE AGENTS. JUVENTUS, THE RENEWAL FOR PERIN IS CLOSE. HE CAN SIGN UNTIL 2026 WITH AN OPTION. MONZA SEARCHING FOR DI GREGORIO’S HEIR: CONTACTS UNDERWAY FOR PIETRO TERRACCIANO. WAITING FOR SANCHEZ, UDINESE SIGNS EKKELENKAMP FROM ANTWERP. HATEBOER LEAVES ATALANTA, THERE IS THE STATEMENT. HE SIGNED A TWO-YEAR CONTRACT WITH RENNES. ATALANTA, SIMEONE REQUESTED ON LOAN. NAPOLI WILL ONLY SELL HIM ON A PERMANENT DEAL
The transfer of Albert Gudmundsson from Genoa to Fiorentina should be definitively unblocked this evening. After having put forward its proposal yesterday evening, the lily club is now waiting for a response from the rossoblù club that could arrive this evening. The second Icelandic striker, already one step away from a transfer to Florence in January, could begin his adventure with the lily shirt in the next few hours should Genoa say yes to the proposal formulated by president Commisso’s club in the next few hours. The lily club’s latest proposal is for 7 million euros for the onerous loan, which the Grifone would therefore collect immediately, to which would then be added the obligation to redeem, for a final figure that stands at around 25 million euros.
The transfer of American midfielder Tanner Tessmann from Venezia to Fiorentina is on hold. After reaching an agreement with the Venetian club, negotiations have stalled due to the demands of the 2001-born player’s entourage, which the Fiorentina management deemed too high.
Juventus has decided to renew the contract of Mattia Perin. He will be Michele Di Gregorio’s second, as was widely decided at the beginning of this transfer window, when Wojciech Szczesny was put on the market also due to a very high salary of around 6.5 million per year. The Pole remains an unknown and a problem, because there are no offers from Saudi Arabia that are succulent enough and he would prefer to stay in Italy, but in a medium-high level team, thus leaving Adriano Galliani empty-handed who has repeatedly spent himself for his name. Returning to Perin, the renewal will be until June 30, 2026, thus adding a year to what is currently planned. And in the contract there will be an option for an automatic extension based on appearances, but also on Juve’s idea of not leaving an experienced and reliable goalkeeper on the market on a free transfer.
With one year to go until his contract with Fiorentina expires, Pietro Terracciano can change teams. The reliable goalkeeper born in 1990 is an idea from Monza, a club still looking for Di Gregorio’s heir. Contacts are underway: if the transfer were to materialize, the club from the purple would then have to return to the market to buy a new starting goalkeeper.
Jurgen Ekkelenkamp is a new midfielder for Udinese. The Dutch player arrives on a permanent basis and has signed a contract with the Friulians until 2029.
After seven and a half years, Hans Hateboer leaves Atalanta. With a note on the official website, Atalanta announced the transfer of the Dutch full-back to France: “Atalanta BC announces that it has permanently sold to Stade Rennais FC the rights to the sports performances of the player Hans Hateboer, a 30-year-old Dutch right-back who played for the Nerazzurri in a total of 245 appearances in all competitions in his seven and a half seasons, culminating with the victory of the UEFA Europa League last May 22. The Percassi family, the Pagliuca family and the entire Club bid Hans farewell with affection and gratitude, wishing him all the best for the continuation of his sporting career”. Further details come from the Rennes press release: Hateboer has signed a two-year contract with the Breton club.
Atalanta is starting to find its way in the striker market. Scamacca’s injury has upset the situation, because the Nerazzurri had practically closed the Folorunsho deal with Napoli – an operation worth 18 million in total that would have excluded the arrival of O’Riley – only to then backtrack after the friendly with Parma where the striker’s breakthrough occurred. So the talks between Napoli and Atalanta have also included the name of Giovanni Simeone, a striker who has asked to be sold to the Azzurri several times to play more, with Bergamo being the right place to relaunch after a year of few highs and many lows, like the rest of the team. Atalanta has asked for a loan with an option to buy, also to evaluate what Simeone is currently, given that he has played little – despite having a significant impact in the Scudetto year – and has just turned 29, so in fact it would not be a capital gain but almost an investment like Zapata or Muriel. Instead, Napoli intends to sell him only permanently. They are open to an obligation to buy, but on fairly simple conditions, such as a presence after February 1st. In short, at the moment there is a distance, Atalanta will also evaluate other situations and then, possibly, will try again in the coming days.
