The 2015-16 season has barely ended for Spanish sides, but Barcelona are already making the first moves to defend the Liga title they won on the final day by preparing their squad for next term.

While transfer rumours will be ongoing throughout June and July as to who the Catalan outfit will bring in to reinforce one of Europe’s strongest squads, outgoing movements will be equally as important, freeing up squad spaces and wages, bringing in immediate cash for new signings and allowing Luis Enrique to shape the side for another assault on the treble.

One of the likely outgoing players is Alen Halilovic, the Croatian teenager who spent last season on loan at Sporting Gijon. While he helped Sporting avoid relegation, Halilovic is not likely to feature for the first team at Barca next season, and Valencia have made their wishes to sign him perfectly clear, per Spanish outlet Sport.

It isn’t the route to success at the Camp Nou that Halilovic would have envisaged upon when signing, but a permanent move to Los Che doesn’t have to be the end of his dream, and it could work out best for all three parties.

15-16

Halilovic spent the past year in La Liga fighting the drop, which he helped Sporting do on the final day. Throughout the campaign, he played as an attacking midfielder, often centrally in a No. 10 role, though also on the right flank from time to time.

His best traits are well known by now: dribbling and accelerating through the centre of defence and running at opposition defenders and trying to create gaps for team-mates, which he exploits with either incisive through passes or shooting from long range.

Halilovic certainly has a good strike on him, but he doesn’t always make the best choices as to when to shoot and when to release the ball early.

As a young playmaker, that isn’t exactly an exclusive trait to him, and the realisation of when to move the ball should come with further experience and game time.

Indeed, his all-round game suffers from that same inconsistency in execution, with spells of matches often passing the 19-year-old by before he can find time and space to make an impact.

There can be no doubting his commitment and aggression, as he is always willing to fight for the ball and position himself in defensive areas when required to. However, the main focus of his game is very much in the attacking half—and here he did not always shine in a team with admittedly low-quality players but plenty of pace and movement to take advantage of, from the likes of Jony at left wing and Tonny Sanabria in attack.

Barca prospects and summer

In short, Halilovic doesn’t possess the consistency in his game nor the experience in a regular role to suit the Barcelona setup.

It isn’t always easy to immediately transition from a No. 10 role to being similarly creative and influential from the sides of the attack, and while Halilovic could feasibly represent an offensive-minded central midfield option for the team, the gulf in class between himself and Ivan Rakitic is enormous.

It would represent far too big of a step-down in quality and, perhaps more importantly, assurance of a good performance for Barcelona to take that risk.

Put into context, while Rakitic will be championing Croatia’s hopes at UEFA Euro 2016 this summer, Halilovic failed to make the squad.

His agent said the player was “devastated” by the decision, per Sport, but it shouldn’t have been a shock; Halilovic played most of the year with the under-21 national team and didn’t feature in the qualifiers after a half-hour sub appearance in the third group game against Azerbaijan, back in October 2014. In 2016, he has played twice as a sub for the seniors in friendly fixtures.

Ayestaran and Los Che

Being a teenager and not quite being good enough for an international tournament or Barcelona is one thing, but Halilovic does possess talent. 

Rakitic, Luka Modric and Inter Milan‘s (on-loan) Marcelo Brozovic have plenty of talent themselves, so it’s not the be-all and end-all that he isn’t included this time around.

Plenty of other clubs would love to have him at their disposal next season, and despite not being as consistent as he could be, Halilovic showed in plenty of games during the season with Sporting that he was more than capable of having an impact in Spain’s top flight.

Valencia have a long-standing interest in Halilovic, and now that Pako Ayestaran—the club’s third head coach of 15-16—has been confirmed as permanent boss, plans can begin in earnest for next year.

Too many of the Los Che squad flattered to deceive last year, struggling in the bottom half of the table for much of it, and the creative, attack-minded players bear more than a little of that responsibility.

Dani Parejo was well below his best, Andre Gomes was even more maddeningly inconsistent than Halilovic and has been linked with a move away, per the Express, while Denis Cheryshev’s loan has ended and Sofiane Feghouli is out of contract.

A period of upheaval and revamping of the front line is to be expected, and Halilovic would be an intriguing addition to a squad that is largely youthful and exciting but in need of more determination, aggression and self-belief.

Clearly, there is no lack of any of those characteristics in Halilovic.

Future

Still regarded as one of the top young talents in Europe as he is, there’s little chance that Barcelona want to give up on Halilovic at this stage.

He is clear in wanting to be a success at the Camp Nou, too, reportedly preferring to stay as a squad option than move to be a starter elsewhere next season, but common sense must also prevail.

Halilovic simply isn’t going to start games ahead of the likes of Rakitic or Neymar at present, or even Denis Suarez if Barcelona complete that deal, as Sport expects. If Halilovic doesn’t get in his national team’s squad when playing, what are the chances of him doing so when he is benched?

The current preference for big Spanish clubs is to insert buy-back clauses into the contracts of young players sold on elsewhere, allowing a return in the future after progression has been made over a period of one or two seasons.

The upside from a permanent deal as opposed to a loan over this period is, of course, a regular home for the player rather than always looking to the future and wondering where he’ll play the following season, while the selling club—Barcelona, in this case—can immediately invest funds they otherwise wouldn’t receive.

