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A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and more.
Another busy day of gossipmongering has been and gone, and that means that it’s time for 3 Added Minutes’ regular morning round-up of the biggest and wildest new Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed over the past 24 hours – starting with a story involving Arsenal, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.
According to Caught Offside, the Gunners have decided that “sense an opportunity” to get involved in the pursuit of Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson – and that they could “rival” Manchester City in the race for his signature this summer.
City are still said to be “leading the race” to bag the England international, something which has been widely reported in the media over the past couple of months, but apparently we “can’t discount” an Arsenal bid, with their scouts said to be “big fans” of the 23-year-old.
Chelsea, too, are said to hold “serious” interest in Anderson, who is expected to be worth “upwards of £100m” when the bidding begins. City are said to feel “confident” that they’ll get the deal done, but they may end up having more competition than they bargained for.
The 3AM Verdict: We simply don’t believe that Arsenal will spend £100m-plus on another midfielder, and there isn’t much evidence presented to back up the assertion that they could get involved in the race for Anderson. We expect City will have an easier time of it than this article implies.
Manchester United ‘offered’ opportunity to sign Barcelona star
Let’s move on to a story from TeamTalk now: They reckon that Manchester United have been “offered the chance” to sign Barcelona forward Ferran Torres this summer, with the Spanish giants looking for ways to raise money ahead of the transfer window.
Torres, formerly a Manchester City player of course, has also been offered up to Atlético Madrid, and with Barcelona apparently keen to sign Julián Alvarez as well (or instead of) Marcus Rashford – not that the article has much detail on the details of the fee that would be involved. Barcelona’s valuation of Torres is not mentioned, but it’s clear that they see him as a bargaining chip.
It’s said that the chance to acquire Torres “could influence” United’s handling of Rashford’s future, although Arsenal could be a potential disruptor in all this – Mikel Arteta is alleged to be a “long-term admirer” of the 26-year-old Spaniard, who is heading towards the final year of his contract.
The 3AM Verdict: Using Torres as a makeweight for Alvarez or Rashford would certainly make sense from Barcelona’s point of view, but there’s no clear picture of whether either United or Atlético would actually be all that interested. This could be an interesting story if there’s meat on its bones, but it all feels very speculative.
Nottingham Forest ‘keen’ on Serie A star
Let’s come back round to Nottingham Forest for the final story of today’s column, which comes courtesy of Sport Witness. They reckon that Vítor Pereira’s side are “keen” to sign Napoli full-back Mathías Olivera this summer, who has apparently been a target for some time.
The report claims that Forest attempted to strike a deal for the 28-year-old Uruguayan in the January window, but their failure to get a deal over the line (and the managerial changes which have happened since) hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm – although a bid will naturally depend on their survival in the Premier League.
Olivera will only consider signing if Forest stay up, it’s said, but it’s suggested that he may be interested if the chance to move to the Premier League should come around in the summer. There’s no word on how much Napoli might want for the left-back.
The 3AM Verdict: The most plausible of today’s stories, certainly. We have no problem believing that Olivera is a target, and the story seems detailed enough to make it read like more than pure speculation. One to watch, then, if Forest do indeed beat the drop.
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