Rounding up the latest Premier League transfer rumours, with news from Manchester United, Manchester City, Spurs and more.
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Yet another day’s worth of Premier League transfer rumours has been sent spinning out into the world via the globe’s gossip columns, and that means that it’s time for our regular morning round-up of the biggest and spiciest stories from the last 24 hours – starting with a story for both Manchester United and City fans alike.
According to TeamTalk – who draw heavily from The Daily Mail and Sky Sports journalist Sacha Tavolieri – United have been “rocked” by the news that Elliot Anderson has decided to join Manchester City instead of moving to Old Trafford next summer, with the midfielder said to have “informed his close confidants” that he is “prioritising a move” to the Etihad.
Anderson is said to be United’s “favourite” midfield target even ahead of Carlos Baleba and Adam Wharton, but City are set to provide some “stiff competition” for the Nottingham Forest man’s signature – although there are conflicting comments from the article’s sources about whether City are ready to meet Forest’s £100m asking price.
Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola and sporting director Hugo Viana are said to be “smitten” with the 23-year-old and to believe that the opportunity to sign Anderson is “too good to refuse.” United, for their part, were said to want to sign all three of Anderson, Baleba and Wharton over the course of a couple of seasons if they could.
The 3AM Verdict: United were never likely to get all three players and won’t have an easy time competing with Manchester City for signings unless they can get back in the Champions League – but as it stands, the story suggesting that Anderson has already made up his mind only has one core source in the shape of Tavolieri. It may well prove to be the case, but there’s a lot of road less to run with stories surrounding Anderson’s future.
Spurs prepare to make £52m ‘defensive statement’ in January
Let’s take a look at a story from Caught Offside, now, which claims that Tottenham Hotspur want to make “a major defensive statement” in January, with Juventus centre-back Gleison Bremer “emerging as one of their primary targets.”
Despite a number of stories which link Spurs with attacking players, this report claims that defensive reinforcements are the club’s “number one priority” for the winter, and that Bremer has “risen to the top of the shortlist.”
It’s alleged that Juve will demand at least €60m (£52m) for his services and that they feel “no financial pressure to sell” – while it’s further claimed that both Manchester United, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich are all “monitoring” the 28-year-old, suggesting that Spurs could face plenty of competition if they do make a move.
The 3AM Verdict: There’s a lot we don’t believe in this story – starting with the idea that Spurs are prioritising a centre-back in January, moving onto the claim that Juventus aren’t under financial pressure to sell players (they absolutely are) and finishing with one or two of the other clubs named as suitors, such as Chelsea, who would have to completely change tack in the transfer market to sign an expensive 28-year-old. In short, we’re not much convinced by any of the details here, even if it does turn out that Spurs are keen.
£30m Spurs star could be set for shock exit
The final story in today’s digest also concerns Spurs, but this time it’s a tale about a player leaving north London: Football Insider reckon that Mathys Tel is “wanted” by Serie A side AS Roma and than the Italian outfit are plotting a January bid for the young forward.
Tel has struggled to make the impact that had been anticipated after his permanent £30m move from Bayern Munich this summer, and is now in Roma’s sights should they fail to secure a deal for their preferred target, who remains Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee.
Spurs “do not want to lose” Tel next month but there are apparently concerns that Tel could push to leave after struggling for first-team minutes since the arrival of Thomas Frank. There’s no discussion of what the terms for such a deal might look like.
The 3AM Verdict: This is a very speculative article, and while that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s wrong we’d certainly like to see more corroboration before we buy the story.