Confirmed Transfers

This story is only going to dominate the entire summer transfer window from start to finish, so we might as well keep abreast of it now. We know that Real Madrid has its eyes on both Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, but which PSG star will ultimately makes his way to the Santiago Bernabéu?

The latest reports say that it won’t be Neymar.

Presently, it looks like Real will turn to Chelsea’s Eden Hazard — who only has one-year remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge, so the club might have to sell this summer — to remedy the left-hand side of the attack.

The Galaxy had a Designated Player problem. With four LA Galaxy DPs — and only three allowed by MLS rules — the league’s flagship club had to do something before the start of the 2019 season. 

Last year when Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed with the Galaxy, he signed a smaller contract to keep him under DP status because the club already had three DPs: Giovani dos Santos, Jonathan dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini. But Zlatan re-upped his contract in the offseason, putting him in DP money despite the fact the three others remained under contract. 

Orlando City has announced the signing of former Manchester United winger Nani to a three-year contract on a Designated Player deal. The 32-year-old joins Orlando from Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, where he’d scored nine goals and provided seven assists in 26 appearances across all competitions this season.

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey will be playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo next season. After plenty of rumors surrounding Ramsey’s potential switch to the Italian giant seemed like outlandish speculation, news came out Monday that the Welshman signed a pre-contract agreement with Juventus. 

Thank you, @aaronramsey

Having been in the rumor mill for a few days and teased on social media, the Marco Fabian transfer to MLS was officially announced Friday afternoon: The Mexico international is heading to Philadelphia.

Following his $26 million transfer from Atlanta United to Newcastle United, expectations are high for Miguel Almirón on Tyneside. A large part of that is because St James’ Park has been desperate for an inspirational attacker to idolize, but also because the club sits only two points above the drop zone — a predicament that’s thanks in large part due to a haul of only 21 goals in 25 games (the second-worst total in the division).

Tottenham Hotspur, currently third in the English Premier League, has not bought any players in more than a year. Maybe the Spurs could learn a thing or two from Turkish club Elazigspor, which just set the record for most players bought in the closing hours of a transfer window.

For the casual fan watching Europe, the 2019 January transfer window was by no means the most exciting in recent memory. In terms of what it meant for U.S. soccer, it was massive. 

More and more young Americans are heeding the words of one-time USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann and heading to Europe. More and more European clubs are welcoming young Americans into the fold. 

Bayern Munich has signed 17-year-old Real Salt Lake academy product Taylor Booth on a three-and-a-half-year deal, according to Sports Illustrated. Booth is a member of the USMNT U-18 team, and he was a part of the U.S. squad that advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 U-17 World Cup.