Reports in Brazil say Barcelona will sign midfielder Lucas Lima

According to journalist Benjamin Back on Fox Sports Radio, Lucas Lima will be a Barcelona player for the next four seasons. The midfielder is out of contract with his current club, Santos, at the end of the year and will join in January, when the winter transfer window opens.

Even though he won't come until then, Lima can legally sign a deal with Barça on July 1. The player is the former boyfriend of Neymar's sister Raffaele and his agent is the Barça star's father, who has reportedly recommended his Camp Nou arrival.

Lima is a 26-year-old midfielder (he turns 27 in July) and is 1.76m tall. A Brazil international (he played against Argentina recently), he currently plays for Santos after aspells with Inter de Limeira, Internacional and Sport Recife.

He has previously been linked with a move to Real Madrid and has also been the subject of interest from the Chinese Super League. In 2016 there was also links to Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich

Jovetic heading back to Inter as Sevilla can't match his wage demands

Stevan Jovetic is heading back to Inter, as Sevilla warned “we are seeking an alternative, as we cannot match Inter’s fee and his wage demands.”

The 27-year-old Montenegro international spent this season in Spain on loan, contributing seven goals and five assists in 29 competitive appearances.

This deal included a €14m option to buy, but it seems to be beyond Sevilla’s capabilities.

“It’s a bit of everything and not just one reason,” director of sport Oscar Arias told ABCSevilla.es.

“We could handle a higher wage than what we’re offering now, but only if we didn’t have to pay a transfer fee. Or, the other way round, we could pay the fee if the player’s wage demands weren’t so high.

“In our business model, we must keep costs contained. We don’t have the wage budget of a Manchester City, Barcelona, Chelsea or Real Madrid.

“We can make an effort, as we did with Jovetic, but always within the parameters. We must be realistic and admit that at times some things simply cannot be.

“It’s a complicated situation, as the player earns very high wages and Inter are asking for an equally high transfer fee. We are not ready to, nor capable of, taking on such a burden. We’ve already reached our limit.

“If it cannot be, then it cannot be… we wish Stevan good luck for his future career and now seek an alternative.”

Barcelona target Verratti reportedly tells PSG he won't return to Paris

"I won't return to Paris, I want to go to Barcelona." Marco Verratti has reportedly sent this clear message to the PSG hierarchy, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport as he looks to force a move to Camp Nou. An operation which the French club will not make easy.

While the player has decided to be discrete with his comments in public while on holiday in Ibiza, Verratti is aware that PSG don't usually sell their best players so decided to sent the message to the club. The answer was as expected: 'We don't sell."

In fact, president Nasser Al Khelaifi is apparently keen to improve his contract at the club in a bid to ward off Barça's interest.

But the reality, according to Gazzetta, is that Verratti will be strong. Barcelona want the midfielder and the midfielder wants to play at the Catalan club to continue growing as a player.

"Let me go to Barça, I won't come back to Paris," is more or less the message which was transmitted, as explained by the Italian paper.

Verratti has taken, therefore, an important step and has told PSG that "the time has come to fulfill my dream and play and win things alongside [Lionel] Messi." Gazzetta add

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Spain U21s 5-0 Macedonia U21s: Asensio fires stunning hat-trick

Real Madrid star bags a treble as Spaniards fire out a warning to every other nation with thumping start to Euros

SPAIN fired a warning to every other nation as they thumped Macedonia 5-0 in their opening match of the European Under-21s Championship.

A hat-trick from Marco Asensio and strikes from Saul Niguez and Gerard Deulofeu fired Albert Celades’ side to victory.

Despite the dominant scoreline, La Roja had to withstand several scares of their own as the Macedonians attempted to take the game to their opponents.

Keep up to date with all the latest news, gossip, rumours and done deals in live transfer blog HERE

In fact, up until the opener on ten minutes, it was they who were in control.

Boban Nikolov fired one wide of the post before Saul’s stunner broke the deadlock.

The Atletico Madrid midfielder acrobatically met Jose Gaya’s cross with a superb overhead kick and powered the ball past the goalkeeper.

If Ronaldo does decide to leave, who could possibly replace him?

An 'outraged' Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly decided to leave Real Madrid after he was accused of defrauding Spanish tax authorities out of 14 million Euros. If he does decide to leave, who could possibly replace him? 

Kylian Mbappe

The world's most wanted player. Real Madrid were heavily linked with the young Monaco striker before Ronaldo signalled his intention to leave. His departure could firm up Real Madrid's interest and also fund a world record transfer. 

Likelihood: 9/10

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Perpetually linked with a move away from Borussia Dortmund, the striker was reportedly close to a move to PSG until the deal fell through earlier this week. Would cost marginally less than Mbappe and is a proven goalscorer at European and domestic level.

Likelihood: 8/10

Robert Lewandowski

The Pole put to pen to paper on a new-five year contract with Bayern Munich only last year, but that's unlikely to deter a club of Real Madrid's buying power. Was heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu before opting to join Bayern from Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund side.

Likelihood: 6/10

Alexandre Lacazette

Lacazette was on the verge of completing a big-money move to Atletico Madrid before their transfer ban was controversially upheld in court. The Frenchman looks destined to leave Lyon, but his destination remains up in the air with Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona all reportedly interested.

Likelihood: 5/10

Paulo Dybala

Juventus' Argentinian playmaker was hugely impressive in their route to the Champions League final. Despite his goalscoring record the 23-year-old would not represent a like-for-like replacement for Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane may prioritise acquiring an out-and-out number nine rather than a tricky, play-making number ten like Dybala.

Likelihood: 5/10

Sergio Aguero

Another potential target who has strong links to Atletico Madrid. Aguero's Man City future looked up in the air at one point following the arrival of Gabriel Jesus, but the club's chairman recently insisted the striker was crucial to the club's future plans.

Likelihood: 4/10

Diego Costa

Big, strong and prolific in front of goal, Diego Costa represents a fitting replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. Costa's self-professed love for Real Madrid's city rivals, Atletico, means a move to the Bernabeu would be highly unlikely. 

Likelihood: 4/10