Chelsea ‘rival’ Liverpool for £79m midfield ace as Manchester United lead race for Serie A starplaceholder image
Chelsea ‘rival’ Liverpool for £79m midfield ace as Manchester United lead race for Serie A star | Getty Images
Rounding up the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton and more.
With barely over a month to go before the January transfer window opens, the rumour mill has been churning out stories at an ever-increasing rate – and to help you keep across all the latest reports, we’re back with our daily round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours.
Let’s start with a story from Caught Offside which suggests that Chelsea are set to “rival” Liverpool in their interest in Atlético Madrid midfield Pablo Barrios, with the Blues allegedly ready to start “stepping up their interest” in the central midfielder.
Elliot Anderson remains an option for the Blues as well, but Barrios is “emerging” as a player that they’re very keen on signing as well, with Liverpool also suggested as a potential destination should he leave the Spanish capital.
Atléti “most likely won’t want to sell” but the financial heft of the Premier League teams could help with that, while it’s suggested that Barrios himself would be “tempted” by the opportunity to play in England. The article’s headline suggests that he would cost €90m (£79m) but the rest of the piece doesn’t expand on that at all.
The 3AM Verdict: This is some very thin speculation, in our opinion. There’s no source for the claim that Barrios might want the move, no suggestion of any contact between the parties or even that scouting trips have taken place, and no details of any kind, less still over the price. This is a story with far too little meat on the bone for us to start believing it.
Manchester United among teams chasing Serie A star
Over to TeamTalk, now, with a story which suggests that Manchester United are “keen” on AS Roma right-back Zeki Çelik – but are “facing competition” from Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
The 28-year-old Turkish international is available on a free transfer at the end of the season, hence the widespread interest, and all of the clubs above are said to have “made enquiries” about the player – but United are suggested to be especially keen as they “hunt” for a new right-back.
Roma are keen to tie Çelik down to a new contract extension but apparently the defender will take his time before making a decision, giving the Premier League sides the chance to make their case.
The 3AM Verdict: Nothing implausible here, although we’re some of the teams listed are more interested than others. As an impending free agent, Çelik is bound to draw a fair amount of interest and some of that may well come from the Premier League, whose teams can generally over higher wages than clubs in Italy. We’ll see how this one develops.
Nottingham Forest chase Everton star amid £20m asking price claim
Let’s finish up with a story from Football Insider which builds upon recent stories concerning the future of Everton’s versatile midfielder James Garner – with Nottingham Forest said to be “eyeing up” a move to bring their former player back to the City Ground.
Garner, who spent time on loan with Forest as a youngster, is also of interest to Aston Villa and Manchester United, apparently, but David Moyes is “stepping up” efforts to get Garner (whose contract expires in June) tied down to a new deal.
None of that is new information, but the interesting tidbit here is that even if he does sign a new contract, he would still have an asking price of around £20m should Forest or another interested party wish to sign him – although the growing interest means that amount could be “increased,” with a new deal only seen as a “short-term buffer” against bids.
The 3AM Verdict: For what it’s worth, we believe Forest and Villa have at least some interest in Garner but that the Manchester United link would only come into play if they could sign him on a free transfer – not for £20m or more. We also doubt that the other alleged bidders will pay that much this summer, although his recent form certainly increases the chances of that happening. It’s still very unclear whether he will sign a new deal, especially with some stories stating that negotiations haven’t even started.
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