Manchester United have called Villa about Ollie Watkins, while Tottenham reckon there’s a deal to be done for one of West Ham’s best players…
With so much transfer talk doing the rounds, we’re here through the summer to sift through the bullsh*t and highlight the whispers that might have some substance.
Each day we’re ranking the top 20 rumours involving Premier League clubs, the higher the link, the more likely we feel they are to become done deals.
So we start with the tittle-tattle…
From BILD, Arsenal have joined the race for the France striker, which suits Eintracht Frankfurt just fine. While they’re insisting on £85million, they need the market to look as busy as they can make it appear. And it does Arsenal no harm while they continue to barter with other clubs over other strikers.
United are focused on Mbeumo right now and, apparently, multi-tasking is beyond the Old Trafford execs. They have, though, managed to pick up the phone to Villa to initiate a conversation about Watkins while they suss out their striker options. Most of which depend on selling their wantaway stars. A Watkins-Marcus Rashford swap seems awfully convenient for all concerned…
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With a year left on his contract and a renewal unlikely, Palace are willing to cash in on their captain – but Liverpool won’t pay the £50million or so the Eagles are demanding. Currently, we are at stalemate. Liverpool don’t seem twitchy yet, but they are keeping the lines of communication open.
Spurs have apparently cooled their interest in Eberechi Eze to prioritise a move for Kudus, who has an £85million clause active for the first 10 days of July. But the feeling is West Ham would be open to offers in the region of £60million since they need to generate whatever they wish to spend this summer.
Newcastle failed with an opening £45m offer for Elanga, with Forest apparently looking for £60million. Newcastle have sought to compromise but they aren’t making many inroads. Elanga might have to force the issue if he wants the move.
The story goes that Gyokeres has told United he’s up for joining them now Arsenal seem to be veering in Sesko’s direction. If you think you’ve heard that before, it’s because you have. But United could become the Swede’s most viable option for a big move this summer. Once the Red Devils sell the players that almost no one wants to buy. For now, though, we’d still make Arsenal favourites… just.
Even if Sesko is the man most wanted at Arsenal, the Gunners see an opportunity to get more bang for their buck with Gyokeres. The Swede has made it abundantly clear that he wants to leave Sporting, going as far as telling them he won’t report for pre-season training next week. So time is of the essence for Gyokeres but Arsenal are working to their own timetable even if Mikel Arteta wants a new striker to be boarding the plane for the pre-season tour on July 19.
Arsenal had one bid rejected for the 2024 Golden Boy-shortlisted defender but they remain in talks with Valencia. Something over £17million ought to do the trick since Mosquera is out of contract in a year.
Liverpool need rid of Nunez if they are to create room in their squad and budget for another forward. Napoli want to take him, but not on Liverpool’s terms, which start at around £55million. Frankly, that’s a nonsense fee, but Liverpool have cast spells in the market this summer. Regardless, Napoli want some clarity on the matter in the coming days before they move for a much cheaper alternative. We can see this happening, probably with big add-ons.
This has been going on for over a year but Newcastle seem more intent to land the Clarets keeper than last summer. Trafford wants the move and Newcastle have offered Burnley £25million plus add-ons. They have already secured a keeper of their own but we expect they’ll squeeze Newcastle a bit more here.
Arsenal are still refusing to pick a lane. The momentum swung with Sesko, then Gyokeres, now it seems the Slovenian is back in the running. Indeed, some reports suggest Sesko is the preferred option among the big-hitters at Arsenal but Leipzig aren’t willing to roll over and have their bellies tickled. Honestly, we don’t know.
It’s widely reported that Arsenal met with Eze’s representatives over the weekend. The next call ought to be to Palace, who will tell the Gunners they expect Eze’s £67.5million release clause to be paid in full. Quite right too.
United had their second offer rejected by Brentford but that isn’t likely to be the end of it. The Bees turned their noses up at £55million plus £7.5million in add-ons, insisting on the total amount up front. United don’t want to be screwed for the 427th time but the gap appears small enough to be bridged, especially since Mbeumo has told Brentford he only wants United.
City have agreed a £12.5million deal for the 18-year-old attacking midfielder and a medical was scheduled for almost a fortnight ago, but we’ve heard nothing since while City are in the United States for a nonsense tournament.
Nice and easy, this, because of the £5million clause in his Chelsea contract. A reminder: he joined them for £72million and remains the world’s most-expensive goalkeeper. Apparently, Kepa has done his medical and put pen to paper on a deal that should give David Raya the heebie-jeebies.
A fee has finally been agreed. It’s not confirmed how much Chelsea will pay for Gittens but it should be between £45-50m. After Fabrice Hawkins broke the news, Fabrizio Romano gave it the Here We Go.
A £34million deal has been agreed – that’s decent money for a back-up centre-back – and Quansah is now in Germany to get it all done.
This one moved fast over the weekend, when Newcastle and Chelsea both had bids rejected before the Blues went back with something more acceptable to the Seagulls. Apparently, the Brazilian will undergo a medical in the the United States before joining Enzo Maresca’s Club World Cup squad. He could make his debut on Friday against Palmeiras in Philly.
We thought Brentford might attempt to squeeze more out of Arsenal after their initial bid but it seems £10million plus add-ons has done the trick. The Bees say they expect this to go through and their skipper will go with their best wishes.
This one got the ‘Here we go’ treatment back in May but still we’re waiting for confirmation. Apparently, Zubimendi was due in London a week ago to complete his move, but Arsenal won’t be rushed this summer. This week, surely…
at long last, the midfielder was in London a week ago to sign for Arsenal for £51million. Actually, he’s been there since Monday so we expected an unveiling by now, but we may have to wait for next week.