A round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and more.
The rumour mill scarcely pauses for breath at this time of year, and keeping up with everything clubs are up to is a bit of a challenge – but we’re here with our morning round-up of the juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours to make things a little more manageable, starting with a story for Liverpool and Arsenal fans.
TeamTalk have rounded up some sources to report on the latest updates concerning Sporting’s free-scoring striker Viktor Gyökeres, and reports originating in Portugal now suggest that Liverpool have added the Swede to their “wishlist” despite Arsenal’s long-standing interest.
That’s because their hopes of signing Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak look minimal, making Gyökeres a relatively budget-friendly option given that he’s not expected to cost much more than £70m.
The bad news for Arne Slot is that TeamTalk reckon that Gyökeres still prefers to move to Arsenal after forcing his way out of Sporting, and it looks more likely that Liverpool will settle for a move for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike. Either way, apparently much will hinge on whether the Reds can sell Darwin Núñez to Napoli to free up squad space and funds – and that deal isn’t necessarily progressing as smoothly as Liverpool might like.
The 3AM Verdict: We don’t doubt that Liverpool have made polite enquiries about Gyökeres as they do their due diligence, but we suspect he has never been their first choice target and that the Portuguese media are wide of the mark in implying that they’re serious candidates. Arsenal remain firmly at the front of the queue based on everything we know, but we do think Liverpool are now favourites for Ekitike. There’s a lot of transfer window left to run, of course.
Chelsea ‘in contact’ over experienced goalkeeper
Given that Chelsea’s hopes of signing Mike Maignan appear to be dead in the water after AC Milan sporting director Igli Tare told the media that the Frenchman was staying at the San Siro, it’s no shock to see the Blues linked with another stopper – and Caught Offside reckon they’re “in contact” with Barcelona over a move for Marc-André ter Stegen.
Apparently, Chelsea have “asked for information” about the German’s goalkeeper’s situation and he is “on [Chelsea’s] list of options” as they search for a new number one. It’s claimed that the arrival of Espanyol’s Joan García has given Ter Stegen cause to contemplate his future at the Camp Nou, as well.
Having talked the chances of a deal up, Caught Offside do then deflate things slightly by saying that the 33-year-old “isn’t necessarily [the club’s] priority” this summer, but that they would “continue to monitor” him.
The 3AM Verdict: The absence of detail in this article makes us think that it’s strictly speculative. Chelsea do want a new goalkeeper, but we’ve seen nothing to make us think that Ter Stegen is a target, and it’s usually a bad sign when even the report alleging the link ends up talking it down. Probably not on the cards.
Everton & West Ham battle for highly-rated midfielder
Finally, a story from Everton and West Ham fans – according to Sport Witness, they’re the two teams “in pole position” to snap up Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika, a 24-year-old Nigeria international.
It sounds like the Hammers have “the most concrete interest” in striking a deal for the Brugge man, while Everton’s interest is described as “new”, with their name not coming up in numerous previous stories concerning Onyedika’s future. The big question is whether either side will meet the €30m (£25m) asking price which has supposedly been set, or whether Club Brugge are prepared to come down a little in negotiations.
The 3AM Verdict: We’ve seen theWest Ham link in a few places before, so it’s definitely possible that he’s relatively high on their shortlist as they look to bolster their midfield – and if they’re interested, Everton make sense as suitors too as they embark on a bit of a rebuild under David Moyes. It doesn’t sound as though any bids have been lodged, however, so either club could easily opt to go elsewhere instead. Onyedika is on a few radars, though, so this could easily be spot on.
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