Retaining that ability to call upon Halilovic‘s talent in future, though, seems to remain a core part of Barca‘s plans—and given the inclination of the player himself to make a success at the Camp Nou, it would be no surprise if he continued his progression at the Mestalla before returning to Catalonia after a successful couple of years away.

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Six years is a long time.

In football—a sport that often marks time in four-year World Cup cycles—it’s especially long. A lot of things can change in that period. Teams can rise and fall. Players develop, get hurt, regress, succeed or are ruined. Everything can change in six years.

No one exemplifies that better than Juventus and Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci.

Six seasons ago, Bonucci could not have been at a lower point. Now he’s at the top of his profession—and his evolution could provide be key to how successful his country is at the UEFA European Championship.

If one were to write an article about things Juventus would like to forget about Bonucci, one of the biggest entries on the list would be that he started his career at archrivals Inter Milan.

The Nerazzurri brought him into their youth system from that of his hometown team, Viterbese, in 2005. In an ironic twist, he made his debut for the Nerazzurri on the last game of the 2005-06 season—right before the Calciopoli scandal that would send his future club into its darkest days.

The next season, he didn’t appear in a single league game, although he did find the field in three Coppa Italia matches. He also led Inter’s Primavera side to the Campionato Primavera championship.

During that 2006-07 season, Bonucci was set adrift in the choppy sea of Italy’s now-defunct co-ownership system. Treviso bought half of his rights that January, and he spent 18 months there before Inter brought him back and loaned him to Pisa for another half a season.

After steadily improving, the summer of 2009 provided both a whirlwind and a breakout.

As soon as the summer 2009 transfer window began, Inter announced a blockbuster cash-plus-players deal that sent Bonucci, along with three other players and €17.7 million, to Genoa for Thiago Motta and Diego Milito. The next day, he was sold to Bari on a co-ownership deal along with four other players on various co-ownerships and loans.

Under Giampiero Ventura, he formed an incredible partnership in the center of defense with Andrea Ranocchia, one of the other members of the Genoa diaspora.  Halfway through the season, the Galletti boasted Serie A’s best defense. Ranocchia was hurt around the Christmas break, and he missed the rest of the season, but Bonucci still helped lead Bari to a 10th-place finish.

The summer of 2010 saw both of Bari’s defensive jewels hit the market. Inter, surprisingly, poached Ranocchia rather than bring back Bonucci, the player they were familiar with. Bonucci was bought by Juventus in a cash-plus-players deal that totaled €15.5 million.

He was immediately paired with Giorgio Chiellini, giving the Bianconeri the promise of a dominant defense. But it wasn’t to be—at least not right away.

Most Juventus fans try to block the 2010-11 season out of their memories. Led by manager Luigi Delneri, the Bianconeri started the season well and were as high as second after a late-December win over Lazio. But after the winter break, they collapsed. They only won seven times in the new year, falling to seventh for the second year in a row as the ramifications of Calciopoli truly caught up with them.

Bonucci did not play well. He regressed both statistically and from the eye test. According to WhoScored.com, he averaged 40 percent fewer tackles and almost 25 percent fewer interceptions than he did the year before at Bari. On the field, he looked awful. He was beaten consistently and capped the campaign with an embarrassing own goal against Genoa.

Juve fans looking for someone to blame for a second straight terrible season saw an easy scapegoat in Bonucci. The next season, it was assumed he would be the third choice in the middle behind Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, who had impressed since arriving in January of 2011.

Then something happened that launched Bonucci to stardom.

Faced with a lack of a competent left-back and few wingers to keep the 4-3-3 formation he had started the 2011-12 season with sustainable, Delneri’s successor, Antonio Conte, took advantage of the fact he had three talented center backs on his roster and switched to a 3-5-2.

It was what Bonucci needed to break out. He slotted into the center of the trio and flourished. While still prone to the occasional mistake, he steadily improved. His new position also enhanced the one aspect of his game that was never a doubt: passing.

Bonucci grew up as a midfielder, and his distribution has always been with him. Even before his breakout over the last two seasons, you would be hard-pressed to find a better ball-playing center back.

Since Conte took over Juve from Delneri in 2011, Bonucci’s pass-completion percentage in the league has never been below 86.4. He is particularly good at long passes. Going all the way back to Bari, in all competitions for club and country, Bonucci averages six long balls completed a game.  

That skill is invaluable. If his team is losing the midfield battle, or if an opening simply presents itself, Bonucci is capable of bypassing the midfield and setting up the forwards.

Take as an example the assist he made in Conte’s first game in charge of Italy in September 2014. Bonucci took possession near the center circle and unleashed a long ball that went over everyone but Ciro Immobile, who easily rounded Jasper Cillessen and tucked home the game’s first goal.

On a team as desperate for midfield help as Italy will be during the Euros, having a defender who can pass the way Bonucci can is invaluable. There has even been talk of him moving up to take a midfield role, and the Juve man recently told Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia) he was “intrigued” by the possibility.

It’s unlikely Conte will go that route, but he will certainly rely on him to trigger attacks from the back.

Beyond what he does on the field, Bonucci has also developed as a locker-room presence. At 29, he isn’t a young man anymore. He has played 274 competitive games for Juve in all competitions and has 56 caps for the national team. He’s now a senator for club and country.

It hasn’t always been that way. For a long time, Bonucci was a follower rather than a leader. He took his cues from the likes of Barzagli and Gianluigi Buffon. His focus would slip on occasion, leading to the concession of soft goals. His mind wasn’t developing in time with his talent.

