Here’s a roundup of the latest news and transfer rumors surrounding which players could be joining new teams in the coming months.
Thursday’s biggest transfer news surrounds Chelsea striker Diego Costa, who Cadena Ser reports has signed a pre-contract to join Tianjin Quanjian of the Chinese Super League this summer.
Costa, who has scored 51 Premier League goals since arriving at Chelsea in 2014, was seen meeting with his agent, the esteemed Jorge Mendes, and businessmen from the Chinese club in London last week.
According to the report, the 28-year-old will earn a whopping €30 million per year in China, and Tianjin Quanjian will shell out around €90 million to secure Costa’s transfer from Chelsea.
After falling out with manager Antonio Conte back in January, which followed a summer in which he reportedly wanted to return to Atletico Madrid, Costa’s impending departure isn’t totally surprising.
Tianjin Quanjian’s previous acquisitions, Alexandre Pato and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel, certainly shows their ambition.
As it stands, Costa is on course to claim his second Premier League title in three years, while Tianjin Quanjian sit in eighth place after seven matches following last year’s promotion to China’s top league.
Whereas money seems to be no issue for Chinese clubs, Barcelona may need to get creative to complete the transfer of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, according to Sport.
Thanks to a recent contract extension at Anfield, Coutinho’s estimated €5 million salary is said to top all his teammates. However, if Barcelona were to improve on that figure, then Coutinho’s compensation would already sit among that of club legends Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique.
In an attempt to avoid potentially unsettling the Barcelona dressing room, Coutinho’s agent has reportedly held meetings in Catalonia, where the player spent the second half of the 2011-12 on loan from Inter Milan at Espanyol.
While Coutinho’s familiarity with the city, as well as his friendship with Neymar, should help Barcelona’s case, his suspected €80 million evaluation represents another obstacle to a transfer.
Next: Premier League interesting rankings: Sunderland sunk
Victims to Barcelona’s miraculous Champions League comeback, Paris Saint-Germain are also keen to bolster their attacking front, thus explaining sporting director Patrick Kluivert’s meeting with Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in Paris on Wednesday.
News of that gathering comes courtesy of Sport Bild, which states a transfer fee of €70 million would be necessary to seal Aubameyang’s services.
After being linked to Manchester City earlier in the week, it’s clear Aubameyang is in high demand across Europe — much like Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, who Goal says is actually PSG’s preferred target this summer.
That’s because with only one year left on his current contract, the Chilean would likely come far cheaper than Aubameyang would.
Speaking of Arsenal, Goal also reports that they’re considering a transfer for Lille right back Sebastien Corchia.
Like Sanchez, the 26-year-old’s contract is scheduled to expire in 2018, thus opening the opportunity for a cut-price move this offseason.
Given the Gunners’ lack of competition for first-teamer Hector Bellerin, Corchia would embody a welcomed alternative with the experience necessary to allow Arsenal to offload both Mathieu Debuchy and Carl Jenkinson.
Over the past month or so, the north London club have been one of many linked with Sampdoria striker Patrik Schick, but Juventus threw their hat into the ring in public fashion Wednesday.
Speaking on his fellow Czech Republic native, Juve vice chairman Pavel Nedved said, “I can also confirm that we [Juventus] are following Schick and certainly continue to do so. Of course, it will depend on what Schick and his agent want to do next.”
Those comments will only intensify the transfer race for Schick, who despite turning only 21 years old earlier this year, already boasts 11 goals in 1217 Serie A minutes.