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Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: Arsenal’s BIG MISSION, Man Utd midfield TARGETS, Xavi Simons UPDATE
Robin Bairner
- 17 Aug 2025 12:00 BST
- 6 min read
News
Football transfer news reporter Fabrizio Romano has provided updates from Sunday’s biggest stories, including Manchester United’s next move after missing out on Carlos Baleba and Arsenal’s plans.
Man City movement: Ederson and Savinho out?
Manchester City could be closing in on two major sales, Romano reports.
He told his YouTube channel: “Ederson didn’t play for Manchester City. The deal with Galatasaray is advancing. A bid for €10 million is on the table but City want something around €25m, so negotiations are ongoing between the clubs. Donnarumma is waiting in the background to become a new Man City.
“Keep an eye on the situation of Savinho. Tottenham are still very active after a fantastic start to the Premier League season, beating Burnley. But Spurs don’t want to stop. They’re advancing on Eberechi Eze. There was a personal agreement already done days ago. Tottenham are in contact with Crystal Palace to try to reach an agreement. There’s still work to do. Spurs are confident Eze will join them. There’s still a question mark over whether he will play against Chelsea.
“With Savinho, the deal is still on between Tottenham and Manchester City. It’s difficult, for sure. City will not accept £50m or £65m. Spurs want to try again. And remember this story is important for Rodrygo. Don’t forget him and City because this story what happens with Savinho.”
Current ETV
Savinho
F, M (R)
Man City
Savinho
F, M (R)
Man City
ETV Range
€63.1M - €77.1M
Nkunku nears Chelsea exit as Bayern deal collapses
Chelsea have received good news as they attempt to offload Christopher Nkunku, with the France winger nearing a return to the Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich are turning their attentions towards the attacker after a deal for Nick Woltemade broke down.
Romano explains: “Deal off for Bayern to sign Nick Woltemade. They tried in every way, with several approaches with Stuttgart. They tried to do everything with the player and his agent reducing his potential commission but the answer from Stuttgart is no. He’s not moving, the deal is considered off at this stage. Bayern are accepting this stance.
Current ETV
Christopher Nkunku
F (C), M (L)
Chelsea
Christopher Nkunku
F (C), M (L)
Chelsea
ETV Range
€37.6M - €46M
“Bayern will now advance for Christopher Nkunku. They’re going strong for Nkunku. From what I’m hearing, club-to-club contacts have been ongoing for the last four days. These talks started when Bayern got the feeling the Woltemade deal was getting complicated. Bayern will now attack even more to get Nkunku.
“Bayern started from a different formula for Nkunku. They wanted a loan. Chelsea have been clear: a permanent deal, that’s the only way. Now the clubs are negotiating the numbers. The conversation is advancing and Nkunku wants to move.
“A deal in January was not possible. Bayern remain interested in Nkunku and that deal is absolutely still on.”
Xavi Simons update
Selling Nkunku will be crucial for Chelsea to sign Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig. That deal is still very much on, despite the news over it going quiet lately.
“Xavi Simons scored for Leipzig today and he’s starting to show his skills again. He had a post on social media with the caption ‘ring ring’, well he’s waiting for a call from Chelsea,” Romano says.
“Xavi Simons wants to go to Chelsea. This is not a mystery. We’ve been saying that for a long time. The reality is that Chelsea need to sell players before signing players like Alejandro Garnacho and Xavi Simons.
“We had rumours about Bayern and Manchester City. What I can guarantee you is that since July, Xavi Simons wants to go to Chelsea. He’s waiting for Chelsea. That’s the situation.”
Man Utd seek Baleba alternative
Romano was rather coy when it came to suggesting alternatives that Man Utd might move for after missing out on Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.
He said: “Man Utd could go for midfielder Morten Hjulmand from Sporting. Obviously, Ruben Amorim knows the player so well. He’s always been appreciated by Amorim, but there are two points.
“Sporting don’t want to sell other top players after losing Viktor Gyokeres this summer. It will be a tough and difficult deal.
“Second point: Manchester United have not started concrete talks with him. They’re informed about the situation because it’s a player who’s always been in their list. One of the players they have been following. But they’re not advanced for several reasons, including their focus on Carlos Baleba and because they still want to understand what kind of player they really want to sign.”
Arsenal top mission revealed
Signings at Arsenal are not ruled out at the Emirates Stadium before the end of the transfer window, but Romano says their priority is simply to tie down one of their best players to a new contract.
“For Arsenal, another big mission is to extend the contract of William Saliba. Arsenal director Andrea Berta is really focused on this mission.
“It doesn’t mean that Arsenal won’t do anything else this summer, we’ll see what happens in the next two weeks, but it means their focus is on the Saliba story. Arsenal are in contact with his agents and believe that extending the contract of Saliba is really important. It’s not just a contract extension.
“It’s not a normal extension. Arsenal want to go for it strong and accelerate. They know Saliba is one of the big top names on the list of Florentino Perez at Real Madrid. It’s been like this for months. Arsenal want to avoid any Real Madrid attack, not for this summer but for 2026 or the future.”
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