Welcome to the Times of Malta football transfer blog. With the 2019-20 football campaign just weeks away, clubs around the European continents will be stepping up their efforts to try and strengthen their squad ahead of the upcoming season. Stay with us to follow all the latest news....

8.30pm That's all for today! Thank you very much for staying with us as we invite you to tune in to our transfer blog tomorrow. 

8.20pm Benfica want Mattia Perin at pre-season training within 48 hours, raising their offer to €15m for the Juventus goalkeeper and flying in for talks.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, director Manuel Rui Costa personally called Perin to discuss the move and convince him to accept this new adventure.

The shot-stopper would have a four-year contract worth €2.5m per season plus performance-related bonuses.

8pm Juventus could loan Merih Demiral to Milan so he can get more playing time, claim RAI Sport, but need permission from Sassuolo.

The Turkey international made the move to Juve for €18m, but with Matthijs de Ligt incoming from Ajax and only six months of Serie A football under his belt, a loan to Milan is possible.

This is also because the Rossoneri have been quoted huge prices for the likes of Dejan Lovren and Matija Nastasic, so would gladly accept a very promising 21-year-old centre-back on loan.

7.45pm Sampdoria have officially signed Atalanta goalkeeper Lorenzo Avogadri on loan.

The shot-stopper won’t turn 18 until next month and spent last season at Palermo’s youth academy.

A statement released by Samp confirmed they had brought in Avogadri with a straight one-season loan.

7.20pm Stefan Radu is back in the Lazio squad after putting the row behind him. “It was the worst period of my career, now this feels like my first day.”

The 32-year-old has been at the club for over a decade, since moving from Dinamo Bucharest in January 2008.

He had been left out of the pre-season training squad, reportedly due to a row with director of sport Igli Tare and several teammates, but was welcomed back to the camp today and held a brief Press conference.

7pm Multiple reports now suggest James Rodriguez and Real Madrid are leaning towards Atletico Madrid, as Napoli won’t buy him outright.

President Aurelio De Laurentiis stated openly that he has no intention of purchasing James in one cash sum, preferring to take the Colombia international on loan with option to buy.

This irritated Real Madrid, who had until then been eager to sell abroad rather than reinforce their direct Liga and city rivals.

6.25pm Parma are trying to keep Gervinho with the offer of an improved salary, even if it’s still not as much as Galatasaray are proposing.

The 32-year-old Ivorian striker rediscovered his form at the Stadio Tardini and scored 11 goals with three assists in Serie A last season.

This attracted interest from several clubs, although Galatasaray seem to be the most determined.

6.15pm Harry Maguire has told Brendan Rodgers and his Leicester team-mates he wants to leave during this transfer window, Sky Sports News is reporting.

Maguire made the announcement at the end of last week, while the squad was together on a pre-season training camp in France.

Since returning from France, Leicester’s bosses have told the England defender he can leave with their blessing IF another club meets Leicester's valuation. No club has done that so far, and we’ve been told it would take a world record fee for a defender, to prise him away.

5.55pm Roma director Gianluca Petrachi said Nicolò Zaniolo and Alessandro Florenzi are not on the market. 

“I told off Zaniolo, like a father would to a son, with all the affection in this world, to get his head back on his shoulders, but immediately people said that meant putting him on the market,” said Petrachi.

“I have to work to get the best out of Zaniolo and my job isn’t just buying and selling players, as I have direct contact with the squad. I see them every day and consider them to be teammates.

5.20pm Ajax director Marc Overmars confirms “the end is in sight” for Matthijs de Ligt and his Juventus transfer. “It’s about bank guarantees now.”

The defender is expected to fly in this evening so that he can be ready for his medical on Tuesday morning and has already been left out of the Ajax pre-season training camp.

“The end is in sight,” Overmars told Voetbal International.

“It’s about bank guarantees now, as Ajax are always very strict on these matters. I hope it all progresses quickly, but I’m sure they will work it out. They are Italians.”

4.50pm Leonardo Spinazzola insists he has no regrets at leaving Juventus for Roma, as Paulo Fonseca’s football is “attractive to watch and fun to play in.”

The versatile full-back made the move in exchange for cash plus Luca Pellegrini and is hoping for more playing time than he got in Turin.

“Roma have always been a great club with excellent players, while the atmosphere with the fans at the Stadio Olimpico is remarkable. It’s always been fun to play here,” said Spinazzola in his press conference.

4.30pm Aaron Ramsey has admitted he turned down other offers in favour of a move to Juventus, and says he could not refuse a move to the Italian giants.

"As soon as I knew Juve were in for me there was no question of where I was going to go; you can't turn down that opportunity."

4.15pm Joselu has completed a permanent move from Newcastle to La Liga side Alaves.

The 29-year-old forward has joined the Spanish side for an undisclosed fee, bringing his two-year stay at St. James’ Park to an end.

