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A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United & Aston Villa.
Another day of gossip has been and gone, and as always we’re here with our morning round-up of some of the biggest (and wildest) Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed over the past 24 hours – starting with a story concerning Chelsea.
According to TEAMtalk, the Blues have “stepped up” their interest in Club Brugge centre-back Joel Ordóñez as they look to add some quality to a struggling back line, whose problems were neatly highlighted during Monday night’s match against Nottingham Forest.
Apparently Chelsea had scouts in attendance to watch the 22-year-old in action over the weekend and their representatives were said to have been “impressed” by the Ecuador international, a player they have supposedly had “on [their] radar” for several years.
They aren’t the only team who are keen, however, with Liverpool mentioned as potential suitors alongside Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. There’s no suggestion that a formal offer has been made, but it’s implied that Chelsea are close to the front of the queue for a player who will supposedly cost £35m.
The 3AM Verdict: Ordóñez has been agossip column regular over the past 18 months and a big move looks increasingly likely after another solid season. He’ll be entering the final two years of his current contract this summer, the point at which clubs usually start gearing up to sell – as for whether Chelsea are favourites for his signature, however, we simply don’t think there’s enough evidence to be sure.
Manchester United ‘favoured’ in race for Serie A star
We’ll stick with TEAMtalk for our second story of the day, which also involves a club’s interest in a player they’ve been watching for some time: Atalanta midfielder Éderson, who is said to be a target for Manchester United this summer.
The report cites both Fabrizio Romano, who apparently claimed that United have the Brazilian “on their shortlist” and Italian outlet Calciomercato, who claim that “contacts with Manchester United have intensified” ahead of his likely exit. Apparently he could command a transfer fee of up to €50m (£43m).
Several other sides (not least Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester City) have been linked with Éderson over recent months, but United are said to be “favoured in the race” to land the 26-year-old midfielder, who could be one of two signings in that position that Manchester United make.
The 3AM Verdict: The problem with stories linking Manchester United with any given midfielder is that they appear to be monitoring a great many of them, and it’s tough to tell which they’re more interested in than others – but this story does come with quite a few independent sources, which lends it some credibility. We do expect Éderson to move somewhere this summer, and Old Trafford is a perfectly plausible destination.
Aston Villa & Bournemouth in for £43.5m forward
Let’s wrap up with a story from Sport Witness which covers supposed interest in AS Roma forward Matías Soulé – with both Aston Villa and Bournemouth mentioned as potential landing spots for the 23-year-old Argentine, who can play as a winger, striker or as a number 10.
Apparently the Villans have been touted as a suitor by several sources, while Bournemouth are “also interested” – while Spanish side Atlético Madrid are “in the race” too.
Roma “aren’t desperate to sell” Soulé and have slapped a hefty €40m (£34.5m) price tag on his head, with the article stating that Villa, at least, would “try to negotiate” a more reasonable fee. Unai Emery’s side are said to have been “monitoring him for months” – there’s less detail on Bournemouth’s interest, which only gets a passing mention.
The 3AM Verdict: This is a report based on speculation from a handful of sources and could well end up proving to be little more than speculation – there’s no evidence provided, for instance, for the assertion that Aston Villa would want to haggle on the price. For now, we’re treating this with due scepticism.
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