A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Newcastle, Sunderland, Arsenal and more.
With the deals coming thick and fast and the rumours proving even more relentless, 3 Added Minutes are back with our latest regular round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer stories – and we’re starting with a tale of a Tyne and Wear derby in the transfer window.
Sport Witness have covered reports from Italy which suggest that both Newcastle United and Sunderland are in the market for former Arsenal midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi, including a claim that Sunderland have “initiated contact” with his current club Lazio.
Aston Villa are also said to be keeping tabs on the 26-year-old, who reportedly has a €50m (£43m) release clause in his contract, not that it’s suggested that any of the interested parties would necessarily be paying that much.
It doesn’t sound as though any formal bids have been lodged and it’s said that Maurizio Sarri “isn’t keen on losing” the Frenchman – and Sport Witness even suggest that the entire story feels more like agents trying to drive some hype rather than a tangible transfer story.
The 3AM Verdict: Sport Witness suggest that Sunderland are unlikely to make a bid for Guendouzi because they’ve just broken their club transfer record to sign Habib Diarra, but they’re different sorts of midfielders so we don’t think that rules it out. That said, if Lazio don’t want to sell and the price tag really is £43m, we imagine that Guendouzi stays put.
Arsenal legend involved in potential triple transfer
Speaking of former Arsenal midfielders, a certain Patrick Vieira is heavily involved in our next transfer rumour – in his capacity as the manager of Serie A side Genoa. According to Tuttomercatoweb, he wants his side to sign not one but three current Arsenal players.
The transfer targets in question are Reiss Nelson, Fábio Vieira and Albert Sambi Lokonga, all of whom are “in the crosshairs” as Genoa look for reinforcements. Apparently the Italian side believe that all three could be signed on loan.
They will face “competition” however, from yet another ex-Arsenal man – Cesc Fabregàs. The Como head coach is apparently “monitoring” all three players as well and could encourage his bosses to launch bids of their own. There’s no mention of any prospect of permanent deals from either club.
The 3AM Verdict: There’s very little detail in Tuttomercato’s report to work with here, and we suspect if there is sincere interest, it’s at a very early stage. Arsenal will likely want to find permanent buyers if they possibly can, so both Vieira and Fabregàs may have to wait for any favours from their former side.
Newcastle & Nottingham Forest target Manchester City man
McAtee is said to be “planning to quit” the Etihad this summer, with both Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest alleged to be “weighing up moves” as the young attacker casts about in search of first-team football.
Forest – who get called ‘Nottingham’ in this report, in case anyone wishes to be faintly irritated – have been linked with McAtee for a while, but Newcastle aren’t usually mentioned in these stories. Interest from Bayer Leverkusen seems to have cooled. In the same article, Newcastle are also being mentioned as having interest in free agent striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, along with Fulham.
The 3AM Verdict: We’re big fans of McAtee and reckon that whichever side signs him this summer will be happy with their business, but there’s very little detail in this story to suggest that either Newcastle or Forest are involved in urgent negotiations. We suspect that McAtee will leave Manchester City, but don’t feel that this article offers anything to move us closer to learning where and when.
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