Fabrizio Romano: Bruno Guimaraes, Maxence Lacroix, Maghnes Akliouche
24 Jul 2026 06:58 BST |
6 min read
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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has provided the latest updates from the summer transfer window, including Chelsea’s move for Maxence Lacroix, Arsenal’s pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes, Italy’s interest in Pep Guardiola and the latest on Maghnes Akliouche.
Italy confirm Pep Guardiola approach after Ancelotti setback
The Italian FA confirmed their interest in Pep Guardiola to take over the national team, but Romano has revealed that they first tried Carlo Ancelotti.
“The Italian Federation have confirmed they are trying to appoint Pep Guardiola as the next Italy manager,” he said.
“They explained that they first approached Carlo Ancelotti, but he is staying with Brazil, so their focus has now switched to Guardiola.
“Of course, it’s not an easy deal because Pep wants to spend time with his family after so many years at Manchester City.
“But Italy have confirmed the conversations are taking place, so let’s see what happens.”
Chelsea close to completing Maxence Lacroix deal
Romano then revealed Chelsea are entering the final stages of negotiations to sign Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.
“Yesterday I told you negotiations were progressing and now Maxence Lacroix is one step away from becoming a Chelsea player.
“The agreement with the player is fully completed. Personal terms are agreed and Lacroix is excited about joining Chelsea.
“The focus is now entirely on the club-to-club negotiations. There was a meeting in New York before the World Cup final and Chelsea and Crystal Palace are now working hard to reach the final agreement.
“The deal could be completed at any moment because everything on the player’s side is already in place.
“I told you exclusively yesterday that Crystal Palace had asked about Axel Disasi during discussions over Lacroix.
“But Disasi is not currently expected to be part of the deal. He is looking at different opportunities and is not understood to be keen on joining Crystal Palace.
“I still expect this to be a straight negotiation for Lacroix rather than a swap arrangement.”
Chelsea monitoring Karim Alajbegovic as future project
Chelsea may be targeting more experienced players in the transfer market this summer, but Romano says they’ve not totally abandoned their pursuit of promising young players.
“Karim Alajbegovic is attracting Chelsea’s attention,” he said. “The winger returned to Bayer Leverkusen after the club activated their buy-back clause following his spell at Red Bull Salzburg.
“He has also impressed for Bosnia, including at the World Cup, and Chelsea have taken information on him.
“This is a player Xabi Alonso already knew well from his time at Bayer Leverkusen and someone he has continued to monitor closely.
“I’m not saying Xabi Alonso has specifically requested the signing, but Alajbegovic is one of the names being discussed internally.
“For Chelsea, he would be a project signing for the future. Several Italian clubs are also pushing strongly because they can offer him more immediate first-team football.
“Atalanta were interested, but there is currently no agreement between the clubs, allowing other Serie A sides to enter the race.
“So the decision will also depend on whether the player prefers Chelsea’s long-term project or an immediate role in Italy.”
Arsenal preparing improved Bruno Guimaraes offer
Romano detailed Arsenal’s accelerating pursuit of Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
“Arsenal are preparing a new bid for Bruno Guimaraes,” he said.
“The player has already agreed personal terms with Arsenal and the contract is ready.
“Bruno wants to remain respectful towards Newcastle, but he has made it clear internally that he would like to make the move.
“Newcastle continue to insist they do not want to sell unless they receive an exceptional offer.
“Arsenal previously discussed a package worth around £55 million plus £10 million in add-ons, but that was rejected.
“Now they are expected to return with an offer worth around £70 million. That may still not be enough to convince Newcastle, but Arsenal believe it moves negotiations much closer.
“They hope a deal can eventually be completed for slightly more than that figure. However, Arsenal are not prepared to overpay. As we saw with Morgan Rogers, they were willing to spend around £90-100 million but refused to match Chelsea’s £117 million offer. The same principle applies here.
“Behind the scenes, Mikel Arteta is pushing extremely hard because he believes Bruno is the perfect midfielder for Arsenal.”
Newcastle complete Aladji Bamba signing
Romano also confirmed Newcastle have strengthened their own midfield in a move that hints they are getting ready to sell Bruno.
“Newcastle have reached an agreement to sign Aladji Bamba from Monaco. The player is already in England for his medical and to sign his contract,” he said.
“The package is worth €41 million with a 15 per cent sell-on clause. With that deal completed, Arsenal will now continue their efforts to prise Bruno Guimaraes away from St James’ Park.”
PSG remain favourites for Maghnes Akliouche despite Liverpool links
Romano finally detailed the prospect of Maghnes Akliouche joining Liverpool.
“There has been plenty of speculation about Liverpool hijacking the deal for Maghnes Akliouche but my information has not changed,” he said. “If Liverpool make a move or enter the race, I will tell you.
“Right now, Paris Saint-Germain have an agreement with the player, Akliouche wants to join PSG and negotiations with Monaco are continuing.
“The deal is not yet completed club-to-club, so we have to remain careful because transfers can change quickly, as happened with Morgan Rogers.
“But as things stand, Paris Saint-Germain remain firmly in control of the situation and are working to finalise the transfer as soon as possible.”
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Robin Bairner is an eminent digital football journalist who has been writing about the sport for major global publishers since 2006, specialising in Ligue 1 and Scottish football. He has been chief editor of the FootballTransfers global edition since its launch in 2020. Previously Bairner had been a key member of the editorial team which helped Goal.com become the world’s biggest football website. He covered multiple major competitions as a correspondent for Goal including the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he had the opportunity to work in Fortaleza. Among his highlights of the competition was Brazil’s quarter-final victory over Colombia.
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