The latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Spurs, Chelsea, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and more.
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Once again, it’s time for our regular morning round-up and review of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours – and today, we’re kicking off with a pretty stunning story which should be of interest to supporters of both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
Quite a few different journalists have reported this one, but we’ll give Fabrizio Romano the tip of the hat this time – he claims that Spurs have unexpectedly started “club to club talks” with RB Leizpig over a last ditch move for Xavi Simons, who has already arrived in London due to Chelsea’s long-standing interest.
The Blues “remain in talks” with Leipzig over the Dutch playmaker, who had already agreed personal terms with the club ahead of a transfer that had widely been expected to take place once Christopher Nkunku’s sale was confirmed.
Another reporter from the German side, Philipp Hinze, also took to social media to suggest that Spurs had even made a formal offer which was “very close” to Leipzig’s €70m (£60m) asking price. According to Hinze, Chelsea have yet to make an offer of their own, meaning that a remarkable eleventh-hour transfer hijack could be on the cards.
It looks like it could well happen, with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano declaring an imminent ‘Here We Go’ was not far off, stating: “Tottenham agree €60m fee with RB Leipzig for Xavi Simons! Official bid accepted, green light after #THFC sent formal bid following player’s encouragement. Spurs want deal done today also on player side + medical in the next hours. Here we go, expected soon.”
The 3AM Verdict: Simons and Chelsea have already been in contact for weeks and it appeared overwhelmingly likely that he would move to Chelsea, who will surely make their offer once the formalities of Nkunku’s switch to AC Milan are sorted – but Spurs are throwing a sudden Hail Mary up and are giving themselves a chance to sell their project. As things stand, it looks like he’s North London bound.
Newcastle linked with star Inter Milan striker as deadline day nears
There isn’t much left to say about Newcastle United’s transfer window at this stage, but their long and painful search for strikers might be set to take another turn even after the news concerning their eleventh-hour bid for Nick Woltemade broke yesterday – because the German isn’t the only player they’ve been asking after, at least according to the Argentine media, as helpfully relayed by Sport Witness.
Apparently, there were reports in Latin America which stated that Newcastle have been “contacting Lautaro Martínez’s agent” about the possibility of bringing the Inter Milan striker to St. James’ Park, a move which would come straight out of leftfield - not that there isn’t precedent for that based on the last 24 hours.
The story apparently worried an Inter website sufficiently to contact Martínez’s representatives themselves to check the veracity of the story, only for them to “dismiss” the suggestion out of hand, stating that he is “happy at Inter” and that there are “some questions that don’t even need an answer.” Which doesn’t sound very promising.
The 3AM Verdict: As Sport Witness notes, the original story seemed to have a single source with very little to back it up, so there was probably never anything in this in the first place – but if it was, then there’s nothing in Martínez’s agent’s response to encourage any hope of a very sudden swoop. Perhaps it’s evidence of how far Newcastle are casting their net in the closing stages of the window, but we doubt it’s more than that. Sorry, Newcastle fans. Woltemade will have to do.
Sunderland deal could ruin Crystal Palace bid
We’ll finish with a story from The Guardian which sees a potential domino effect spoiling Crystal Palace’s efforts to sign AS Monaco man Mohammed Salisu – all because of Sunderland.
They claim that with Sunderland “in talks” to complete a long-rumoured deal for Bologna defender Jhon Lucumí, the Serie A side have started to cast around for a replacement, and have settled on the same player as Palace: former Southampton centre-back Salisu.
Bologna see Salisu as a “potential replacement” for Colombian defender Lucumí and that could see them competing with Palace, who have already “approached” Monaco regarding a possible loan deal for the 26-year-old Ghanaian. Talks are said to be “ongoing”, and the deal would not be tied to whether Marc Guéhi stays or goes. Olympiacos are said to be interested as well.
The 3AM Verdict: Premier League clout and cash usually trumps Serie A, but that may depend on Salisu’s likely role with Palace and whether Bologna want him on loan as well or would try to sign him permanently. Nevertheless, we suspect that if Palace do want him, they’ll more than likely get him regardless of Sunderland’s efforts.