Man Utd PRIORITISE Pavard, Chelsea SIGN midfielder, Neymar wants PSG EXIT: FootballTransfers recap

Tom Weber

• Updated: 10 Aug 2023 22:59 BST
• 7 min read

Thursday delivered plenty of transfer twists and turns as PSG stars Neymar and Marco Verratti had a change of heart.

Plus, Manchester United will try to sign Benjamin Pavard after Harry Maguire leaves for West Ham and Chelsea have signed a midfielder - but they could see a deal they've been working on for weeks hijacked. There's plenty to cover, so let's jump right in.

Exclusive: Man Utd lean towards Pavard

FootballTransfers can exclusively reveal that Man Utd are leaning towards a move for Benjamin Pavard over Jean-Clair Todibo in their search for a Harry Maguire replacement.

But is he really the best option?

Caicedo hijack

On Thursday morning, news broke that Liverpool had initiated contact with Brighton to hijack Chelsea's Moises Caicedo deal.

Around a similar time, Chelsea triggered Tyler Adams' relegation release clause at Leeds, but the American won't act as a Caicedo alternative.

One man who could is Marco Verratti, even if he doesn't have the same profile as the Ecuadorian.

Verratti has had a change of heart and now wants to remain in Europe - and Chelsea are interested in the Italian.

Liverpool and Chelsea aren't only battling it out for Caicedo, however, they are also fighting for Romeo Lavia.

Neymar's PSG exit

On Wednesday, Neymar was told that he is surplus to requirements and PSG. Though he was previously uninterested in a move to Saudi Arabia, he is now said to be 'seriously considering' an offer from Al-Hilal.

However, the Saudi side aren't the only ones who have approached Neymar: an MLS club have also made an offer in hopes of taking the spotlight off Lionel Messi in Miami.

If Neymar were to move to the Middle East, he would add to the sizeable contingent of stars plying their trade in the Saudi Pro League this season. Here's everything you need to know about the biggest clubs in Saudi Arabia.

Mbappe's sacrifice

Kylian Mbappe has apparently sacrificed €200m by not triggering his contract extension at PSG so that he can move to Real Madrid.

But he has made it clear that he won't leave PSG this summer.

As if their relationship with PSG wasn't already bad enough, Real Madrid are now in talks with the Parisians' preferred Mbappe replacement.

Los Blancos, however, could be in for a rough season even with a new striker as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has torn his ACL, so they now have to find some creative solutions.

Or they could just scour the free agent market.

Here's how they will line up this season as things stand.

Players to watch

The Premier League season will kick off shortly, so FootballTransfers has compiled a list of young players you absolutely must keep an eye on.

Transfer news

Finally, let's finish up with some more transfer news from around the world. Man Utd are trying to raise funds for more signings and the first exit of a huge clearout has already been confirmed.

Midfielder Fred is also on his way out but he's not heading to the club everyone thought he'd be off to.

PSG, Chelsea and Tottenham are set to do battle for a Ligue 1 wonderkid.

Speaking of PSG and wonderkids, FootballTransfers can confirm that Hugo Ekitike is trying to engineer a move away after being dropped from the first team.

Another Liverpool midfielder is being targeted by Saudi Arabia.

And lastly, Tottenham and Bayern have finally reached an agreement for the transfer of Harry Kane - but now the player is having second thoughts!

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