Chelsea's Pulisic close to AC Milan move, Bayern ready for clear-out to sign Kane

The transfer rumour mill is in full swing with daily stories of players coming and going.

Each weekday we'll bring you the best transfer gossip and the likelihood of those transfer stories bearing fruit.

Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic is set to undergo a medical in the next 24 hours ahead of a transfer to AC Milan, as reported by ESPN. Milan went close to Chelsea’s valuation of £20 million to see off competition from Juventus, Lyon, and Galatasaray after Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Arsenal had turned down the chance to sign the 24-year-old United States international. Pulisic will immediately reunite with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who last month left Chelsea for Milan.

An agreement between Manchester United and Inter Milan for the transfer of goalkeeper Andre Onana is getting closer, according to Calciomercato. United have already offered €55m but Inter want €60m, while the 27-year-old goalkeeper has already agreed on a long-term deal at Old Trafford that will see him more than double his current salary.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is reportedly close to agreeing a move to Al Hilal. AFP

The documents are in place for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to sign for Al Hilal, as reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano. The Serbia international will join the Saudi Arabian club on a three-year deal, with the contract signing and medical still pending ahead of the €40m transfer being confirmed. The 28-year-old would become Hilal's third major signing of the summer following Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly.

An unnamed Saudi Arabian club has offered Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski a three-year contract worth between €10m and €12m-per-season, reports Calciomercato. The 29-year-old is entering the final year of his contract, with Maurizio Sarri also seeing the Poland international as a potential replacement for Al Ahli-bound Milinkovic-Savic at Lazio.

Bayern Munich are prepared to sell several players to raise the finances to sign Harry Kane. Getty

Bouna Sarr, Alexander Nubel, Yann Sommer, Marcel Sabitzer, Sadio Mane, Benjamin Pavard and Ryan Gravenberch are all players Bayern Munich could let go to help aid their attempts to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, according to Sky Sports Germany. This comes after Spurs rejected the Bavarians’ latest offer of €80m.

However, journalist Christian Falk has claimed that if Bayern can’t come to an agreement for Kane this summer, they will look to sign him as a free agent in 2024. He adds that Bayern would look into signing Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez or Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic on loan in that scenario. However, Romano has stated in two tweets that neither Alvarez nor Vlahovic will be available on loan this summer.

Al Ahli have offered Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba a three-year contract worth €100m plus bonuses, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. The Saudi Pro League club want to check on the 30-year-old’s physical condition before a deal is completed following a season in which the France international managed just 161 minutes for Juventus, while Pogba is also questioning whether to leave the Serie A club.

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

While you're here

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Types of fraud

Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

* Nada El Sawy

New UK refugee system

A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds

AUSTRALIA SQUAD

Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.

While you're here

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Cofe

Year started: 2018

Based: UAE

Employees: 80-100

Amount raised: $13m

Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group

Ovo's tips to find extra heat

Open your curtains when it’s sunny
Keep your oven open after cooking
Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy
Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat
Put on extra layers
Do a few star jumps
Avoid alcohol

The Laughing Apple

Yusuf/Cat Stevens

(Verve Decca Crossover)

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TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Directed by: Michael Fimognari

Starring: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo

Two stars

UK’s AI plan

AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
£10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
£100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
£250m to train new AI models

Day 1 results:

Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)

Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)

The specs

Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder

Power: 220 and 280 horsepower

Torque: 350 and 360Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT

On sale: now

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

War on waste

Campaigners call for UAE supermarkets to charge for plastic bags

Staff at Abu Dhabi veterinary clinic help tackle plastic waste

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

The biog

Age: 59

From: Giza Governorate, Egypt

Family: A daughter, two sons and wife

Favourite tree: Ghaf

Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense

Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”

More from Neighbourhood Watch:

Away from Dubai's glitz, Hatta is where present and past collide

A rare glimpse of Bedouin life in the humble border town of Qoa

How old Dubai moved with the times and kept its heart

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

If%20you%20go

%3Cp%3EThere%20are%20regular%20flights%20from%20Dubai%20to%20Kathmandu.%20Fares%20with%20Air%20Arabia%20and%20flydubai%20start%20at%20Dh1%2C265.%3Cbr%3EIn%20Kathmandu%2C%20rooms%20at%20the%20Oasis%20Kathmandu%20Hotel%20start%20at%20Dh195%20and%20Dh120%20at%20Hotel%20Ganesh%20Himal.%3Cbr%3EThird%20Rock%20Adventures%20offers%20professionally%20run%20group%20and%20individual%20treks%20and%20tours%20using%20highly%20experienced%20guides%20throughout%20Nepal%2C%20Bhutan%20and%20other%20parts%20of%20the%20Himalayas.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A