Spurs plotting shock Brighton raid as Chelsea grow ‘confident’ of signing wonderkid duoplaceholder image
Spurs plotting shock Brighton raid as Chelsea grow ‘confident’ of signing wonderkid duo | Getty Images
Rounding up the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton, Chelsea, Newcastle and more.
We’re just four weeks away from the start of the January transfer window and the gossip columns are starting to burst at the seams with stories – and to help you keep track of everything, we’re here with our latest digest of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours.
We’ll kick things off today with a tale that may interest fans of both Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur – because TeamTalk claim that Spurs are “working hard” to sign a new goalkeeper to replace Guglielmo Vicario, and are now “huge admirers” of Seagulls stopper Bart Verbruggen.
Verbruggen is one of two players mentioned as being under consideration (the other being Manchester City’s James Trafford) and Spurs are said to be “making checks” on the 23-year-old’s availability. There’s no hint as to how much Brighton might demand to sell their current first choice, although it said that they want to keep him if they can.
There may be a bigger problem for Spurs than Brighton’s asking price and willingness to do a deal, however – Bayern Munich are also “very much in the mix” for Verbruggen as they look for a long-term replacement for Manuel Neuer. Vincent Kompany’s side are said to hold “strong interest” in the Dutchman and could rival Spurs if they do make a move.
The 3AM Verdict: It’s not explicitly stated, but we presume that we’re looking at a deal which would take place next summer, if at all. Either way, we suspect that this is all a little speculative and long-distance – although rumours that Spurs want to move on from Vicario pre-date his being booed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the recent defeat to Fulham, and may well prove to be true.
Chelsea becoming ‘confident’ of double wonderkid deal
Let’s check in with the latest happenings at Stamford Bridge now – according to Caught Offside, Chelsea are “confident” of completing deals for two of the brightest young stars in French football: Ayyoub Bouaddi and Brian Madjo.
Bouaddi – a Football Manager wonderkid par excellence – is also of interest to Manchester United with both clubs “very keen” on the 18-year-old midfielder, but Chelsea appear to believe that they’re in pole position to complete a deal ahead of his other suitors.
They also “really like” 16-year-old Metz forward Madjo and the pair are “high up” in the Blues’ plans for the next two transfer windows. There’s no suggestion that any negotiations have taken place, nor is there a mention of how much either player would cost.
The 3AM Verdict: We’re not sure what evidence there is here to suggest that Chelsea are ahead of other teams in the race to sign these players, to be honest, and it’s all a little thin at the moment. With Bouaddi, in particular, there are bound to be many teams in the mix - we’ve alsoseen Arsenal mentioned - and he isn’t likely to move until the summer. These are certainly signings that fit Chelsea’s business model, however, so we have every reason to believe that the interest would be there.
Newcastle considering record bid for ‘next Dominik Szoboszlai’
Let’s wrap up with another story from TeamTalk which claims that Newcastle United are getting “serious” about a bid for up-and-coming Hungarian midfielder Alex Tóth, who plays for Ferencváros and already has nine caps for his national team at the age of just 20.
Described as the “next Szoboszlai,” Newcastle aren’t the only team who are keen but the Magpies are said to be “leading the chase.” Most of the big Bundesliga sides are said to be scouting him, Juventus and Brighton are both mentioned, and indeed Liverpool are apparently want to sign Tóth to play alongside the original Szoboszlai.
Supposedly valued at anywhere between €8m and €15m (a rather broad £7-13m range), Tóth’s contract runs out in 2027 which suggests that Ferencváros will look to sell sooner rather than later to maximise his value. A January bid is being “considered” by Newcastle, it’s suggested.
The 3AM Verdict: Tóth is a dynamic midfielder with plenty of technical quality, and Newcastle want some extra depth in their midfield, so why not? With so many teams said to be keeping tabs it’s hard to be confident as to who might be best placed to get a deal done, however, so we’d caution Newcastle fans from getting too excited just yet. The price is certainly affordable for them, though.
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