Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: Zubimendi to Chelsea truth, Pochettino deal, Guardiola to USMNT?

Football news expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on several major transfer stories, including the latest on Martin Zubimendi, Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola.

Manchester United have officially confirmed the sacking of Michael Carrick, with Mauricio Pochettino primed to replace him at Old Trafford.

“Michael Carrick has been sacked with immediate effect by Manchester United. It is over between Michael Carrick and Man Utd,” Romano told his YouTube channel.

“He was today at Carrington, but he was there just to meet with Man Utd directors and receive communication in person from Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox.

“Carrick and his staff left Carrington in the morning already after receiving the formal communication from Man Utd. And again, it was just a matter of time. Why? Because yesterday, Man Utd closed the verbal agreement with Mauricio Pochettino.

“So Poch said yes to the Man Utd project. Poch wants to go to Man Utd and now the lawyers of Pochettino and Man Utd are finalising the agreement on contract length and all the rest. Then there will be a ‘Here We Go’.

“As I told you, the release clause close to $10 million is only valid to appoint Pochettino and to make sure Pochettino gets the green light from the US men's national team to leave and go to Man Utd. But then, if you want to get people from his staff, it is extra money, and so this is also part of the conversation.”

With Pochettino leaving his role with the USMNT, Pep Guardiola has been linked with the role, although he has not yet been approached to return to management.

“At the moment, Pep has received no contact from the US Federation,” Romano confirmed. “I have been told that Pep has still not been in contact with anyone from there.

“Pep received a proposal over the summer. It was in June from the Italian Federation. Paolo Maldini, when he was director at Italy, was in contact with Guardiola to try to offer him the job as the new Italy head coach, to take over everything at the Italian Federation and to be the face of the new project for Italy after missing the World Cup once again. But, Guardiola took almost one week to think about this possibility and then decided to decline and to say no to the Italian national team.

“Now the US men's national team want to make an important appointment to replace Pochettino. So we are already discussing names internally. Obviously, Guardiola would be a dream and as Pep is free, it is obvious to have this kind of dream.

“If they contact Pep Guardiola, I will tell you. But at the moment, Pep is yet to receive any kind of contact, also because the US men's national team have games to play now in this international break. They will do that with Mauricio Pochettino as a coach, and then Man Utd are waiting for him for the game in the Premier League against Liverpool.”

Martin Zubimendi has struggled for game time at Arsenal this season, but Romano has poured cold water on rumours suggesting that he is in talks to join Atletico Madrid in January.

“First point, at the moment there are no negotiations ongoing between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal,” the transfer expert said. “Second point, they are not working on a swap deal involving Martin Zubimendi and Julian Alvarez. Third point, Zubimendi has clarified that he is not desperate to leave Arsenal, and also Atletico Madrid are not going to invest €65 million, €70 million or €80 million on Martin Zubimendi in January.

“He is a player they like, for sure. Zubimendi is super appreciated by Atletico, but that is it. There are hundreds of players appreciated by Atletico. There is no active negotiation ongoing.

“The player will be very expensive, and also Zubimendi has already said that he is not desperate to leave Arsenal. Obviously, he hopes to play more. He wants to play more, but at the moment there are no active negotiations with Atletico Madrid.”

Chelsea have also been heavily linked with Zubimendi in recent days, with Xabi Alonso believed to be pushing the Blues to finalise a deal next year.

“When we talk about Zubimendi, we should always remember that there is a manager who loves Zubimendi, and that manager is Xabi Alonso,” Romano confirmed.

“Imagine when he was in conversations to become the Bayern manager, he told them, ‘If I am coming, I want Martin Zubimendi.’ So he is a player he loves. One day Xabi Alonso would love to work with Martin Zubimendi, but at the moment, again, that is it.

“And also, to see Arsenal selling to Chelsea, obviously that would take very big money. And for Chelsea, I will keep in mind the name of Alex Scott when we talk about midfielders. So, at the moment, the Zubimendi situation is quiet.”

Finally, Romano provided an update on Kevin De Bruyne, who could be set to leave Napoli during the winter transfer window.

“Keep an eye on Kevin De Bruyne for January,” he said. “Why? Because the Napoli situation in Serie A is quite complicated. They are suffering. They are not performing at the level expected, the level anticipated.

“It has been a complicated start to the season. It is not easy to play for Napoli in this moment, obviously, because the situation is complicated for all the players. So imagine for De Bruyne, also some problems with the teammates. So, not the easiest moment possible.

“The reports from the Netherlands are about PSV Eindhoven, and I can say that it is true that PSV Eindhoven have been calling over the recent weeks, I would say this month, in November, to understand the situation of De Bruyne.

“So they called to say something like, ‘If you want to leave earlier, if you want to leave in January, we would be interested. You can get closer to your place, to your home in Belgium.’ Obviously, the league is not the same as Serie A. The expectations, the pressure are not the same as Serie A, but PSV Eindhoven are still playing at the highest level, playing exciting football. And so PSV Eindhoven would be happy to welcome another big name after they did with Ivan Perisic and more players like De Bruyne.

“Let us see what is going to happen because, obviously, financially, it is a difficult deal. Napoli's position is still important. Napoli are yet to decide if they will give the green light to the exit of De Bruyne in general or not. But for sure, PSV Eindhoven are calling to understand the situation.

“For De Bruyne, there has always been a lot of movement also from MLS. When he decided to go to Napoli, he also had a big proposal from Chicago in MLS, so he had the possibility to go to the US and he decided to go to Napoli. So it is on Kevin De Bruyne to decide, but for sure there is movement around that.”

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