January Transfer Deadline Eve Special
Ben, Angus and Fabrizio deliver all of the latest information you need on the eve of the January Transfer Deadline closure.
Transcript
hello again everyone we are back with the debrief and as we near the end of the transfer window indeed for Saudi Arabia that is tonight we have a special deadline dayish edition of the debrief as ever Ben Jacobs whose um phone has been hotter than a potato last year and this year about as a bag of peas in the freezer uh it it's been relative quiet Ben on the uh on the transfer front and I suppose that might be my first question is is why has it been so quiet this year yeah I think that joggen klopp is running out of energy at Liverpool but we need more energy into this transfer window so if we do get a mad couple of days then a flurry of extra deals might make it dramatic and there'll still be some stories late in the window I think the main reason Angus that it's quieter than perhaps expected is obviously Financial Fair play and profit and sustainability as far as the Premier League clubs are concerned but also some of the right targets are not available in January Victor Osman Ivan Tony to name but two that we know clubs are looking at Chelsea and Arsenal for example and then I think that when you know you're going to spend big in the coming summer or alternatively when you've already spent big in the previous summer the January window is always likely to be difficult and quiet and some say B ing I certainly don't see it that way so Arsenal obviously got in havs and Timber and rice and Chelsea brought in moisis kaiso to name but one Manchester United spent above their original budget when they brought in Anana and mount so you can understand why clubs either feel that they've spent their money or they're happy with their business and if you're buying right then you should have quiet Windows otherwise you're not doing your job so I think it's a combination of those things big Summers from some of the clubs coupled with the fact that they are maybe saving budget as we look ahead to next summer and then added into the mix for many clubs the financial situation and the worry of getting punishments and all of that I think has combined to lead so far anyway the window's not shut yet but so far exactly to quiet January we've still got a little over 48 hours to go uh in England certainly and as you say the end of today is the end of the Saudi window I think probably what's surprising is that there are so many clubs that have been so quiet often it's the way that a couple of clubs will spend big look at it this time last year um Chelsea spent big didn't they and Newcastle spent so you know there was money being spent but this time year round this this time it is very noticeable how little money has been spent anyway despite that there will be money or certainly plenty of loan deals in in the coming 48 hours and we're very interested to hear from you let's have your questions in we've got for briter Romano coming up very shortly but your questions are always welcome and Ben I uh me and fito will answer as many as you can over the next half an hour or so but let me start off in Saudi bearing in mind that's the most pressing uh window that is going to be closed Ben a deal that has been done Ivan rakitic to al-shabab yeah this one's going to be official on the shabab side very shortly but Seeva have already confirmed it and I think it suits all parties in many ways rakitic had made a very emotional return back to seevilla he's in his mid to late 30s now and shabab wanted to be ambitious in this window they even looked at Alvaro marata at Atletico Madrid I know we'll talk about Miguel Almer on another Target but that one's off but rakitic they've got over the line it happened relatively quickly and part of the reason for that is that deal makers had also approached rakti and tried for him over the summer period so he already knows what he's in for and al-shabab unlike a number of other Saudi clubs even the big ones that are controlled by pif and shababa not one of those clubs have been able to move almost in a perverse way because they couldn't over the Summers there was Big Board upheaval they tried for example for deari gray who ended up going to alifa Steven Gerard's club and when there was an election and a new president coming in and all manner of politics behind the sces they were stopped from moving and signing off deals and that meant that they didn't have a particularly productive summer but there's budget left for them and that's why we're seeing them being ambitious now and they might surprise us with one more before the window shuts but rakitic is a done deal he'll be off to al-shabab it's a contract until the summer of 2025 and everything is now done the Medical's complete the contract's been signed sevia have announced that he's gone so we're just waiting for the the formal announcement from al-shabab which we expect in the next few hours well that's good good news it's it's always quite nice to actually see something more or less completed and we can jump up and down about it um I also think that's quite important from a Saudi point of view to see another player look towards the end of his career not towards at the end of his career but a great name going out there when there's been so much difficulty um recently over names and departures most notably Jordan Henderson leaving and I suppose the discussion on Kareem benzar Ben is there any update on on the French Striker well I think we've got a lot of rumor and it's absolutely true that it was tense between Benzema and alad but the expectation is now and not just because it's the final hours of the window it's been like this for about a week that Benzema will stay so for Benzema to exit it's not just a case of the player potentially wanting a move away although those claims were slightly exaggerated he didn't hand in a transfer request what he said to the club was just that if the right opportunity presents itself he would like permission to explore it and he said that directly to the club in a meeting simply because he didn't want to go behind their back which is kind of what Jordan Henderson did to begin with before realizing that he also had to return to the UAE because that was where there was a mid-season training camp in dabby and tell the club face to face and I think Benzema realized he had to do the same tell the club that his intention might be to explore opportunities but the feedback from Ali had even though it was quite a tense situation because benam was late back to mid-season training was we don't want you to leave and that didn't just come from the club where