TRANSFER ROUNDUP: Man City Youngster Joins Serie A Club, Dortmund Identify Mkhitaryan Replacement, And More
League One Club Sign Talented Youngster From Manchester United
League One club Rochdale have confirmed the signing of Manchester United midfielder Oliver Rathbone.
Oliver Rathbone is set to get released by Manchester United as soon as his contract with the Old Trafford club expires – which happens to be on June 30th. But the 20-year-old seems to have already found his next destination, and will join League One club Rochdale as a free agent on the 1st of July, on a one year deal.
Upon the agreement of the deal, Rathbone stated: “I’m very pleased to be here. When I found out I was leaving Manchester United, I spoke to my coach about potential clubs. He told me that Rochdale have great people and that it was a great club to come and play football at.
“[I also know that young players are given opportunities here] – that was one of the main factors in coming to a League One club. I want the chance to play football. When I met with the Gaffer he told me that I’d have to come in and prove myself but if I was doing well then I’d get my chance. That’s all I really want.”
Manchester City Midfielder Completes Transfer To Udinese
Manchester City’s young midfielder Seko Fofana has completed his transfer to Udinese.
Udinese finished 17th in the Serie A last season, only narrowly avoiding relegation. In order to perform better next season, they have made a strong addition to their squad, and also strengthened their midfield, by signing Seko Fofana from Manchester City. The transfer fee was not released officially, but Manchester Evening News believe the Italian club acquired the services of “the next Yaya Toure” by paying a sum around the region of £3.8 million.
The transfer was announced in an official statement on Udinese’s website, which said: “Udinese Calcio is pleased to announce the signing of SEKO’ MOHAMED FOFANA, who joins the Bianconeri from Manchester City signing a five-year deal.”
The statement further consisted of more details about the 21-year-old, which were as follows: “FOFANA was born in Paris on 7th May 1995. The Frenchman started his career with French side LORIENT B before joining Manchester City in 2013/2014. He spent the following season on loan at FULHAM, where he made 21 appearances scoring one goal in the Football League Championship. Last season he played for Ligue 1 side Bastia, playing 32 times and scoring once. Fofana has played for the France team at every level from Under-16s to Under-19s.”
Borussia Dortmund Open Talks With Andre Schurrle
Borussia Dortmund have opened talks with Wolfsburg midfielder Andre Schurrle, according to Bild.
Dortmund have already parted ways with two of their best players, after captain Mats Hummels joined arch-rivals Bayern Munich, and midfielder Ilkay Gundogan followed Bayern’s departing manager Pep Guardiola to English giants Manchester City. Having lost two big players in the same window, Dortmund are now reluctant to sell any more of their superstars, but they may still be unable to stop Henrikh Mkhitaryan from leaving Westfalenstadion and make his “dream move” to Manchester United.
However, Dortmund are taking no risks, and preparing themselves beforehand if the worst case scenario does pan out, and Mkhitaryan does end up joining Jose Mourinho at the Old Trafford club. Therefore, BVB manager Thomas Tuchel has identified Andre Schurrle as a potential replacement for Mkhitaryan if the play maker does leave this summer.
As per the report, Tuchel has already held talks with Schurrle, and the 25-year-old German international could become Dortmund’s third signing of the window – following Ousmane Dembele and Marc Bartra. The funding for this transfer will be done from the £30 million fee Manchester United are willing to pay to acquire Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s services.
James Rodriguez Made Available In The Transfer Market For £50m
James Rodriguez has been made available in the transfer market with a price tag of £50 million, as per the Daily Mirror.
Having already put his house in Spain up for sale, Rodriguez is now set to leave Real Madrid. The eleven-time European champions are more than willing to part ways with their underused play maker, as long as they receive a fee of £50 million in return. And with clubs possessing huge financial resources – such as Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United – interested in signing the Colombian international, it won’t be long before the 24-year-old has a new club to play at.
Furthermore, the Brexit vote – wherein Britain decided to pull out of the EU – may have made a major impact on Rodriguez’s future, believe it or not. Once Britain leaves the EU, Welsh star man Gareth Bale will become a non-EU player, and Real Madrid will consequently cross the limit of non-EU star players they can have (3). James Rodriguez, Danilo and Casemiro are the current non-EU stars in the Los Blancos squad, and with Rodriguez being the least used player by Zinedine Zidane, it only makes sense that he leaves the club to accommodate Gareth Bale.
Ibrahimovic Close To Completing Manchester United Transfer, Claims Di Marzio
Trusted Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has stated that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is close to officially completing his move to Manchester United.
As per Di Marzio, Zlatan and his agent Mino Raiola met in Monte Carlo, where the 34-year-old is currently on a holiday after bowing out of the Euro 2016 tournament. The pair reached an agreement in the meeting, and Ibrahimovic has indeed decided to join Manchester United.
The Swede striker will arrive in Manchester on the 1st of July – the day after his PSG contract expires and he officially becomes a free agent – and sign a one-year deal with the Old Trafford club, which will finally reunite him with his former boss Jose Mourinho.
Here’s the tweet posted by Di Marzio on his verified twitter handle:
#Ibrahimovic-Manchester #United, l’1 luglio puó essere il giorno giusto https://t.co/Iv6hv6KQAF
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 25, 2016
he is God to judge his sheep