Real Madrid vice-president Eduardo Fernandez de Blas has dropped the clearest indication yet that Rafael Benitez will be confirmed as the club's new head coach in the coming days.

Benitez has already confirmed that he will leave Napoli.

AS reported that De Blas, speaking at a club event on Saturday evening, said: "I'll tell you one thing, Carlo Ancelotti is a real phenomenon. We give our thanks to him.

"Until three days ago, he was, for me, the best coach in the world, just as two years ago it was Jose Mourinho, and as from this week it will be Rafa Benitez."

Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal will not be buying any of the most expensive players in the world this summer as he looks for value for the club's money.

Arsenal has never been linked for the likes of Paul Pogba and Gareth Bale.

In the past two summers, Wenger has been able to purchase high-priced talents like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

"We have not spent that kind of money," Wenger said. "People forget that for years we had to sell our best players and that was a very difficult period. That is the reality.

"Since we buy again, we slowly come back to a more competitive level. You speak maybe about stratospheric numbers where we will not be involved."

Carlo Ancelotti and AC Milan have held talks about him returning to the club this summer.

Ancelotti was fired by Real Madrid this week and met with Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani on Wednesday.

Current manager Filippo Inzaghi, who took over last summer, has been told he will not continue in his role.

Ancelotti said he was considering taking a year's sabbatical and having surgery on a back problem following his dismissal.
"I must have an operation because of spinal stenosis that for some time creates a tingle in my hands," he was quoted as telling Il Giornale.

"I don't know how long the period of recovery will be," he added. "I can assure you that I've had plenty of offers from Italy, England, Germany. I'm sure they will not be lacking from here until next year."

The 55-year-old coached AC Milan from 2001 to 2009, winning the Italian league title in 2004 and two Champions League titles in 2003 and 2007.

Christian Benteke could be sold this summer due to his £32.5 million buyout clause in his contract with Aston Villa. The clause had never previously been disclosed.

Tim Sherwood told Benteke he should set his sights higher than Liverpool.

Liverpool have identified Benteke as one of the players who could help to re-establish them as a top-four club next season and Sherwood said he was powerless to do anything about a deal that was agreed before he became manager. “There’s a buyout clause in his contract so it will be impossible for us to stop him if he wants to go,” Sherwood said. “Someone’s got to meet that buyout clause and if they don’t it won’t be considered because we don’t want to lose him.”

Arsenal are closing in on triggering a £24.7 million deal for Jackson Martinez of Porto.

Arsene Wenger has singled out Martinez to reinforce Arsenal's attacking force.

Arsenal have already been in talks with Porto over Martinez, but Liverpool are also interested in a player who scored 21 goals this season.

Porto president Nuno Pinto da Costa said: “He’s a player we want to keep, but we cannot stop someone paying the clause."

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have interest in a transfer for Angel di Maria.

Di Maria started the season strong after Manchester United bought him from Real Madrid for nearly £60 million. But his form dropped following a home burglary.

United has interest in Danta, which could help the two clubs make a swap.

Porto will sign midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid on a permanent basis.

Casemiro spent the 14-15 season on loan from Real Madrid and made 41 appearances.

As part of his loan deal, there was a clause that Porto had an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season. 

Real Madrid can decline the offer and repurchase Casemiro, but they will be required to pay Porto compensation.

Real Madrid signed Casemiro on a permanent deal from Sao Paulo in 2013, but he made just 12 appearances in 2013-14 before leaving on loan.

The success of Monchi at Sevilla has led him to become a candidate for Real Madrid.

Florentino Perez has considered bolstering the football operations department of Real Madrid, especially since Jorge Valdano left the club following a run-in with Jose Mourinho.

Perez has long been known to be an admirer of Monchi, who has built an outstanding team on a limited budget at Sevilla.

Monchi has been director of football at Sevilla since 2000.

Jose Mourinho expects to add two or three new players to Chelsea's roster this offseason, but he's prioritizing keeping their existing key contributors.

"We like the players, we're happy with them," Mourinho said, in quoted reported by the Evening Standard. "Two or three are always coming to the club, that's normal, but if you come to a champion team you are not a big name. The big names are the champions.

"How can I find a better striker than Diego Costa? A better midfielder than Nemanja Matic? A better right-back than Branislav Ivanovic?

"Our squad was very good. We didn't have many injuries. We had three players who played 38 matches in the Premier League.

"The most important thing in the market is not to lose players. The players I am looking for are my players, the players I want to keep. Last season I had players I wanted to sell. We have started building a team for the next decade. This season was the beginning of that."

Real Madrid have denied a report indicating they've made an offer to Juventus for Paul Pogba.

Pogba's future at Juventus is uncertain heading into the summer.

Real Madrid said in a statement on their official website: "Following the reports published in the Italian newspaper La Stampa concerning an alleged offer from Real Madrid for the player Paul Pogba, the club wishes to state the following:

"Real Madrid have had no contact either with Juventus or the player's agent and, as a consequence, the reports published in this newspaper are completely false."