Manchester United have agreed a deal in principle to sign midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid for a fee in the region of £60million.

The Brazil international is set to become the fourth arrival of this window after Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez.

Casemiro, who had three years remaining on his contract with Madrid, brings plenty of quality and experience to Erik ten Hag's midfield after racking up over 300 appearances during nine trophy-filled years at Santiago Bernabeu.

Indeed, the 30-year-old won five Champions Leagues with Los Blancos - scoring against Juventus in the 2017 final - as well as four LaLiga titles and three Club World Cups.

Casemiro struggled to nail down a regular spot following his move to Madrid from Sao Paulo in 2013; spending the 2014-15 season on loan at Portuguese giants Porto.

However, he did not look back after cementing his place in the starting line-up during the 2015-16 campaign, with no midfielder winning more tackles in LaLiga since then (415).

The Brazilian has also completed 368 interceptions in the past seven seasons - with Dani Garcia (399) the sole midfielder to better that tally - while Dani Parejo (1,666) and Sergio Busquets (1,504) were the only players in his position to win possession on more occasions than him (1,462).

Ten Hag has been keen to bolster his ranks in midfield ever since assuming the reins at Old Trafford, with Eriksen's arrival the first piece of that jigsaw.

But by and large it has been a window of frustration for United, who have spent the majority of the past few months pursuing Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong only to hit several bumps in the road.

A deal was reportedly agreed with Juventus for Adrien Rabiot only for that transfer to break down due to the player's excessive wage demands.

That led United to Casemiro, with rumours over the move only surfacing on Thursday.

But the transfer appeared all but done when Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Casemiro had expressed a desire to complete a move away from the Spanish capital.

"We've spoken this morning, he wants to try a new challenge, a new opportunity. I understand this, also the club does," Ancelotti said on Friday.

"Because of what he has done in this club, his desire and due to everything he has done for this team, we need to be respectful of this.

"There are negotiations between the clubs, he is still a Real Madrid player but it looks like he is now willing to depart. If he is departing we have a lot of resources to replace him.

"I've always talked a lot with him in my second time at Real Madrid. I just listened to his desire, I think there's no turning back. This is what he wants."

Manchester United have agreed a deal in principle to sign midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid for a fee in the region of £60million.

The Brazil international is set to become the fourth arrival of this window after Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez.

Casemiro, who had three years remaining on his contract with Madrid, brings plenty of quality and experience to Erik ten Hag's midfield after racking up over 300 appearances during nine trophy-filled years at Santiago Bernabeu.

Indeed, the 30-year-old won five Champions Leagues with Los Blancos - scoring against Juventus in the 2017 final - as well as four LaLiga titles and three Club World Cups.

Casemiro struggled to nail down a regular spot following his move to Madrid from Sao Paulo in 2013; spending the 2014-15 season on loan at Portuguese giants Porto.

However, he did not look back after cementing his place in the starting line-up during the 2015-16 campaign, with no midfielder winning more tackles in LaLiga since then (415).

The Brazilian has also completed 368 interceptions in the past seven seasons - with Dani Garcia (399) the sole midfielder to better that tally - while Dani Parejo (1,666) and Sergio Busquets (1,504) were the only players in his position to win possession on more occasions than him (1,462).

It is easy to imagine how Manchester United landed on Casemiro's name in the week that followed their shambolic 4-0 defeat at Brentford.

United were preyed upon by the Brentford press, giving up three chances and two goals from high turnovers as Christian Eriksen – a false nine in their previous match – ended up as the deepest midfielder and struggled badly.

Through two games, no Premier League side have allowed more shots following high turnovers than United (eight).

At the very least, Casemiro – a five-time Champions League winner anchoring one of the great modern midfields at Real Madrid – should make United harder to play against.

Yet the 30-year-old, whose arrival at Old Trafford appears imminent, possesses a vastly different profile to the previous two midfielders United very publicly pursued – ultimately unsuccessfully.

The progression from Frenkie de Jong to Adrien Rabiot to Casemiro was not a particularly obvious one, but have the Red Devils now ended up with the right man?

No more 'McFred'

Few United fans who have seen their 'McFred' midfield repeatedly overrun in recent seasons would complain about the club recruiting an upgrade on Fred.

The numbers would suggest that is what they are buying in Casemiro, who is comparable to his Brazil team-mate by several metrics.

Only two LaLiga midfielders made more recoveries than Casemiro (230) last season, yet his 8.0 per 90 were topped by Fred's 8.7. Fred matched Casemiro for tackles per 90 (both 2.8) and edged him in terms of interceptions (1.4 to 1.3).