The prime example of this came in 2013, during the FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal against Spain. After 120 minutes of goalless football, both teams went six rounds in the penalty shootout without missing. Bonucci stepped up for Italy’s seventh and the look on his face told everyone what the result would be. He ballooned the shot over the bar, and Jesus Navas ended the match with the next kick.

Compare that Bonucci with the one who showed up the last two times he has been in a shootout. When the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana went to spot-kicks, Bonucci stepped up for Juve’s sixth effort and calmly blasted the ball into the top corner to keep the marathon going.

This March, after Juve nearly blew a 3-0 aggregate lead in the Coppa Italia semifinal against Inter, Bonucci stepped up for the deciding kick  He coolly made his approach and pulled up short, sussing out which direction goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo was going before rolling the ball in to send Juve back to the final.

The mental aspect of the game has finally caught up with what he can do with his feet. The mistakes that had been a regrettable hallmark of his game have all but vanished, and he’s leading from the front. He has captained Juventus several times and even wore the armband for the national team in September after Daniele De Rossi was sent off against Norway.

The national team has its leaders, especially in the likes of Buffon. But in its depleted state, it needs all the spurring it can get.

Between his leadership in the locker room and his unique skill set on the field, Bonucci is arguably the best center back in the game. On a team that will rely on its defense in order to get into the deeper reaches of Euro 2016, he’s worth his weight in gold.

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Floridsdorfer AC won only four games this season in the Erste Liga, Austria’s second division, and were rooted to the bottom of the table from the first matchday on. The club has been relegated back to the regional league from which it emerged in 2014. With the smallest budget in the league, none of this was a surprise.

Floridsdorfer could have done with some help from their most famous son: Marko Arnautovic.

The Stoke City winger’s path from a kid at Floridsdorfer to a talisman for Austria, a potential dark horse for Euro 2016 in France, has not been a simple one.

Floridsdorf is a district in the north of Vienna described by locals as “a village in a city.” Most of Vienna’s population lives south of the Danube, so those in the north—known as Transdanubians—are seen as a little bit different.

Arnautovic‘s father, Tomislav, worked in the stadium canteen at Floridsdorf. Marko spent hour after hour playing with his elder brother, Danijel, on the caged pitch on Hopfengasse, just behind the nearby sports club. Those hours did not go to waste.

Arnautovic is a true Floridsdorfer. He is different. His temperament as a kid and problems with authority almost cost him his career, which began at FAC in 1995 when he was six. He spent three years there, then three at Austria Vienna before spending a year each at First Vienna FC, back at Austria Vienna and then Rapid Vienna.

Reliant on his talent, entitled and unwilling to work, he proved impossible for any of them to handle. According to Austrian magazine Ballesterer, he was labelled “untrainable.”

He was 15 when he returned to FAC and was in the last-chance saloon.

“Every coach had said that you cannot work with him,” Othmar Larisch, a youth coach at FAC at the time, told Ballesterer. “But no one understood how to treat Marko. He came back to us because he knew me and knew that I appreciated him.”

At 16, Arnautovic was already playing for the under-23 side and helping it win its league’s title.

“He is probably the most talented player we’ve ever had,” Larisch said.

“Opinions in Austria used to be divided about Marko because he had very high expectations to live up to,” Floridsdorfer general manager Mathias Slezak told Bleacher Report. “But his performances in England for Stoke City and playing for the Austrian national team have increased the respect there is for him. He is an idol for the young players here even though they are too young to have seen him playing for FAC.”

Dutch club FC Twente wanted to take Arnautovic on trial at the end of the 2005-06 season. After discussing the move with Tomislav, Larisch and his assistant, Walter Kuensel, agreed that Arnautovic should go to the Netherlands. The Enschede club gave him a contract after just two days of a two-week trial.

“It was clear to me very quickly that this was a different type of football, but I really wanted it,” Arnautovic told Ballesterer.

The youth team romped to the Dutch title as Arnautovic scored 27 goals in 32 games. Twente’s first-team coach, Fred Rutten, took notice. The week before the player turned 18, he threw the teenager on for the last 14 minutes of a 2-0 loss at PSV Eindhoven.

“He always looked confident, but at that moment, he was very nervous, and you had to remember he was just a kid,” Rutten told Bleacher Report.

“Marko was not a worker when he was young,” Rutten continued. “That was no problem for me because to develop young players, you have to work with them. He showed a lot of skills on the training pitch, but at the beginning, it was not easy for him because talent alone is not enough. You also have to learn how to work.

“I had to teach him that if you want to be a big player, you can use talent, but also you have to put in some dirty work. At that moment, he had problems with that.”

That summer, in 2007, Austria were playing in two tournaments: the UEFA European Under-19 Championship on home soil and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. Austrian youth coach Hermann Stadler played Arnautovic as a second striker cutting in from the left of a 4-2-3-1, but he had a quiet first game against eventual winners Spain.

The next match was a bad-tempered 1-1 draw with Greece, and Arnautovic was sent off after a second yellow card. In the stands was senior coach Josef Hickersberger, who was not impressed. It set the player back years. He was not picked for the under-20 squad, which finished fourth in a breakout tournament for Rubin Okotie and Zlatko Junuzovic.

The following season, Rutten used the teenager sparingly, bringing him on for about the last 10 minutes of games 13 times but only giving him one start.

