Transfer latest on Cherki, Zubimendi, Turner; meet South Africa's CWC side

New York Times

a day ago

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Hello! News of Sylvester Stallone's death has been greatly exaggerated. Pep Guardiola wasn't looking for a Rocky-style comeback — but he did need the summer window to catch fire.
On the way:
🎣 Man City's treble transfer catch
🪪 Yamal $10k rookie card saga
🇿🇦 South Africa's CWC hopefuls
➡️ Spurs make Frank approach
We were braced for a busy transfer window at Manchester City because a (relatively) torrid season gave them no alternative. But how many of us expected them to have their ducks in a row before they flew over the pond for this month's Club World Cup?
City and Pep Guardiola head for the United States on Thursday, in preparation for their first group game against Morocco's Wydad AC on June 18, and remarkably, their recruitment work is borderline complete. They've got their left-back. A central midfielder is about to follow. The creative vacancy left by Kevin De Bruyne is pretty much filled. Job done, in the blink of an eye.
It's a second active window in succession at the Etihad after a near-£200million ($271m) splurge in January, but what's interesting about this one is that it might pay for itself almost instantly. Here's where City stand:
In the space of a few days, City will have forked out £110m. They've changed the spine of Guardiola's team, they're negotiating to ensure that all three recruits are cleared to feature at the Club World Cup, and if they go all the way in the States, prize money of £92m will just about cover the bill. No wonder FIFA's baby is getting their full attention.
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Speaking of financial astuteness, it's time to give Bournemouth some love. They started the window by making a chunky profit on Dean Huijsen. Now, our latest DealSheet update is predicting two further sales: central defender Illia Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain and left-back Milos Kerkez to Liverpool.
As Chris Weatherspoon points out, this follows on from Dominic Solanke's transfer to Tottenham Hotspur less than a year ago. If Zabarnyi, 22, and Kerkez, 21, depart, the scale of their fees means Bournemouth would have sanctioned the four most expensive sales in their entire history within 10 months. It's a glowing endorsement of their recruitment.
A thought for the day, though: will they succeed in reinvesting the money cutely? Or will the outgoings make them more prone to relegation?
Like it or not, they're losing some top talent and nobody in the Premier League rides quality departures easily.
Three other lines from the DealSheet that I wanted to alert you to: first, the free transfer of 39-year-old Luka Modric to Milan sounds like it will be finalised after the current spate of international fixtures. Second, Martin Zubimendi should be an Arsenal player in time for pre-season. Real Sociedad are delaying the completion of that transfer until next month for accounting reasons.
And third, Chelsea have a new goalkeeper in their sights, for what feels like the eighth close-season running. They're trailing Milan's Mike Maignan, but they only want to pay a maximum of £12.6m for a France No 1 (who, admittedly, is out of contract next year). I can't see the Italians buckling so cheaply.
Farewell then, Luciano Spalletti. He refused to resign, the Italian Football Federation only kind of sacked him, so he was able to bow out as Italy's head coach with a 2-0 win against Moldova last night.
It was, effectively, an excruciating compromise that stopped the 66-year-old's reign ending on the sour note of a 3-0 hiding from Norway (who, incidentally, beat Estonia yesterday and are getting close to a first World Cup since 1998). As James Horncastle explains, Spalletti has been gracious to an extent: he has taken no pay-off and will now disappear to his vineyard in Tuscany.
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International management is no picnic. Maybe that's why Claudio Ranieri has refused an invitation to replace Spalletti. Over in Poland, we've got Robert Lewandowski refusing to play for Michal Probierz. Belgium had the same issue with Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois until they changed manager this year.
There's something about the Belgians that incites drama. They were 3-0 up in a World Cup qualifier against Wales yesterday, only to let the game slip back to 3-3. But up stepped De Bruyne two minutes from time, ghosting in with a lush back-post volley (above). Legs are temporary, class is permanent.
So much of the coverage of the Club World Cup (ours included) has focused on the key contenders and the amount of money they can pocket out there. It's difficult to regard the tournament as anything other than a cash-printing exercise.
But what of the more minor teams taking part? They'll earn nicely, too, sure, but in the case of South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns, there's more to the opportunity than that. Simon Hughes spent several days embedded with them — long enough to warm to the cut of their jib.
Any global attention on South African football tends to focus on their national team, and even then in isolation. Club football exists in obscurity. But Sundowns are a highly successful outfit with a flowing style they like to call 'shoeshine and piano' (Simon will explain for you). They're worthy of greater exposure.
Their coach, Miguel Cardoso, is a hard taskmaster who approached a dead rubber in which Sundowns picked up the domestic league title by telling his squad they had 'a f*****g job to do'. They've got their work cut out in the States, in a group containing Borussia Dortmund, but be warned: they're not flying out in search of a jolly.
(Selected games, kick-offs ET/UK time)
International friendlies: England vs Senegal, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Fubo/ITV; USMNT vs Switzerland, 8pm — TNT, Peacock Premium, Fubo (U.S. only).
UEFA World Cup qualifier: Netherlands vs Malta, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Fox Sports, Fubo/Amazon Prime.
CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers: Uruguay vs Venezuela, 7pm— Fanatiz PPV (U.S only); Argentina vs Colombia, 8pm/1am — ViX/Premier Sports; Brazil vs Paraguay, 8.45pm/1.45am — ViX/Premier Sports.
Lamine Yamal is smoking hot for Barcelona, so, naturally, trading cards with his face on are ratcheting up in value. But a spike in the price of one in particular has people in the U.S. smelling a rat.
A mint-condition version from Panini's 2023-24 Megacracks third edition box sold on eBay for $10,000 this week. No story there, you'd think, until you realise that 56 changed hands in 2024 for an average of $350. Six months ago, one attracted an offer of just $201.
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There are possible reasons for the anomaly. One is that pristine trading cards can actually be quite rare. Another is that a very valuable Lionel Messi card came from the same Panini line. But the Yamal surge has provoked allegations of shill bidding, where collectors in possession of a card bid for it but don't pay the final price, trying to inflate the market.
The $10,000 sale remains unverified. The eBay account that won it has no feedback on it, indicating that it might be new. It's a crazy world, and it's trickier than Yamal's genius feet.