Top 23 deals to be done in summer sale
As Europe’s richest clubs plan their recruitment strategies, we look at hottest properties who are likely to be available
Jude Bellingham
Club: Borussia Dortmund. Age: 19. Arguably the hottest property in world football and Real Madrid seem to be winning the scrap for his signature, ahead of Manchester City. Liverpool pulled out of the race.
Declan Rice
Club: West Ham United. Age: 24. Arsenal’s top midfield target this summer but there is also interest from other big clubs, including Manchester United and Bayern Munich. The West Ham captain could cost close to £100million.
Moises Caicedo
Club: Brighton. Age: 21. Brighton refused to sell the Ecuadorian to Arsenal in January, even for £70 million, and have since tied him down to a new deal. That does not mean Caicedo will be off the market this summer, though. Chelsea and Arsenal are interested.
Alexis Mac Allister
Club: Brighton. Age: 24. Reputation has soared since playing crucial role in Argentina’s World Cup success. Looks destined to join Liverpool, despite interest from Manchester United.
Frenkie de Jong
Club: Barcelona. Age: 26. Manchester United made De Jong their top target last summer but were unable to convince the midfielder to leave the Nou Camp. Chelsea also tried to sign him. Will Premier League clubs have more luck this summer? And how much of an impact will Barcelona’s financial issues have?
Romeo Lavia
Club: Southampton. Age: 19. Signed from Manchester City last summer, but is expected to move again following Southampton’s relegation.
Amadou Onana
Club: Everton. Age: 21. Chelsea and Arsenal are among the clubs to have previously shown interest in Onana. Everton’s survival on the final day will make it harder for teams to prise him away.
Mateo Kovacic
Club: Chelsea. Age: 29. Croatia midfielder is edging closer to joining Manchester City. Has only one year remaining on Chelsea contract.
Mason Mount
Club: Chelsea. Age: 24. Liverpool and Arsenal were among the teams to want Mount this summer but Manchester United are winning that race. United are to make an offer of £50 million for the England international.
Youri Tielemans
Club: Leicester City. Age: 26. Will be a free agent after leaving Leicester City following the expiry of his contract. He was of interest to Arsenal a year ago but they now have other targets.
Conor Gallagher
Club: Chelsea. Age: 23. Newcastle and West Ham have been linked with moves for Gallagher, who could follow fellow academy graduate Mount out of Stamford Bridge. His future could depend on new coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Ryan Gravenberch
Club: Bayern Munich. Age: 21. Midfielder has caught the attention of Liverpool. Widely considered one of the most talented young players in the game but has struggled since joining Bayern from Ajax last summer.
Ilkay Gundogan
Club: Manchester City. Age: 32. Barcelona and Arsenal are trying to position themselves at the front of the queue to sign Gundogan if he decides against extending City contract.
James Ward-prowse
Club: Southampton. Age: 28. Was relegated with Southampton but will be in demand this summer, with a number of Premier League
clubs expected to show interest. West Ham are thought to be keen.
James Maddison
Club: Leicester City. Age: 26. Another certain to move after being relegated from the Premier League. Newcastle United are interested, as are Tottenham Hotspur.
Harry Kane
Club: Tottenham Hotspur. Age: 29. Surely the time is right for Tottenham and Kane to part ways? With one year left on his contract and no obvious desire to sign an extension, it is probably the moment cold, hard business logic takes over. Spurs will be able to sell Kane for
around £100million or lose him for nothing this time next year. Real Madrid are thought to be interested, as are Manchester United.
Victor Osimhen
Club: Napoli. Age: 24. Arguably the best striker in Italian football this season, every top club in Europe have been scouting the Nigeria international. Napoli want upwards of £80million for a player who has scored 26 goals. Again, Manchester United and Real Madrid could go head-to-head for him, while Chelsea could also be in the mix.
Lautaro Martinez
Club: Inter Milan. Age: 25.
The Argentine World Cup winner who has scored 21 goals in 38 games in Italy will be in demand and is not earning a fortune compared to Premier League salaries.
Dusan Vlahovic
Club: Juventus. Age: 23. Arsenal have long been interested in the striker and with Juventus failing to qualify for the Champions League, they could well finally land their man. There will be stiff competition if Juve let him leave.
Kylian Mbappe
Club: Paris St-germain. Age: 24. Given the length of time he has been playing at the very highest level, the fact Mbappe is still just 24 and has not played outside of France means he will leave at some point. Was on the verge of joining
Real Madrid last summer and the Spanish giants are keen to revive that deal. Will any of the big-spending Premier League clubs also look to lure him away? Signed a new contract last year, so a deal is complicated.
Kai Havertz
Club: Chelsea. Age: 23.
It has not worked out for the German in west London and with Chelsea desperately needing to sell players to comply with FFP rules and slash numbers in a bloated first-team squad, he could easily be on the move. Real Madrid have been strongly linked.
Karim Benzema
Club: Real Madrid. Age: 35.
Has won the lot with Real and been at the top of his profession for more than a decade. We already know the Frenchman is on the move, and is set to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia after signing a deal with Al-ittihad, but his exit will cause moves elsewhere as Real attempt to replace him.
Lionel Messi
Club: Paris St-germain. Age 35. Having tearfully left Barcelona to join PSG two years ago, there has been plenty of talk about his return as a free agent. Quite how they would afford him given their financial problems remains to be seen. There is also strong interest from Saudi Arabia while a couple of years being the star attraction in the US may also hold strong appeal.