Euro Paper Talk: Man Utd launch spectacular swap offer with Barcelona to cash in; Tottenham transfer expected within 24 hours

Manchester United have included misfiring winger Antony in a spectacular swap proposal with Barcelona, while Tottenham are expected to seal a transfer within 24 hours and a Chelsea deal has been agreed with ONE MINUTE to spare – all in Monday’s Euro Paper Talk.

MAN UTD MAKE ANTONY/FRENKIE DE JONG SWAP OFFER

Barcelona are open to selling dream Man Utd target, Frenkie de Jong, and a report claims a blockbuster swap deal involving Antony has been put forward.

Antony became Man Utd’s second most expensive signing when joining from Ajax for an initial £82m back in 2022.

The Brazilian hasn’t come close to justifying that price tag, with Antony already widely believed to be one of the worst signings the club have ever made.

ANTONY AT MAN UTD: The jaw-dropping stats behind the Brazilian’s woeful spell since £81m transfer

TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Fraser Gillan, exclusively revealed United are open to cutting their losses by selling Antony this summer. Given the player’s disastrous spell at Old Trafford, Antony is now valued at just £25m.

According to a fresh update out of Spain, Antony has been dangled in front of Barcelona as the bait in a cash-plus-player bid to sign Frenkie de Jong.

United and Erik ten Hag’s interest in the Dutch maestro is long-standing. Indeed, Man Utd pushed hard to sign the classy midfielder during Ten Hag’s first window at the helm.

Ultimately, De Jong’s insistence he stay at the Camp Nou ensured the move did not materialise. But with Man Utd now open to offloading all three of Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay and the man they signed instead of De Jong (Casemiro), new midfield additions are required.

An agreement on personal terms with PSG’s Manuel Ugarte has been struck. United hope to agree a fee with their French counterparts once deals for Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui have been wrapped up. The latest on those moves can be found here.

Bringing De Jong and Ugarte into a midfield that contains Kobbie Mainoo would give Ten Hag three high quality options to choose from.

Barcelona greenlight De Jong sale, but reject Antony – report

Per the Spanish report, Barcelona are more than willing to sell De Jong who would net the club a giant saving by ridding their books of his colossal wages.

Man Utd are once again in the mix for De Jong’s signature and the report states a swap proposal that would see Antony and De Jong trade places has made its way to Barcelona.

It’s important to note the report claims Barcelona have immediately rejected the alleged bid, though that’s not to say De Jong can’t line up at Old Trafford next season.

As stated, Barca are open to cashing in and separate Spanish reports state they’re now willing to accept a cut-price fee in the region of €35m-€40m.

That equates to just £30m-£34m and is well below the £70m-plus figures that have previously been mentioned. One factor behind the price drop could be De Jong entering the final two years of his contract.

Losing a highly saleable asset like De Jong to free agency would be calamitous for Barcelona who continue to struggle from a financial standpoint.

Of course, Man Utd would still have to agree personal terms with De Jong. Given he’s among Barcelona’s highest earners, the commitment in wages would be significant.

TOTTENHAM TRANSFER INBOUND

AC Milan and Tottenham are expected to seal the transfer of Emerson Royal within the next 24 hours. A fresh round of talks were scheduled for today (Monday) to finalise the transfer fee and payment terms. Spurs are in line to receive €15m/£12.9m prior to add-ons which will take the final fee a few million higher. (Fabrizio Romano and Tuttosport)

RB Leipzig have announced the signing of Xavi Simons on another one-year loan from PSG. The deal does not contain an option to buy. (RB Leipzig)

David de Gea is primed to receive fresh contacts from Serie A side Fiorentina. The ex-Man Utd goalkeeper has been without a club since leaving the Red Devils over one year ago. (GIFN)

PSG have agreed a €45m/£38.6m deal to sign Frankfurt centre-back Willian Pacho who had been courted by Liverpool. Personal terms with the 22-year-old Ecuador international have also been sealed. (Fabrizio Romano and Sky Germany)

Galatasaray have announced the €18m signing of Norwich midfielder, Gabriel Sara, which all but ends their pursuit of Man Utd’s Scott McTominay. (Galatasaray)

CHELSEA DEAL AGREED WITH ONE MINUTE TO SPARE

Conor Gallagher accepted Atletico Madrid’s offer to join the Spanish giant just ONE MINUTE prior to Atleti’s self-imposed deadline. Chelsea will receive €40m/£34m from the sale. (Sky Sports)

Nico Paz is seriously weighing up whether to leave Real Madrid this summer. (Marca)

Former Liverpool favourite, Joel Matip, has held ‘very positive talks’ over signing with Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. Matip is available as a free agent. (Sky Germany)

West Ham will announce the signing of Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund later today. The striker has passed a medical, signed a contract, and will cost the Hammers €27m plus €5m in add-ons (£27.5m in total). (Fabrizio Romano)

With Youssoufa Moukoko also leaving Dortmund (Marseille – loan with option to buy), Dortmund are lining up Hoffenheim’s Max Beier to fill the void. Beier will cost roughly €30m to sign. (Various)

Tottenham are considering launching a bid for Reims’ giant 6ft 6in midfielder, Amir Richardson. The 22-year-old has impressed for Morocco at the Paris Olympics. (Foot Mercato)

REAL MADRID PLOTTING LATE-WINDOW FIREWORKS

Real Madrid intend to make a cheeky late offer in the final days of the window for Bayern Munich left-back, Alphonso Davies. The Canadian is in the final year of his contract and Real’s hope is Bayern will accept a cut-price bid to avoid losing Davies for free next summer. (Football Espana)

Juventus plan to offload EIGHT stars before the summer window closes – Federico Chiesa, Weston McKennie, Arthur Melo, Wojciech Szczesny, Matttia De Sciglio, Daniele Rugani, Filip Kostic and Hans Nicolussi-Caviglia. (Various)

Juventus could be forced to lower their asking price for Chiesa down from €25m-€30m to just €15m. The forward is in the last year of his contract. (Calciomercato)

Inter Milan are considering an approach for Chiesa and have emerged as a genuine option to sign the 26-year-old. (GIFN)

Despite reports to the contrary, Turkish giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are NOT interested in signing Man Utd midfielder, Christian Eriksen. (TEAMtalk exclusive – Rudy Galetti)

Victor Osimhen is NOT keen on joining Chelsea and Napoli are yet to receive any official bids for the wantaway striker. (Corriere dello Sport)