Man Utd’s Next Midfielder & How Spain Can Stop Messi | Ben Jacobs' Mailbag
This episode is brought to you in partnership with DraftKings. New DraftKings Customers turn five bucks into two hundred in total bonuses, paid over 21 days. The Crown Is Yours! Sign up using dkng.co/gms or through my promo code GIVEMESPORT. DKPartner Arsenal have agreed a €40m deal in principle for Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis — while their pursuit of Morgan Rogers is still expected to accelerate after the World Cup. Ben Jacobs delivers the latest Arsenal transfer news before breaking down Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea’s summer plans. Henry Winter and Guillem Balague then dissect England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina and explain how Spain can stop Lionel Messi in the final. Arsenal consider Morgan Rogers their leading target for the left-hand side, with formal club-to-club talks expected once his World Cup involvement ends. The potential move remains separate from the impending Tzolis arrival, while Bruno Guimarães and Julian Alvarez are also discussed. Elsewhere, Tottenham’s search for a starting winger includes Savinho, Crysencio Summerville, Cody Gakpo and Eli Junior Kroupi. Manchester United continue assessing midfielders including Manu Koné, Eduardo Camavinga, Carlos Baleba, Sander Berge and Alex Scott, while Chelsea consider their next moves involving Trevoh Chalobah, Alejandro Garnacho and Maxence Lacroix. Henry Winter delivers his verdict on Thomas Tuchel’s substitutions against Argentina, before Guillem Balague examines why England retreated and what Spain must do to contain Messi in Sunday’s World Cup final. 00:00 Arsenal’s €40m Deal and England Fallout 02:13 Arsenal Agree €40m Deal as Rogers Talks Loom 06:49 Spurs Target Savinho, Gakpo and Kroupi 12:47 Man Utd and Chelsea Transfer Plans Revealed 21:22 Tuchel’s England Tactics Under Fire 31:46 Why England Retreated Against Argentina 40:49 How Spain Can Stop Messi in the Final 55:06 Spain vs Argentina: Final Prediction Subscribe to GiveMeSport for breaking transfer news…
Transcript
[music] [music] >> Hello and welcome to Market Madness, the podcast from GiveMeSport where every day is like deadline day. I'm Kate Mason and we are live. But, if you miss anything here, you can catch up with us on Market Madness on your favorite podcast app and on givemesport.com. You can also find us all on X and Instagram. For this show, we've of course got the latest transfer news, but we've also got some fantastic guests. Back again, award-winning football writer and broadcaster Henry Winter to talk about the England game against Argentina last night, plus football journalist and broadcaster Guillem Balague on Spain's path to Sunday's final and what it takes to stop Messi's Argentina. And with me, as always, is GiveMeSport's senior football correspondent Ben Jacobs. Great to see you, Ben, even though I'd imagine you're feeling a bit like me, pretty forlorn. >> Yeah, it just feels like a missed opportunity. You know, you can feel sad in a World Cup because your team underperformed. I'm sure German football fans or Brazilian ones have that mantra, but there's an element of so near, yet so far. And we nearly held on, but there were tactical issues and we were too negative. So, if you could do it all over again, of course it's so easy for journalists to be coaches, but it doesn't half feel like England could have gone and got a killer second goal and then we'd be talking about Spain-England in a World Cup final. >> Oh. Don't. Don't. We've got more to come on this topic when Henry Winter joins us in a little bit. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to just cut you off there and say this is Market Madness from GiveMeSport. >> [music] >> And Ben, let's get right into your breaking news. >> [music] >> We have a done deal for Arsenal, at least in principle. Arsenal have agreed a 40 million euros deal with Club Brugge to sign the winger Christos Solis. Actually, a player that they'd endeavored to sign last summer and they ended up signing a new deal at Brugge. This time around, different story, as is so often the case when a player extends, it can be with a view to a shorter-term sale. He signed until 2029, but will be leaving this summer for that fee of 40 million euros, which is basically Brugge's asking price. And talks have accelerated in the last 24 to 48 hours, and clubs now simply need to formalize this deal. The player has been given permission to undergo a medical. Now, this is separate to Morgan Rogers or any other box office starting left winger. That's not to say that Solis isn't viewed as a serious player, but Arsenal want another. Arsenal want a starting player on that left-hand side, and we should keep an eye on Morgan Rogers. We know that they like Julian Alvarez as well. He can play in a number of different positions. They have historically looked at Bradley Barcola. Could they reignite their interest if the player becomes genuinely available? It's more Liverpool at the moment that feel poised to move, but Arsenal are going to get going, and this will not be their only summer signing. Midfield, Bruno Guimaraes remains a story to watch as well. So, Arsenal are busy, but 40 million euros done deal in principle for the Club Brugge winger Christos Solis, with more to come. Lovely stuff. Ben Jacobs, great to hear from you on that. Let's dive right into your mailbag straight away then and get all of the listeners and the viewers the