The biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, with news from Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle, Spurs and more.
Sign up to our newsletter for the most distinctive football content delivered direct to your inbox
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to 3 Added Minutes, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Plenty of us take a little bit of time to get up to speed on a Monday – but the rumour mill never stops working, and to help you keep abreast of all the biggest stories in a non-stop news cycle, we’re here with our regular round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, starting with a story for Liverpool fans.
Not content with spending the GDP of a small country on Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and (very soon) Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool have started “discussions” over a deal for Lyon winger Malick Fofana – which would also see them muscle in on a deal Chelsea are keen to make.
According to Caught Offside, Arne Slot’s side have not yet lodged a formal offer but are said to be in talks with his representatives, with the wideman seen as a possible replacement for Luis Díaz should the Colombian join Bayern Munich.
As well as Chelsea, this report also claims that Arsenal, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and PSG are all “monitoring” the 20-year-old’s situation, with Lyon likely to sell to help deal with their enormous debts. Apparently they want €50-60m (£43-52m) for the youngster.
The 3AM Verdict: Chelsea’s interest is well-established and this is the first time we’ve seen Liverpool brought up, but they may well need another winger, so why not enquire about one of Europe’s most sought-after youngsters? There isn’t enough detail for us to feel confident in the story based on one report, but it’s certainly plausible enough.
Spurs make ‘approach’ for £26m man
Down to the capital now, where Tottenham Hotspur’s search for a new centre-back may have taken a fresh turn – according to TBR Football (via French outlet Foot Mercato’s original reporting) Spurs are “interested” in 25-year-old French centre-back Loïc Badé.
The report mentions an “approach” without offering any specifics or discussing whether that means Badé’s agents or his current employers, Sevilla, but does suggest that the Spanish side want €30m (£26m) for the player. Badé was linked with Spurs last year, too, and apparently described them as a “great club” at the time.
Not that Spurs are alone in their interest – “several club are fighting” over the player, apparently, including Aston Villa, Sunderland and Bournemouth. And Spurs have alternatives, with this article suggesting that they may also be keeping tabs on Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix, who had a very decent debut season at Selhurst Park.
The 3AM Verdict: We can’t imagine that Palace are keen to let Lacroix go when they’re already likely to lose Marc Guéhi, so we suspect the link with Badé is more plausible. Spurs and Villa have both been connected with him in the past, which either suggests serious long-term interest or a media outlet reheating an old story to fill some column inches. Take your pick. It doesn’t sound like there has been any significant movement by any of the alleged suitors as yet.
Newcastle to ‘accept’ bids for £38m man
It’s only been a couple of years since Newcastle United spent £38m to sign Harvey Barnes from Leicester City – and now he looks closer to an exit then ever before, at least if Football Insider have their facts straight.
They claim that the Magpies are “prepared to listen to offers” for the winger having signed Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest and “plan to accept” bids from potential interest parties – which are said to include Aston Villa, who need replacements for Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio after failing to sign either player permanently this summer.
It's also suggested that Barnes himself “could be interested in leaving” Newcastle in order to get some more first-team football, and a number of Premier League clubs – unspecified aside from Villa – will be “put on alert” by Barnes’ likely availability.
The 3AM Verdict: Not that we don’t think they’re right, but the basis for this story doesn’t seem to be inside information but the opinion of a former scout with no direct connection to the situation. That said, we suspect that Barnes is on the trade block with Anthony Gordon firmly ahead of him in the pecking order. Newcastle also need to raise funds to carry out their transfer plans this summer, and Barnes seems like a very plausible sacrificial lamb.