A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Spurs, Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and more.
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Welcome to 3 Added Minutes’ regular morning round-up and review of some of the biggest (and often wildest) new Premier League transfer rumours you might have missed over the past 24 hours – and today, we’re starting off with an intriguing story involving both Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
According to GiveMeSport, Spurs have “entered the race” to sign PSG and Senegal wonderkid Ibrahim Mbaye this summer, and are said to be one of the clubs showing the “strongest interest” in the 18-year-old forward.
They cite French journalist Santi Aoula, who also alleges that Manchester City have shortlisted Mbaye while Aston Villa are said to be “closely following” the situation, along with Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
PSG are said to be “open” to a sale for the right price (although said price is not reported) and Mbaye himself apparently “wants to leave” in search of regular first-team football. It’s not suggested that any of his suitors have made a formal offer just yet.
The 3AM Verdict: GiveMeSport’s assertion that Spurs are somewhere near the front of the queue isn’t backed up, and it’s not clear why they believe that their interest is any ‘stronger’ than Aston Villa’s or Manchester City’s. It does sound increasingly likely that the supremely gifted Mbaye will move, however, so this is certainly a battle worth keeping an eye on – just one without a foreseeable resolution as yet.
Liverpool ‘make contact’ in £130m-rated winger chase
Over to a story from TEAMtalk now, who provide an update on Liverpool’s long-rumoured pursuit of Bournemouth and Brazil winger Rayan – and they claim that the Reds have now “made enquiries” and “contact” as they prepare to launch what could be a staggeringly expensive bid.
Rayan has a £130m release clause in his contract, it’s reported, but that doesn’t kick in until 2027, meaning that the Cherries can name their price – and they have “no desire” to lose the teenage winger, who has enjoyed a startlingly impressive start to life in the Premier League.
Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG are all said to be “monitoring” Rayan’s situation but it’s Liverpool who are allegedly attempting to make the first moves. They’d still prefer to land Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, but the Ivorian looks far more likely to wind up at PSG, and Rayan is now “firmly” on Liverpool’s radar as an alternative.
The 3AM Verdict: They may have made contact of some description, but we don’t see anything which makes us think that a move is actually coming any closer. It would take an astronomical offer for Bournemouth to consider a sale and while the Reds have the financial firepower to pull it off, we’re sceptical that this is a deal that gets done this year.
Aston Villa eye Emi Martínez replacement
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez may be headed to another World Cup final, but he could also be heading out of Villa Park this summer – and as such, Unai Emery’s side have added his compatriot Facundo Cambeses “to their shortlist.”
That’s according to Sport Witness, who state that the 29-year-old’s current side Racing Club would only sell him if his relatively budget-friendly release clause of £8.8m was met. That’s affordable for Aston Villa, but they may face competition with both River Plate and Bologna said to be keen on the Argentine international as well.
It’s suggested that Cambeses, who has been capped at senior level but failed to make the World Cup squad, will only be a target if Martínez leaves – and that’s something that the club are apparently trying to avoid, even if speculation continues.
The 3AM Verdict: We’re not sure how solid the original Argentine sources for this story are, in all honesty, and suspect that Martínez is likely to remain at Villa Park as it stands – but much could change in that regard. We suspect that if Cambeses is a target, he’s one of several rather than a clear frontrunner.