This summer has already seen Matheus Cunha leave Wolves to join Manchester United and Bryan Mbeumo is likely to join him in a downwards step to Old Trafford from Brentford.
Liverpool are also set to sign Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi to follow, as Champions League clubs work their way down a list of players not at Champions League clubs or at Manchester United, who are immune from this sort of thing because they remain Manchester United.
So who are the most valuable players not at Champions League clubs (or Manchester United) and where will they go this summer? We consulted transfermarkt for the names if not the numbers…
He’s got a release clause in the £68m bracket and at 26 is understandably ready to play Champions League football after watching Michael Olise make the move to Bayern Munich and have a whale of the time. Tottenham are not quite in the same bracket as Bayern but they can offer Champions League football and a far better chance of being in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup plans.
Eze will come at a similar price to Mbeumo and you could easily argue that he has a) a higher ceiling and b) more versatility as he can play on either the flank, as a No. 10 or even in a deeper midfield role at a pinch.
Bound for: Tottenham
Chelsea are said to have ‘asked Nottingham Forest for updated information about Murillo’ and were presumably told that the Brazilian is for sale for £68m and not a penny less.
At just 22, but with a Brazilian cap already in his back pocket, he screams ‘seven-year Chelsea contract’ and Forest might have a fight on their hands to keep hold of him. He would surely be tempted with the tantalising prospect of a World Cup spot enhanced by Champions League football with the Blues, who collect young centre-halves like a nine-year-old collects Pokemon cards.
Bound for: Chelsea
Aston Villa probably need to log a sale before the June 30 deadline and if reported interest in Emiliano Martinez, Ollie Watkins and others do not materialise in the next week, the PSR silver bullet is selling Rogers, probably their greatest asset.
There will be no shortage of suitors for the £15m signing from Middlesbrough and Villa would push for a £50m profit on the young English international. The best fit? Probably Arsenal, who really could upgrade the stagnated Gabriel Martinelli with a move for the 22-year-old.
Bound for: Arsenal
Newcastle have been strongly linked with the 10-goal Seagulls forward – very much up for sale at Brighton, where the Brazilian has burned his bridges after a training-ground fall-out. The Magpies and Arsenal have both been extensively linked but when it’s a 23-year-old at Brighton, the smart money is always on the Blues.
They also have a few spare players in their back pocket that might interest Brighton in a swap deal, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall the name at the top of many lists.
Bound for: Chelsea
It is said that Nottingham Forest quoted a number close to £100m for their No. 10, which quite rightly left Manchester City concluding that they could get Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders for less than the price of a Gibbs-White.
He will undoubtedly be frustrated but his best weapon is probably patience; this time next year his price will drop if he does not sign a new contract at Forest. By then, there might be options other than City.