A round-up of the biggest and wildest new Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Nottingham Forest, Spurs, Wolves, West Ham and more.
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Another day of January transfer gossip has been and gone, and as always 3 Added Minutes are here with our regular morning round-up of some of the biggest and juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours – starting with a surprising story involving Nottingham Forest.
While many of their fans will already have heard the news, it bears repeating given what a significant move it would be: According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Forest have launched a £35m bid to sign Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
It’s an ambitious move given that he was negotiating with Juventus last week, but with the Italian outfit seemingly priced out and Aston Villa less likely to get involved after the arrival of Tammy Abraham, Forest clearly think there’s a chance to pull of a coup – and the striker himself is said to be keen on the move, with the report suggesting that “personal terms… will not be an issue.”
Palace, however, will only sell the 28-year-old if their £40m valuation is met and they are able to find a replacement, with Wolves’ Jørgen Strand Larsen mooted as an option. Should Forest fail with their bid, they are expected to be “active” in their attempts to sign an alternative with Chris Wood still injured and Arnaud Kalimuendo having left.
The 3AM Verdict: This would be an audacious bid in many ways, but if Mateta’s relationship with Palace has broken down and there are no other suitors then perhaps it makes sense. It remains to be seen whether the Tricky Trees stump up the cash, or whether Palace bring their price down – but they’ve proven to be tough negotiators, as Marc Guéhi might attest.
Spurs ‘interested’ in Wolves star as Andrew Robertson alternative
Let’s head over to a story from TeamTalk now, who claim that Tottenham Hotspur are “interested” in striking a deal with Wolves over the signing of left-back Hugo Bueno following the apparent failure of their efforts to sign Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson.
With Spanish full-back Bueno already “poised to depart” the Molineux at the end of the season and several clubs from his home country interested, Spurs are now “monitoring” the situation as they search for depth at the back. Everton are also said to be taking a look, although there’s little detail on the extent of their interest.
The 23-year-old Bueno is said to be “available” if the asking price is met, which is reported to have been set at £20m in the event of Wolves’ relegation – although how that holds up in the event of a January bid is unclear, as is whether Spurs will make their move now or wait until the summer alongside Bueno’s unnamed Spanish suitors.
The 3AM Verdict: Bueno, like many Wolves players, has been playing rather better lately after a disappointing start to the season, and £20m or so doesn’t seem like an unfair price by Premier League standards – but we’d like to see further corroboration of this story before we buy into it completely. There’s nothing implausible here, but there’s no suggestion that a bid has been made or that any kind of discussions are presently taking place. We’ll wait and see.
West Ham trying to ‘hijack’ key Fulham deal
Let’s wrap this morning’s transfer rumour round-up off with a story from Sport Witness, who cite sources in the Spanish media in claiming that West Ham are “attempting to hijack” Fulham’s bid for PSV forward Ricardo Pepi, who is the subject of a reported £27m bid from the Cottagers.
Fulham “remain in advanced talks” with PSV and there is no suggestion that their deal is going south, but West Ham want to “disrupt” the deal and have now made an “informal approach” of their own as they weigh up a last-gasp gazumping.
The Hammers reportedly had a bid for Pepi turned down last summer and are now considering another effort despite having already splashed out on two strikers in the current transfer window already. No final decision on whether to make a bid has yet been made, however, with the situation at the London Stadium said to be “fluid.”
The 3AM Verdict: The most surprising thing about this story is that Pepi broke his arm last week and is likely to be unable to play until March – but both Fulham and West Ham, who have been linked with the American for ages, don’t seem to have been put off by a minor issue like that. We expect Pepi to leave PSV in the near future, and suspect that Fulham will be his destination, but stranger things have happened.