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.
OFFICIAL – HELLAS VERONA, GOALKEEPER MATTIA CHIESA ON LOAN TO SPORTING DUBAI: THE STATEMENT. BIANCHESSI REVEALS: “POGBA WAS CLOSE TO MILAN, BUT WE WERE CONTESTED FOR THE COMMISSIONS”. CAGLIARI, THE TRAINING RETREAT POSTPONED TO TOMORROW. DECISION TAKEN BY GIULINI, BONATO AND NICOLA. ARSENAL OPENS TO THE SALE OF TOMIYASU: THE EX BOLOGNA PLAYER IN THE CROSSHAIRS OF THREE ITALIAN TEAMS
Future in Dubai for Mattia Chiesa. Hellas Verona has in fact communicated, through its official channels, that it has sold – on loan until June 30, 2025 – to Sporting Dubai Football Club the rights to the sporting performances of the goalkeeper born in 2000.
Hellas Verona FC, as stated in the press release, bids farewell to Mattia and wishes him the best for this new professional experience.
Having grown up in the youth teams of Chievo, then Ambrosiana and finally Hellas, Chiesa played on loan at Mantova in the 2022/2023 season, making two appearances in Serie C. Last season he remained in Verona, playing only one match with the Primavera team.
Paul Pogba was close to Milan, before the transfer to Juventus that launched the career – now practically at a standstill – of the French midfielder. This was revealed by Mauro Bianchessi, former Rossoneri manager and now general manager of the Monza Youth Sector, interviewed by the LaPresse agency: “One day Galliani called me into the office and said ‘find a champion who costs little for the first team’.
I went around Europe for three weeks and came back to him and said ‘there’s this guy in Manchester who doesn’t play, he plays in the second team and out of position and for me he’s a great champion’. I still have the report, it ended with ‘he’s a world-class player’.
The agent was Mino Raiola, the player was Paul Pogba. Unfortunately at that time nothing was done, there was a bit of a protest because too much money was given to the agents. Eight months later Juventus took him for five million, under the conditions that Raiola had told us to bring him to us. But before them there was us”.
Pogba’s first period at Juventus – the one referred to in the story told by Bianchessi – was decidedly positive. Arriving with no money, commissions aside, from Manchester United, he played in black and white for four seasons, with a total of 178 appearances and 34 goals scored. He also won four league titles and three Italian Cups.
Cagliari’s retreat will begin tomorrow. The Sardinian club announced it with an official statement: “The team met this morning at the CRAI Sport Center in Assemini to prepare for the next official match: on Tuesday at the Unipol Domus, Cagliari will host Cremonese, a match in the round of 32 of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa (tickets). In today’s training session, there were two work groups: the players who were most used in yesterday’s match did some warm-down work in the gym and on the pitch; for the others, activation, technical exercises, a series of games and speed work. Matteo Prati continued with personalized work. Tomorrow, Sunday 22, a new training session is scheduled for the afternoon. At the end, the team will begin the retreat, a decision shared by the President, Sporting Director and coach”.
The retreat. Retreat decided in concert by president Giulini, sports director Bonato and Davide Nicola. The intent is to unite, think about the problems and work further on what has been done so far, with the growth of the team that has had a sudden slowdown after the encouraging start albeit without victories in the championship.
During the retreat, additional and integrative work will be carried out compared to what has already been done since July onwards, with the aim of finally being able to work all together on a daily basis, in a squad that has not had any significant physical problems so far but where, between national teams and recent purchases, not everyone has always been able to work in the same way, for obvious reasons.
Takehiro Tomiyasu could be an opportunity for the Serie A transfer market, perhaps as early as the next winter transfer window. According to The Sun, in fact, Arsenal have opened up to the sale of the Japanese defender, who arrived in London in 2021 from Bologna and has now slipped to the bottom of Mikel Arteta’s hierarchy.
According to the British tabloid, Tomiyasu’s situation is being monitored in particular by Inter, Juventus and Napoli. The Gunners are currently asking for 25 million pounds – around 28 euros – for the player, but it is likely that the figure could drop over time.
Having arrived at Emitares for 20 million euros plus 3 million in bonuses, the Japanese has not managed to establish himself as a starter in Arsenal’s choices, due to some physical problems. He has made 84 appearances in his three seasons in London, and is still waiting for his debut match this time around.
GREENWOOD SHINES IN MARSEILLE: ATLETICO, BARCELONA AND BAYERN ON THE TRAIL OF THE ENGLISHMAN. MBAPPÉ CASE, PSG APPEALS: THE CLUB DOES NOT WANT TO PAY THE EX-MAN THE 55 MILLION EUROS
Five goals and one assist in four Ligue 1 matchdays. Mason Greenwood, who was long in the sights of Claudio Lotito’s Lazio during the last summer transfer market, has definitely taken off in Marseille. At the court of Roberto De Zerbi, wearing the Olympique jersey, the English striker, fresh from an excellent season at Getafe, is further improving the numbers seen in the Spanish championship. So much so that the market spotlight is turning back on him.
Three big names on his trail. According to reports from across the Channel, in fact, Greenwood’s name has ended up on the notebooks of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich. A pretty good trio, which could also make Manchester United happy: the Red Devils have in fact agreed with Marseille a percentage of 40/50% on the possible future resale of the player, born in 2001 and tied to the transalpine club by a contract until 2029.
Complicated, however, is his return home. For United, it is now considered a closed case, despite the agreements with Marseille also including a buyback clause. But, in general, it would be complicated for any club to manage English public opinion, given the case of alleged domestic violence that he was the protagonist of in the past, which then ended with the withdrawal of the charges.
The Kylian Mbappé affair does not end here, Paris Saint-Germain makes its countermove. According to L’Equipe, the transalpine club has in fact filed an appeal against the decision of the LFP – the equivalent of our football league – which ordered the club to pay 55 million euros to the Real Madrid striker for back wages and bonuses.
The dispute, the Parisian daily explains, seems destined to drag on. The LFP’s legal commission had asked PSG to pay by the evening of two days ago as the last deadline, but PSG reiterated that it will not pay and has therefore filed an appeal. The appeal, which does not suspend the obligation to pay, will be examined by the Ligue’s national joint appeals commission.
Mbappé, for his part, has the option of appealing to UEFA or the arbitration board, which could result in significant default interest being charged to PSG. Without an agreement, this legal conflict could last for several months, if not years. Another possibility for resolving it is linked to a potential settlement agreement. The French newspaper recalls that PSG could also consider negotiations to avoid immediate payment: a scenario that, given the currently very tense relations between the club and its former champion, does not seem so likely, but cannot be ruled out either.