A round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, featuring updates from Manchester United, Liverpool and more.
It isn’t easy to keep up with all of the transfer stories floating around at this time of year – so to keep you in the loop, we’re back with our latest digest of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, starting with a story from Manchester United.
Caught Offside claim that the Red Devils are one of two clubs to make “preliminary contact” with Lyon midfielder Corentin Tolisso and his representatives ahead of a potential move, with the 2018 World Cup winner an option as United work to bolster a distinctly dodgy midfield for next season.
Atlético Madrid are the other team who are said to have been on the phone, although it doesn’t sound as though either have made a formal approach to debt-ridden Lyon yet, who seem to be enduring a financially-mandated fire sale this summer. Eintracht Frankfurt, OGC Nice and Lille are all said to be keen as well.
Tolisso “does not intend to pressure Lyon for a transfer” but given the French side’s economic situation, it’s suggested that a bid of €25-30m (up to £26m) may be sufficient to sign a midfielder who is otherwise viewed as a key player.
The 3AM Verdict: Given that Tolisso will be 31 when the new season starts, we suspect that few clubs would pay what Lyon are said to be asking for – we’re reaching a point at which dozens of different midfielders are being linked with a move to Old Trafford, and this just feels like another slice of speculation. If a more budget-friendly deal were being suggested, we’d find it more believable.
Liverpool make big decision over Luis Díaz
Liverpool have decided to reject a transfer bid from Bayern Munich for winger Luis Díaz – despite the fact that the Colombian has “made it clear to the club that he wants to leave” and seems unwilling to sign a contract extension, according to The Athletic.
Bayern’s bid weighed in at €67.5m (£58.6m), it’s stated, but despite the fact that he is now the German giants’ “top target” and wants out, the Reds view Díaz as “an important part of their plans for next season” and have no intention of allowing him to leave Anfield.
They’ve supposedly slapped a notional €100m price tag on the 28-year-old, who was signed from Porto for half of that amount, but it’s suggested that a slightly smaller bid in the region of £80m would be “much harder to ignore” than an initial bid which was quickly rejected.
The 3AM Verdict: Liverpool seem set to stick to their guns unless the offer they receive is simply too big to turn down, which makes sense given that the tragic loss of Diogo Jota has made keeping their forwards at the club even more important for Liverpool. Bayern are much bigger spenders than they used to be, however, so it will be interesting to see if they come back with a new offer.
Nottingham Forest make Aston Villa star ‘primary target’
Nottingham Forest are set to make Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey “a primary summer target”, according to a new report from The Daily Telegraph, and believe he could play across the front line as they compete in continental competition for the first time in decades next season.
Forest’s interest in Ramsey is said to be “long-standing” and a fee could potentially fall in the region of £30m, the article suggests, although it acknowledges that the sum is based on prior media links rather than any fresh inside information – and there’s also no word as to whether Aston Villa are tempted to sell or not.
Both Everton and West Ham United are also interested in the 24-year-old, which may create a bidding war down the line, while Aston Villa’s recent brush with PSR problems may encourage them to move on a player whose sale would represent pure profit.
The 3AM Verdict: Ramsey has been linked with a number of teams on numerous occasions, and that always makes it harder to believe specific stories, especially when there’s very little details, as is the case here. That being said, Ramsey leaving Villa makes sense for both the player, who is only a rotational option under Unai Emery, and for his club, given that they could do with sorting out the balance sheet slightly.
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