4pm Steve Bruce has left Sheffield Wednesday after confirming over the weekend that he had held talks with Newcastle to become Rafael Benitez's successor.

The 58-year-old led Wednesday to a 12th-place finish in the Sky Bet Championship last season after taking over from Dutchman Jos Luhukay in January.

Newcastle made an official approach for Bruce last week and on Saturday, Bruce told Sky Sports News: "It's in the hands of the two clubs at the moment. There is nothing really to talk about until the two clubs reach some sort of a compromise."

3.35pm Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists second-choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is staying at the club this season despite the Belgian having concerns about his pitch time.

The 31-year-old lost his place to Alisson Becker last summer with the Brazil already proving good value for his £65m fee after playing a key role in their Champions League victory and finishing the campaign as Golden Glove winner with 21 clean sheets.

"Yes, (it's) how I've heard," said the German. "I've had a lot of conversations in the last couple of years, months - not weeks. Before we left (for the summer break) we had talk. I would say yes (he stays)."

3.15pm French striker Antoine Griezmann trained with his new Barcelona teammates for the first time on Monday following his controversial move from Atletico Madrid last week.

"The first of two sessions scheduled for the day was completed by all available first team players, including the newest incorporations, Frenkie de Jong, Neto, and Antoine Griezmann," the Catalan club reported on its website.

Another French forward, Ousmane Dembele, and German goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen were both declared fit after recoving from injuries late last season.

2.50pm Bayern Munich have accepted that a deal to sign Leroy Sane from Manchester City is unlikely to happen in this transfer window, according to SkySports in Germany.

Sane will be part of the City squad travelling to Asia for their pre-season tour on Monday morning and we understand the club remain confident he wants to stay.

Bayern have publicly identified the German winger as their top target this summer.

However, for any deal to happen Sane would have to tell City that he wants to leave – which he has not done – and sources at the club have told SSN that they believe he sees his future at the Etihad.

2.20pm Four clubs are in for Fulham midfielder Jean Michael Seri and a development on his future is expected in the next few days, Sky Sports News is reporting.

The 27-year-old wants to leave England this summer and is currently mulling over his next move while on holiday following the African Nations Cup.

Galatasaray and Napoli, Roma and Milan in Italy are among those reportedly keen to sign the Ivory Coast international.

 

2.05pm Miguel Alba has written a letter of apology to the Birkirkara fans following his actions last week.

The former Valletta midfielder joined the Stripes earlier this month but he opted to leave the country without informing the club and allegedly reached an agreement to join a Bolivian club.

Alba on Monday wrote an open letter to the fans to apologise the club administrators and fans for his actions and said that he was looking forward to give everything to Birkirkara FC for the upcoming season.

1.45pm Neymar showed up Monday for training at Paris Saint-Germain according to French media reports, a week late and just days after upsetting the club by saying his best football memory was beating PSG when he played for Barcelona.

PSG resumed training last Monday but Neymar, linked to a move back to Barcelona, turned up a week late according to the club, while the player's camp maintained he had a prior agreement to stay away.

PSG responded last week by threatening to take "appropriate action" against the world's most expensive player who said he had stayed in Brazil to attend a charity five-a-side football tournament run by his foundation, the Neymar Institute.

1.30pm Roma could offer Javier Pastore plus cash in exchange for Milan winger Suso, claims La Repubblica newspaper.

Both players are struggling to find their place tactically under new Coaches, so could look elsewhere.

Suso is a winger, no longer required by Marco Giampaolo and his 4-3-1-2 formation, while Pastore is a trequartista in Paulo Fonseca’s 4-3-3.

The clubs could solve each other’s problems in one fell swoop by swapping Suso with Pastore, according to La Repubblica.

1.15pm Celtic have rejected Arsenal's latest bid for left-back Kieran Tierney, Sky Sports News is reporting.

Arsenal's offer was worth in the region of £25m but it is understood Celtic were unhappy with the structure of the bid and want more cash upfront rather than in add-ons.

The Scottish champions are reluctant to sell their top asset unless the deal meets their valuation.

Sky Sports News also claims that Serie A side Napoli remain interested in a deal for the Scotland international.

1.05pm We start of the day with some news from Malta champions Valletta who on Tuesday face Luxembourg's F91 Dudelange in the Champions League qualifiers.

The Citizens are forced to re-enter the transfer market after losing influential midfielder Santiago Malano for at least six months with a knee injury.

The Argentine damaged his cruciate knee ligaments during last week's 2-2 draw against F91 Dudelange and is out for at least six months.

It is understood that Valletta have already identified a number of candidates but they will make a definite approach after Tuesday's Champions League qualifier.

1pm Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another day of transfer news. Stay with us to follow all the latest news and rumours from around the continent. Including the Maltese Premier League.

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