Rutten said Twente had a training camp in Arnhem three days before a play-off match. The coach, known for being a disciplinarian, set up two four-on-four matches on a small pitch. But he told Arnautovic that he had to watch the games and could not play in them.

“On that trip, he had only done what he wanted to do. There was no concern for the team or for anything else,” Rutten said. “I knew that he liked that particular game because there were always lots of scoring chances, but I did not let him play. He was very proud, and that made him angry. He tried to take the ball, and I said, ‘No! If you want to be a big player, you need to work.’ That moment was important for him. He will remember it, too.”

Rutten’s message finally got through, and when Arnautovic was 19, he scored three times in his first three Eredivisie appearances and became a regular. He made his debut for the Austria senior team—in a 1-1 draw in the Faroe Islands—one week before his first Twente goal. But in typical style, his path to the national team was just beginning to get complicated.

Following the draw with the Faroes, Austria suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Serbia. Manager Karel Bruckner lost his job four-and-a-half months later. His successor, Dietmar Constantini, gave Arnautovic one game, a 2-1 win over Romania, but he did not play again for Austria for 18 months, a period that included a foot injury and an ill-fated spell at Inter Milan.

But after just one season as a Twente regular, offers were coming in from big clubs abroad. In summer 2009, Twente chairman Joop Munsterman accepted a bid from Chelsea. Arnautovic went to England but failed a medical, which showed he had a fractured foot. Instead, he moved to Inter on a one-year loan with an option to purchase.

The injury slowed his adaptation into the squad, and his behaviour was no help. In a typical incident, he told a Vienna policeman: “Shut up. I earn so much I can buy your life.”

He made three appearances as a substitute, none in Europe, in Inter’s historic treble-winning season. The competition was tough: Diego Milito, Samuel Eto’o, Goran Pandev and Mario Balotelli were in front of him.

Werder Bremen paid €6.5 million for him in summer 2010, and though his time in Germany was peppered with controversy—the last of several incidents that earned the wrath of management was when he called the city “a dump” on TV—it was the period in which he made his mark for the national team.

With Constantini in charge, Arnautovic scored his first two international goals in October 2010 against Azerbaijan. The same month, he scored for Bremen in a UEFA Champions League tie at Twente. In February 2011, he scored for Austria in a loss in the Netherlands.

He has kept his place in the national side ever since and developed a dangerous partnership with captain Christian Fuchs on the left flank of the 4-2-3-1 system under Marcel Koller.

“I know a lot of players with his talent that have not made it,” said Rutten, his first club coach. “But you can see now what he is capable of doing. He can score, create and make things happen. But he also plays with responsibility. He can do big things this summer, and I think he’s ready for a Champions League team as well.”

Arnautovic said that fatherhood—his daughter, Emilia, will be four in July—and the move to England have calmed him down. He joined Stoke for a reported £2 million in summer 2013 and since then has only appeared in newspapers for the right reasons.

“I think if you’ve never met me, then you’d think I was hard work,” he told SoccerBible magazine recently. “People used to say I was arrogant and unfriendly, but now I am friendly and happy to help out.”

Said Rutten: “What has surprised me is that he has become so consistent. In the past, that was harder for him. When I watch him play now, I can see that he’s grown up. It’s nice for me to see a player I worked with become the player I hoped he might be. That makes me proud.”

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Inter Milan centre-back Jeison Murillo has reportedly joined the list of defenders Arsenal will target during the summer transfer window, joining the likes of Napoli‘s Kalidou Koulibaly and Chelsea‘s Kurt Zouma.

That’s according to Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Daily Star‘s Rhys Turrell), who report manager Arsene Wenger wants to add another strong centre-back to his squad during the summer.

Per Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia), the Nerazzurri have to sell in order to comply with financial fair play restrictions, and Murillo and Marcelo Brozovic are the two players most likely to exit San Siro.

Murillo only joined the club from Granada last summer, but after an impressive debut campaign in Serie A, his value has gone through the roof. According to Tuttosport, he could move for a sum around £15 million.

The Colombia international formed a strong partnership with former Atletico Madrid star Miranda at the heart of Inter’s defence, starting 32 Serie A contests, per WhoScored.com. Here’s a look at some of his highlights:

The 24-year-old is tough as nails and displays remarkable athletic ability and passing range for a centre-back. He routinely contributes in the attacking third, and while he’s not a huge threat on set pieces, his defensive prowess and smart movement off the ball make up for that.

Discipline proved an issue last season―he was sent off three times in Serie A, per WhoScored.com―but a lack of strong play from Inter’s defensive midfielders contributed to those numbers.

His ability to distribute the ball makes him a perfect fit for Wenger‘s Arsenal, and his strong physical skills would be a welcome sight at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal fans watched Per Mertesacker get beat for pace too often last season, and that’s unlikely to happen much with Murillo.

What makes the Colombian such an appealing target is his apparent availability, however. The rumoured links with Zouma seem flimsy at best, as Chelsea are unlikely to sell the star youngster to a direct rival, and Koulibaly will likely cost the club a lot more than Murillo.

Per Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football Italia), Napoli turned down an offer from Bayern Munich worth more than £30 million―twice what it will likely cost to bring Murillo to the Emirates Stadium.

Koulibaly was the revelation among Serie A defenders last year, and like Murillo, his ability in the passing game is a major bonus, per WhoScored.com:

Unlike Inter, Napoli have no need to sell―the Partenopei are ambitious, and if anything, they’re more likely to spend during the summer and keep hold of their star performers. That certainly includes Koulibaly, who proved a huge weapon in the defensive-minded Serie A.

