Newcastle join Man City in £48.5m transfer race as Man Utd make ‘offer’ for Dutch wonderkidplaceholder image
Newcastle join Man City in £48.5m transfer race as Man Utd make ‘offer’ for Dutch wonderkid | Getty Images
Breaking down the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with updates from Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and more.
It’s once again time for our regular daily round-up of the biggest and spiciest new Premier League transfer rumours – and we’re kicking this morning’s digest off with a story which suggests that Manchester City have some serious competition for one of their transfer targets.
A number of reports from the summer onwards have linked Pep Guardiola’s side with Eintracht Frankfurt left-back Nathaniel Brown, a 22-year-old who made his Germany debut in October and has become “one of the most coveted young defenders” in the game, according to TeamTalk.
They allege that City are now joined by a host of other teams in the race for Brown’s signature, including Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal, all of whom are said to be “keeping close tabs” on the player.
Although under contract until 2030, this report suggests that Brown has a gentleman’s agreement in place to let him leave for a fee of up to €55m (£48.5m) although the exact amount is apparently unknown. Brown himself is “said to be enthusiastic” about the chance to play in the Premier League.
The 3AM Verdict: The story linking Brown to Manchester City has lingered despite the arrival of Rayan Aït-Nouri and the emergence of Nico O’Reilly, which is interesting, but it would be a head-scratcher if they bought a left-back this winter. We suspect he stays in Germany until next summer, but a bidding war may well erupt at some point – he’s a very exciting prospect playing some excellent football.
Manchester United make £22m ‘offer’ for rising Dutch star
Over to a story from Spanish outlet Fichajes, now, who claim that Manchester United have “activated their interest” in AZ Alkmaar prodigy Kees Smit, by making a supposed “offer” of €25m (£22m) for the young Dutchman.
That’s the headline, anyway, although in the fullness of the text no source for the size of the alleged offer is provided and it’s only suggested that “talks are progressing” between United and AZ, with the move potential move pencilled in for “next summer” rather than January.
There is no word on the 19-year-old’s thoughts on his future or whether he’s interested in a move to United or might prefer another destination – although not mentioned in the story, several other sides have been linked with Smit, including Tottenham Hotspur.
The 3AM Verdict: Frankly, this story is all over the place – half of the writing implies than a valuation has been determined, the other half that no offer has been made. Perhaps translation issues apply, but it would tally with our personal expectations of Fichajes, which are not high. United may well be interested in Smit, but we doubt there’s much solid information in this particular report unfortunately.
Aston Villa ‘plan to accept’ bids for key starter
Let’s finish up with a story for Aston Villa supporters – according to Football Insider, the Midlands club “plan to accept” offers for first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez this January after a summer of speculation about the Argentine’s future.
Unai Emery’s recruitment team are allegedly “exploring alternative” options between the posts as they search for a long-term replacement for the two-time Yashin Award winner, and the story links to past speculation that they could try to engineer some kind of deal for Manchester City’s James Trafford, who is stuck as number two at the Etihad.
There’s no word on who Villa might sell Martínez to, however. Manchester United came close to buying him over the summer but are likely to give Senne Lammens the chance to establish himself after a promising start. No other suitors are suggested.
The 3AM Verdict: We don’t doubt that Villa are doing their succession planning, but are sceptical of the idea that they might sell their number one mid-season, especially if there isn’t a buyer lined up. Martínez’s time at Villa Park is slowly coming to a close, but a January move feels slightly premature.
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