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Germany: Lewandowski-Bayern showdown
Lewandowski, twice best Fifa player (2020, 2021), wants to leave Bayern, a year before the end of his contract.
FC Barcelona would have offered 32 million for the Polish center-forward (33), but the Munich leaders have so far been intransigent: there is no question of letting their master asset slip away, which has been running for several years at more than 40 goals per season.
The situation is frozen for the moment, but Lewandowski is determined: "One thing is certain: my story with Bayern has come to an end," said the player, who does not hide his desire to go to Catalonia.
"A contract is a contract," Bayern president Herbert Hainer told him dryly.
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England: Mané eyeing Germany
To support - or replace - Lewandowski, Bayern is considering recruiting Sadio Mané, the Senegalese striker from Liverpool.
The two clubs are in negotiations.
In the opposite direction Germany-England, the big blow of the summer in the Premier League is for the time being the recruitment of Erling Haaland by Manchester City for 60 million euros, already completed but not officially signed.
Norwegian center-forward Erling Haaland at a press conference on May 30, 2022 in Oslo.
The prodigy has agreed with Manchester City for 60 million euros but the contract has not yet been officially signed Javad Parsa NTB / AFP / Archives
The 21-year-old Norwegian prodigy, who has scored almost a goal per game in two and a half seasons in Dortmund (86 goals/89 games), is ready to take up the challenge of the English championship.
The competition will have to react.
Liverpool, who fell just one point behind the Citizens, are considering Uruguayan Darwin Nunez, but Benfica's €100m bid would make him the biggest transfer in Reds history.
Mohamed Salah's lack of extension and Mané's departure prospects make this recruitment even more crucial.
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Italy: waiting for Pogba and Lukaku
In Italy, major maneuvers are launched to try to complete two prestigious returns: that of Paul Pogba to Juventus and that of Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan.
Paul Pogba on March 29, 2022 in a friendly match against South Africa in Lille.
After six years in the Manchester United jersey, the French midfielder could return to Turin FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives
Manchester United formalized on June 1 the end of the adventure with the 29-year-old French world champion, at the end of the contract after six years with the "Red Devils".
According to the Italian press, Pogba's priority is to return to Juve, where he lived his best years at the club between 2012 and 2016. He would have agreed to lower his English salary to find an agreement with the Bianconeri.
The Lukaku file is much more difficult, being a player for whom Chelsea paid 115 million euros last summer to snatch him from Inter.
The Belgian, unhappy with the playing time offered by Thomas Tuchel in London, would do everything to return to the Nerazzurri with whom he was Italian champion in 2021. It remains to find a sustainable financial equation for the accounts of Inter, either either through a loan or through an exchange of players.
Inter are still working in parallel with the arrival of Paulo Dybala, the Argentine leader left free by Juventus and in advanced discussions with the Nerazzurri.
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Spain: what will Dembélé do?
In Barcelona, the Ousmane Dembélé case has not advanced one iota.
The salary claims of the French international, at the end of the contract, and his agent Moussa Sissoko are beyond Barça's reach, especially if the Catalans manage to bring in Lewandowski.
"Barça and Dembélé: a dialogue of the deaf", summarized Sunday an article by Marca, the best-selling newspaper in Spain.
The negotiations have still not been broken off between the Catalan club and the player, but the two parties have not managed to find a point of financial agreement.
Free on July 1, the French winger was notably approached by Paris SG according to the Catalan press, but also by Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
On the Real Madrid side, despite the failed recruitment of Kylian Mbappé, already two recruits for the reigning European champion: defender Antonio Rüdiger and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, in addition to the extension of veteran leader Luka Modric (36) until 2023 .
© 2022 AFP