Here’s a look at why the Senegal international is such a wanted man:

Between the two, Koulibaly is undoubtedly the stronger aerial presence, but Murillo doesn’t lag behind too much in just about every other department. For half the price and with the club seemingly willing to cash in, it’s a deal Wenger should try to complete before other teams try to hijack it.

Per Turrell, Premier League champions Leicester City have been linked with Murillo as well, while Tuttosport add Stoke City, Everton and Zenit St. Petersburg to the mix.

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Chelsea’s incoming manager Antonio Conte is reportedly keen on landing Inter Milan man Ivan Perisic, who could be available for as little as £12 million.

That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t James Gray of the Daily Express), who stated that the Serie A side will look to move the Croatia international on this summer, although they are keen to at least recoup the aforementioned sum that they parted with to sign the player from Wolfsburg. 

“Conte is said to have his eye on Perisic as he seeks to revamp the squad at Stamford Bridge,” added Gray.

Perisic is an extremely gifted player, and he impressed in spells during his debut term at the San Siro. Here are some of his best moments from 2015-16:

The 27-year-old would be a potentially savvy addition. He can operate across midfield and even as a centre-forward when needed; it’s versatility that epitomises his footballing intelligence, with the player able to find space, control possession and drive at opposition players with a purpose.

In the early weeks of his Inter career, the Nerazzurri supporters didn’t see these qualities too frequently. But as these figures from WhoScored.com show, he started to come good before the end of the campaign:

With that in mind, it’d be peculiar to see Inter cash in on the player, especially for what’d be a meagre amount in the eyes of plenty. Perisic may not have set Serie A alight in his first campaign with the club, but his stock certainly hasn’t regressed; he’s capable of improving a lot of elite sides on the continent.

Additionally, Chelsea probably don’t require a player of his ilk. They already have plenty of talented attacking midfielders, and it’s difficult to see Perisic ousting one of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian or Pedro for a spot in the starting XI at Stamford Bridge.

Borussia Monchengladbach to Break Bank for Andreas Christensen

According to Bild (h/t Uche Amako of the Daily Express), Borussia Monchengladbach are ready to break their transfer record in an attempt to clinch a permanent deal for Andreas Christensen.

The Bundesliga side recently cashed in on skipper Granit Xhaka, who has completed his move to Arsenal. And it’s suggested in the piece that BMG will now use the funds recouped from that sale to make Christensen’s two-year loan deal with the club a permanent signing, with a £15 million fee suggested.

Here is a look at why the German club will be keen to capture the Chelsea defender, who impressed in the first year of his temporary move:

As noted by Football Insider’s Liam Twomey earlier this year, it seems as though the Blues are in no rush to bring the 20-year-old back to Stamford Bridge:

With Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and captain John Terry at the club already, that’s no surprise. While the Denmark international has excelled at Borussia Park, all of the names aforementioned are proven in the Premier League and will be viewed as much more reliable figures by Conte. Another year out on loan would be superb for the youngster’s development, too.

The Blues would surely be wary of agreeing a transfer, though. After all, players like Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne shone on loan away from the club before being sold; Chelsea could definitely do with both of those now. Christensen has the talent to potentially be another player the club come to regret moving on. 

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Manager Jose Mourinho reportedly won’t bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester United when the Paris Saint-Germain striker’s contract runs out this summer.

The new Old Trafford boss has been tipped to sign the prolific Swede he managed at Inter Milan, but the Sunday Times (h/t Uche Amako of the Sunday Express) has reported a different plan: “Jose Mourinho does not want to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic and instead wants a young ‘top striker’.”

Speculation linking United with Ibrahimovic appeared to cool when his agent Mino Raiola told Swedish source Expressen (h/t Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News): “Everyone is harping on about only United, United, United. There are some clubs in England, a few clubs in Europe, clubs outside Europe, but everyone assumes that he must go to Manchester United, but it is not true.”

This is an about-face from both camps after Sky Sports News HQ recently suggested United was Ibrahimovic‘s preferred destination should he move to England:

Still, there are those who believe Mourinho snagging the 34-year-old goal-getter on a free transfer is a good idea. Among them, former Red Devils skipper Roy Keane told ITV (h/t MailOnline’s Adam Shergold): “I think he would be a good signing on a one-year deal. He is a big player, a big character. I have said that United have been lacking a few characters and he would be a good fit there.”

Yet now seems like a better time to promote some youth in United’s attack, especially after 18-year-old Marcus Rashford’s excellent debut season. The teenager, who recently won his first senior England cap, is set to be rewarded with a new contract, according to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone.

Fostering the promotion of talented youngsters, something key to United’s identity, has seemed like an issue for Mourinho, a manager hardly famed for putting his trust in youth. 

But he can soon rebuke those concerns by shunning Ibrahimovic in favour of options closer to their prime, rather than beyond it.

Michael Carrick Wants To Stay At United

One older player many United fans would likely love to see stick around is seasoned holding midfielder Michael Carrick. Out of contract this summer, the 34-year-old has indicated he’d like to stay at Old Trafford and work under Mourinho, per Sky Sports News HQ (h/t Allan Valente of Sky Sports):

There is going to be change, without doubt. He is coming in and he is his own man, he’s got an unbelievable track record and obviously everyone is looking for quick results and that’s how it is.