latest on the biggest transfer stories. Now, of course, I don't need to remind listeners that the World Cup is now over for England and and perhaps many players will be considering their futures on a club level after that is wrapped. Do you think that means that the Morgan Rogers rumors are going to accelerate, that the deal for him to Arsenal is going to gather pace now? >> Well, he's Arsenal's top target in that position and unaffected by Solis, as I've just said, the challenge is going to be Aston Villa who do need to bring in money, but we're in an inflated market where a lot of the money that is being touted would for Villa also be reinvested. So, we're not only talking about Villa needing a fire sale, we're talking about Villa who are through the last financial year wanting to hang on to some of their stars with Champions League football and a top manager in Unai Emery that Rogers loves playing for. So, this was always expected to be quiet during the World Cup and now we'll have to wait and see whether Villa can inflate that price to at or above the earlier Anderson figure of 116 million, whether it's more a deal closer to 80 million, which was the expectation of suitors last year when Morgan Rogers signed a new deal. But, Villa are going to be no pushover in this negotiation and they've got a very professional player that's not going to agitate for a move and yet there's still a feeling that if it's right for Villa, Rogers will want to go. And Arsenal consider themselves the frontrunners and I do expect club-to-club talks to begin once the World Cup concludes, which of course it hasn't quite yet for Rogers because he's got to play in that third place game, but when he comes back and has a bit of time off as we get into the middle or the late part of July. This is a transfer that I still expect to hot up. You've got Chelsea, Manchester United, again historically PSG as well. They've all looked at the player, but Arsenal are well positioned to open formal talks and Rodgers, according to my information, will be a potential deal entirely unaffected by the impending arrival of Solis because Arsenal were looking at two kinds of profiles and players for that position and maybe even a third younger player because don't forget Arsenal thought at one point they were very close to Jeremy Monger before he joined Manchester City. So this is going to be the start now of Arsenal's window really getting going as they look to back Mikel Arteta to defend his Premier League title. >> Okay, and you know, always good to have a reminder of that third place playoff game, Ben. No one's going to want to miss that one. It's now known as the bronze medal match. So, you know, England could yet come away from the World Cup with something. Um [laughter] speaking of trying to trying to put something together and looking ahead to the next season, where are Spurs at the moment? Where do they stand on wingers? We talked a bit about Savinho. Obviously they need somebody on the the left hand side. That's got to be a key target for them this summer. >> Yeah, Spurs fans are saying why we so quiet because they were so busy, but it's not a break your club transfer record every single day like they did in 24 hours from Mateus Fernandes to Sandro Tonali, but they're working their way up the field, it's fair to say. So, the goalkeep situation is sorted because Kinski's extended and Dubravka's arrived. Defenders have come in, midfielders have come in, and now Tottenham's priority want a starting left winger or attacker. Savinho, talks ongoing, but he's not the only target. Crysencio Summerville, Manchester United are there as well. Possibly Cody Gakpo if Liverpool open the door. They aren't at the moment, but let's see by the end of the window if that's still the case. And the Junior Krupier link links have some substance as well to them, although I would say nobody can really move for the player now because Bournemouth are still in control. And Bournemouth plan to speak to both Junior Krupier and Alex Scott and try and get buying from each of them to stay. And in Scott's case to sign a new deal likely with a release clause for some point in 2027. Let's see whether that's two release clauses like Antoine Semenyo, one for January, one for the summer, or just the summer 2027 release clause. But Marco Rosa and Bournemouth's recruitment team in a strong position because they've got European football. And yet there is interest in both of those Bournemouth players. And Tottenham are one of the clubs that like Junior Krupier. Arsenal are another one as well. And then regarding like an out and out number nine, yes, it could happen. Roberto De Zerbi really likes Dom Solanke. So I'm expecting him to stay as it stands. Richarlison is the one with a question mark over his future. And if he departs, Tottenham might be in the market for an out and out number nine as well. So they are going to continue to make signings between now and the end of the window. Statement signings if they can. Starting signings if they can. Particularly over on that left-hand side. And this is again an indication of a different approach from Tottenham's ownership and Tottenham's leadership to try and go from basically nearly zero in relegation to hero. And give Roberto De Zerbi a squad that instantly heading into next season is capable of challenging for Champions League football. >> Comforting stuff for any Spurs fans in the house, Ben. Um just I'm interested a bit more about Bournemouth generally. What's your experience