Transfer rumor roundup 5/16: Arsenal and Chelsea battle to sign Jean Seri
By Elliot Howey
Here’s a roundup of the latest news and transfer rumors from across the soccer world. Find out which players could be joining new teams this summer.
Wednesday’s transfer news is focused around Arsenal and Chelsea’s pursuit of Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri. Sky Sports is reporting Arsenal’s hierarchy have held talks with Seri’s agent.
However, the Gunners face competition to sign Seri from London rivals Chelsea, who are looking to strengthen their side’s chances of getting back into the top four next season .
Despite Arsenal’s managerial situation, it seems that the top brass are wasting no time in bolstering their squad. With question marks over the fitness of Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere the hierarchy at Arsenal seems keen to strengthen the spine of the team.
Seri, 26, has been capped 18 times by Ivory Coast and caught the attention of Barcelona last summer after an impressive campaign with Nice. However, the Spanish club decided to move for Paulinho instead .
Arsenal’s director of football is believed to be the key man pursuing the deal as he was at Barcelona when the Catalan club registered interest in the Ivory Coast midfielder last year.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has ended speculation he could leave Barcelona in the future , stating that he does “not need to go to another team to prove anything.” In an interview with TyC Sports he said, “I am not tempted to leave Barcelona. I will not be better anywhere else, this is the best team in the world, every year I fight to win everything”.
Messi also discussed speculation around Neymar’s potential move to Real Madrid, saying “It would be terrible, because of everything he means to Barcelona. Ney ( Neymar) won important trophies here.
“He won the Champions League and La Liga. It would be a huge blow for everyone. It would make Real Madrid even stronger from a football point of view.”
Elsewhere, Manchester City are interested in signing England International Harry Maguire, according to The Daily Mirror. City, who dominated the Premier League this season are thought to have been impressed by Maguire’s development since joining the Foxes, head into the summer off the back of a record-breaking season which saw them become the first side in the history of the Premier League to reach the 100-point mark.
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Maguire has seen a dramatic raise in his fortunes from getting relegated from the Premier League with Hull last summer. The Englishman played every minute of every game in Leicester’s league campaign and looks to be heading to the World Cup with England next month.
However, Maguire still has four years left on his contract at Leicester and the Foxes paid £18 million for the defender last summer so the fee would have to be huge to have any chance of tempting the Foxes to sell.
Finally, Eden Hazard has been discussing his future at Chelsea and the possibility of extending his deal, after the Blues missed out on Champions League. The Belgium international said, “I’m waiting for new players next season.”
“I want good players because I want to win next season the Premier League.That’s why I’m taking my time. It’s something big. I need to think about a lot of things. One thing I’m sure is that I’m happy here.”