BARCELONA, DANI OLMO RETURNS: THERE IS AN AGREEMENT, A DEAL WORTH MORE THAN €55 MILLION WITH LEIPZIG. NICO WILLIAMS HAS DECIDED: HE’S STAYING AT ATHLETIC: NO TO PSG AND BARÇA. DI MARIA HAS RENEWED WITH BENFICA. “TARGET WORLD CUP 2026”, ROMANIA, LUCESCU RETURNS 38 YEARS LATER: HE’S THE NEW CT
Dani Olmo to Barcelona, are we serious this time? After the meetings today (first between the Blaugrana sporting director Deco and the player’s agents, then between the entourage and the German club) according to Mundo Deportivo, a newspaper close to the Catalans’ affairs, the agreement has been reached. Dani Olmo should become a new Barcelona player until 2030 and according to Fabrizio Romano the final figures would be 55 million euros fixed plus seven million in bonuses. Early in the morning, the sporting director met Olmo, his father and the player’s agents, Juanma López and Andy Bara, in the German city: a little more than an hour of meeting in a central hotel in Leipzig, the city where Deco arrived yesterday evening. The presence of Olmo himself was already symptomatic and fueled the possibility of signing for Barça 10 years after leaving the Catalan club to go to Dinamo Zagreb. Soon after, Deco and Andy Bara, who is Croatian and speaks perfect German, went to the Red Bull Arena to meet with Leipzig’s management in search of a definitive agreement. The final meeting lasted about an hour until, at around 2:30 in the afternoon, they left the stadium with the agreement in hand. Speaking about the player, German coach Marcel Schäfer admitted that the club was open to negotiations with Barcelona, but warned that he would defend his own interests: “We are ready to talk about it. But Dani has value. That’s why we are comfortable with him now. Dani is an exceptional player” – he said, just hours before the parties reached an agreement.
Nico Williams has returned, early, to his home at Athletic Bilbao. And he did it to stay, according to the Spanish press. In Mundo Deportivo we read that one of the absolute stars of the last European Championship has broken the ice by informing the Basque club that he has no intention of leaving during this summer. Nico was on leave until August 12, but he shortened his rest period to speed up preparation for the start of next season’s Liga. The youngest of the Williams brothers has quickly placed himself under Ernesto Valverde’s orders with the conviction that he wants to continue his career at the club: for a few days now he has apparently made the decision not to move from San Mamés despite the many contacts to convince him to leave. Above all, he has said no to inviting offers from Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. The €58 million release clause was certainly not a prohibitive price for certain top clubs, with the player having renewed his contract only last December, which now ties him to the Iberians until 2027. Last season, the assault of Aston Villa, Athletic’s next rival in a summer friendly, had already been repelled. Athletic, for their part, have always felt positive about his permanence, because neither the player nor those close to him have expressed any desire to consider leaving.
Mircea Lucescu is back on the field at 79 years old: he is the new coach of Romania, after the paths with Edward Iordănescu separated, following the last European Championship in Germany. Last season, Lucescu coached Dinamo Kiev and now returns to a bench he knows, having already coached Romani between 1981 and 1986. Therefore, the career of a true globetrotter continues for a coach who in the past has also coached in Italy, leading Inter, Reggiana, Brescia and Pisa. “Mircea Lucescu is the new coach of the Romanian national team” – writes the Federation on its Instagram profile – “after a break of 38 years, Lucescu returns to the national team, signing a contract for a period of two years, with the main objective of qualifying Romania for the 2026 World Cup. Good luck”.
The long-awaited arrival at Rosario Central – the former team that made him blossom from his first steps – has faded once and for all and after the numerous rumors regarding the future of Ángel Di María, here is the long-awaited official: the Fideo will continue to wear the Benfica jersey for another season. The contract that expired on July 1st has therefore been extended by another 12 months, becoming in fact a free transfer attractive to everyone on the market. And instead the Rosarino has decided to extend his stay in Lisbon, alongside the Eagles and in the shadow of “Da Luz”.
The official press release. “Agreement signed! Benfica and footballer Ángel Di María have renewed their contract for another season. The Argentine world champion striker is in his fifth season with Manto Sagrado (2007-2010 and 2023-2025).”