Manchester United have added Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface to their shortlist, while Ruben Amorim’s side will also face competition from Liverpool in the race for Atalanta midfielder Éderson. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumours, and gossip from around the globe.
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TRENDING RUMORS
– Manchester United are interested in Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface, according to Sky Sports Deutschland’s Florian Plettenberg. The 23-year-old is reported to be one of several options on their shortlist for a new No. 9, and they could make an approach next summer. Boniface has continued his impressive form in the Bundesliga this season with six goals in 10 matches, though a recent injury sustained on international duty with Nigeria means he is set to be out of action until around January.
– Man United boss Amorim is also being linked with a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri. The Algeria international will move into the final year of his contract next summer, and The Sun reports that he is looking for a new challenge. The Red Devils have had problems in the position for some time, and the 23-year-old has the right age and profile to fit into Amorim’s tactical formation as an attacking wing-back.
– An offer worth €60 million will be required to land Atalanta midfielder Éderson, says Nicolo Schira. Both Manchester United and Liverpool are said to be keen on signing the 25-year-old, who has also been linked with Manchester City, but the Serie A club have made their intentions clear of only looking at proposals next summer. He has made 13 league appearances this season, scoring his second goal of the campaign in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Parma.
– Real Madrid are willing to part ways with full-back Fran García in order to make space for Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies, reports Sport. The LaLiga giants are open to accepting an offer worth between €15m and €20m for the 25-year-old, amid belief that Davies has already given the green light to a switch to the Santiago Bernabeu on a free transfer. Davies, 24, is set to enter the final six months of his contract at the Allianz Arena in January, when he will be free to discuss official terms on a pre-contract agreement.
– Barcelona are working on a strategy to sign Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyökeres, according to Diario Sport. The Catalan giants consider Gyökeres the ideal player to replace Robert Lewandowski in the future. The Sweden international is a target of top European clubs and Barca plan to offer €70m in the summer, and then loan him back to Sporting for the 2025-26 campaign.
EXPERT TAKE
ESPN’s Dale Johnson takes a look at Victor Boniface‘s stats this season.
Victor Boniface has been one of the stars of the Bundesliga this season, with six goals in 10 appearances for the defending champions.
Yet he has very much proven be an “effect” player, with far less involvement in the buildup play compared to the other leading scorers in the division. Indeed, his 90 passes completed is by far the lowest of the 13 players to have scored 5+ goals, with Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirovic having made the next fewest, on 105. Yet only the division’s top scorers, Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane (14 goals from 46 shots, 933 minutes played) and Omar Marmoush of Eintracht Frankfurt (11 goals from 46 shots, 913 minutes played) have had more attempts on goal than Boniface’s 41 — and the Stuttgart man has played only 663 minutes.
Boniface is clearly a striker who thrives on crosses, with 31.7% of his shots on goals being headed efforts. Kane’s number is 17.4%, while for Marmoush it’s just 4.3%. Of those players on 5+ goals, only Tim Kleindienst of Borussia Monchengladbach has had a higher proportion of his shots being with the head, at 33.3%.
It’s quite a change to last season when Boniface had only 12.5% of his shots being in aerial situations, with Kleindienst’s 41% being one of the leading stats across 2023-24.
But Boniface’s tendency to only get involved at the top end of the pitch was supporting in the previous campaign too, with 273 completed passes. Of the 20 players to score 10+ league goals, Boniface 15.82 per game only ranked 13th.
There is a question mark about the player’s fitness, however. He missed 11 Bundesliga games last season, nearly a third of the campaign, and is now out until at least January with another injury.
Is Boniface the kind of striker to fit into Ruben Amorim’s system? His Sporting CP side have had 19% of their shots with headed efforts since August 2023, only six teams have had fewer. But Viktor Gyokeres, his leading striker, had just 18.3% of his efforts with the head while his passes completed of 17.17 per game is very similar to that of Boniface — suggesting that Amorim is happy to have a striker who concentrates on his role in the final third.
OTHER RUMORS
– AFC Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is on the radar of Liverpool. The Reds see the 21-year-old Hungary international as a potential future successor to Andy Robertson. (TeamTalk)
– Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich is close to extending his stay at the Allianz Arena despite previously being linked with Paris Saint-Germain. (L’Equipe)
– Borussia Dortmund would rival Manchester United for Christopher Nkunku should the Chelsea forward become available for transfer. (TeamTalk)
– Barcelona still plan to make a move for Athletic Club winger Nico Williams next summer, even though Raphinha has been in excellent form. (Diario Sport)
– Fulham and Leicester City want to sign Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton in January. (Football Insider)
– AC Milan and Newcastle United are both preparing to make a move for Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is out of contract in June. (TeamTalk)
– Milan Skriniar has agreed to join Juventus from Paris Saint-Germain in January after losing his place at the Ligue 1 club. (Foot Mercato)
– Barcelona sporting director Deco is due to meet Pedri‘s agent on Tuesday to discuss a new contract. The midfielder’s current deal runs to 2026, and the club want to extend it to 2029 or 2030. (Mundo Deportivo)
– Tottenham could look to sign a goalkeeper in January after No. 1 Guglielmo Vicario was ruled out for months with a fractured ankle. (The Guardian)
