#transfers

#transfers

Chelsea have now joined the race to sign the Brentford striker Igor Thiago. They have intensified their monitoring of the player and are exploring ways to open formal negotiations with Brentford. The player has 17 goals in the Premier League this season and has proven himself a reliable performer in the top flight. Chelsea need a reliable goal scorer, and the Brazilian could prove to be a huge upgrade on Liam Delap.

When the news cycle spins so fast, it's worth remembering where Brentford were in the summer. They had lost their popular manager of seven years, Thomas Frank. They had lost their two best forwards, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. They had lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken. And they had lost two stalwarts in Christian Nrgaard and Ben Mee (even if the latter's involvement the previous season had been limited as he turned 35).

As such, the idea within the Catalan club's sporting department, led by Deco, is to part ways with a player who is not considered untouchable in the squad. Gerard Martin expendable? One such option for Barcelona, according to an exclusive report from The Touchline, would be Gerard Martin. The Spanish defender could have left the club last summer itself, with some interest coming from the Premier League, but ended up staying following Inigo Martinez's exit.

Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado is being linked with a surprise move to Saudi Arabia in a rather bizarre new report. If Casado does decide it's time to "try a new experience" then it's claimed that "Saudi Arabia" is an option for the 22-year-old. The report goes on to say that Casado wouldn't be interested in a long-term move to the Middle East but could be tempted "by a round trip like the ones Veiga and Laporte, among others, have made."

The talented young striker is also on PSG's radar, as per Fichajes. He has impressed with his clinical finishing and sharpness in the attack. Manchester United are hoping to sign him for the future, and it remains to be seen how the situation develops. They have done well to develop young players in the past, and they could play a key role in Cabral's development as well.

According to my sources, as first reported here for the Daily Briefing, it looks increasingly like John Stones will not be offered a new contract, with his current deal at the Etihad Stadium due to expire at the end of this season. There seems to be an acceptance that it's time for both City and Stones to part ways, and some suitors may already have established early contacts to sound out the player.

When I played at Dinamo, they told me that if I wanted to win the Golden Ball, I would have to play for Milan. In Ukraine, it is not even clear how we manage to play, but the importance of football is that it is a hope for many children. In all these years of the war, I have understood that there are no impossible things.

Nico Schlotterbeck said before that he wanted to win titles. When he signs autographs in future, he wants to be able to say that he's won titles. Now, with Dortmund only six points behind Bayern in the title race, he's said that the club have to be talking itself up as a potential champion of Germany. If not Dortmund, who else instead of Bayern? So, I think it's in Dortmund's interests to encourage rather than downplay his personal ambition.

Despite adding Ademola Lookman to a star-studded frontline that already included Antoine Griezmann, Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez, Diego Simeone wants to see Atletico Madrid share the goals around. Lookman joined Atleti from Atalanta for €35m on Monday, then scored on his debut as Simeone's men thrashed Real Betis 5-0 in the Copa del Rey three days later. Atleti will be reunited with Betis in LaLiga on Sunday, having gone unbeaten through their last six top-flight games.

With the mercato just closing, and Jean-Philippe Mateta not joining AC Milan, Oli and Anthony looked at a few others who could've stayed or joined. The mercato is a strange time, isn't it. Ultimately, it is a very volatile period for football clubs, and we saw this again with Mateta's failed move to Italy, which we have recently written a feature about. However, his move is not the only like it. There are several 'What If' moments from the past few years