of them as a club to work with in terms of making these transfers and holding on to their assets? What's your view on that speaking kind of generally and specifically to the Krupi conversation? >> Yeah, it's a great model. It's a fantastic club and players like going there because it's a lovely part of the world. They have had in Andoni Iraola a top manager with a proven track record of developing young talent and you look at Marco Rose's CV and he also perhaps even more so than when Iraola joined has got a proven track record of doing exactly the same thing. And when these young players join Bournemouth, they don't view the club as a stepping stone, but they're aware that two things are going to happen in this project. One, Bill Foley, the owner who's highly ambitious, will get this football club better and better and better to the point where it isn't unthinkable in a world of top five qualification for the Champions League where Bournemouth are up there because they were last season potentially for some kind of Champions League football. And then if they just miss out, they get European football and players start to realize that this is a project on the up. And yet at the same time, for the right price and at the right time, Bournemouth are not going to dig in and stand in players' ways. And it's even more impressive they are where they are when you consider that they lost Antoine Semenyo mid-season. They lost Dean Huijsen on a free transfer to Real Madrid. They lost Marcos Senesi as well in addition. So, all of these outgoings end up weakening your model simply because you have scenarios where as you build a playing squad, you have to be in a position to deal with all that change and Bournemouth do it so well. By the way, I said Huijsen left on a free, he didn't. He went for about 50 million pounds from Bournemouth to Real Madrid. Big difference. It's Senesi of course that went on the free. So, Bournemouth know how to bring in money, and then the key thing, especially with European football that you'll see, is Bournemouth also know how to spend money. They put a big investment behind Ryan, who has a release clause of over 100 million euros, and that tells you the kind of future that they think the player has in the game. In addition to that, only a few days ago from Elche, they signed Rodriguez, who is an excellent prospect and someone that will complement Evanilson. So, Bournemouth have done really well, because sometimes when teams lose players, and I think we have to give Brentford credit for this, and Brighton credit for this as well, sometimes when team leaves uh a player leaves a team, you get just a gaping hole. Bournemouth are pre-planners, and their model is not just contingent on selling, their model is contingent on growing to try and get European football season on season. So, then these young players, these talented players, these in-demand players, like Alex Scott and Kroupi, don't just go, "I want to leave." They go, "I want to stay for an extra year or two." And why not? Because this forthcoming season, they can be playing in Europe for the first time in the club's history. >> Need to ask you about Man United. Plenty of players to to ask you about. They want another midfielder. Um Arantxa Gaming in the chat is saying, "Any Spence to United links?" Well, I don't I don't I'm not sure that's something I want to I want to think about, or indeed I've heard about. I think that might just be speculative and enthusiastic, but you can put me right if you want to. >> A lot of Man United fans would like that. >> Yeah. Okay. Well, you know, he has a lot of pace. >> But Spence is potentially for sale, so don't be surprised if that's sanctioned. It sounds strange, because he's been great at the World Cup. It'll all be about Roberto De Zerbi and Spence having a conversation after the World Cup, but Inter are one of the very interested parties in Djed Spence. and there could be a scenario where Tottenham are persuaded to sell. >> Hm. Um right. Are there Manchester United links that people want to know about then? They obviously need this another midfielder. Camavinga is a name that's coming up. Koné, Bella-Kotchap. What where are you at with them? >> Yeah, Man United going to sign another midfielder. They're still deciding who, so we probably won't get clarity imminently, but once they pick a target, the aim is to be decisive and do a quick deal. Some of the delay is also two have already come in in Andre Santos and Youri Tielemans. So, when you sign one or two, particularly if they're long-standing targets, you can't just move in the market because there's like a universal acceptance of there's a hole in the squad. Once you have two, the extra component is Michael Carrick maybe needing some time on the training ground to work on the chemistry and decide exactly what he needs, and this is why it can actually benefit clubs not just to sign, sign, sign. You try and get one or two early, one or two in the first part of pre-season. Once you've had time to kick a ball and see things in practice and maybe some of the new signings bed in. And then of course towards the end of the window even when the season starts, clubs maybe say we've had an injury or we've had a change of heart or there's just opportunism or opportunities towards the back end of the window as the deadline starts to get closer. So, this is why the window is as long as it is because it's not a race to get signings first, it's a battle to get signings right. Regarding the possible