I’m not sure exactly the situation of who he is bringing in or anything like that just yet, we will have to wait and see on that one. For me, I’m hopeful, no news as of yet but we’ll have to wait and see what happens next week.

Carrick is perfect for Mourinho as a tactically astute midfielder expert at shielding the back four. He’d lend vital experience to a key role in the Portuguese strategist’s first season.

But Carrick’s time with United has appeared up, with clubs such as Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle United and West Ham United said to be interested, according to the Daily Mail‘s Simon Jones.

It would be a wise move for Mourinho to keep Carrick in the fold for one more season. He’s an influential figure in the dressing room and a savvy leader on the pitch. He’d also be an obvious fit at the base of the type of midfield three Mourinho usually favours.

The age of Mourinho‘s first United squad won’t be a concern if he quickly turns the Red Devils into Premier League title contenders again. Striking the right balance between potential and experience will be key.

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Having won both the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia for the second consecutive season, Juventus appear to have made a conscious decision to target UEFA Champions League success next season and improve their performances on the continent.

Being paired against Bayern Munich in the last 16 made that task incredibly difficult this term, but coach Massimiliano Allegri appears determined to not let that setback affect the focus of his team next year.

“We must raise our expectations, bringing them up to where nobody thinks we can go,” the former AC Milan boss said in an interview with Sky (h/t Football Italia), and various reports show that Juventus are taking steps to help achieve that aim.

According to AS, Cadena SER, Sky Sport Italia and a number of other outlets (h/t Football Italia), Barcelona’s Dani Alves will sign a two-year contract with the Bianconeri, while Spanish newspaper Sport (h/t Eurosport) believe his team-mate Javier Mascherano could be set follow him to Turin.

Yet closer to home, a link to a far less recognisable name highlights the seriousness of Juve’s attention to detail, as a move for goalkeeper Antonio Mirante is being touted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

There are a number of reasons why the Bologna man is an ideal target, with his status as a product of the Bianconeri youth sector ranking high among them. Of the current playing squad, only Claudio Marchisio has made the leap to the first team and adding Mirante would bring Juve closer to meeting Champions League quota requirements.

As the rules laid out on the official UEFA website explain, he would be classed as a club-trained player after spending more than three years at Juventus between the ages of 15 and 21, with each team permitted to name four such players each season.

A lack of homegrown talent saw the Bianconeri announce a squad of just 23 rather than the maximum of 25 players in 2015/16, per their official website, and Mirante would clearly help give Allegri more options in this regard.

His arrival would also allow Neto to leave on loan in search of more regular playing time, with La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia) reporting the Brazilian goalkeeper wants to do just that after making only eight appearances since leaving Fiorentina last summer.

Yet the most important fact is that Mirante, after a string of impressive campaigns, could actually help Juventus on the field should he be called upon to do so. During the early years of his career, the 32-year-old spent indifferent spells with Crotone, Siena and Sampdoria before eventually joining Parma in July 2009.

There he established himself as a regular in the starting XI, making 208 appearances in six seasons for the Stadio Ennio Tardini outfit before they were declared bankrupt last year. With his contract declared null and void, newly promoted Bologna would quickly sign Mirante, per Forza Italian Football, and his performances in 2015/16 have fully vindicated that decision.

The Felsinei finished the season in 14th place, yet only seven teams in Serie A conceded fewer goals than their tally of 45, with the 32-year-old undoubtedly playing his part by keeping an impressive 12 clean sheets in his 33 appearances.

Only four goalkeepers—Juve’s Gigi Buffon, Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan), Pepe Reina (Napoli) and Ciprian Tatarusanu (Fiorentina)—could better that mark, with statistics from Fox Soccer showing Mirante’s total of 95 saves also ranked 10th among all players.

He would log a number of superb performances, notably the 3-2 win over Napoli in December and April’s 1-1 draw with an in-form AS Roma, proving each time that he is undaunted by matches against the very best sides.

Mirante may not have the headline-grabbing status of an Alves or Mascherano, but he could prove to be a highly valuable acquisition should he join Juventus, and his former club would be wise to follow up on their interest in him.

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If Yaya Toure is to leave Manchester City this season, it would bring the curtain down on a wonderful period for both the club and the player.

When former chief executive Garry Cook brought the Ivorian to East Manchester for £24 million back in 2010, City were yet to shake off their tag as underachievers. They were two years into Sheikh Mansour’s ownership, but they had won nothing. City’s squad had improved, but it lacked the spark needed to establish a winning mentality, that world-class player with drive and leadership who could provide match-winning qualities.

Toure’s arrival was the catalyst for a period of huge success. City won the 2011 FA Cup, ending a 35-year wait for a major piece of silverware, before a Premier League triumph 12 months later saw them win their first title in 44 years. Since then, an FA Cup final, another league title and two League Cups have followed. Toure has been central to all of it.

And it isn’t just his goals and big-game credentials that have made the difference. Toure, for the four-year period between 2010 and 2014, was probably the finest midfielder in Europe. Who else could match his unique mix of attributes? Power, pace, the ability to beat players, goals and incredibly accurate passing—he brought so much to the side.

No other player in the City squad can match his big-game record. His winner in the 1-0 win over Manchester United in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final was perhaps the most important. That was the day the City fans began to believe Mansour’s takeover was the real deal, that the club could put their past behind them and become a force in English football.