you need a green light it also came from the ministry of sport so this was the challenge for Bena that if he wanted to try and leave Saudi Arabia right now he needed a green light from the manager gardo from a new sporting director planz from pif within the club from PF outside of the club and from the ministry of sport and he did not have those green lights so Leon and John texto wanted to try and have Benzema return which is a Sentimental story but not feasible financially and many of the links with the Premier League clubs were just speculation Chelsea dismissed a move for Benzema of course they were aware that something might present itself but the wrong AG the wrong wage there was never anything despite reports with Benzema and Arsenal and again Manchester United downplayed the links as well so benzema's staying in Saudi Arabia it's true that might change in the summer it's also accurate that conversations about his future have been difficult and we need to now continue once the window shuts but there was never anything Advanced to suggest that Bena would get a move away this window we're going to talk to um for Bri in just a minute and do keep your uh questions coming in all already got quite a few to go through which Ben and I will do very shortly for brito's got a load to answer as well let's move on just to a few more names Ben being thrown around as possible moves in the last uh few hours of this window uh jotter being one of them yeah jot is at alad and the club and the player would like to find a solution so this will be one to one watch right until the end of today a reminder the Saudi window shuts at midnight tonight whereas as far as Premier League clubs are concerned they've got until the 1 of February at 11m so something's got a give today and Alit had have tried with jotter they agreed a loan deal with Alat Gerard's Club but the player didn't want to go and now West Ham may consider it because they're struggling to get Ibrahim Osman over the line due to the price that is being asked and Brighton event that race as well so jot would like the move he would like an 18month loan but there's tax complications surrounding a deal and also the wage may be a stumbling block and I use the word may because the reports about the Saudi wages are sometimes exaggerated so at the top extreme J's wage is €225,000 Euros a week and some sources outside of Saudi stand that up and that's about £190,000 and that's important because it means that jot would be West Ham's highest earner 40K or so more than Lucas paketa a week but at the lower extreme Saudi sources insist the wage is only 880,000 a week and that's well within West Ham's budget so then if they can resolve the tax situation they might be able to get it over the line so keep an eye on the wage situation because there are conflicting reports but for example those that I've spoken to close to alac who agreed to cover 100% of the wage for jotter insist and they had the money because Henderson had departed they had 200,000 a week they had 100,000 a week so it wasn't an issue over their wage structure after Henderson left but they insist that that deal for 100% of the wage coverage was only a h 100,000 and I know I'm jumping between currencies here but $100,000 US doar or about 80,000 a week if the wages at that level West Ham might be able to do something in the coming hours so nothing has agreed yet but it's one to watch this afternoon okay thanks Ben keep you your questions coming in 're just about to go to Fab uh in one moment uh I just want to Let's Round Up Saudi and almeron I know there are questions coming in about Newcastle and players that Eddie how saying that players would have to go out before any came in uh Kendall Jones asking any possible loan options for Newcastle house said none would come in unless one left well manio left but is let's talk about alaron specifically is there any likely heard that he's going to leave as far as you understand not now and certainly not to a Saudi club we can never say never because there's still a couple of days left to the window for clubs outside of Saudi but the big story was al-shabab who had agreed verbally a package with New Castle worth around 30 million euros and then had the task of convincing the player and when they went to the player side they understood very quickly that he didn't want to leave now to Saudi anyway and as a consequence they never tabled a formal offer or approach and what you find with these stories is that there has to be an element when there's clubt Club negotiation before the players really in the loop of narrative rewriting in retrospect and this is very common so You' now fully expect Newcastle to say well we always wanted to keep almeron we never got a formal offer for almeron we never agreed anything for alaron but there's no smoke without fire and Saudi sources insist and certainly to me have provided enough information and evidence to back up the fact that Newcastle and al-shabab had agreed something for alaron verbally but not formally and then alaron didn't want to go despite some informal discussions and as a consequence the deal is off so that one now won't happen to Saudi it'll be interesting to see if anybody else realizes he's available in the market for maybe 25 million I think Newcastle would argue they want close to 30 but they'd agreed this 30 million euros number which is only about 26 million quit so the doors open there if another club was to come in for alaron outside of Saudi Arabia but he's in the squad for Villa having recovered from illness and the al-shabab move this window will now not happen Okay that's really interesting Ben thank you very much that's quite a definitive answer there from Ben plenty more of those on the way here on on today's debrief our deadline Q&A I think it's a good time let's bring in fabito who we caught up with a little bit earlier and asked him all sorts of questions many of which you've been asking as well fabrio thanks for joining us again on what is a busy times we Edge towards the closure of that window we can all get some sleep so a bit of surprise that that Jurgen klopp announces his departure midseason how do you think will that impacts the futures of the likes of Virgil Van djk and mo Salah it will obvious impact because when you change everything at the club obviously big players always wait to have a conversation with the club to understand who's going to be the new director who's going to be the new manager what kind of project they have in mind so it's quite obvious I think that they will take some time to to discuss with the club and to understand what's going on at Liverpool before deciding their