However, Casemiro's physical presence ensured he won 59.7 per cent of his duels, far outperforming Fred's 47.8 per cent.

And the Madrid man, crucially, is more effective with the ball once he has won it.

Carlo Ancelotti's side attempted 43 shots at the end of sequences that started with Casemiro recovering possession, seeing the midfielder lead LaLiga in this regard and trail only Marcelo Brozovic (44) across Europe's top five leagues.

Although just 27.6 per cent of Casemiro's passes were played forward – versus Fred's 30.4 per cent – he was at the heart of so many Madrid attacks.

Casemiro played 34 passes to players who immediately created chances for team-mates, which compared very favourably with Rabiot (12), Scott McTominay (18), Fred (19) and, indeed, De Jong (22).

Carrying United's hopes

There was an obvious appeal to the attempted signing of De Jong, who would have offered something different to the United midfield.

Highly skilled with the ball at his feet, De Jong's carries progressed the play 113.6 metres upfield per 90 last season. United's five midfielders (Fred, McTominay, Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek) have progressed the ball only 384m combined so far this season – or 192m per 90.

Casemiro clearly cannot offer this dynamism either, given he carried the ball just 54.3m upfield per 90 last term.

And United could seemingly still benefit from a player of De Jong's talents, as Casemiro is used to being able to rely on others in midfield to fulfil this role; he was by far Madrid's least progressive midfield carrier in 2021-22, behind Toni Kroos (80.6m), Luka Modric (85.7m), Eduardo Camavinga (91.1m) and Federico Valverde (133.3m).

But considering the difficulties in getting that deal done with Barcelona, United's scattergun approach has at least – via Rabiot – picked out a player capable of helping them both with and without the ball.

No Premier League team has conceded more goals at this early stage than United, while they have only netted themselves courtesy of an own goal.

One man alone may not be able to get United's season back on track, but Casemiro is primed to give it a good go.

Napoli have completed the signing of midfielder Tanguy Ndombele on loan from Tottenham for the duration of the 2022-23 season, with an option to make the move permanent.

The France midfielder joined Spurs in 2019 from French outfit Lyon, where he spent the second half of last season on loan.

Spurs splashed a reported £65million on Ndombele three years ago and could be set for a considerable loss on their investment, with reports stating the fee Napoli will pay if they elect to make the move permanent is £25m.

Ndombele's exit makes the midfielder the fourth senior player to leave Spurs in the current transfer window, following the exits of Steven Bergwijn, Giovani Lo Celso and Joe Rodon.

Napoli, who started their Serie A campaign with a 5-2 win over Hellas Verona, have rejuvenated their squad with a number of additions – with Ndombele becoming the eighth signing of the window.

The Neapolitan side have also drafted in Kim Min-jae, Andre Zambo Anguissa, Mathias Olivera, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Leo Ostigard, Giovanni Simeone and Salvatore Sirigu.

Frank Lampard offered no assurances that Anthony Gordon will remain at Everton beyond the end of the transfer window.

Gordon has been the subject of interest from Tottenham, Newcastle United and Chelsea in recent weeks.

Chelsea made their interest known last weekend, with reports emerging of a £40million bid having been rejected by Everton, who were then said to have turned down an improved, £45m offer.

With Everton having sold Richarlison to Tottenham in June, and with Dominic Calvert-Lewin injured, Gordon has been relied on to lead the line in their opening Premier League games.

Both of those have ended in defeat, to Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, but despite the latest developments, Lampard has no concerns over Gordon's mentality ahead of what might already be a crucial meeting with Nottingham Forest.

Yet when asked if he could guarantee Gordon will remain an Everton player after the window closes on September 1, Lampard told reporters: "You can't ask me to assure anything, that'll be naive for me to assure anything. I might not even be here! Who knows. I don't want to get into hypotheticals."

Everton have so far not brought in a striker to fill in for Calvert-Lewin or effectively replace last season's leading scorer Richarlison, but Lampard hopes it will not have to be a case of choosing between keeping Gordon or raising funds for another attacker.

He said: "Anthony's our player, we're not looking at it like 'where can we go with this deal to improve us?' Anthony's a great player that we've developed, which is a big deal.

"We know his value, because we see the value of players that are moving at the minute. He's a big player for me and the team, I think about what more can we do for the team.

"He's in the squad. Any chat I had with him will remain private and as any player should do, they have to get on with their own game, train well, prepare well.

