Manchester United’s acquisition of Romelu Lukaku sent shockwaves through the soccer world. The deal could cost as much as 90 million euro. Factor in that United stole Lukaku away from Chelsea and the fact that Manchester City missed big on Dani Alves and it takes us to an interesting time in terms of the summer transfer window with a number of key players still available. Here is a look at five soccer transfers that have been left hanging in the balance this summer.
Tiemoue Bakayoko to Chelsea Blues
Chelsea was widely rumored to be close to acquiring Lukaku before United stepped in and stole him away from the defending champions. Chelsea fans have expressed their disappointment in not being able to acquire the Belgian striker but the Blues still have a lot of money to work with this summer. Bakayoko is rumored to be high on Chelsea’s priority list. The 22-year-old Moncao midfielder is expected to cost around 40 million euro. He should be a perfect fit in manager Antonio Conte’s system.
Eric Dier to Manchester United
After making a major splash to acquire Lukaku, United could be right back in the mix for a versatile midfielder in Dier. Manager Jose Mourinho has spoken highly of Dier while commenting that the England international is the perfective foil for Paul Pogba in a defensive midfielder role. The rumored deal will cost United in excess of 50 million euro but that likely won’t be a problem for a club that wants to contend for championship titles next season.
Kelechi Iheanacho to Leicester City
City missed big on Alves and while they are rumored to be interested in a number of potential acquisitions the biggest rumor involving the club appears to involve them sending Iheanacho to Leicester City. West Ham was expected to be a frontrunner for the Nigeria international but Leicester City has stepped in with a better offer that should be enough to convince Manchester City to get a deal done. It won’t be a surprise if something gets done between these two sides in the next two weeks.
After shockingly winning the EPL two seasons ago, Leicester City finished a disappointing 12th last year. They had a couple of main issues, including a -15 goal differential. Leicester City scored just 48 goals on the season but they allowed 63. Not many teams allowed more goals than the 63 that they gave up (only six teams in the English Premier League allowed more).
Naby Keita to Liverpool
This is one of the more interesting transfer rumors that have been discussed in recent weeks. RB Leipzig has claimed it isn’t interested in moving Keita. However, Liverpool management has claimed that Keita wants to move to Anfield so a deal is likely. The 22-year-old midfielder is reportedly high on Liverpool’s list of targets so it will be very interesting to see if they can get a deal done.
Liverpool finished last season in fourth place in the EPL standings table with 76 points. That ranked them one better than Arsenal but two points shy of Manchester City in third place. Liverpool scored 78 goals on the season, which was the fourth-best number, while allowing just 42.
Thomas Lemar to Arsenal
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted his interest in the Monaco forward as an excellent fit in one of his front three spots. Lemar is a versatile striker that can line up at all three positions on Wenger’s front line so it makes sense that interest in him would be high. Monaco has reportedly rejected Arsenal’s first two offers of 30 million euro and 40 million euro. It will be very interesting to see how high the Gunners are willing to go in their efforts to acquire the 21-year-old striker from Monaco.
Last season, Arsenal finished in fifth place in the standings with 75 points. They had a comfortable six-point cushion on sixth-place Manchester United. Arsenal managed to score 77 goals last season, which was the fifth-best in the EPL, and gave up just 44 goals, which tied them for the sixth-best number.
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