The Premier League Panel: Is Fabian Schär the best bargain in PL history?
Breaking down the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Man Utd, Newcastle, Everton, Spurs and more.
According to Caught Offside, those three teams are “showing strong interest” in Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, who is now said to be “unlikely to engage” in discussions over a new deal at Selhurst Park. With just 18 months left on his contract, Palace are said to have “given up” on keeping him.
This is why United, Newcastle and Spurs look to be keeping an eye on a player who is apparently “open to a new challenge.” All of which could lead to Mateta being available for a relatively affordable £40m, with a January move alleged to be “possible.”
It’s suggested that United are already casting around for a replacement for Benjamin Šeško after a difficult five minutes or so at Old Trafford, while Newcastle might not trust the fitness of Yoane Wissa going forward.
The 3AM Verdict: Palace are not a team who let players go easily – just as Marc Guéhi and Wilfried Zaha – and we doubt that they sell their best striker in January. Equally, we doubt United have the money to spend until next summer, or that Spurs or Newcastle are especially desperate. Wissa won’t be out forever, after all. We suspect Mateta’s future is a topic for next summer and wouldn’t be surprised if different teams are in the mix.
Everton ‘accelerate’ talks over deal as Manchester United lurk
Let’s head over to the Hill Dickinson Stadium now, with a story from TeamTalk suggesting that Everton are “accelerating” plans to utility man James Garner down to a new contract – because Manchester United could bid to bring him back to Old Trafford, where he started his career.
The Toffees are said to be “pushing” the 24-year-old to put pen to paper on a new deal with United “keeping a close eye on his situation” as Garner enters the last 12 months of his current contract.
Everton want “to keep Garner for many years to come” and there is said to be “confidence” that they can persuade their £15m signing to extend his stay on Merseyside despite the alleged interest of United, whose academy Garner came through.
The 3AM Verdict: We’ve not seen many convincing sources for the link between United and Garner but he’d be a useful free agent addition for plenty of teams based on his form for Everton so far this season. Having seen so many players leave for free this summer, we suspect that the owners will be hotter on new contracts and that there’s a good chance they get this done, but Garner has certainly put himself in a good position to get a big pay day.
Fulham ready to shell out ‘hefty sum’ for American forward
Let’s finish up in West London, with a story that suggests Fulham could be set to splash out on what would be one of the biggest transfer deals in their history – and it’s one that they’ve already tried to get done in the past.
Sport Witness bring together reports from the American media which suggest that the Cottagers will “return” for PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi, a United States international that Fulham bid around €30m (£26m) for over the summer, only to be turned away with PSV wanting to bank a reported €50m (£43.5m).
Despite the failure to agree a fee over the summer, sources are apparently “confident” that Fulham now have the funds to make a better offer, and that Shahid Khan “will undoubtedly be willing to pay a hefty sum” to get a deal for the 22-year-old done. Whether that would be in January or next summer is unclear.
The 3AM Verdict: Pepi hit 17 goals in just 28 games last season and has started well this term too, so we can see why Fulham might want a second bite of the cherry. We don’t honestly know how reliable the American sources used here are, so it’s tough to say how likely it is that this story proves to be true.
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