Euro Paper Talk: Ronaldo wants Real star axed; Koulibaly on Chelsea

Kalidou Koulibaly: Set to stay at Napoli this summer

Chelsea have been dealt a telling blow in their efforts to sign a €70m target, while Cristiano Ronaldo has urged Real Madrid against selecting a certain teammate, according to Monday’s European papers.

 

CHELSEA TOLD TO FORGET €70 DEAL FOR KOULIBALY

Chelsea have been told they will have no chance of signing Kalidou Koulibaly this summer if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

The Blues are thought to be ready to meet Napoli’s €70m (£61.5m) asking price for the Senegalese defender this summer as they look to rebuild after a disappointing defence of their Premier League title.

However, Koulibaly’s agent has warned them that their struggles to qualify for the Champions League next season will likely end their hopes of landing the powerful centre-half.

“Transfers? There’s always a need to refresh things at a club, and that implies a change of players or staff, but I have no information about Napoli, although they certainly need to improve,” Koulibaly’s agent Bruno Satin told Radio CRC.

“Koulibaly, Sarri and Hysaj to Chelsea? I don’t know anything, neither do I know if Chelsea will qualify for the Champions League or not.

“It’s important to understand how the season will end because important players want to play the Champions League.

“Is Koulibaly worth €100m? The market and De Laurentiis will decide because Kalidou has no release clause.

“The President may also decide to keep him because he considers him important for the team.

“I don’t know if these three games will be his last for Napoli because there have been offers every year, but Koulibaly has always ended up staying, so he won’t necessarily leave.

“It’s difficult to make predictions now, plus there’s also a need to understand what Sarri will do.”

 

Like our dedicated Chelsea Facebook page for the latest news and features to your timeline

 

REAL CHASE €300M TRIO

Real Madrid will pursue their three top transfer targets in the summer and are willing to spend up to €300million to secure the deals, according to Don Balon.

Real are planning on overhauling their squad this summer after Barcelona marched away with La Liga this season and, per the source, they will offload Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale to help fund their spending.

The three players they want are Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, along with Roma goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

 

CHELSEA EMERGE AS SHOCK CONTENDERS TO SIGN GRIEZMANN

Chelsea have opened hush-hush talks with Antoine Griezmann over a move to Stamford Bridge this summer, according to surprise reports on Monday.

The Frenchman’s future is once again under the spotlight, with Manchester United once again reported to be sniffing around the star. Reports on Sunday suggested Jose Mourinho wants to offer Atletico the chance to sign Paul Pogba in a straight swap for his close friend and countryman.

Barcelona are said to be leading the pursuit for the player, with his €100m exit clause in his contract making him an attractive proposition for potential suitors this summer.

Atletico themselves are also hoping to persuade the star to commit to a new deal and significantly raise his current transfer release clause.

However, reports that appear to have generated in the United Arab Emirates claim Chelsea have held talks with Griezmann over a potential move to London.

The story generates from newspaper The National, which cites an interview with former Atletico striker Diego Forlan. He suggests Chelsea have held talks with the player over the past few weeks, though he concedes they remain third or fourth favourites behind his other suitors.

It’s claimed the presence of his countrymen N’Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud and Tiemoue Bakayoko could, however, convince him to cause a transfer shock and join the Blues.

However, the story  – which has also been picked up by sections of the Italian media – appears to tie itself in knots by then suggesting the Blues’ expected lack of Champions League football next season will scupper their chances of landing the €100m star.

 

AND THE REST

Cristiano Ronaldo has told Zinedine Zidane not to gamble on selecting out-of-form Wales star Gareth Bale in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich (Diario Gol)

Barcelona are hoping to offload Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne, Aleix Vidal, Rafinha and Gerard Deulofeu this summer and generate €100m for their transfer kitty (Don Balon)

Newcastle lead Manchester United and Real Madrid in the chase for 21-year-old Hajduk Split goalkeeper Karlo Letica (Nacional)

Sporting attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes is wanted by Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs (A Bola)

Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca has rejected an approach from Everton as he holds hopes of replacing Arsene Wenger at Arsenal (Guillem Balague)

Javier Hernandez is ready to leave West Ham this summer with his representatives already looking at new clubs (ESPN)

Lyon have put a €30million price tag on young prospect Willem Geubbels, who has been linked with Chelsea, Arsenal (Goal)

Real Madrid will sell Liverpool and Juventus target Mateo Kovacic this summer if he does not break into the first team (Fichajes)

Nice striker Mario Balotelli has revealed several clubs in Italy are interested in signing him (Calciomercato)

The agent of Inter Milan midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, who has been linked to Liverpool in the past, has met with Valencia as he looks to complete his client’s permanent move to the Mestalla (Calciomercato)

Arsenal and Manchester United are on alert as Napoli want to modify Dries Mertens release clause (Calciomercato)

Barcelona will look to re-sign Lazio midfielder and former Liverpool flop Luis Alberto as a replacement for legendary midfielder Andres Iniesta – while Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen remains another €85million target (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Chelsea are keen on a double raid on Juventus this summer – with Alex Sandro and the versatile star Kwadwo Asamoah in their sights in a €80million double deal (Tuttosport)

Lazio sporting director Igli Tare insists he has received no offers from Barcelona and Real Madrid for Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Premium Sport)

Chelsea defender David Luiz looks set to make a surprise move to Monaco this summer with a fee of €34million being mentioned (Goal)

Roma have agreed a deal with Benfica to sign Anderson Talisca. The Brazilian midfielder has also been linked with Liverpool, Man Utd and Wolves (Corriere della Sera)

PSG are ready to rival Real Madrid for David De Gea this summer – with Man Utd chasing Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen as a replacement (Don Balon)

Roma have once again warned Real Madrid and Liverpool they have no desire to sell Alisson this summer after warning finances only meant they had to sell off their top stars last summer (Il Romanista)

Rafinha wants to make his loan move from Barcelona to Inter Milan into a permanent €35million deal this summer (Tuttosport)

AC Milan have entered the race to sign unsettled Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata this summer and could sell Nikola Kalinic and Andre Silva to bring the Spaniard to the club (Calciomercato)

Emre Can has agreed to join Juventus this summer on a five-year deal (Tuttosport / Gazzetta dello Sport)

Juventus have also agreed to sign Matteo Darmian from Manchester United this summer (Tuttosport)

Celta Vigo will sack coach Juan Carlos Unzue at the end of the season due to the club’s failure to qualify for Europe (Marca)

EXCLUSIVE: Wolves lead Leicester, Fulham, Everton and Celtic for Iranian star Sardar Azmoun

Boca Juniours are interested in signing Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo this summer (La Cuarta)

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde insists he is happy at the club amid speculation over his future (Mundo Deportivo)

Real Madrid will offer Liverpool winger Lucas Vazquez as a makeweight in their bid to bring Mohamed Salah to the Bernabeu in a €200million deal (Don Balon)

Borja Mayoral has revealed he will look to leave Real Madrid this summer after expressing his annoyance at a lack of match action under Zinedine Zidane

Arsenal will give their next boss – either Carlo Ancelotti or Luis Enrique – a transfer warchest of €200m this summer (Tuttosport)