A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Aston Villa and more.
As the fast-moving reporting around Liverpool’s interest in Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike proves, it’s pretty tough to keep track of everything going on in the transfer window – and that’s why we’re back with our latest round-up of the biggest new Premier League rumours, so you can stay up-to-date.
We start this morning’s digest with a story from Caught Offside which suggests that both Chelsea and Arsenal could make a move for Morgan Rogers this summer – with a potential bid from Aston Villa for Nicolas Jackson a potential “trigger” for negotiations.
The 22-year-old England international is “on the radar” of both London teams, and it’s suggested that Chelsea would respond to any bid for Senegalese striker Jackson by attempting to engineer a part-exchange deal which would bring Rogers the other way. The depth of Arsenal’s interest is tough to gauge from this report, and there’s no mention of if and when they could make a move.
Villa, for their part, don’t seem especially keen on sparking this sort of negotiation – it’s said that they “don’t want to lose him any time soon” and may hold off on a bid for Jackson to make it easier to keep hold of Rogers. No price points are mentioned.
The 3AM Verdict: Chelsea have been following Rogers for a while now, and we suspect they would make a move if the circumstances were right, but the likelihood remains that Rogers stays put this summer. It’s not guaranteed, however, and if Chelsea miss out on other targetssuch as Eberechi Eze, don’t be surprised if they test Villa’s resolve. We suspect Arsenal signing Noni Madueke means that they’re out of the picture this summer.
West Ham ready to bid for £20m England star
News from another part of London now, courtesy of TeamTalk, who claim that West Ham United are “undeterred” in their pursuit of Southampton and England centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who could be the subject of a bid despite an injury which may keep him out until well into August.
An ankle injury means that the 23-year-old isn’t fit to play right now, but “that hasn’t put the Hammers off” and this report says that they could make a move later in the window, provided they can negotiate their way through an apparently somewhat constrained PSR position.
Southampton are expected to demand £20m for one of their more desirable assets following relegation, while Harwood-Bellis himself is said to be “very keen” to move back to the Premier League. If there are other clubs in the mix, they aren’t mentioned.
The 3AM Verdict: It’s hard to suggest that there’s anything implausible or unreasonable in this rumour, and we could very well see West Ham signing Harwood-Bellis before the end of the window. A story that’s just sensible all round, for a change.
Sunderland enter bidding for ex-Arsenal star
A few days ago, it seemed pretty much set in stone that Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka would move to Saudi Arabia to see out his career – but according to Sport Witness (via Bild), Sunderland could offer the former Arsenal star a second bite at the Premier League cherry.
Apparently, the Black Cats “have already contacted” Erik ten Hag’s team about the terms of a move, with Leverkusen apparently “demanding” a transfer fee worth up to €20m (£17.3m) for the 32-year-old veteran – a fairly hefty amount for a player of his age.
There’s no word on whether a move to Sunderland would tempt Xhaka over a move to nouveau-riche Saudi side Neom SC, and apparently it’s a “topic of conversation” between Sunderland and Leverkusen even though a formal bid has not yet been made.
The 3AM Verdict: €20m sounds a bit steep, especially given that Sunderland have already spent a fair amount since promotion, but at least Xhaka wouldn’t be off to the Africa Cup of Nations, unlike every other player they’ve bought this summer. Still, we suspect the lure of Saudi riches wins out if this does turn into a proper transfer battle.
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