The latest Premier League transfer rumours, with news from Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and more.
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It’s once again time to round up and review another bunch of the biggest and boldest new Premier League transfer rumours – and we’re going to kick things off with a pretty big story for Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool fans.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Spurs are set to “weigh up” whether to take on champions Liverpool in the battle for Marc Guéhi’s signature – and have “not yet ruled out making another offer” for the Crystal Palace and England centre-half after having a bid rejected towards the end of the January transfer window.
The story also backs up previous reports which suggest that Bournemouth’s Ilia Zabarnyi is also an option, not that the Ukrainian represents any less ambitious of a target given that PSG are in the bidding for his services. Liverpool are said to “remain the favourites” to land Guéhi, too.
The delay with their bid is simply that they don’t wish to pay Crystal Palace’s asking price, reported elsewhere to be around £50m. It isn’t made clear whether Spurs might be prepared to pay full whack in this report, nor whether their interest in either Guéhi or Zabarnyi is contingent on the future of Cristian Romero.
The 3AM Verdict: Spurs will find it tricky to beat a free-spending Liverpool to the punch, and the only way that happens is if they’re ready to spend £50m and the Reds decide against. That could happen, but there are quite a few ifs and maybes between where we are now and Guéhi wearing a white shirt. We suspect that it’s improbable that they land either Guéhi or Zabarnyi as it stands, but would be interested to know how much hinges on whether Romero leaves.
Chelsea making eyes at brilliant Bundesliga midfielder
We’ll head across London to Chelsea, now, courtesy of a story from Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, who has taken to social media to suggest that Enzo Maresca’s side are interested in adding RB Leipzig’s 22-year-old attacking midfielder Xavi Simons to their ranks.
The link has been made many times before, but now Plettenberg claims that Chelsea have “serious interest” in the Dutch playmaker, who allegedly wants to leave the German side this summer – and that talks between Chelsea and Simons’ representatives are already underway.
There haven’t been any club-to-club talks yet, it’s stated, but Chelsea may have competition should they decide to make a bid – Arsenal are “monitoring the situation”, as are Bayern Munich, although it’s the Blues that are said to be “the most concrete option”.
The 3AM Verdict: It may feel as though Chelsea are pretty well-stocked for attacking playmakers but with so many set to leave Stamford Bridge (or suspended) we do expect them to make another splash in the transfer market, and Simons fits the youthful profile they prefer. Signing Simons would mean Cole Palmer going to the right wing, but with Noni Madueke gone that’s a natural move anyway. A deal that may very well get done. We certainly think it’s more likely that Chelsea make a move than Arsenal, given the players the Gunners have at their disposal in his position.
Newcastle to battle Spurs and Wolves for striker
Let’s wrap today’s early column up with a story which may interest Newcastle United supporters – if Africa Foot have their facts straight, then the Magpies have put OGC Nice forward Evann Guessand onto their “agenda” for the summer transfer window.
The 24-year-old Ivorian international has been in talks with Fenerbahçe and Villarreal but is taking his time amid Premier League interest, with Newcastle purportedly joining both Spurs and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the battle.
Spurs, for their part, are said to be “slowing down” any interest they had but haven’t “said their last word” just yet, and there’s no details at all about Wolves’ interest, just a claim that it exists. There’s no word on a price here, either, although reports elsewhere have thrown around figures starting at £25m. If Newcastle, Spurs or Wolves do want to make a move, they may have to hurry up, however: It’s implied that Guessand may make his decision “in the next few days”.
The 3AM Verdict: Guessand, who scored 12 goals in Ligue 1 last season playing mostly as a right winger, is one of those names which has been popping up every once in a while without any truly tangible links to Premier League sides, and there isn’t enough detail here to make us think that he’s all that close to moving to England. Turkey or Spain simply seems much more probable from here, but we do know that plenty of teams have been monitoring him. With Newcastle missing out on Hugo Ekitike, a late bid is certainly possible, as Guessand can play up front.