"He's our player, simple as that."

The future of Gordon's club-mate Dele Alli is also in doubt, with Everton having reportedly agreed to loan the former Tottenham star to Turkish side Besiktas.

Alli signed from Spurs on an initial free transfer in January, though Everton will have to pay £10m once the midfielder reaches 20 appearances. He has only made 13 so far, with just one of those coming as a start.

"There's interest in Dele, that's come out publicly in the last couple of days," Lampard acknowledged. "That's one for us behind the scenes to consider ourselves, and Dele has to consider that. For it to happen it'll have to be right for everybody.

"I think at the moment, people queue up to have an opinion and can get quite negative about it and I don't think that’s really fair for a young man whose talents took him onto the world stage of football and won Young Player of the Year twice, was one of the world talents at a young age. We respect that he needs to keep working and that it's his career."

Casemiro has been left out of Real Madrid's squad for their trip to Celta Vigo as he nears a transfer to Manchester United.

On Thursday, reports emerged that United were confident of striking a deal for Casemiro, who has been crucial to Madrid's success under Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane.

The 30-year-old trained with Madrid's squad on Friday but Ancelotti confirmed at his pre-match news conference that talks were under way with United.

Ancelotti was unsure if Casemiro would definitely be unavailable for Saturday's LaLiga meeting with Celta, but the Brazil international has now been left out of Los Blancos' squad, suggesting the £51million (€60m) move to Old Trafford is close to completion.

Madrid's coach is confident he has the players within his squad to replace Casemiro, and name-checked new signing Aurelien Tchouameni and Toni Kroos as possibilities in the holding role.

Kroos, however, will not be available for Saturday's match, with reports suggesting he has fallen ill with flu.

Thomas Tuchel warned Chelsea cannot afford to trim their squad before the transfer window closes after losing hamstring injury victim N'Golo Kante for "several weeks".

The head coach would be prepared to consider player exits if he can bring in top-class replacements, but until then the likes of Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be staying.

That was the firm message from the Blues boss on Friday, two days out from his team's trip to Leeds United in the Premier League.

He said Kante's injury, sustained in last week's thrilling 2-2 draw with Tottenham, was "quite serious".

"We're talking about weeks, which is not good news," Tuchel said. "We're disappointed and sad because N'Golo was super important and super fit, and he will be out for several weeks."

Armando Broja and Mateo Kovacic are also out of contention this weekend, and while it has been mooted that Chelsea are open to loaning out some first-team players, Tuchel is adamant that should not happen at the moment. Pulisic has been linked with Manchester United.

"We will not comment on our players and will not encourage our players to go out in the moment," Tuchel said

"If I put the chin a little bit up and look at the schedule which is coming, with Southampton during the week and two Champions League matches ... it's coming, it's in front of the door, we will need a lot of quality players to be competitive."

Tuchel's outlook will change if Chelsea can corner their targets and bring them to Stamford Bridge.

"We work together about the reinforcements, but it's never easy," said the German. "It's not that we can wish for something and it will happen. As long as the transfer window is open, there are always possibilities."

Having loaned out Romelu Lukaku to Inter, Chelsea are lacking a proven striker in the number nine mould. The likes of Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz could do a job there, and may have to on a regular basis if Chelsea cannot sign a targetman.

"I believe we can compete with this group, but to be very honest it's one thing to compete once a week and another thing to compete 60 times in a year and three times in a week," Tuchel said.

"For this you need a strong group, and you need players who challenge for their place and their minutes and push each other to the highest level.

"We are very happy about the performance, and we are still active in the market, and we know what can be possible, but if not we will make the very best out of it.

"If we are looking, we're looking for high quality, and we're looking for personality that suits our group and suits our club, and nothing has changed."

Chelsea won 3-0 at Elland Road last season but surprisingly have never won consecutive away league games at Leeds. They were last beaten by the Yorkshire side in December 2002, when a 2-0 loss at Leeds was incurred after an own goal from William Gallas and a strike from a 16-year-old James Milner

Chelsea hoped Broja would be making an early-season impact after returning from his loan to Southampton, but the 20-year-old Albanian striker is on the injured list for now.

"We know enough about him, but it's one thing to perform on a loan and another to perform in a club like Chelsea," Tuchel said. "He's injured again, and that does not help his own ambitions and does not help us in having a clear view of what he can give us.

