Catching up on this summer's biggest rumours so far

We turned one year old over the weekend, which means it’s a good time to reflect back on assumptions I made when starting this business and what we’ve learned (and gotten wrong) along the way…

But I’ll do that later this week.

TODAY is about catching up on the silly season. We’re basically a month into the (strangely exciting?) four-month slog that is the summer transfer window and not much has actually happened. Thus I thought it would be interesting to do a quick catchup on the early stories, where they are at, whether they seem to be turning into “sagas,” and a bit of what people should expect from here.

[Oh, and for those expecting a team rebuild today, we’re starting those again next week, and this time we’ll tuck in to the incredible complexity that is Chelsea’s squad(s).]

The Centre Forward Market

Chelsea moved early for Liam Delap in an utterly sensible move that almost feels alien to them over recent windows. But we still have [everyone else] either rumoured or potentially in motion. That includes:

Viktor Gyökeres - Saga. (Agent lead - if you are annoyed at hearing his name constantly, blame that guy.)
Victor Osimhen - Saga. Exciting though.
Benjamin Šeško - Saga. Boring.
Hugo Ekitike - Going to be a Saga, because Frankfurt don’t need to sell and can hold out for a big price.
Randal Kolo Muani - Uncertain as yet. Seems basic.
Rasmus Hojlund - Can it be a Saga when no one really seems to want the player, but the papers keep reporting on him? I say yes.
João Pedro - Destined for Saga. Brighton like to sell high, but there’s not enough evidence Pedro is good enough to merit a great price. Agent is doing work here.
Darwin Núñez - It’s all gone weirdly quiet on the Darwin front…

The Wide Forward/Attacking Mid Market

These ones have been less painful to read so far, mostly because they are fresh faces and not recycles from last summer. They also don’t feel as agent lead as Gyokeres, Osimhen, and Sesko, so are less annoying.

Florian Wirtz - Not a saga, yet. BIG price, though. Big. Lardge. Allegedly North of £115M.
Rodrygo - Almost certainly going to be a Saga, but that’s Real Madrid’s fault.
Jamie Gittens - Seems like Chelsea will wrap this one up fairly swiftly. Weirdly, like Delap, Kim and I both think this one leans fairly sensible depending on price. Is something changing at Chelsea?
Bryan Mbeumo - Not a Saga, yet. Could happen.
Rayan Cherki - Definitely NOT a saga if City get this wrapped soon.
Nico Williams - BIG Saga, but whose fault is this one? I blame the media.
Matheus Cunha - Weirdly was a Saga, but probably because he had been a drama queen this season.
Rafael Leao - Destined for Saga. Milan would love to move on, but he’s also one of their biggest assets right now. [To be fair, if they sell Leao, Reijnders, and Maignan, they could have a big rebuild.]
Alejandro Garnacho - Telenovela.
Jack Grealish - The worst of the English soap operas. City feel utterly done with him, meaning someone has to take his giant wages on loan this season. Who will enter the fray?
Jadon Sancho - See above.

Midfielders

Martin Zubimendi - Saga, but because of last summer. He is allegedly signed, but there are still rumours flowing in Spain that he could go somewhere besides Arsenal. An amnesia storyline in the making?
Tijjani Reijnders - This one seems like it will go quickly as well. We’re not excited about this player + price combo at all, but City sure seem to be! We could be wrong. They could be too!
Jonny Cardoso - Spurs have a buy option on him, but he seems destined for Atletico Madrid? Feels just a bit below both of their levels to me.
Angelo Stiller - Ve shall seeeeee.

Defenders

Jeremie Frimpong - Signed so quickly it barely had rumours. I still think he’s more of a wide forward, but will have to wait and see how Slot handles it.
Rayan Ait-Nouri - I respect City for getting business done quickly. Pep needs guys in pre-season training so that he can drill the tactical stuff before the season gets crazy.
Milos Kerkez - Could approach a Saga if Liverpool fail to agree a price quickly.
Dean Huijsen - Real Madrid got this one done with lightning speed, which makes far too much sense.
Jonathan Tah - He’s on a free, now, and joining Bayern just as we thought last summer. Can’t be a Saga, but was last summer.
Oscar Mingueza - He’s just here because I can’t wait to see where he goes after Celta. Villa and Leipzig are the only notables I have seen in the rumours thus far.

Goalkeepers

Can goalkeepers outside of Donnarumma and David De Gea even be a saga? Chelsea are arguing about price on Milan’s Mike Maignan through the Italian media, but that seems like another piece of good business on the cards for the Blues.

I am going to be SO DISAPPOINTED if I can’t make fun of Chelsea again in August.

—TK

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