The Saudi Pro League has big plans to sign Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid‘s Vinícius Júnior, while Arsenal and Chelsea have held talks about a potential move for Atlético Madrid striker Julián Álvarez. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

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TRENDING RUMORS

– The Saudi Pro League (SPL) wants to focus on signing Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior this summer, according to The Daily Telegraph. Meanwhile, TalkSPORT claims they have plans to bring in 50 “peak-age foreign players” and a host of older players as well. The report names Salah and Vinicius Jr. as well as Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, and Manchester United midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro. Al Ittihad could be one club in particular that is set for a major revamp with star players N’Golo Kanté, Fabinho and Karim Benzema potentially leaving.

– Arsenal and Chelsea have held talks about a potential move for Atletico Madrid striker Julián Álvarez, according to TEAMtalk, with the 25-year-old growing increasingly frustrated by life at the Metropolitano Stadium. Alvarez’s preferred option would be to join Barcelona, and the Catalan club admire him, but their financial situation would complicate any potential deal. Paris Saint-Germain also like the Argentina international and are aware of his situation, while if Alvarez were to consider a move to the Premier League it would only be for a club based in London.

– Chelsea are considering a move to sign Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz on loan for the rest of the season, says The Athletic. Luiz, 27, is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest and, despite not being a regular starter at the City Ground, the Brazil international is viewed as a player who can add quality and depth to the Chelsea midfield. Luiz’s loan at Forest includes a conditional obligation to sign him permanently based on a set number of appearances and a €30 million option if that number isn’t hit.

– Following Manchester United’s announcement that Casemiro will leave Old Trafford when his contract expires this summer, The Daily Mail has reported that LA Galaxy is one of the clubs to have shown an interest in signing the midfielder. The 33-year-old reportedly has interest from the Saudi Pro League, Brazilian Serie A and MLS, but his preference is to remain in Brazil, according to ESPN Brasil. Sources have also told ESPN that Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Crystal Palace‘s Adam Wharton and Brighton & Hove Albion‘s Carlos Baleba are three of United’s options to replace him.

– Liverpool see Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton as an option for the summer transfer window if he becomes available, according to The Daily Mail. The 21-year-old could be the Eagles’ next big departure, after captain Marc Guéhi‘s £20 million move to Manchester City and the fact sources have told ESPN that star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta wants to leave. Even so, Liverpool will face competition from Real Madrid, Man United and a host of other top clubs for Wharton and will have to meet a valuation of around £80 million.

DONE DEALS

To follow…

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OTHER RUMORS

– Corinthians defender Iago Machado, 16, is being tracked by Arsenal. (Globo)

– A final decision regarding Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee is expected soon, with Roma among the clubs still wanting to sign the 24-year-old on loan. (Florian Plettenberg)

– Internazionale see Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as the perfect replacement for Yann Sommer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

– Fenerbahce have given the green light for Juventus to sign Youssef En-Nesyri on loan with an option to make the deal permanent. The package is worth €25 million plus bonuses and Juve are now in advanced talks with the striker. (Nicolo Schira)

– Juve haven’t given up on Jean-Philippe Mateta but have informed Crystal Palace that they won’t offer above €33 million for the striker. The proposal is a loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent if they qualify for the Champions League. (Nicolo Schira)

– PSV Eindhoven are reluctant to let winger Ivan Perisic join Internazionale, but the Nerazzurri‘s chances of completing a deal could improve if PSV don’t reach the Champions League playoffs. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

– Roma have made an offer to sign Al Shabab winger Yannick Carrasco on loan with an option to make the deal permanent. The 32-year-old would like to return to Europe but his wages could be an issue. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

– Bayer Leverkusen want to replace goalkeeper Mark Flekken, and the options being considered are Manchester City pair James Trafford and Stefan Ortega, plus Chelsea’s Filip Jorgensen. (Kicker)

– Crvena Zvezda midfielder Vasilije Kostov, 17, is being tracked by Arsenal in addition to receiving interest from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. (Mirror)

– Barcelona have finalized a deal for 18-year-old Al Ahly striker Hamza Abdelkarim, with it being a loan with the option to sign him for up to €3m while that figure could rise to €5m due to performance-related bonuses. (Mundo Deportivo)

– Juventus view Sevilla full back Juanlu Sanchez as a back-up to Pierre Kalulu if the club are open to a loan with an option to make the deal permanent. (Sky Sports Italia)

– Toulouse have rejected Wolfsburg’s raised offer of €23 million to sign defender Charlie Cresswell as they want over €30 million. (Athletic)

– Roma, Nice and Marseille have asked for information about 18-year-old Chelsea full back Genesis Antwi. (TEAMtalk)

– Nottingham Forest have agreed a loan deal with Napoli for 6-foot-7 striker Lorenzo Lucca, which includes an option to make the deal permanent for around €40m. (Athletic)

– Cruzeiro winger Kaua Prates, 17, has reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund. (Nicolo Schira)

Indiana football claimed the school’s first-ever national championship earlier this week. The Hoosiers’ stunning rise has sparked questions about which program could be next.

Urban Meyer, who coached Florida and Ohio State to national championships, made his pick. The college football studio analyst believes Rutgers could be the next program to take the sport by storm, saying the Scarlet Knights are in prime position to become the “next Indiana.”

