Sami Khedira a wanted man as English clubs prepare to pounce

Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool are all on 'red alert' for Real Madrid ace Sami Khedira

Sami Khedira/Real Madrid
(Image credit: Denis Doyle/Getty)

Reports in France suggest Arsenal might be about to jettison injury jinx Abou Diaby while the Gunners could replace the midfielder with Sami Khedira – that is if Liverpool, Chelsea or Man Utd don't get in their first. Transfer Talk spills the beans on the big stories.

•ŸŸ Not for the first time in recent months Real Madrid ace Sami Khedira has put a posse of Premier League clubs on "red alert". The quartet of keen clubs are, according to the Daily Star, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United, all ready and waiting to pounce on the German midfielder after he gave his strongest hint yet that he wants out of the Bernabeu. The 27-year-old Khedira is out of contract with Real in June and when asked by Spanish journalists if he might fancy joining Schalke, given their impressive display against Real in Tuesday night's Champions League clash, Khedira replied: "Am I open to [joining] Schalke? I'm open to many teams."

•ŸŸ Barcelona goal machine Lionel Messi was in London last weekend, according to the Daily Star. The paper claims that the Argentine striker jetted into the capital to catch up with former Barca teammate Cesc Fabregas, but the sight of him in west London has fuelled speculation in Spain that Messi could be set to leave the Camp Nou. In recent months Messi has been linked with the Blues and his friendship with Fabregas could be a factor in persuading the South American sharpshooter to move to England.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

•ŸŸ As we reported earlier in the week, Manchester United's hopes of signing Porto defender Danilo have been receding after rumours emerged linking him with Real Madrid and Barcelona, and goal.com confirms that he will shortly sign a five-year deal with Real in a move worth in the region of $17.5m. The 23-year-old had also been targeted by Barcelona but their transfer embargo precluding them from signing new blood until 2016 allowed Real the chance to seal the deal.

•ŸŸ One man who has already been purchased is Norwegian midfielder Fredrik Ulvestad. Talksport report that the 22-year-old has signed for Burnley on a three-year deal. The free agent left his home-town club of Aalesunds FK earlier in the season, and after a trial at Turf Moor has signed along the dotted line. "Fredrik is someone who came into the club to spend some time with us earlier this year, explained Burnley boss Sean Dyche. "He has gained a full international cap and is learning and gaining experience all the time. We will be looking for him to continue his development and improve further as a midfielder."

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.