POCHETTINO'S FUTURE IN HIS OWN HANDS
The future of Mauricio Pochettino on Chelsea bench, at least until the end of the season, is not particularly at risk. The defeat in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool has not allowed - for the moment - to achieve the Blues the primary target of the year: return to a European competition next season.
Now Chelsea will only be able to do so through the FA Cup the quarter-final against Leicester is scheduled in the middle of March or, with more difficulty, through the Premier League, considering the points away from positions that guarantee UEFA qualification.
The management still has faith in Poch, also because there are some mitigating factors in favour of the Argentine coach, such as the numerous injuries that have never allowed him to work with the entire squad with consistency or the lack of a real quality striker. Based on these elements, Chelsea have not yet concretely started contact with any other manager, hoping that progress will be seen in this second part of the season.
But, at the same time, the Blues are carefully monitoring the coaching of some managers in Europe and appreciate a lot the work of Simone Inzaghi at Inter. In summary, Pochettino's future is in his own hands: in the event of qualification for a European competition, his bench should be safe.
OSIMHEN - CHELSEA LEAD RACE
Victor Osimhen will certainly be one of the objects of desire for the next summer transfer window. The Nigerian striker will leave Napoli at the end of the season, with the hope of starting an experience in the Premier League. In fact, the player would prefer a transfer to England over other leagues.
Chelsea, as told many times, are interested in him and are willing to pay the 130m release clause included last year in the contract renewal with Napoli. Contacts with the player have been going on for months now: a multi-year proposal is ready for him with a slightly improved salary compared to the current one with the champions of Italy. The English club is also considering talks with Napoli soon to discuss in detail a possible deferral payment of the clause.
Not only Chelsea: PSG are still monitoring the situation of the Nigerian striker, included in their list to replace Kylian Mbappe, on his way to Real Madrid. However, despite several rumours that indicate Paris as the most likely destination of Osimhen, there's been no recent contact between Victor's entourage and the leaders of Ligue1. PSG remain always interested, no doubt, but with Mbappe's departure, they targeted also other profiles as his possible replacements, like the AC Milan player Rafael Leao.
BARELLA - THE RENEWAL WITH INTER IS PROGRESSING
Nicol Barella is undoubtedly among the absolute protagonists of Inter's midfield, one of the key players in which the successes of the Nerazzurri in recent seasons are being based. This is why the Italian club is accelerating the negotiations to extend his contract which expires in 2026: set the main structure of the new agreement, there are still some details to be defined, in particular regarding the salary.
Currently, Barella earns 9 million euros gross per year, about 5 million euros net per season. The new contract, which will bind him to the club until 2029, should provide for a wage adjustment to reach a salary level like that of his teammates Hakan Calhanoglu and Lautaro Martinez, who earn around 6/6.5 million euros per season.
As told, the talks are currently focusing on the economic details and then they will proceed with the purely bureaucratic final part of the negotiation. There is no rush to complete the process, as there are still 2 and a half years left on Barella's current contract, but the desire of Nicol is clear: he wants to stay in Milan and, to date, he is not considering any offers from other clubs.
MANCHESTER UNITED'S PLANS - RENEWALS, FAREWELLS AND POSSIBLE RETURNS
Manchester United are making some assessments with their squad, both in terms of renewals and transfers in the next summer session. Much news is expected soon, including related to the future of Kobbie Mainoo. The talent who grew up in the youth sector is still discussing his new contract, but there is optimism about the agreement that could be reached in the next few weeks as the Red Devils have intensified contacts with the player's entourage.
In addition to prioritizing the renewal of Mainoo, Manchester United are already evaluating possible moves related to full-backs, particularly on the right. The renewal of Aaron Wan-Bissaka is proceeding at a slow pace and the possibility that the English player will leave Manchester in the summer is growing. The Red Devils are thus starting to consider possible alternatives: Erik ten Hag's dream is always Jeremie Frimpong, although the Dutch player is more likely to follow his current coach Xabi Alonso in his future experience. For this reason, the name of Denzel Dumfries remains the most concrete option to strengthen the right-back role, with Inter willing to let him go at a fairly suitable price.
Final point, Mason Greenwood: his good performances are opening up evaluations on his future, even if Manchester United have not made a definitive decision yet. The player, on the contrary, would like to return to Manchester at the end of the season, to demonstrate his talent also with the Red Devils.
JUVENTUS DESPERATELY SEEKING NEW MIDFIELDER
Juventus are already working to strengthen the midfield in the summer to replace first of all the suspended Paul Pogba and the possible farewell of Adrien Rabiot. The French player, in fact, has not yet decided his future with the contract expiring in a few months and negotiations for his renewal going at a slow pace. Adrien, for his part, has already received more than one proposal, but has not yet definitively chosen what to do next season. Let's keep an eye also on PSG, interested in Rabiot and who recently had some contact with his mother-agent.
Returning to Juventus and their search of a new midfielder, they consider Teun Koopmeiners a concrete target in June as already said a few weeks ago with the Dutch player now at the top of their list. Atalanta are asking for around 50 million euros to evaluate an offer for Teun, a figure that at the moment seems to be considered too high by Juventus. It is no coincidence that the Bianconeri - who are internally considering some concrete steps in the coming weeks - could decide to include a player in the deal, in order to lower the price tag.
Atalanta - for their part - appreciate a lot Fabio Miretti who could become the player "sacrificed" in the negotiation for Koopmeiners. Let's wait and see: it's an evolving situation.