Man Utd chief Woodward ready to green light £60m transfer, Chelsea swap deal, Arsenal

Lionel Messi – free agent

Barcelona are sweating over the future of Lionel Messi.

And that’s because the Argentine superstar could potentially leave the Nou Camp for absolutely nothing later in the year.

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport claim Messi, who has a £593million release clause, only needs to give the club 30 days notice before walking away.

Messi, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, had a public feud with the club’s technical director Eric Abidal and the situation is thought to be tense.

The publication speculates in a separate article that Juventus, Manchester City, Manchester United, PSG and Inter Milan are the only club’s capable of meeting his financial demands.

Ed Woodward identifies transfer priority

Jack Grealish has emerged as Manchester United’s priority ahead of the summer transfer window. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is determined to sign a playmaker and the Aston Villa captain is top of their wishlist, reports have claimed.

The 24-year-old is attracting interest from a host of top clubs, as he bids to make Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of the European Championships.

Grealish has seven Premier League goals to his name this season and is at the heart of Villa’s survival bid in their first season back in the top-flight.

According to The Sun, Manchester United are now prioritising the signing of Grealish over James Maddison.

Chelsea swap deal

Real Madrid are set to offer Isco to Chelsea as part of a plan to sign N’Golo Kante.

Bernabeu bigwig Florentino Perez is eager to use the playmaker to reduce the price for the World Cup winner.

According to El Desmarque, the former Leicester City midfielder is one of Zidane’s top targets in the summer window.

Perez, the club’s president, takes care of the transfer details and is already trying to work out how to get Kante on board.

He reportedly hopes to use Chelsea’s interest in Isco to reduce Kante’s price.

Arsenal exits

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is planning a major overhaul of his squad in the summer with several stars including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil facing an uncertain future at the club.

According to The Sun, the Gunners head of football, Raul Sanllehi, has made it clear to Arteta that nobody will be allowed to run down their deals and then leave as a free agent next year.

This decision affects six senior players, including Aubameyang and Ozil, who have less than 18 months remaining on their current contracts.

The report claims Arteta has been left unimpressed by the lack of improvement within his current squad since he took over in December.

Liverpool to re-sign Philippe Coutinho?

Liverpool hero Steve McManamann has endorsed a move for Philippe Coutinho.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing Coutinho back. He’s a brilliant player but a lot of it is just down to economics,” he told HorceRacing.net.

“If they can bring Coutinho back for a reasonable fee and potentially sell a couple of players who aren’t playing regularly, then that could work.

“There are rumours that Xherdan Shaqiri may leave at the end of the season, and Adam Lallana may want to play more often.

“If there’s space available then I’d certainly like Coutinho back, as he was a wonderful player for Liverpool.

“He’s that type of player that when plan A isn’t working he can change the game.

“He scored some incredible goals for Liverpool and though he’d have to win the fans over after he asked to leave, I think that most fans would recognise how good he was for Liverpool.

“He seems to have lost his way a bit at the minute, he needs a bit of TLC and an arm around him doesn’t he?

“So if he wants to come back to Liverpool and the deal was good then I’d have no qualms taking him back because he’s a lovely player.”

source: express.co.uk