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The latest Premier League transfer news including Manchester United, Newcastle, Chelsea and more
Another day, another piping hot mug of transfer rumours to guzzle down. As we approach the summer window - which bursts open on June 15th - things are starting to get busy behind the scenes. Agents’ phones are buzzing, ‘in the know’ reporters are stirring the pot, and it looks like Anthony Gordon’s already got one leg in a snazzy new pair of lederhosen, as Bayern Munich close in.
We’ll kick today’s round-up off in west London, where Chelsea have unveiled Xabi Alonso as their new manager. Like most football news these days, this was not a well kept secret, with the ex-Liverpool star’s return to the Premier League becoming common knowledge over the past couple of weeks.
It now appears he may have a dilemma to deal with as soon as he steps through the door - Barcelona are after their star player. The Daily Mail report that ex-Chelsea midfielder Deco, who is now Barca’s sporting director, was present at Wembley for the Blues’ 1-0 FA Cup final loss to Man City on Saturday, with a view to “sounding out” Chelsea over a move for Joao Pedro.
The report claims that he was in London all week working on various transfer plans, with the 24-year-old striker - who we rated as the Blues’ best signing this season - top of the his wish list to replace Robert Lewandowski this summer. It is said that Chelsea have no desire to sell Pedro, and view him as an important part of the new-look line-up under Alonso.
The 3AM Verdict: Chelsea have a dire track record when it comes to buying strikers, and Pedro is arguably the only reliable one they’ve had since the fiery Diego Costa left in 2018. His continued prolificacy in front of goal will be essential if the club are to improve under Alonso.They have plenty of disastrous flops they can sell instead, if they need to generate some cash this summer.
Man United ‘in pole position’ to sign Tonali
Next up, it’s over to Old Trafford, where Manchester United are said to be leading the race to sign everyone’s favourite Adam Driver lookalike, Sandro Tonali. Seriously, the likeness is just uncanny. Italian outlet Corriere della Sera say that interest in the midfielder is growing ahead of the summer, but that Serie A clubs such as Juventus may struggle to pay Newcastle United’s asking price.
Said asking price is not specified, and they correctly note that the ‘market values’ attributed to players such as Tonali are utter hogwash. Our words, not theirs. One thing that is for sure is that the Magpies will be looking to make a significant profit on the £55m they paid to sign him from AC Milan three years ago.
With Italian suitors seemingly struggling to stump up the cash to sign the ex-Brescia gem, Man United are tipped to be the lead contenders for his signature, with their recent qualification for the Champions League having boosted both their financial muscle and ability to once again attract top class new signings.
The 3AM Verdict: Man United got their recruitment pretty much spot on last summer, going for Premier League experience in the shape of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha to supercharge their attacking threat. Tonali has proved himself to be a top class operator in England, and he’d be an ideal signing for their midfield overhaul. However, they’d do well to get the deal done quickly, as the likes of Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool could also be keen.
Everton eye relegated winger
To round things off we’ll swing by Goodison Park, where Everton are rumoured to be taking a keen interest in Burnley winger Loum Tchaouna. Football Insider claim that the Toffees’ scouts saw the £13m in action against Aston Villa last weekend and were highly impressed by what they saw. That’s about as far as the report goes in terms of concrete details.
It goes on to reel off various stats from the Chad international’s debut Premier League campaign, including some impressive expected goal and assist numbers. The ‘expected’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, mind. In reality, he’s only scored three goals and not provided a single assist. Still, with higher quality teammates around him, those encouraging ‘expected’ goal contributions could become a reality.
The 3AM Verdict: Everton won’t have hundreds of millions to blow on this summer, having racked up hefty net spend over the course of the 2025/26 campaign. They’ve now got a pretty strong squad, and won’t need too many new additions to improve it. They could certainly do with a new winger, and Tchaouna could well have an enticing relegation release clause in his contract, given that Burnley only got promoted last season.
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