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S P R T Transfer window: Where will Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, Declan Rice and Victor Osimhen move to?
Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi, Victor Osimhen and Harry Kane are just four of the world-class players who could be on the move in what looks set to be a huge transfer window this summer.
Will Messi return to Barcelona? Is Declan Rice bound for Arsenal?
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The transfer window for clubs in the Premier League next season opens on Wednesday, 14 June and closes on Friday, 1 September.
Let’s run through the rumours and gorge on some gossip as we take a look at the big names who might be set to make a switch.
Jude Bellingham
Why Bellingham is ‘worth £130m’the view from Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund’s youngest captain at 19 and deemed “exceptional” by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Bellingham is one of football’s hottest properties this summer and on Monday was named Bundesliga player of the season.
Real Madrid are in advanced talks to sign the England midfielder and are willing to pay about £89m - although Dortmund are understood to want £130m.
Manchester City are also believed to be interested in the teenager who played 42 times for his club this season, scoring 14 goals and registering seven assists.
In April, Liverpool ruled out signing the former Birmingham City star with Klopp saying the Reds’ interest was like a “child wanting a Ferrari for Christmas”.
Why Bellingham’s Real move would make ‘perfect sense’
Harry Kane
Harry Kane mural
A mural of Harry Kane has been painted across the road from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
“Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June.”
Manchester United fans serenaded the Tottenham talisman during their 2-2 draw in London in April. United, like Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris
St-Germain, are being repeatedly linked with the 29-year-old.
Spurs and Kane have a decision to make. England’s record goalscorer has one year left on his contract and, if he does not extend his deal, could leave for free at the end of next season.
Will Harry Kane stay at Tottenham?
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There is no doubting Kane’s ability - he has scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for Spurs and is 47 goals shy of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record of 260.
Spurs have kept hold of him before, two summers ago when he tried to engineer a move to Manchester City.
But with Spurs unable to deliver Champions League football next season and Kane yet to win a major trophy, the forward’s future in north London remains unclear.
Declan Rice
West Ham: Declan Rice may leave this summer - David Moyes
Declan Rice could become the first West Ham captain to win a European trophy since England’s Bobby Moore lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965.
Before their Europa League semi-final second-leg win at AZ Alkmaar, West Ham manager David Moyes said there was “a good chance” Rice will leave this summer.
The 24-year-old has rejected all efforts to get him to sign an extension amid interest from virtually all of England’s top clubs.
Moyes accepts Rice may leave in summer
Rice came through the youth system at West Ham and has been capped 41 times by England, playing in all five of their matches at last winter’s World Cup. There are reports Rice is leaning towards a move to Premier League runners-up Arsenal, but the Gunners may have to double the £72m they paid for record signing Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
In April, Moyes said Rice would not be sold for less than £150m - believing his star midfielder is worth “north” of that figure.
Lionel Messi
World Cup winner Lionel Messi will leave Paris St-Germain when his contract expires this summer.
His relationship with PSG has soured. On 3 May he was suspended by the club for two weeks after travelling to Saudi Arabia without their permission.
In his first game back he was booed by supporters.
Messi to leave PSG this summer
Why Messi’s dream return to Barcelona looks very unlikely
Messi left Barcelona in 2021 because of financial issues at the club, but a move back to the Nou Camp, where the Argentine is the all-time top scorer with 672 goals in 778 games, may not be an option.
Barcelona have a wage bill of about £530m which they need to reduce by at least £177m.
The 35-year-old has also attracted interest from Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS) and an eyewatering offer of about £350m to play in Saudi Arabia for one year with Al-Hilal.
Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen celebrates surrounded by cameras
Victor Osimhen scored the goal which clinched Napoli’s first Serie A title in 33 years in a 1-1 draw at Udinese
Victor Osimhen has become the envy of Europe’s top clubs with his blockbuster performances for Napoli.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, PSG and Real Madrid are just some of the teams linked with the striker recently, making Osimhen a regular in the BBC Sport gossip column.
He is Serie A’s top scorer this season with 25 goals in 31 games, powering Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years.
Will Osimhen end up in the Premier
League?
The 22-year-old idolised Chelsea striker Didier Drogba growing up, and in 2016 rejected Arsenal when he signed his first professional contract with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.
Italian football expert James Horncastle said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast that Osimhen would cost more than £90m, and “probably closer to” £130m.
The striker made headlines in March when he said: “I’m working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League some day.”
Mount? Mbappe? Maddison? An epic summer awaits
Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are set to battle it out for Mason Mount’s signature with the England midfielder refusing to sign a new contract at Chelsea.
Mount’s deal runs out at the end of next season and the Blues have reportedly put a £70m price tag on the 24-year-old.
Brighton supporters face a nervy summer after manager Roberto de Zerbi said stars Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister “deserve to play in another level”.
Brighton rejected a bid from Arsenal of about £70m for Ecuador midfielder Caicedo in January, while World Cupwinning Argentina midfielder Mac Allister has been heavily linked with Liverpool.
Meanwhile, James Maddison is likely to move following Leicester’s relegation, with Newcastle and Tottenham rumoured to be interested in the 26-year-old England midfielder.
And superstar Kylian Mbappe is being monitored by Europe’s top clubs with the 24-year-old’s contract expiring at the end of next season, while PSG team-mate Neymar, who joined from Barcelona for £200m in 2017, is being linked with Manchester United.
It is going to be an epic summer. Make sure you follow every twist and turn on BBC Sport’s football section.