Happy Friday! After the end of the FIFA Club World Cup, the transfer market is heating up again around Europe while the Women’s Euros is back ahead of the weekend for the quarterfinals and another USMNT star is in talks to join a Serie A team this summer. I’m Francesco Porzio with the latest.
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Friday, July 18
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Arsenal’s aggressive transfer window
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The English side are, alongside Manchester City and Liverpool, the most aggressive team in the Premier League when it comes to transfers. The Gunners have already signed three players ahead of the preseason as the team coached by Mikel Arteta made official the signings of Kepa Arrizabalaga, a Premier League number one last season with Bournemouth, who will now be backing up David Raya while Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard represent a total overhaul of the defensive midfield slot, previously filled by Jorginho and Thomas Partey. Here’s what our own James Benge wrote on Arsenal’s transfer strategies in the coming days:
- Benge: “Two more deals only require announcing, Cristhian Mosquera coming in to deepen options in defense for $18.6 million and Noni Madueke, a $70 million arrival from Chelsea. The latter is expected to miss the preseason tour after his involvement in the Club World Cup. Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated of all the signings was agreed in principle with Sporting last week, and though at the time of writing a final agreement has not been reached, Arsenal are expected to pay an initial $73.6 million for Viktor Gyokeres with remaining negotiations focused on the exact makeup and achievability of $11.6 million of add-ons.”
The questions is, why are Arsenal making all these signings in the same summer? A lot has to do with a new sporting director, the former Atletico Madrid boss Andrea Berta, who joined the English giants ahead of the summer:
- Benge: “The face of this squad overhaul is new sporting director Andrea Berta. It is a gross oversimplification to credit any club’s success or failure in the transfer market to one individual, Arsenal’s recruitment success over the last half decade was built on an impressive cocktail of data-led scouting, Edu’s ruthless approach to trimming back his squad and the charisma of Arteta. Combine that with a management team above them that shared in the vision, and it proved to be an extremely effective machine, only spluttering in the summer of 2024 when money was tighter and the departure of chief executive Vinai Venkatesham prompted Edu’s eyes to wonder elsewhere. His replacement, Berta, formerly of Atletico Madrid, looks to have made a bright start. On his appointment, much was made of the Italian’s voracious appetite for information, which has certainly proven to be the case. Berta has kept a tight inner circle in his first window at the Emirates Stadium, and while it is impossible for a club of Arsenal’s size to keep their business entirely out of the public eye, they have done a good job of keeping the market guessing. Prior to their decisive move for Gyokeres, there were few external voices who had a clear sense of whether it would be the Swede or Benjamin Sesko that Arsenal zeroed in on.”
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🇺🇸 Will Gio Reyna join Serie A in Italy?
We might see another American player joining Italy’s Serie A as Parma are now in advanced talks to sign Gio Reyna from Borussia Dortmund according to Sky Italy. The Italian side are owned by American businessman Kyle Krause who took over the club on September 2020, and since then has been able to rebuild the team. This summer, Parma hired the youngest manager in the history of the Serie A as former Arteta assistant Carlos Cuesta was appointed to replace Cristian Chivu, who joined Inter ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup.
According to the report, Parma are in talks with Reyna over a transfer as the player already agreed over a four-year contract until the summer 2029 while the two clubs are discussing on the fee and payments terms. Parma have offered around $7 million for the American international, who is currently looking for a new club where he can shine and be back at his best levels. Serie A might be the best league for him right now in the same country where Christian Pulisic shined at AC Milan and Weston McKennie became a crucial player at Juventus over the past few years.
Elsewhere in major transfer rumors, Inter Miami are in advanced talks to sign Rodrigo de Paul from Atletico Madrid after the two clubs agreed on a deal for the transfer of the midfielder according to journalist Gaston Edul. De Paul will join his national teammate and friend Lionel Messi and this signing can also be seen as positive news for the contract extension of the soccer legend, who has a contract running until December 2025. Signing a player close to Messi is a big move for Inter Miami, but more than that, they are signing one of the best midfielders of European soccer, who is only 31 years old and at the peak of his career. De Paul can play in multiple positions of the midfield, as he has over his career, and he can boost the attacking potential of the team coached by Javier Mascherano. During the 2024-25 season at Atletico Madrid, he played a total of 53 matches, scoring three goals and also providing 10 assists to his teammates, playing mainly as a central midfielder in the tactical system of Diego Simeone.
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🔴 Inside Arsenal’s aggressive transfer window: James Benge broke down Arsenal’s transfer strategies and what we can expect this summer from the Gunners.
🔵 Can Chelsea win the Premier League title? The Blues impressed during the World Cup, but it’s going to take more consistency to do it in the Premier League
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- Italian Serie A: Champions
💰 THE PICK: Napoli to win the title (+195) – Looking at the competitors right now, Antonio Conte’s side is already the frontrunner to win another title. Inter replaced former manager Simone Inzaghi with Cristian Chivu and are going through some big changes this summer, while AC Milan appointed former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri to start a new era at the club, and the same happened at Roma, where former Atalanta man Gian Piero Gasperini was appointed and replaced by Ivan Juric at his former club. Lazio and Fiorentina both changed their managers, and only Bologna with Vincenzo Italiano and Juventus with Igor Tudor decided to keep going with their coaches, if we only look at the top teams besides Napoli.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.
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