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Our round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours includes news from Chelsea, Manchester United, Spurs and Newcastle.
It’s time for Tuesday’s round-up of all the biggest and boldest new Premier League transfer rumours – which includes, by way of a slight change of pace, a rumour which isn’t actually about a transfer. We’ll get there.
But we’ll start with a story from Caught Offside which suggests that Chelsea are close to giving up on perennially injured midfielder Roméo Lavia – and could spend £75m to sign his replacement from Manchester United.
The Blues are allegedly set to “step up their pursuit” of Kobbie Mainoo as a result of their doubts over Lavia’s long-term viability, and with Mainoo and his club struggling to reach an agreement on a new contract, the door could open for Chelsea to make a move.
United value Mainoo at £75m, while Mainoo himself is supposedly seeking a weekly wage of £180,000, which would put him up alongside Chelsea’s highest earners. It’s suggested that the size of the contract could be a sticking point, but “a breakthrough could be reached” nevertheless.
The 3AM Verdict: This would be a complicated transfer to analyse. On the one hand, developing players with immense talent andthen selling them makes financial sense. On the other, failing to keep elite home-grown players makes little footballing sense. But than back on the third hand we need to keep track of this one, Mainoo really doesn’t seem to suit Ruben Amorim’s system. As for Chelsea’s end, he’s young and expensive, so he’s exactly their type.
Newcastle eye Robben-esque winger
Up to St. James’ Park for rumour number two today – TBR Football allege that Newcastle United are “doing checks on the progress” of Norwegian wide forward Sindre Walle Egeli, an 18-year-old who currently plays for Scandinavian talent factory Nordsjælland.
Egeli, who has already earned a cap for the Norway national team and has been compared to Chelsea legend Arjen Robben, has apparently attracted plenty of interest from around the continent, with Atalanta and RB Leipzig also doing their due diligence.
There’s no word on how much Egeli, who has scored five goals in 20 games so far this season for his current club, might cost, nor on whether a deal would take place this summer or at some point in the future.
The 3AM Verdict: Egeli is a talent who is just starting to work his way onto our radar, so at least we’re only a little way behind leading European sides’ scouts… the Robben comparison largely exists because he loves to cut inside, but he’s got a decent turn of pace and neat technique as well as an eye for goal. Whether Newcastle end up making a move for him, we’ll see.
Man Utd & Spurs monitoring same manager
Let’s finally get round to that rare transfer-free rumour – not normally something we indulge in, but this one felt like fair game because it suggests that both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are considering appointing the same manager should they part ways with their current coaches.
Sport Witness picked this story up from the Italian media, and it suggests that both sides are looking “first and foremost” at Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi should they sack Amorim or Ange Postecoglou respectively. Inter are currently the Serie A league leaders, and Inzaghi’s stock has been steadily rising for a little while now.
Sport Witness’ take on the rumour does note that the reports may be caused because of Inzaghi’s contract situation, and if he wants a new deal then it wouldn’t be a great shock to find that his agents had been sprinkling a few stories in the press – but the 48-year-old seems to be keen to stay at the San Siro.
The 3AM Verdict: We suspect he’ll stay there, too, although the lure of the Premier League can be surprisingly strong, even for coaches with cushy jobs in Italy. Of course, it all depends whether either club even fires their manager in the first place – but if they do, we’d be slightly surprised if Inzaghi really was an option for either team unless things go south in Milan quite quickly.