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The Insider - Rudy Galetti: Arsenal ponder Gyokeres clause; new Man Utd midfield names; Liverpool spy Salah successor

Liverpool are working on Mohamed Salah's replacement; Sofyan Amrabat, a flop at Manchester United; Arsenal want a new striker. Here are some of the main stories over the last few days of the transfer market from TribalFootball's transfer expert Rudy Galetti.


DEAN HUIJSEN - NO CHANCE OF ROMA STAY

Dean Huijsen is undoubtedly one of the young players showing off his talent in this second part of the season in Serie A. After his arrival in January at AS Roma on loan without any option to buy, the Spanish defender born in 2005 had an immediate impact on the squad and with Jose Mourinho, first, then Daniele de Rossi.

Both coaches, in fact, immediately were convinced by the player and his talent. However, his adventure with the Giallorossi is bound to end in June: Juventus consider the Spanish centre-back an important player to be included in next season's squad, highly appreciated by both Antonio Conte and Thiago Motta, at the top of the list to replace Max Allegri on the bench.

The Bianconeri would only change their mind for a huge offer – more than 40 million euros – to evaluate the opportunity to let him go in the summer. Roma will certainly not be able to put a proposal of this value on the table and, for this reason, they are already looking for an alternative, even if the priority for the Giallorossi – to date – is to discuss the contract extension of De Rossi and the possible renewal of Paulo Dybala.


LIVERPOOL PREPARE FOR SALAH FAREWELL

Mohamed Salah was a great protagonist in Liverpool's victory against Brighton (2-1) which allowed the Reds to increase the gap in the Premier League on Arsenal and Manchester City. The Egyptian will certainly be a fundamental player in this final part of the season - which it could also be his last with Liverpool.

With a contract that expires in June 2025, during the summer – as already revealed – some clubs like Al Ittihad and Al Hilal will increase the pressure on Mohamed, among the main targets for the Saudi League. Liverpool, however, will not be caught unprepared in the event of his departure and are already monitoring possible replacements, such as Johan Bakayoko who could say goodbye to PSV in the next months after his excellent years spent there.

Let's keep an eye also on Leroy Sanè - whose contract with Bayern expires in 2025 - and Estevao, also followed by Chelsea and Barcelona for a long time. On the contrary, Raphinha doesn't arouse interest: the Brazilian winger - also monitored in Saudi Arabia - could be sacrificed in the summer by Barca in order to improve their debt situation and have more liquidity to definitely buy Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix.


INTER MILAN SEEKS NEW KEEPER: BENTO SAYS...

Serie A leaders Inter, who are closing in on winning the 20th Scudetto in their history, are already starting to plan for next season. After the free agent moves of Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi - who both will arrive in the summer - the Nerazzurri are also evaluating the situation of their goalkeepers.

The presence of Audero is not certain: some Italian clubs are interested in him as 1st GK and Emil is open to beginning a new experience elsewhere. For this reason, Inter are already looking for a possible replacement: Bento is the preferred name.

The Nerazzurri have been in talks with the Brazilian player for weeks and to date personal terms don't seem to be an issue: Bento, in fact, is keen to land in Serie A and join the UEFA Champions League runner-up of 2023. The main obstacle, however, is his current club, Athletico Paranaense.

In the contract for the goalkeeper there is a 60 million euros release clause which obviously would not be paid by any club, but Athletic - also considering interest from the Premier League – are asking for at least 15 million euros to let him go. Inter, for their part, are planning a new round of talks in the coming weeks to explore the opportunity to progress in the negotiation, anticipating the competition.


AMRABAT - A FLOP IN MANCHESTER DUE FOR ITALY RETURN

An experience to forget for Sofyan Amrabat at Manchester United: at the end of the summer transfer window, he arrived as great signing in midfield, but today he is completely out of Erik ten Hag's plans.

Just think that in 2024 Sofyan has played only 24 minutes in the Premier League: a merciless number that confirms his experience in England is now in its final stages. The Red Devils, in fact, won't trigger the buy option for Amrabat who will return to Fiorentina in June. However, it could only be a temporary step: AC Milan are looking around to strengthen the midfield in the summer, and the Moroccan - together with other profiles such as Samuele Ricci (Torino) - is on the Rossoneri's list.

Returning to Manchester United, they are already working on a possible replacement: Joao Neves remains among the most preferred names, not for nothing United have been monitoring his performances for several months now. In addition to the Portuguese, the Red Devils are following other profiles, as Youssouf Fofana - highly appreciated also by many other clubs in the Premier League - and Adrien Rabiot, a low-cost solution at the end of the season given that his contract is expiring and the negotiations with Juventus for a possible renewal are going at a slow pace.


ARSENAL THINKING ABOUT A NEW STRIKER

In 2024, before the 0-0 against Manchester City, Arsenal had achieved in the Premier League eight consecutive victories which had allowed them to reach the first position in the standings, tied with Liverpool.

Despite the draw, the title race remains open and will probably continue until the last day, but - regardless of the results on the pitch – the Gunners are already looking to next season: also in light of Eddie Nketiah's performances which are unconvincing – he is set to leave in the summer with some English and German clubs showing interest - the arrival of a new striker remains the absolute priority for Arsenal.

Viktor Gyokeres is the name at the top of their list: the Swedish forward - who is having a great season at Sporting CP - has a release clause of 100 million euros in his contract and the Portuguese club is almost certain that at least one of the teams in the race will pay that amount in the coming months.

In fact, the competition for Gyokeres is very fierce: Chelsea and Man Utd in England, AC Milan in Italy, PSG in France are just some of the clubs – in addition to Arsenal – interested in him. For this reason, the Gunners, to avoid an auction for him, are also starting to look around – and they will continue to do so in the coming weeks - to identify an alternative physical striker to strengthen the attack.

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Rudy Galetti
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