“Give me three programs that could be the next Indiana, meaning teams that are used to losing, have really bad records and can somehow rise from the ashes to become national champion,” Meyer said on “3 and Out,” a  podcast Meyer co-hosts alongside Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone.

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The Hoosiers’ rise from college football’s most loss-laden program to dominance started last season, when Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington and coached Indiana to its first playoff appearance.

Indiana was defeated in the first round by last year’s eventual national champion runner-up Notre Dame. But the latest edition of the playoffs was a much different story. Indiana dominated Alabama in the Rose Bowl before soundly defeating Oregon in the semifinals.

The Hoosiers then outlasted Miami in this past Monday’s title game to secure a 16-0 record and claim the national championship trophy.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights football helmets sit on the field during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on Oct, 7, 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports)

Meyer worked with Rutgers coach Greg Schiano at Ohio State, with the current Rutgers head coach serving as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator for three seasons. In addition to the Scarlet Knights, Meyer also named Rice and Wake Forest as programs that could go from among the worst teams to the best.

INDIANA’S CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: A HISTORIC RUN BY THE NUMBERS

“I have no idea about Rice, no idea about Wake, but I’m going to throw them out there because if Indiana can, they can,” Meyer added. “But I will say Rutgers because Greg Schiano — who I’m biased; he’s a great friend and a great football coach — he had him in the top five in the country at one point in (2006).”

Urban Meyer on the sidelines prior to the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff between the Oregon Ducks and the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 9, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)

Rutgers got off to a 9-0 start in the 2006 season and surged to No. 7 in the AP Top 25. After winning the Texas Bowl, the Scarlet Knights finished the season ranked No. 12.

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Rutgers ended its most recent season with a 5-7 record. The school’s 708 defeats currently rank third on college football’s all-time list. Despite recent success, Indiana still leads college football’s all-time losses list. Rutgers is scheduled to play Indiana in 2026.

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” he said on Wednesday’s edition of his Triple Option podcast.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri gambling regulators on Thursday rejected a request from the NCAA to restrict bets on the performance of college athletes in response to recent betting scandals, but left open the possibility of revisiting the issue as the state’s fledgling sports betting market gets better established.

The action by the Missouri Gaming Commission came just a week after the NCAA sent a letter to state gambling oversight boards asking them to ban college athlete prop bets – a popular type of wager focused on what individual players will do in a game, like scoring a certain amount of points in basketball or surpassing a particular passing yardage in football. The NCAA also urged states to ban certain other specialty bets, such as wagers on whether a team will trail by a particular point spread at halftime of a game.

The NCAA contends such bets are ripe for manipulation by athletes facing pressure, harassment or bribes from bettors. It pointed to last week’s federal indictment of more than two dozen people for alleged bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy in a scheme that involved more than 39 players on more than 17 NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams attempting to rig more than 29 games.

But Missouri gambling regulators said they didn’t want to change the state’s rules less than two months after legal sports betting launched in the state. Missouri became the 39th – and latest – state to allow sports betting on Dec. 1 under a state constitutional amendment that narrowly won voter approval.

“I just don’t feel that I have enough information to grant a request by the NCAA to prohibit this type of sports wagering, because I don’t know enough yet,” commission chair Jan Zimmerman said.

Legal sports betting has spread quickly across the U.S. since the Supreme Court cleared the way for states to adopt it in 2018. Through the first 11 months of 2025, legal sportsbooks generated $15 billion in revenue, up over 17% from the same period a year earlier, according to the American Gaming Association. Missouri has not yet reported its initial sports betting revenues.

State prop bet rules vary greatly

Prop bets on professional athletes are currently allowed in every state that has legalized sports betting. But states have widely differing rules for bets on college athletes.

More than a dozen states place no limits on collegiate prop bets while nearly an equal number prohibit all such bets. Missouri is among several states that fall somewhere in between. It prohibits prop bets on athletes playing in games involving Missouri colleges and universities but allows them for all other collegiate games.

The NCAA in 2023 began encouraging states to adopt restrictions on bets involving college athletes. Since then, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio and Vermont have joined the ranks of states banning individual prop bets on college athletes.

NCAA President Charlie Baker said in his recent letter to state gambling regulators that his office “regularly hears concerns from schools and student-athletes across the country on the impacts of sports betting,” including about prop bets.

Sports betting firms oppose restrictions

In written comments to the Missouri Gaming Commission, a sports betting industry group said its members played an integral role in detecting and disclosing to authorities the unscrupulous betting involved in last week’s indictment.

Rather than providing grounds to restrict bets on college athletes, the Sports Betting Alliance said the case highlights how legal sportsbooks can help catch instances of wrongdoing that might otherwise go undetected if people placed prop bets through unregulated bookies.

The alliance – which includes Bet365, DraftKings, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming – argued that the NCAA’s request didn’t meet Missouri’s criteria for regulatory revisions and “should not trigger a radical change” to the state’s new sports betting industry.

Others also expressed opposition to the betting limits backed by the NCAA.

Restricting prop bets on college athletes would drive gamblers to “offshore and illegal operators” with fewer consumer protections, Kansas City sports wagerer Chuck Kucera said in written comments to the commission.

“The NCAA’s efforts would be better directed toward player education, internal compliance, and enforcement of its own rules,” Kucera wrote.