The latest Premier League transfer rumours - with stories from Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and more.
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There are only a few days of the January transfer window left, and the rumours are flying thick and fast – and to help you keep track of all the likely comings and goings, we’re back with our regular evening round-up of some of the Premier League transfer stories you might have missed, starting with a story for the Liverpool supporters among you.
According to Sky Sports, via transfer reporter Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool remain “interested” in Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano – and the Frenchman is said to be “stalling” on signing a new contract in Bavaria in case Arne Slot’s side make a move.
Plettenberg opines that the 27-year-old, whose contract at the Allianz Arena runs out this summer, is holding out hope that either Liverpool or Real Madrid will make a bid for him. There’s no word on whether Real will make such an offer, but Plettenberg states that he “can confirm” Liverpool’s interest.
There’s no word on whether the Reds plan to submit a bid before the transfer deadline, or whether they could offer a pre-contract deal to sign him for the start of July, but Bayern have apparently made their final contract offer and are waiting for his decision – leaving Liverpool with a brief window to pounce, should they wish.
The 3AM Verdict: Liverpool have been monitoring Upamecano for some time and given that they can offer him a contract in order to entice him to sign on a free transfer now, it’s perhaps surprising that they haven’t done so given their evident interest in the player. We suspect that a January deal is very unlikely, given that they backed out of a bid for Marc Guéhi this month due to not wishing to spend the money to sign him.
Spurs plan to ‘thwart’ Real Madrid’s bid for rising Spanish star
Let’s head over to a story from Spain now, which comes courtesy of gossip website Fichajes – they allege that Tottenham Hotspur are planning to “thwart” Real Madrid’s prospective move for 22-year-old Osasuna forward Víctor Muñoz, who has impressed since signing from Real last summer.
Real hold a budget-friendly buyback option worth just €8m (£7m), and are debating bringing him back to the Bernabeu, but despite that Spurs are said to be “frontrunners” for his signature – and are apparently “prepared to pay” his full release clause, worth €40m (£34.7m) to make it happen.
It’s said that “several” other Premier League sides are also monitoring Muñoz’s progress, although they aren’t named in this report. The story also implies that any bidding war will take place in the summer, with no suggestion that Spurs will move for the young forward this coming week.
The 3AM Verdict: We should start by noting that we don’t consider Fichajes to be a reliable source, and we doubt that Spurs would pay the full release clause based on his recent impressive – but scarcely overwhelming – form. In any case, there’s no suggestion that a formal approach has been made, so we doubt there’s any movement before deadline day if Spurs are indeed interested.
Chelsea snubbed as midfielder search continues
Let’s wrap this evening’s digest off with a story from TeamTalk, which suggests that Chelsea are struggling to find a midfielder to help tide them through to the end of the season after former player Ruben Loftus-Cheek reportedly rejected the chance to return to Stamford Bridge.
The 30-year-old England international had been linked with a move to several sides including Manchester United and Aston Villa, but has apparently “made it clear he is happy and settled” at current club AC Milan – and it now appears likely that he will sign a new contract instead of leaving the San Siro.
Talks over a deal for Loftus-Cheek “never advanced” as a result of the player’s stance, while Chelsea’s hopes of signing Douglas Luiz have also been dashed with a move to Aston Villa imminent. Chelsea, however, could still sign a midfielder before deadline day, and continue to “explore” other options.
The 3AM Verdict: This ties in with what we’ve been hearing elsewhere, which is that while Loftus-Cheek was offered around by his representatives, a move was never really close to taking place. We suspect he’ll stay put, but we’re also growing sceptical that Cheslea will indeed sign the midfielder they want to help them cope with their injuries – there are simply no tangible links with plausible targets as it stands. That could change quickly over the next few days, of course.