West Ham plot shock double Arsenal deal plus Fulham ‘not giving up’ on injured targetplaceholder image
West Ham plot shock double Arsenal deal plus Fulham ‘not giving up’ on injured target | Getty Images
The latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from West Ham, Arsenal, Fulham & Nottingham Forest.
Another day of rumour and gossip is in the books, and 3 Added Minutes are once again here with our regular morning round-up of some of the biggest new Premier League transfer stories to help you keep track of it all – and we’re starting with a story which should interest fans of both West Ham and Arsenal.
According to TeamTalk, relegation-threatened West Ham are “hoping” to agree a double deal which would see two of Arsenal’s players make the short move across the capital to the London Stadium – wonderkid winger Ethan Nwaneri and utility man Oleksandr Zinchenko.
West Ham have apparently “made contact” already over a deal for the 18-year-old Nwaneri and while their initial enquiries are said to have been “rebuffed,” it seems that the Hammers still hope that Arsenal can be persuaded to let their young star leave the Emirates – presumably on loan, although that isn’t actually specified in the report.
They’ve also “emerged as suitors” for Zinchenko, who is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest but may have his stay at the City Ground cut short. West Ham “have yet to make contact” with the Ukrainian’s representatives with his situation up in the air, but want to bring him in as a left-back if they can.
The 3AM Verdict: Granted, this isn’t really a double deal as they seem to be quite separate negotiations. The sourcing for the Nwaneri story is more solid, we suspect, although all signals from the Emirates so far suggest that Mikel Arteta doesn’t want him to leave this winter. The Zinchenko side of the story is more speculative, but isn’t implausible if Arsenal and Forest can come to an arrangement.
Fulham ‘not giving up’ on primary target despite injury
Over to West London now for a story from Sky Sports, who allege that Fulham have “not given up” on their attempts to sign PSV forward and key transfer target Ricardo Pepi – despite the fact that the American will be sidelined by injury for the next two months.
A broken arm will keep the 22-year-old out for a while but Fulham, who tried to sign Pepi in the summer as well, are “still keen” and are “maintaining discussions” with his current club in the hopes of reaching an agreement.
It’s not clear whether such a deal could still take place in the current transfer window, but it is stated that Fulham are “looking at strengthening up front this month.” Other potential targets are said to include Brighton’s Evan Ferguson, currently on loan at AS Roma.
The 3AM Verdict: While Fulham’s interest in Pepi isvery well established at this stage, we struggle to imagine that they would sign him to fill a need when he won’t be able to play for a big chunk of the second half of the season. We suspect that negotiations – which didn’t seem to be going well anyway given that PSV appear to want to keep Pepi around – will be pushed back to the summer. Brighton also seem keen for Ferguson to complete his loan spell at Roma.
Nottingham Forest ‘scare off’ Brazilian side after proposing sensational swap deal
Let’s wrap up with an interesting story concerning Nottingham Forest, which comes from Sport Witness – via a number of sources in the Brazilian media – and suggests that Nottingham Forest attempted to leverage Palmerias’ interest in defender Morato by trying to engineer a swap deal involving 19-year-old defender Benedetti.
Discussions over a deal for Morato did “move beyond an initial enquiry,” it’s said, but reached a “clear stopping point” when Forest proposed that the teenage Benedetti, a centre-half who broke into the Palmeiras first team last year, be include in the deal. Apparently that idea “scared [Palmeiras] off.”
It’s not clear whether Forest will attempt to resume negotiations for Benedetti any time soon, and they are said to be “comfortable” with keeping Morato and certainly don’t seem to be shopping him around. There’s no word on whether there is a fee which Palmeiras might accept for their young defender.
The 3AM Verdict: This sounds like a deal which has stopped in its tracks rather than one which is progressing at pace, but it could give us an insight into Forest’s transfer targets going forward – and it wouldn’t be the first time that an initial rejection has failed to deter a Premier League side from pressing ahead with a bid.
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