A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and more.
Welcome to your regular evening round-up of some of the biggest (and wildest) new Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed – starting, on this occasion, with a story involving Aston Villa.
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According to Fabrizio Romano – via TEAMtalk – the Midlands outfit have identified a possible replacement for Ollie Watkins should the striker end up leaving for Al-Hilal, a move that the 30-year-old is said to be actively keen on.
Nicolas Jackson scored 11 goals on loan at Bayern Munich last seasonplaceholder image
Nicolas Jackson scored 11 goals on loan at Bayern Munich last season | Getty Images
We previously reported that Aston Villa have no desire to sell Watkins and they have rejected a bid of around €45m (£38.5m), but this story suggests that they are in fact “open” to a sale for the right price. The exact amount is not specified in the story, but Romano clearly believes that this transfer could still take place.
Should Watkins leave, then apparently Aston Villa are “keen” to sign Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, who is up for sale and valued at £65m. It’s suggested that the Senegalese striker is just one of several options, but apparently Unai Emery has a high opinion of him after the pair worked together at Villarreal.
The 3AM Verdict: We remains sceptical of suggestions that Aston Villa are prepared to sell Watkins, quite frankly, although the financial might of the Saudi Pro League means that it’s certainly possible that their arm could be twisted. Jackson makes sense as an alternative – available and with a similar playing style, even if he isn’t the most consistent striker in Premier League history.
Aston Villa & Brentford target £50m Tottenham star
Pape Matar Sarr has made 141 appearances for Spurs since signing in 2022placeholder image
Pape Matar Sarr has made 141 appearances for Spurs since signing in 2022 | Getty Images
We’ll stick with Aston Villa for our second story, which comes courtesy of Caught Offside – they reckon that both Villa and Brentford are “keeping tabs” on Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, along with Saudi side Al-Ahli.
Spurs “would consider selling” the 23-year-old if the right offer comes in, and are said to value him at around £50m. The arrival of both Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali has rendered the Senegal international surplus to requirements, although it sounds as though Spurs aren’t in a hurry to move him on.
It’s claimed that Villa are “particularly serious” about getting a deal done, but there’s no suggestion that any of Sarr’s suitors have launched a bid just yet. Apparently they value Sarr at closer to £30m, so there could be a rather wide gap to bridge if negotiations do start up at some stage.
The 3AM Verdict: A rather speculative piece with little to suggest truly concrete interest from either Aston Villa or Brentford, but it’s not an inherently implausible story. One to keep an eye on.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City & Arsenal all keen on young Argentine star
Tomás Aranda earned his first Argentina cap after just 31 senior appearances for Boca Juniorsplaceholder image
Tomás Aranda earned his first Argentina cap after just 31 senior appearances for Boca Juniors | Getty Images
Let’s finish up with a story from Sport Witness, who cite multiple media sources in South America in claiming that Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Brighton are all “admirers” of rising Boca Juniors star Tomás Aranda.
The 19-year-old midfielder enjoyed a breakout season in 2025/26 and even impressed enough to earn a senior cap for Argentina against Honduras shortly before the World Cup. Several English sides keen on the youngster as a consequence, but continental clubs including Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan are also monitoring his progress.
Boca, for their part, “don’t want to lose” Aranda but may not have much of a choice – he has a £15m release clause baked into his current contract, so any teams who want to make a move have a relatively budget-friendly asking price to meet. Nobody has launched a bid as yet, however.
The 3AM Verdict: Whenever you see such an exceptionally long list of teams linked with a player, it’s a fair bet that there’s a certain degree of hyperbole involved and perhaps an agent dropping names in order to drum up interest – but Aranda is certainly a considerable talent, and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if many of the clubs mentioned have sent scouts to watch him. Whether that translates into bids remains to be seen.