their future together with Liverpool so I don't think Liverpool fans have to be in panic this is absolutely normal process when things are changing after a fantastic era like Jurgen klopp at at Liverpool and just a conversation with these players will be needed more than one probably to explain them what's next so this is the normal process but I would not be in in in Panic it's just it's just part of the change and part of explaining the players what's next but it's a big turnaround at Liverpool they're going to lose a manager and even sooner than that they will need a new sporting director are there any leading contenders at the this point in terms of director still nothing because the internal discussion is still taking place on who is the best man to make it happen we had some Rumors in these days but I'm told that nothing is yet in the concrete or Advanced stages so better to wait some week I think before we know who is the man they really want at Liverpool in terms of director of football in terms of manager for sure two names are chabby alono Roberto Des Zerby these two names are really appreciated by people at the club but I think before deciding who is the leading candidate they are waiting for the new director so they want to appoint a new director and then to decide on the new manager so there is still a chance also for other managers to enter this short list and become the new Liverpool manager but for sure chabby Alonso obviously is is appreciated at the club and we know why obviously the relationship is still fantastic between people at Liverpool and and chabby Alonso and Roberto Des Zerby is appreciated by many clubs around Europe really he's doing a fantastic job at Brighton so I think he could be one more candidate one more serious candidate for for Liverpool job for Bri here let's move on to Chelsea Amanda Brer could still exit this month a few hours ago you reported that wolves have had a rejected bid we know that Fulham are considering Brer as well what's the latest yeah both clubs are interested um so these are possibilities till the end of the of the window because situation remains open so Chelsea didn't say to any club that they are not going to let brya leave but they rejected the proposal The Proposal was in the morning from wolves was a lone proposal Chelsea said no they don't want to let the player live at the current condition so on a loan deal so this is something that they believe is making no sense at this point of the window and this is why brya to Wolves at the moment is not happening let's see if some other club will present an official bid the interest from fulam is still there we heard some stories about Aston Villa but from what I'm hearing this who deal with John Duran is not happening as of now and so let's see I think the Chelsea situation till the final minutes could be could be interesting but nothing super big at the moment it's just about opportunities and this kind of situations involving also BR what about Connor Gallagher it feels like we've been talking about him all window one of Chelsea's best players this season any chance he goes in the coming days the only chance is to put big money on the table and at the moment this is not happening from what I'm hearing Chelsea and Tottenham are not in direct contact for Conor gallager so the appreciation on Tottenham side for Conor gallager is very clear since the summer Andre poog is big fan of the player so this is why I think we still have his name around as a as a possibility for Tottenham Midfield they would love to go for Connor Gallagher but it's not easy because yes Chelsea could be open to selling so potentially is a is an interesting story but at the moment it's not something concrete between the two clubs and not even on player side from what I heard there is still no conversation between Tottenham and the Agents of of Conor Gallagher so if they want to make something happen has to be for important money in this window otherwise the player will stay at Chelsea very happy to stay at Chelsea and then probably decide his future in the in the summer transfer window but at the moment is not something really concrete there is a potential because Chelsea could be open to to selling it well a word on Spurs more generally as you say linked with Gallagher could they still bring in a new midfielder now that hyberg is set to stay yes but I don't think as I always say it's going to be something guaranteed so in case they find the right opportunity Tottenham are quite open they still have some budget left on the on the market so they still have the possibility to do something creative in in some positions but at the moment nothing is imminent and they don't want to waste money on players they maybe don't trust so the idea is to look at the market till the final hours otherwise they're very happy with raguin deal they're very happy with Timo wner they believe they had a very good generary transfer window in a very complicated context because rosin was basically 50% of the money spent in England for the generally transfer window so far so the message from Tottenham is that they already did a good job they're very happy with these players if they find an opportunity in the final minutes okay otherwise they're very happy with the current Squad yeah that shows just how quiet it's been in in England and and Newcastle have had a pretty tough window Eddie how is constantly hinted at outgoings will any of their big names exit before the window is closed let's see I'm not sure it's going to be that easy because we when you have these names we know today it's going to close the Saudi the Saudi market so is one opportunity that is going to finish for for Newcastle for Miguel aliron then there are also other names like sells with basias but at the moment also that one is not that imminent I'm not sure I don't think it's going to be super easy I think he also likely for Newcastle with to stay with the same Squad and maybe try to add one more midfielder on Loan in the final hours of the window there is also a possibility but it's not easy to sell these players in a generary window in a complicated generary window also in other countries not just in England because it's very difficult in every single Country Financial for Place creating big issues um at the moment I don't think this is going to be something guaranteed or easy for to sell a big player in the final hours let's talk about Manchester United the club say that an internal disciplinary matter is now dealt with concerning Marcus rashford it's after he was seen in a Belfast nightclub a day before training could rashford's future be a topic of conversation at the club fo