He followed that up with the winner in the final a few weeks later as the banner at Old Trafford mocking City’s wait for a trophy was ripped down. Two goals in the penultimate match of the following season away at Newcastle United were crucial in City’s title win under Roberto Mancini.

His 30-yard bender in the 2014 League Cup final got City back into the game. He scored seven in the last nine games of City’s 2013/14 title-winning season—goals that were crucial to the Blues leapfrogging Liverpool. Even this season, with his powers on the decline, he hobbled up at Wembley to score the winning penalty in the League Cup final against Liverpool—the man for the big occasion. 

It’s an enviable record. Few players reach his level of influence. His remit when he was brought in from Barcelona was to help the club win trophies. Talk about delivering emphatically.

But now the time feels right for him to leave. At 33, he can no longer dominate matches like he once did. He has periods where he proves he remains capable of exerting influence, but the days of no side being able to touch him are over.

Inter Milan are known admirers and could make a move soon, with head coach Mancini understandably keen on a reunion. “The coach knows him very well and he’s a champion, but it’s too soon to tell,” Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti told Mediaset (via ESPN FC). “First we need to know what we want to do. It’s going to be a busy summer of work for the whole club.”

It’s a move that would make sense. The Italian league is slower and less physically demanding. Toure’s vision and passing would see him excel in Serie A.

If he does go, he will do so having been vastly underappreciated. For whatever reason, Toure isn’t universally valued, despite his brilliance over a sustained period. Perhaps the greatest midfielder in the Premier League era, he is often overlooked when experts discuss the very best.

His agent has been an annoying distraction, and he has undoubtedly undergone a decline. But make no mistake: Yaya Toure is a Manchester City legend.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report’s lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.

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Jose Mourinho has been appointed as manager of Manchester United after agreeing to a three-year deal with an option of a further season at Old Trafford.

United confirmed the news via their official Twitter account on Friday:

The Portuguese arrives in Manchester as a replacement for Louis van Gaal, who was handed his marching orders following a disappointing term in which he failed to secure UEFA Champions League qualification, despite leading his team to the FA Cup crown on May 21.

Mourinho‘s appointment to the Old Trafford helm brings an end to the manager’s six-month spell out of the game following his dismissal as Chelsea boss in December 2015.

The former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and FC Porto chief left the west London outfit after winning just four of his 16 league matches in 2015-16, but Mourinho‘s resume still reads as one of the best in the business.

The 53-year-old has won three Premier League titles across two spells with Chelsea and clinched the Champions League at Porto and Inter, and he also claimed every domestic trophy in Spain during his three years with Real.

For the first time in his career outside his native Portugal—where he managed S.L. Benfica and Porto—Mourinho has taken over the domestic rival of one of his former teams and will have a prime opportunity to exact revenge on those doubting his talents with United.

After three lacklustre years under David Moyes and Van Gaal, the Special One faces arguably his most difficult job in football to date as he will be tasked with restoring the Red Devils to their former glory. However, if successful, he could further cement his stature among the greatest managers of all time.

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It all felt hasty and riddled with risk, but that was nothing new. At the Santiago Bernabeu, the most rapid exercise of one-out-one-in was unfolding, a sense of process absent as those in the room were denied the chance to even ask questions.

That, though, was precisely what the event had given rise to; questions. There were hundreds of them waiting to be voiced, none more simple and direct than this: How on earth was this going to work?

“What we have to do, and what I’m going to try to do is make every possible effort to see this team win something this season,” said Zinedine Zidane with a short and sharp statement at his unveiling as Real Madrid manager in January. 

It was an obvious thing to say but a massively complicated one to execute. Zidane, after all, was inheriting a mess, a club beset by dysfunction, politicking and institutional tension. For him, simply staying in the job looked hard enough, and yet here we are less than five months on and Zidane is on the verge of winning something. 

In fact, not just something; the one that means everything. 

On Saturday in Milan, Zidane’s Real Madrid tackle neighbours Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final. It’s the second such finale in three seasons following the 2014 showpiece between these same teams, and for Real, this is the stage that defines them. The one they identify with. Win, and it will be their 11th European title, “La Undecima.”

Remarkable? That they’re even back here, yes. 

Typically a second appearance in a European final in three seasons would suggest dominance, but in this case, it simply disguises to outsiders how staggeringly tumultuous the journey has been from Lisbon to Milan. Between the 2014 final and Zidane’s appointment, the club had essentially hammered the self-destruct button for 18 months and done little but get in their own way for years.

Somehow, though, here Los Blancos are again. And they look good, too: settled, united, structured, in form. 

A rookie has led them here. 

Have they stumbled across the path to glory?

It’s tempting to think so, even if the journey to this point borders on baffling.

On the day Zidane was unveiled back in January, the language used was telling. From president Florentino Perez, there was no talk of experience or previous titles or managerial qualities. Indeed, though there was the typical assertion of the demands at Real, the occasion was nothing like those for Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti or Jose Mourinho.

Instead, for Zidane, Perez said it all with his very first line on the new boss: “There can be no doubt that Zidane is one of the game’s all-time great figures.”

The president may as well have stopped there. With just 16 words, he’d outlined the sole reason for the Frenchman’s appointment, and everyone could see exactly what this was: a Hail Mary. After months and months of taking a sawed-off shotgun to their own foot, Real Madrid desperately needed a symbol, someone the club could hold up and use to inspire belief.

Zidane was that man, but he was also rookie.

All those questions, then? They were extremely valid.  

