Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: MULTIPLE Chelsea deals, Man Utd TALKS planned, Liverpool DOMINO

Tom Weber

• Updated: 26 Jan 2026 18:10 GMT
• 7 min read

News

Fabrizio Romano has provided some massive updates on the biggest transfer stories from around Europe, including the latest on Jeremy Jacquet, Kobbie Mainoo and Andy Robertson.

Chelsea's busy end to the window

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed that Chelsea could still be quite busy in the final week of the market.

"Chelsea have decided in the last 24 hours to activate the recall option they had in the contract with Borussia Dortmund for Aaron Anselmino. So a new centre-back is immediately returning to Chelsea from Dortmund. Decision made by the club.

"Chelsea were already evaluating this opportunity around November, December, when Anselmino started playing very well for Dortmund, then they decided to take some time before activating this clause, also because the player was quite happy at Dortmund. He was emotional saying goodbye to his teammates, to the technical staff, he was feeling very good at Dortmund.

"Chelsea's decision is also because they knew that Dortmund, at the beginning of December, made clear to people close to the player that they wanted to try to sign Anselmino on a permanent transfer in the summer. They were preparing a budget to make an official bid to Chelsea. But Chelsea made clear immediately that Anselmino was part of their long-term plans.

"After this Anselmino move, Chelsea's discussions are still ongoing. The market with Chelsea is not going to be over. There is movement still at Chelsea. Don't forget about Jeremy Jacquet because for this defender, there is a battle ongoing. Bayern calling, Liverpool calling, Chelsea want him.

"Chelsea already made big steps on the player side, and Chelsea had a mission in Rennes a few weeks ago to try advance on the deal. Rennes don't want to sell the player in the January window, but could accept selling the player now in January or eventually in the next weeks, even when the market is closed, for the summer

"The transfer fee is around €65, €70 million. Rennes want a record sale after they sold Jeremy Doku to Man City for €64m. I'm told that might not be over for Chelsea. There could be more movements because they are looking for a midfielder.

"Douglas Luiz is an option in case Juventus and Chelsea can agree on the deal. Chelsea would only do a loan and not with an obligation to buy. There are also more options in the list at Chelsea, not only Luiz. A new midfielder is a possibility. Chelsea will be busy these days."

Talks continue over Kante and Paqueta

Romano then confirmed that Fenerbahce and Flamengo remain in talks over deals for N'Golo Kante and Lucas Paqueta, respectively.

"Fenerbahce keep pushing to sign N'Golo Kante from Al-Ittihad. Fenerbahce are preparing a final proposal to send this week for Kante. On the player side, it is okay, but still working on the club side. Kante remains a priority for Fenerbahce, and Fenerbahce want to be fast to avoid Premier League clubs entering the conversation.

"There is also the situation of Lucas Paqueta. The agreement between Flamengo and West Ham for Paqueta is getting closer. There is a conversation ongoing. Still something to clarify on payment terms, €41m fee. Paqueta could become a Flamengo player quite soon."

Casado could leave Barca in the summer

Next up, Romano addressed the uncertain future of Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado.

"Marc Casado doesn't want to leave Barcelona in this January window. There was a possibility, some calls from Spanish clubs and also from English clubs. Casado signed with Jorge Mendes as a new agent, so they decided obviously to assess all the opportunities.

"But Casado's decision is to stay in Barcelona for this January transfer window. I would keep the doors open for the summer. There is a possibility, eventually, for Casado to go in the summer because there are many clubs interested.

"We have to see what kind of strategy they will have at Barcelona around Casado. It's going to be a possibility."

Man Utd to hold Mainoo talks

Romano also revealed that Man Utd are planning to hold contract talks with Kobbie Mainoo after the January window.

"Michael Carrick is doing a fantastic job. Two games in charge since he signed as interim manager at Man Utd, beating Arsenal, beating Man City, two starts for Kobbie Mainoo - the foundation of Man Utd, he said a few days ago.

"Mainoo is starting, Mainoo is showing his quality once again, and now I can confirm to that as soon as the market closes, Man Utd will start pushing for Mainoo's new contract.

"His contract is still not expiring anytime soon, so Man Utd are in control of the situation, but they want to show full trust in Mainoo with a new contract, with a longer deal and with a better salary. The salary is the real topic here.

"In terms of the length of the contract, the urgency is not that crazy. But Man Utd want to show trust in the player. The player, let me clarify this, never wanted to leave Man Utd on a permanent deal.

"The player wanted to play. Mainoo wanted to develop, to play, to be consistently a starter for a new team. Why? Because he was not playing under Ruben Amorim. He was not going to leave on a permanent transfer, it was always a loan.

"Napoli almost had the deal done on loan for Mainoo, the deal was a straight loan, no buy option, no buy obligation. Mainoo was always going to return to United. Now he's at United, he's playing, there is a new manager with Carrick, everything looks fantastic for Mainoo."

Robertson deal on standby

Lastly, Romano corroborated that Andy Robertson's move from Liverpool to Tottenham is currently on standby.

"At the moment, the deal is still on standby. There are no agreements for the domino of left-backs. Let's clarify. Roma want to sign a new left-back. [David] Moller Wolfe could be a possibility.

"Then Roma would allow [Kostas] Tsimikas to go to Liverpool. And then Liverpool would allow Andy Robertson to go to Tottenham. This could be the domino.

"At the moment, there are still not all the agreements done. At the moment, it's on standby. But the deal is still not considered completely off. We have to see what's going to happen there with this domino. Robertson was open to moving to Tottenham.

"I think Robertson is still going to be a story in 2026. We will see if something happens in the final days of this window or eventually in the summer transfer window when he's still expected to leave Liverpool and try a new chapter."

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