The latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester United & Manchester City.
No sooner has one transfer window closed than clubs start to prepare for the next – and that’s why there’s still plenty of fodder for our regular morning round-up and review of all the latest Premier League transfer rumours, which today starts with a story for Chelsea and Aston Villa fans.
Caught Offside claim that the Blues have cobbled together a three-man shortlist after making signing an attacking midfielder their “priority” for the coming year having missed out on a deal for Xavi Simons – and a familiar name is right at the top of their list.
Plenty of media outlets have linked Chelsea with a bid for Morgan Rogers already, and he’s once again said to be among their “top targets”, but they also have a back-up plan should Villa prove unwilling to sell – with Lyon’s Malick Fofana and Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz also on their radar.
They may well have to lean on their fall-back options as Aston Villa are “keen to hold on to Rogers” but could find themselves in the thick of a bidding war anyway – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City “could get involved” in any negotiations that start too.
The 3AM Verdict: Rogers to Chelsea is a story that’s going to keep coming round until they sign somebody else, which we think is more likely if they need a number ten in January – Villa may be strong-armed next summer but it’s not likely that they change their tune before then. You’d think Caught Offside get commission for every time they slip Yildiz’s name into a story, so often do they link him to almost any club. Fofana was looked at but won’t be on their list in the short term after they signed Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho instead.
Manchester United target former Wolves star
Let’s hand over to Spanish outlet Fichajes now, who allege that Manchester United “have set their sights” on former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Rúben Neves as they look to bolster their midfield in the winter window.
The 28-year-old is currently plying his trade for Saudi side Al-Hilal after a £47m move to the Pro League but the Red Devils now see him as “the ideal player” to fix up a broken midfield. He is seen as a more “realistic and impactful” alternative to Carlos Baleba, apparently.
It is, however, claimed that the “main challenge” of getting a deal done will be negotiations with Al-Hilal, who are in no rush to sell a key player and are hardly struggling for cash. There’s no word on whether Neves himself would want to push for such a move if the opportunity arose.
The 3AM Verdict: There’s little detail here, although that’s to be expected when we’re so far from the next transfer window. We don’t generally trust Fichajes but this is a link we’ve seen once or twice before – either that means we’re starting to see more smoke where there’s a real fire, or Fichajes are just regurgitating an old story. Could be either.
Manchester City star ‘ready’ for exit
Let’s finish up on the other side of Manchester, with a story from TeamTalk – based partly on a story from the Portuguese press – which suggests that City legend Bernardo Silva could be “ready” to agree to leave the Etihad sooner than anticipated.
Silva’s former club Benfica have already “drawn up” a contract for their former player, with the Lisbon club ready to “force City into an early decision” on Silva’s future by presenting him with an offer as soon as the new year starts, at which point Silva – whose contract expires next June – will be free to negotiate his departure.
Apparently pre-contract talks between Silva and one of the candidates for Benfica’s presidency are already “advanced” and there is some chance that City sell him in January to earn some money rather than let him leave for free. Apparently a decision on whether to offer him a new deal has yet to be made.
The 3AM Verdict: We doubt that City offer Bernardo a new deal as they’re making a concerted effort to get younger and move on from their recent heroes, so it’s really just a question of whether he leaves in January or not. That will surely depend heavily on his form and what Benfica might offer if it isn’t great.
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