Transfer news LIVE! Rashford close to Man Utd exit, Chilwell leaving Chelsea, Arsenal hit by striker blow

Chelsea have recalled David Datro Fofana from his loan spell at Turkish club Goztepe due to a major knee injury that will rule him out until next season.

The Ivory Coast international will now do his rehabilitation at Cobham, which also frees up an international loan spot for Chelsea to send another player overseas on a temporary basis.

Fofana scored two goals in nine matches in the Turkish Super Lig this season and has previously had spells on loan at Burnley and Union Berlin since his £10m move from Molde in 2023.

Manchester United have signed England Under-19s defender Ayden Heaven from Arsenal.

The 18-year-old, who cost an undisclosed compensation fee, has inked a four-and-a-half-year contract and will link up with the first-team squad.

Heaven joined Arsenal as a 13-year-old in 2019 and made his senior debut against Preston in the Carabao Cup in October.

“I am incredibly proud to join Manchester United. I’m grateful to everyone who helped make this dream a reality,” he said.

“There is so much that I want to achieve in the game, I’ll be giving everything to continue my development and become the best player that I can be.”

Chelsea are interested in Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, although any move is likelier in the summer.

There may also be competition at that point from Manchester United, who have a long-standing interest in the Swiss international.

Chelsea have started to consider their goalkeeping situation after some high-profile errors from current No. 1 Robert Sanchez.

Despite Enzo Maresca publicly backing the Spanish shot-stopper, the Blues have identified Kobel as a candidate who fits a lot of the criteria they prefer in a goalkeeper.

Dortmund are nevertheless resistant to even considering anything for the 27-year-old right now, especially in the midst of a run to the Champions League play-off round, with Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk securing 10th place in the table.

If the Arsenal and Manchester City squads are readying themselves for “war” on Sunday, the mood isn’t that different off the pitch. There are few polite niceties there. This is probably the club relationship with the deepest animosity in the Premier League, and even worse than some notorious rivalries from the past.

September’s 2-2 draw had more fallout than any other match this season so far, and that’s despite this campaign’s many refereeing controversies. One official at a rival club even marvelled at how the fallout had gone into “day six”. That 2-2 had opprobrium about referees and much more, including a farrago over footage of Arsenal executive vice-chairman Tim Lewis leaving his seat without shaking hands with City counterparts. There was some irritation about that in north London, especially since they feel City’s senior figures don’t always welcome them.

Borussia Dortmund have made a loan move for Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, according to the BBC.

The 21-year-old midfielder isn’t wanted by Enzo Maresca and a loan deal to the Bundesliga side could include an option to buy.

Chukwuemeka joined Chelsea from Aston Villa in 2022 and signed a six-year contract but has made just four appearances this season, none in the Premier League.

The Blues have also left open the option of sending Chukwuemeka on loan to their partner club Strasbourg, who are also owned by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

Pep Guardiola insisted his relationship with Mikel Arteta is “exceptional” as he shrugged off suggestions Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal on Sunday is a grudge match.

The Catalan also said City may carry on spending, despite paying out £122m in the January transfer window to bring three players to the Etihad Stadium.

“Financially we were stable for the last seasons, still right now even with the investment we have done we have a big net profit for the last five seasons.

“So that is why we have done it and maybe in the future we will continue to do it because the club have moved financially really well over the last five years incredibly well in terms of sales but also players who make an incredible performance for the club and who have helped us to win what we want.”

Quanda is just 17 but the Portugal youth international is a player Ruben Amorim knows well from his time at Sporting.

The report says that Quenda has been identified as a player who can fit into Amorim’s system – but he may not be available until the summer.

Quenda has received interest from other clubs and is valued at around £35m.

Arsenal are still leading the race for Rosenborg’s Sverre Nypan, but the 18-year-old will not be on the move this month.

According the Athletic’s David Ornstein, no agreement has been made over a January transfer, despite interest from Arsenal and Girona.

A move looks likely, but not before the deadline. Ornstein says Nypan will remain at Rosenborg and consider his future.

Apparently so, according to Villa’s transfer guru Monchi. He was on Spanish TV station Cope last night and has confirmed there is interest in the Chelsea player, as well as PSG’s Marco Asensio.

“They are similar players, who Unai Emery likes. Asensio was tried by Aston Villa before I arrived. Last summer we were close to Joao. Neither of them are easy because in terms of salary and cost they are not simple.

“If there is a coach in world football who recovers players, it is Unai Emery. He has been able to recover talents. Joao Felix has talent, and it is only a matter of finding the right environment to bring out the best version of himself. And Unai works very, very well on that.”

Arsenal have blocked Kieran Tierney from returning to Celtic, according to the Telegraph, with the left-back set to complete the season at the Gunners before rejoining his boyhood club.

Tierney will return to Celtic in the summer but there were talks about bringing that forward, with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori first choice at left-back.

But the Telegraph report that Mikel Arteta will not allow Tierney to leave his squad without a replacement, given Arsenal’s position in the title race and Champions League.