Manchester United ready massive £88m bid as Leeds & Everton ‘among suitors’ for Japanese starplaceholder image
Manchester United ready massive £88m bid as Leeds & Everton ‘among suitors’ for Japanese star | Getty Images
Breaking down the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Manchester United, Leeds, Everton, Spurs and more.
It’s time once more for 3 Added Minutes’ regular round-up of the spiciest Premier League transfer we’ve seen doing the media rounds over the last 24 hours – and we’ll kick things off today with a story for both Manchester United and Nottingham Forest fans.
Caught Offside claim that United are prepared to firm up their widely-reported interest in Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson with a massive bid worth no less than €100m (£88m) – more than double the amount that Forest spent to sign the 23-year-old from Newcastle United.
Forest have Anderson under contract until 2029 and are described as being “in a strong position” to negotiate a gigantic transfer fee, but do “not want to let him leave easily” if they can avoid it.
The player himself is said to be “willing” to move to Old Trafford if a bid does indeed come in, and having been linked with a host of different midfielders the England international is now said to be the Red Devils’ “number one target.” There’s no word on whether this bid would come in January or next summer.
The 3AM Verdict: One major issue with this story is that a key source that’s cited for the claims is Spanish website Fichajes which is, in our opinion, a deeply unreliable source for transfer stories – so we’re not convinced that United necessarily are readying such a significant offer. We’ll probably have to wait until the summer to find out, anyway, as United are unlikely to have profit and sustainability space for such a big deal in January.
Premier League teams queue up to sign Celtic star
Let’s travel north of the border for this next story – because according to TeamTalk, a whole host of Premier League teams are in the race to sign Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, who has “informed the club of his desire” to leave in January.
Leeds United, Wolves, West Ham United and Everton are “among five suitors from the Premier League” but it’s Brentford who are alleged to be “leading the race” for the free-scoring Japan international, who is reportedly valued at £15m.
Apparently the Bees “scouted him aggressively” ahead of the summer and see Maeda as a perfect fit for their high-intensity system. Whoever makes a move, Celtic will apparently let him leave, albeit “reluctantly.”
The 3AM Verdict: Maeda was heavily linked with a Premier League move over the summer and while that never materialised, he has the right combination of affordability and quality to be a very plausible January target for quite a few clubs. Whether Brentford really are favourites we’re unsure, but it would be no surprise to see him playing in England in the very near future.
Spurs face Spanish challenge in race for former Everton star
Let’s wrap up with an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s alleged interest in former Everton and Fulham forward Ademola Lookman – also from TeamTalk – which suggests that while Spurs have “taken a step closer” to getting a January deal done for the 28-year-old, they may face some fresh competition.
Apparently Atlético Madrid have entered the race, with some Italian media sources suggesting that they could bid as much as €60m (£53m) for Lookman – and it remains to be seen whether Spurs could or would match such an offer should it arrive.
Lookman, who scored 20 goals for Serie A side Atalanta last season, has had public fallings out with both the board and his manager and is clearly pushing for a move with 18 months left on his contract. The report suggests that Atléti’s final offer may end up being lower than €60m, but doesn’t back that up with sources.
The 3AM Verdict: Spurs have been strongly linked with Lookman but it’s no surprise that other teams might be in the mix – we do think that £53m sounds steep given his situation at the club, especially in the January window. There’s definite interest from the North London club, but plenty of work to do to the squad, and we’ll find out soon just how much of a priority a player like Lookman is. We’re confident that he’s available, at any rate.
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