The latest Premier League transfer rumours reviewed - with news from Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and more.
Another day has successfully dawned – we hope, we’re writing this in advance – and that means another edition of our regular morning round-up and review of some of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, starting with a story for the Chelsea supporters amongst you.
According to Caught Offside, Chelsea have sent scouts to watch RC Strasbourg right-back Guela Doué, who has become “one of the most talked-about names” in Ligue 1 – and who could be the subject of a “transfer battle” come January.
Chelsea are said to be “in the strongest position” to sign the 23-year-old, although it’s said that Strasbourg won’t sell Doué, who is under contract until 2029, for anything less than €30m (£26m). For some reason, the fact that Strasbourg are Chelsea’s sister team and share owners isn’t mentioned, which may be a pretty relevant factor in any negotiations.
The Blues aren’t having this transfer battle with themselves, of course. Aston Villa, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion have all been “following his development closely” and could make bids of their own – while AC Milan and RB Leipzig are monitoring him from the continent.
The 3AM Verdict: Themulticlub ownership link between Chelsea and Strasbourg makes this deal more likely – but also means that such rumours will get thrown about more freely even when there isn’t any substance behind them. As such, we’ll wait for more corroboration of the story before we assume that this particular deal will get done. We should add that Guela is Desiré’s elder brother, in case you were wondering.
Manchester United ‘intensifying’ midfielder search as primary target emerges
Over to a story from TeamTalk now, who claim that Manchester United “are intensifying their search for midfield reinforcements” – and that manager Ruben Amorim has picked out the player he wants to sign in January.
Sporting midfielder Morten Hjuland has become the “prime target” because Amorim, who coached him in Portugal “absolutely loved” him and is keen to get a reunion going – and United are allegedly “optimistic” about getting a deal done for around £50m, which is £20m less than the Dane’s release clause.
Should a deal for Hjulmand prove impossible, then Adam Wharton “remains a top target,” but the odds on a bid for Carlos Baleba seem more remote as United think it would be “difficult” to get a deal done in January. Jobe Bellingham and Porto’s Victor Froholdt are also being monitored.
The 3AM Verdict: TheUnited-for-Hjulmand story has been repeated ad infinitum but we haven’t seen many sources sincerely claiming that a January deal is being looked at – and after their summer spending, we wonder if that’s really plausible. The profit and sustainability rules would certainly make it more challenging. There’s almost no chance of Wharton moving in January, incidentally, which makes us more sceptical of the premise of this entire report.
Liverpool could let player leave for low price – once they find a replacement
Over to Anfield, now – Sport Witness have been monitoring reports from Italy which suggest that “a January exit remains a possibility” for Liverpool defender Joe Gomez as AC Milan consider making another bid for the 28-year-old.
The Serie A side are “still interested” in the centre-back, who might have left this summer had Liverpool not failed to land Marc Guéhi. A replacement would still be required before the Reds consider letting Gomez leave, it’s claimed. Should they do so, then the “exit will go through.”
Apparently, Liverpool only value Gomez at a pretty paltry €10-15m (£8.5-13m) in part because his contract will only have 18 months left to run by the time the next transfer window opens up. It’s not certain that Milan will make a bid, despite the budget-friendly price tag – the Rossoneri are “keeping an eye on a host of other names too.”
The 3AM Verdict: That’s very cheap, all things considered, but we have difficulty imagining that Liverpool would let a centre-back leave when they’re so thin at the position having missed out on Guéhi and lost Giovanni Leoni to long-term injury. Next summer, however, we wouldn’t be at all shocked if Gomez moved on.
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