A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Another day of gossip has been and gone, and that means it’s time for 3 Added Minutes’ regular morning round-up of some of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours you might have missed over the last 24 hours – starting with a story involving Arsenal and Manchester United.
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According to Caught Offside, the two teams are “keeping a close eye” on Alberto Costa, a young Porto right-back whose performances have made waves across Europe and seemingly attracted interest from the top flight.
Alberto Costa spent time with Juventus before signing for Porto in 2026placeholder image
Alberto Costa spent time with Juventus before signing for Porto in 2026 | Getty Images
While neither side are reported to have approached the 22-year-old or his club about a move as yet, they are said to be monitoring his performances with an eye to a bid at a later date. Not that they’re alone – PSG are also alleged to be keeping tabs on Costa, who made the Primeira Liga team of the season at the end of a breakthrough 2025/26 campaign.
Porto’s stance on selling Costa isn’t discussed, but it’s reported that he has a €65m (£56m) release clause baked into his contract, which currently runs until 2030. That leaves Porto well-protected, but also tells teams like Arsenal and Manchester United precisely what they’d need to pay.
The 3AM Verdict: We don’t doubt that both sides – and likely many other big teams – are keeping track of Costa’s performances, but right-back is only a secondary need for either side, so if they do decide to make a bid it’s probably something they’ll come back to next summer.
Chelsea ‘pressing hard’ in pursuit of Barcelona star
Injuries have hampered Alejandro Balde's progress at Barcelonaplaceholder image
Injuries have hampered Alejandro Balde's progress at Barcelona | Getty Images
Over to a story from TEAMtalk now: They claim that Chelsea are “pressing hard” to sign Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde, in a story which cites sources in the Spanish media.
Apparently AC Milan are also very keen on the 22-year-old, whose future at the Camp Nou is a source of continued speculation, with Liverpool somewhere in the mix as well. Curiously, there’s no mention of Manchester United, who need a left-back and were heavily linked with a bid for Balde over the summer but were unable to agree terms.
It’s said that Balde “doesn’t factor into Hansi Flick’s plans” for personal reasons, and as such Barcelona are actively looking for bidders – but there’s no word on the likely transfer fee here, or the timeframe that we might be looking at.
The 3AM Verdict: Chelsea, one imagine, will give Jorrel Hato and Pep Chavarría their chance before throwing money at another left-back, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens there first. Manchester United had genuine interest but gave up as Barcelona wouldn’t agree to a loan deal – as for Liverpool, we hadn’t heard anything but it’s not implausible given that Miloš Kerkez is likely to be the only left-back on the books by the end of the season.
Liverpool ‘in contact’ with Real Madrid midfielder
There has been a great deal of speculation regarding Aurelién Tchouaméni's future over the summerplaceholder image
There has been a great deal of speculation regarding Aurelién Tchouaméni's future over the summer | Getty Images
Chelsea aren’t the only Premier League team trying to sign a player from one of Spain’s biggest teams, according to TEAMtalk – they reckon that Liverpool are also “in contact” with the camp of Real Madrid star Aurelién Tchouaméni in the hopes that they’ll eventually be able to do a deal.
Liverpool are said to be “long-term admirers” of the 25-year-old, and could “consider” a move if the circumstances were right. Manchester United are also briefly noted as a team who showed interest in the summer, but it’s suggested that specific ship might have sailed.
There’s no suggestion that a move is imminent, and indeed any transfer would hinge on whether or not Tchouaméni can get his hands on regular playing time under José Mourinho – he’d prefer to stay, it’s said, but would consider a move if he wasn’t getting the minutes.
The 3AM Verdict: We’re incredibly sceptical about the idea of Liverpool signing Tchouaméni, not least because the Frenchman only just signed a new long-term deal at the Bernabeu. Players don’t often move on that swiftly after signing a fresh contract, so we doubt that this is a deal which has any serious chance of happening in the next year or so.