Breaking down the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Manchester United, Spurs, Chelsea and more.
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It’s once again time for 3 Added Minutes’ daily round-up and breakdown of some of the biggest Premier League transfer rumours that are currently doing the media rounds – and we’re starting off with a story concerning Manchester United’s January shopping list.
Spanish gossip-mongers Fichajes allege that Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham is “on [United’s] priority list” ahead of the winter, and that they could bid “around €50m (£44m) for his services.”
It is, of course, only a few months since Bellingham left Sunderland to join Dortmund in a deal worth up to £32m but he has struggled for form in Germany and his current club “wouldn’t put up too many obstacles” to his departure, according to this report.
Still, €50m is said to “fall short of Dortmund’s demands” and Bellingham himself allegedly only wants to play for a side which can offer Champions League football. It’s implied that several other big sides – perhaps ones which are playing in Europe this year – are also monitoring the 20-year-old’s situation, but they aren’t named here.
The 3AM Verdict: It would be unusual for a club like Dortmund to abandon a project such as this quite so quickly, and we doubt that United have €50m to spend in January due to
Spurs set to make ‘ambitious’ bid for Serie A star
Let’s head over to North London, now, with a story from TeamTalk which suggests that Tottenham Hotspur “are keen” on striking a deal for Napoli and Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay, who was a Ballon d’Or nominee after helping his side to win the Scudetto last season.
A deal for the former United man “may not be easy,” but Spurs are still “among the club that have taken a shine to McTominay” – alongside Newcastle United and even Barcelona, although the Catalan club are also alleged to be interested in Aston Villa’s Amadou Onana.
A January move is “categorically off the table” and Napoli want to nail the Scot – who already has four league goals to his name this season - down to a new contract. Nevertheless, Spurs are among the sides hoping that they can persuade the 28-year-old not to pen a new deal and instead to push for a move.
The 3AM Verdict: McTominay seems to love life in Naples and is in the form of his life, so we strongly suspect that he’s more likely to extend his stay in Italy than he is to push for a move. He’s arguably Napoli’s most important player and they shouldn’t be under immense financial pressure to sell, so we suspect that he’s there for the long haul regardless of other teams’ interest.
Chelsea & Manchester United both chasing ‘generational talent’
Finally, a story from Caught Offside which claims that both Chelsea and Manchester United are “interested” in signing 16-year-old Leicester City starlet Jeremy Monga, who is described in the report as a “generational talent.”
The winger is said to be “on the radar of multiple clubs” and Chelsea and United are both hoping to snap him up before he’s eligible to sign professional terms with Leicester next summer. The Foxes, for their part, “hope to keep him” and are trying to persuade him to reject the overtures of bigger teams.
Manchester City, Spurs and Real Madrid are also briefly mentioned as being among the teams in the chase for Monga, and it’s not entirely clear why this article focusses its attention on Chelsea and United – if they have any kind of edge in the race or simply more interest, that isn’t evidenced. There’s also no word on what the teenager might choose to do.
The 3AM Verdict: Monga would scarcely be the first big talent ripped away from his academy team by a wealthier side, so it’s hard to say that this isn’t likely to happen. On the other hand, he’s getting first-team football at Leicester right now, so he has more reason to stay put than most players in his position. We’ll see…