Transfer news LIVE: Man Utd snubbed by £52m gem as Arsenal push for first signing

Jordan Henderson’s time at Ajax could come to a premature end this summer – just as his time in Saudi Arabia did.

The former Liverpool captain quit Al Ettifaq in January just months after moving to the Saudi Pro League. He left to join Dutch giants Ajax on a free transfer.

But the 33-year-old’s time in Amsterdam has not gone to plan and Ajax can finish no higher than fifth, meaning they cannot qualify for the Champions League.

They may also miss out on the Europa League and Ajax may be forced to offload their highest earners to ease financial concerns.

Henderson is thought to earn £85,000 a week and while the club do not want to sell him or Steven Bergwijn, The Athletic say they may be forced to in order to avoid problems further down the line.

Kylian Mbappe is closing in on his long-awaited move to Real Madrid after officially announcing last night he will leave PSG this summer.

The World Cup winner, 25, has been linked with Los Blancos for years.

And they’re finally set to get their man in the next few weeks. HITC say Real Madrid are putting the finishing touches to a deal.

The move is expected to be officially confirmed prior to Euro 2024 and he will join on a free transfer.

There are reports the Frenchman will earn well over £100million in signing-on fees and that he could be paid twice as much as the club’s current highest earners.

His salary could see him bring in £21.5m a year after tax – or in other words, over £400,000 a week.

Arsenal are making a concerted effort to sign Jorrel Hato from Ajax, the 18-year-old defender they were keen to buy last year.

The Dutchman recently signed a new contract in Amsterdam to keep him at Ajax until 2028.

But the Gunners are nonetheless ready to try their luck for the £19million-rated player, per Fabrizio Romano.

He told his Here We Go podcast: “There is a player they’re after and he’s playing at Ajax, he’s a centre-back and it’s Jorrel Hato.

“Hato signed a new deal with Ajax a few months ago, Ajax are obviously more than happy with him and hoping to keep Hato at the club in the summer.

“But Arsenal are still following him, they’ve tracked him multiple times. They believe he is a top, top centre back in terms of potential, so keep an eye on Arsenal.

“They are still pushing on Hato and they believe they are frontrunners in the race to sign him. Let’s see if they can make it happen this summer, or has to be in the future, but Hato remains one of the priority names on Arsenal’s list.”

Manchester United had a deal in place to sign Xavi Simons last summer only for the player to reject them.

That’s according to new reports coming out of Germany.

BILD report that United had an agreement worth £52million with PSG to sign the Dutch forward.

The French giants re-signed Simons from PSV after utilising a buy-back clause. He has spent this season on loan at RB Leipzig where he has thrived.

And the 21-year-old with nine goals and 15 assists this term could be a United player by now – but said no to joining them 12 months ago.

That’s despite the Red Devils having agreed a fee with PSG for the winger.

Good morning and welcome to Express Sport’s latest daily transfer blog!

It’s Saturday and it’s the penultimate weekend of the 2023-24 Premier League season.

That means we’re just weeks away from the opening of the transfer window, and gossip is coming in thick and fast.

Stick around for the best of it…