"Given the size of the squad at the moment, I would say it's a huge chance for Armando to have an impact at Chelsea. I understand this is his clear ambition, his clear goal to make this step here. He has our support, but unfortunately it's the second time he's injured in a short period of time, and he's held back for that reason."

Paco Alcacer has signed a permanent deal with Sharjah FC after agreeing to terminate his Villarreal contract. 

Alcacer's future appeared in some doubt earlier on Friday when Villarreal announced Sharjah had decided to "unilaterally annul" the agreement between the two sides for the forward's loan.

The Spain international, who scored 21 goals in 76 games for the Yellow Submarine following a January 2020 move from Borussia Dortmund, had been confirmed as a loan signing by the UAE Pro League club earlier this week.

Villarreal revealed the collapse of that transfer but soon detailed "an agreement for the termination of the contract" with Alcacer.

This allowed Alcacer to instead put pen to paper on a three-year contract with Sharjah, which he announced on Twitter.

"Thanks @VillarrealCF! I've lived unforgettable moments with great team-mates," Alcacer wrote. 

"Now is time to focus on @SharjahFC to do my best during the next 3 years that I will defend this shirt! I'm convinced that I will enjoy this magnificent experience with my family here in UAE."

Erik ten Hag sidestepped questions over Manchester United's pursuit of Casemiro on Friday, with the Dutchman stating he could not comment on the matter.

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro looks poised to make the move from La Liga to Old Trafford for a reported fee of £51million (€60m).

Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed the Brazil international is set to leave and his arrival would give United a huge lift after a poor start under new boss Ten Hag.

A 4-0 Premier League rout at the hands of Brentford on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion demonstrated the Red Devils' frailties.

Ten Hag refused to give a definitive answer when questioned about a move for Casemiro.

"I cannot tell [you] anything," he stated ahead of his side's home encounter with Liverpool on Monday.

As he prepares for the visit of Jurgen Klopp's Reds - who themselves arrive on the back of a frustrating start to the season - the Dutchman says he has not deviated from his plans despite a thrashing at Brentford that leaves his side bottom of the table.

"Every game is different, but the philosophy and the plan will be the same," he added. "I know the rivalry. We are rivals. We have to win every game, but especially this game."

The former Ajax head coach says United must get the basics right after a shambolic display against the Bees in London.

"I think I made myself clear, I was definitely not happy," he reflected. "You can talk about football philosophy, but the basic stuff has to be good.

"That starts with the right attitude, a fighting attitude on the pitch. I didn’t see that from minute one. You have to bring it every game. A lot went wrong.

"But you don't have to talk about anything when the attitude is not right. It's not difficult to motivate this team. They worked really [well] on the training pitch from the start of the season.

"It starts with yourself. Follow the rules and principles and work hard. If you do that, you will get confidence. We work from game to game.

"We know what is going on when you play against Liverpool, especially when you are Manchester United. You have to be ready."

Villarreal have claimed that Paco Alcacer's loan move to Sharjah FC has been annulled "unilaterally" by the United Arab Emirates club.

Alcacer's temporary transfer was confirmed by the LaLiga side on Wednesday, only for an update to follow on Friday saying the deal was off.

The Spain international joined Villarreal in January 2020 from Borussia Dortmund on a five-and-a-half-year contract, but has scored just 21 goals in 76 games in all competitions for the Yellow Submarine.

Alcacer has suffered several muscle injuries for last season's Champions League semi-finalists and struggled to establish himself in Unai Emery's team.

It appeared to be a new beginning for 28-year-old when the move to Sharjah was announced, but it seems that move has stalled, with no reason yet given for the UAE Pro League club terminating the agreement.

A statement from Villarreal on their Twitter page on Friday read: "Al Sharjah have decided to unilaterally annul the loan agreement they had reached with Villarreal CF for the loan of Paco Alcacer."

Villarreal beat Hajduk Split 4-2 on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off.

Christophe Galtier has warned any further delay in bringing new players to Paris Saint-Germain could scupper his team's chances of glory this season.

Head coach Galtier wants to usher away a number of fringe members of his squad and upgrade the overall quality ahead of a Champions League mission.

Alongside the defence of their Ligue 1 title, the priority for PSG is to land European glory this season, and Galtier has players in mind who he feels can help the capital club achieve their goals.

"Two weeks ago, I said we were expecting three new players," Galtier said on Friday.

The likes of Vitinha, Hugo Ekitike and Renato Sanches have already arrived during the transfer window, while Arnaud Kalimuendo, Thilo Kehrer, Angel Di Maria and Georginio Wijnaldum have left the Parc des Princes.