targets, Manchester United want pace, but remember this is a DM, so pace doesn't mean speedy winger pace, but it means speed of thought as well as speed of passing and being able to break through the lines and being able to accelerate quickly over shorter distances. Whereas when we talk about pace for wingers, we're more looking at profiles that can basically be the fastest players in your squad. That's not always the case with a DM. Target-wise, Kone is one for sure and there have been some conversations on the player side. Several clubs are interested and there'll be a battle I think for Roma to keep the player. You have Camavinga who Manchester United appreciate. Nothing more than that at this stage because the player wants to stay at Real Madrid. If the door becomes open, maybe there's a chance that that progresses. Bellaïr long-standing terms in place from last summer. Nothing other than that yet. Again, Man United still assessing. Sander Berge is on the list as well. Alex Scott potentially. It'll be really interesting to see if Man United think that Scott profile-wise is still a fit after Youri Tielemans in particular coupled with the fact that Andre Santos can play as a six, a central midfielder, an eight or a 10. So, there's a lot of versatility, there's a lot of progressive passers, there's a lot of players very comfortable on the ball, there's quite a lot of high energy. So, where does Alex Scott fit in if Manchester United consider him high still in their thinking. But, he's a player appreciated. So, lots of names at the moment, but Manchester United need to decide the best fit and then once they've done that, they'll hope to move quickly in the market. >> Okay, can't wait to hear more on that, Ben. Thank you so much. Uh I'm going to cut you off now because we need to get to some more breaking news. Don't forget on these stories and so much more you can head over to givemesport.com. >> [music] >> Just a couple of minutes of Chelsea news for you. First of all, Chelsea have rejected two bids from Como for Trevor Chalobah. Talks do continue between the clubs and Chalobah is open to that move. Inter are one of the other interested parties as well. And my information is that Chelsea want 30 million and 5 million in add-ons or some kind of package in and around the 35 million pound mark. Alejandro Garnacho's still expected to depart, ideally from Chelsea's perspective within the next two weeks. Suggestions that Roma are close to a deal with a loan formula are wide of the mark unless Roma change their position and go for a loan with an obligation, then maybe Chelsea are prepared to engage further. But the idea of a loan with a buy option or even a conditional buy option is dismissed by Chelsea sources because at the moment, still relatively early in the window, they only want a permanent exit. And there are other clubs, including from Saudi Arabia, that are also interested in Garnacho. And then keep an eye on Maxence Lacroix as well. Now, the World Cup for him almost over as well, other than that bronze medal game. And Crystal Palace are braced for Chelsea to make a formal bid here. And my expectation is that Lacroix and Chelsea is going to develop in the coming days or weeks. You have Jacopo Ramon as well at Como, of course, in talks for Chalobah. Chelsea may have brought up that possibility, but Maxence Lacroix appears to be the highest center-back name in Chelsea's thinking. And club-to-club talks and a first bid are anticipated, so that pursuit is still ongoing. >> Chelsea then, Ben, with work to do, but it is a long summer, as you say. This is Market Madness from Gibby Sports. >> [music] >> The cup is down to its final matches. One trophy, one champion. Draft Kings has you covered for every single one. The Draft Kings app is now available in all 50 states and includes all markets bringing the game straight to your fingertips wherever you are. From Florida to Texas to California, you're in on the excitement at the speed of sports. Follow every clash, every final whistle, every stoppage time moment with everything on the line. Sweat the biggest matches in the world in real time with a seamless experience built for the world's biggest stage. No matter where you're watching, you're always connected and in the game with one app. New Draft Kings customers sign up with code give me sports. That's all one word. Spend five bucks to get 200 in rewards within 21 days. That's code give me sports. In partnership with Draft Kings, the crown is yours. Disclaimer, bet with DK Sportsbook. Gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER, 1-800-MYRESET. Connecticut, call 888-789-7777. Visit ccpg.org. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino in Kansas, bet tax pass-through may apply in Illinois. 21 plus. Void in Canada. Event contract trading with Draft Kings predictions involves risk of loss. Availability varies. Bet to get bonus bets that expire in seven days. Trade to get $50 in predictions dollars that expire in one year. Issued every seven days by a click to claim for 21 days. One non-withdrawable reward redeemable. Predictions offer void in New York. Ends July 19th. Terms at dkng.co/audio. >> [music] >> Well, friends, uh glad to inform you that Henry Winter is back on Market Madness with us. Uh and Henry, good to see you. >> Well, thank you. I'm not I'm actually in a fairly miserable mood. So, it's nice to see your sunny face. And Ben, thanks. And thanks, Ben, for redoing your decor to have lots of pictures of Lionel Messi