If there’s one place where a manager needs some knowhow, it’s at the Bernabeu. In no other setting in world football does the same treacherous swirl of self-interest exist, and coach after coach has been claimed by it almost regardless of their experience—the thing Zidane had none of, and which even now he admits he has little of. 

At the club’s open media day on Tuesday, the Real Madrid boss referred to his opposite number Diego Simeone as a manager who’s “got it all,” while also insisting: “I’ve still got a lot to learn, but my eagerness to learn couldn’t be higher. I’m convinced that willingness will make me a better coach. But I have a long way to go.”

Zidane isn’t the only one who recognises that; his players do, too. But they also feel something for him, they connect with him. He inspires something within them. 

“He has not been back for long and does not have that much coaching experience, but he really boosted the team at an important time,” Sergio Ramos told Guillermo Honrubia of UEFA‘s website this week. “The great player that ‘Zizou’ was is something he retains as a coach. We try to implement the ideas he had as a player, which he is now adapting as a coach.”

Cristiano Ronaldo also pointed to a softer touch, an understanding. “He’s clever, he doesn’t talk a lot. Those who talk a lot generally don’t pay a lot of attention,” the Portuguese told Jugones (h/t AS). “He hasn’t got a great deal of experience as a coach, but he’s doing a good job of finding his way, his own style and I like that.”

Who Zidane is and what he represents clearly resonates with Real Madrid’s players.

Steadily under his watch, Los Blancos have developed a sense of identity that wasn’t there previously. They’re more of a collective now. The encompassing idea is stronger. And when the Frenchman has asked for something—effort, intensity, poise, defensive commitment—he’s generally got it. 

In his first 20 league games, Zidane saw his side rack up 53 points, which is the best start for a Real Madrid boss in history. The finish to the season was even more impressive: 17 games in all competitions, 15 wins, 12 straight in the league, and triumphs over Barcelona, Villarreal, Sevilla, Valencia and Manchester City among others. 

“The season has been good,” Zidane told a press conference on Tuesday, “the work put in has been phenomenal.”

“Phenomenal” might be overselling it, but the specifics of how Zidane has steered Real Madrid to this point are extremely significant and suggest something real might be building here. 

When he was appointed, many anticipated that the club would be transformed into some sort of spectacular show. After all, he was the Galactico returning to manage Galacticos. Instead, however, the Frenchman has proved himself to be more pragmatic than most had believed. 

Unfazed by price tags, politics and perceptions over style, Zidane has done it his way and not someone else’s. In that, Casemiro has been prominent. So has Lucas Vazquez. So has Jese. Those forced to periphery include the extravagantly expensive James Rodriguez and Isco, with Zidane prioritising balance and functionality over glamour and flair. 

Because he can. 

Unlike his predecessors in Benitez and Ancelotti, the club icon carries genuine authority. Much of that is due to his status, of course, but the nature of his appointment has helped, too. Indeed, the Hail Mary that Perez opted for when appointing Zidane has strengthened his position. It was the only move Perez had, and the president was also the one who’d eagerly pushed the former Ballon d’Or winner along this path. 

He can’t exactly rip it up now. 

That empowers Zidane, then. It gives him the sort the authority Mourinho commanded but without the combustibility

Thus, what Real Madrid might have—and this is the crucial bit—is a counter-balance to Perez. 

In the absence of a sporting director, it’s been the president’s impulsiveness that has stood at the heart of Real Madrid’s underachievement during his reign: The Galactico obsession has continued; managers have come and gone with alarming frequency; continuity and stability have been scarce on almost every level.

Some of that will inevitably continue, but Zidane has shown he owns the force of character to challenge and temper it. Through his team selections he’s demonstrated that, while in press conferences, he has at times even confronted the club’s issues and the manner of the club’s operation. 

It hasn’t gone unnoticed, and if he can help Real Madrid get out of their own way, the club’s potential is immense. 

Indeed, it’s the little details that have held Los Blancos back, but away from the Galacticos and the managerial revolving door, there’s quietly been a sense of something building in Chamartin. 

Last August, when the club signed Mateo Kovacic from Inter Milan, we noted here at Bleacher Report that his purchase was the continuation of a trend. The Croatian, after all, was 21 at the time and became the latest player to arrive at the Bernabeu between the ages of 16 and 24 in the space of two years. 

The others: Gareth Bale, Isco, James, Vazquez, Asier Illarramendi, Daniel Carvajal, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Lucas Silva, Martin Odegaard, Danilo, Marco Asensio and Jesus Vallejo. Then there’s Raphael Varane in the same age group, as well as the academy products in Jese and Borja Mayoral.  

Not all of those men are still in place, of course, and more could depart this summer. But as a group, they’re evidence that Real Madrid are constructing something. A foundation. A model. A core with genuine depth that is there to be moulded. 

Is Zidane that man for that? Maybe.

Until now, the absence of a stable figure with authority had left a feeling that much of that foundation-setting would be wasted and ripped up year after year. But now things look different. Zidane has settled the squad. On the pitch, there’s an identifiable structure; off it, there’s a certain harmony now evident. And the significant upheaval that once loomed for the coming summer now appears far less likely. 

So here we are, then. Zidane has power. He has popularity. He has colossal resources at his disposal. And already in place for him is a squad loaded with top-end talent and a youthful core. 

Real Madrid might have just stumbled across a path to glory, if only they can stay on it. 

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