However, Galtier sees room for further strengthening of his squad, and despite saying he has seen promising signs of progress, the September 1 deadline is looming large. He and football advisor Luis Campos are in close contact, looking for solutions.

Inter defender Milan Skriniar has been strongly linked with a switch to PSG in recent weeks.

Ahead of Sunday's trip to Lille in Ligue 1, Galtier said: "We have identified players who could really help us out. Then there is the reality of the transfer market and both the financial and commercial aspect.

"We have lots of players under contract. That is why the club is looking to the ability to loan players out to different clubs, to reduce the number of contracts at the club.

"That is the first thing. With Luis Campos, we talk every few days about the squad, but there is a time delay between the financial, commercial and sporting sides."

Although PSG have made a rollicking start in Ligue 1, scoring 10 goals across two games so far, Galtier knows they have areas where improvements can be made.

"We are in a rush," he said. "In a week's time, we will be playing every three or four days. The schedule will be very busy. It is not easy to integrate a player when you're playing every three or four days.

"Delaying their arrival could affect our sporting plans. We don't want the squad to be the biggest possible, but with as much quality as possible. We don't want the quality to suffer."

Real Madrid have what it takes in the squad to replace Manchester United-bound Casemiro, according to Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti confirmed on Friday that Casemiro had expressed his desire to leave Madrid in order to join United.

The holding midfielder, who has been crucial to Madrid's success under both Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, is in line to move to Old Trafford for a fee in the region of £51million (€60m), with add-ons potentially taking the deal to £59.4m (€70m).

While Ancelotti has no issues with the 30-year-old's want for a new challenge, Casemiro's departure leaves a void in Madrid's midfield, with the Brazil international having formed a formidable trio with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

That midfield conquered Europe last season and led Madrid to Ancelotti's first LaLiga title, and Casemiro's quality was on show again in last week's Super Cup as Los Blancos defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0.

Casemiro was named man of the match after making nine successful tackles and recovering possession 10 times, which were both game highs.

Since the 2015-16 season, Casemiro has won 415 tackles in LaLiga alone, a far better tally than second-best Saul Niguez (382).

Yet with Madrid having signed Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco and the versatility of Kroos, Ancelotti is confident he already has the options in midfield to plug the gap.

"Casemiro has been a key player, who fits perfectly with Kroos and Luka Modric. It's been an incredible combination for all the success we've had in the last few years," Ancelotti said in a news conference.

"Within the squad we have a lot of good replacements. Tchouameni was signed in order to play in this position. We have some other options like Kroos who can play in this position, as he did in the second year I was here as a coach back in 2014 when we won 22 games in a row.

"Replacing Casemiro with another player with his same skills is difficult but we have other players ready to replace him with other characteristics. They can play in this position, but not with the same skills.

"We need to keep in mind that a player like Casemiro, defensively, is more similar to Tchouameni than Kroos, but Toni has some different characteristics and can also play in that position."

Kroos displayed his ball-winning abilities in the Super Cup, as he regained possession nine times, second only to Casemiro, while also having 120 touches and completing 97 passes.

When it was put to Ancelotti that the former Germany international had previously suggested he does not enjoy playing in a holding role, Madrid's boss quipped: "He has never told me that. If he tells me that, it doesn't matter, he will play there!"

Asked if Casemiro had provided his reasons for wanting to leave, Ancelotti said: "I cannot answer. It's his personal decision, he wants to try a new challenge and he's the one who has to explain this.

"Something similar happened when I was Milan's coach. I was feeling really good but I wanted to try something new, even if I was feeling very well there because that club was a family to me, but I thought about trying something new, a new experience, another league and language. It's personal but I understand it.

"He shows his will for this new challenge. We have to respect it. We are not sad, not angry, but at a personal level when you spend so many years with this kind of player, so kind, so professional, it's normal that you're not happy, but we will show respect for his decision."

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Casemiro is closing in on a transfer to Manchester United, with the Real Madrid midfielder wanting a fresh challenge.

News broke on Thursday that United were confident of striking a deal for the 30-year-old, who has been a mainstay of Madrid's midfield in recent years.

It has been widely reported that a fee in the region of £51million (€60m) has been agreed for the Brazil international, with add-ons potentially taking the deal to £59.4m (€70m).

Casemiro trained with Real Madrid's squad on Friday ahead of Saturday's LaLiga game against Celta Vigo, but in his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti confirmed a transfer is in the works.

He said: "We've spoken this morning, he wants to try a new challenge, a new opportunity. I understand this, also the club does.

"Because of what he has done in this club, his desire and due to everything he has done for this team, we need to be respectful of this.

"There are negotiations between the clubs, he is still a Real Madrid player but it looks like he is now willing to depart. If he is departing we have a lot of resources to replace him."

Asked if he had attempted to sway Casemiro's decision to leave, Ancelotti replied: "No.

"I've always talked a lot with him in my second time at Real Madrid. I just listened to his desire, I think there's no turning back. This is what he wants.

"If everything goes well, the negotiations go well, we just need to wish him the very best.

"It is difficult to speak anyway because I don't know what's going to happen in the next few hours, if he's staying or leaving, but if he leaves we will always be thankful to him because he's been a wonderful player with us."

Only nine days ago, Casemiro was named man of the match as Madrid saw off Eintracht Frankfurt to win the Super Cup.

Though Ancelotti knows Madrid are set to lose a key player, he does not believe the task at hand for Los Blancos this season changes.

"There were some rumours and yesterday I realised this could happen but the plans are not going to change, Real Madrid's plans will always be to fight until the end, compete in every single competition for every single title, and we will do it with or without Casemiro," he added.

"Everybody knows he has been a player for us, and we love the kind of guy that he is."

Should his move to Old Trafford go through over the weekend, Casemiro could make his United debut on Monday against arch-rivals Liverpool, although he still has to undergo a medical and sort his visa.

United have lost their opening two Premier League games, going down 2-1 at home to Brighton and Hove Albion before suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Brentford.

Borussia Dortmund will not sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, according to the club's chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke.

The Bundesliga side had been linked with a move for Ronaldo after it was revealed new arrival Sebastien Haller will miss a significant period due to being diagnosed with a testicular tumour last month.

Haller had been signed as the replacement for Erling Haaland, who left for Manchester City earlier in the transfer window. 

The former West Ham and Ajax striker underwent surgery in the first stage of his treatment, with Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl confirming Haller would be out "for a few months", but adding further treatment plans were still being discussed.

With Ronaldo reportedly angling for a move away from United in order to play Champions League football, links appeared that suggested he could sign a short-term deal at Dortmund, though the club completed a move for veteran striker Anthony Modeste from Koln last week.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Watzke confirmed his admiration for Ronaldo, and even acknowledged the notion as "charming", but ruled out a move for the 37-year-old.

"Cristiano Ronaldo and Borussia Dortmund? That's very charming at first glance. He is one of the greatest players the world has ever seen," he told reporters.

"The only catch is that there is no contact at all between the parties involved and certainly no transfer."

Nottingham Forest shattered their transfer record with a deal for Wolves midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White that could cost the Premier League newcomers up to £42.5million.

The eye-watering move was completed on Friday, with Forest reportedly paying £25million up front and the rest being dependent on performance-related add-ons.

Forest announced 22-year-old Gibbs-White has signed a five-year contract and been handed the number 10 shirt.

It represents a spectacular show of belief in his talents by Forest boss Steve Cooper, who had Gibbs-White in his England team that won the Under-17 World Cup in October 2017.

Phil Foden was also in that side, with both the Manchester City star and Gibbs-White scoring in the final as England beat Spain 5-2 in Kolkata.

Gibbs-White had already made his first-team debut for Wolves at that point, having faced Stoke City as a 16-year-old in January 2017, but his Premier League career record shows plenty of room for improvement.

In 48 top-flight games, including 36 substitute appearances, Gibbs-White has scored just once and managed only one assist.

He was much more productive in the Championship with Sheffield United last season, hitting 12 goals and adding 10 assists from 60 chances created in 37 games, and must show he can carry that form into the Premier League.

Everton were among clubs interested in Gibbs-White before Forest agreed a deal with Wolves, and it has been reported Frank Lampard's side made a late move to try and hijack the deal.

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said on his club's website: "After his successes last season, it was no secret that Morgan declined to sign a new contract at Wolves, but despite that he has always acted with the utmost professionalism and gave everything for the team.

"Morgan leaves as the most valuable Wolves academy graduate in the club's history and will be an inspiration to the next generation of young players in our academy today."

Gibbs-White, who could be in line for a Forest debut against Everton on Saturday, had started both of Wolves' matches this season, though Bruno Lage's team have reinforced their attack with the signing of Goncalo Guedes from Valencia, while midfielder Matheus Nunes arrived from Sporting CP in a club-record transfer on Wednesday.