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A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours with news from Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal and more.
It’s time for Wednesday’s round-up of the biggest and boldest new Premier League transfer rumours – and after trawling the global media for stories over the past 24 hours, we’re going to kick our little digest off up in Newcastle.
TeamTalk allege that the Magpies want to “make a splash” in the summer transfer market by making a move for Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott – whose sales “has been greenlit” by the powers that be at Anfield.
The article goes on to suggest that claims of a £40m asking price may be wide of the mark with the valuation currently known only to Liverpool themselves, as negotiations haven’t begun, but notes that Eddie Howe “greatly admires” the former Fulham man.
Elliott has been largely sidelined by Arne Slot this season and speculation that he could leave to get some more first-team minutes has been growing, although this report cites unnamed sources in claiming that Elliott – who could solve Newcastle’s right-wing problem – wants to stay at Liverpool if he can.
Elsewhere, Give Me Sport claim that Newcastle are also interested in AS Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche, a supposedly “box office” wide forward who has 16 goal contributions to his name this season.
The 3AM Verdict: Without knowing the truth about Elliott’s personal ambitions it’s hard to know how likely this deal is to happen, but it certainly makes sense to move on given that Slot seems to be just about the only person in football who isn’t all that keen on him. It will be interesting to find out whether Newcastle see Elliott as a winger, as he was while coming through the ranks, or a midfielder, as he usually is for Liverpool. There would be less ambiguity with Akliouche.
Arsenal among clubs eyeing €40m man
Over to a story from Caught Offside now, who suggested yesterday that Arsenal are among several sides taking a close look at AS Roma centre-back Evan Ndicka, along with high-flying Nottingham Forest and Newcastle (again).
Roma are “in no hurry” to sell Ndicka but may need to if they fail to qualify for Europe this season in order to keep the finances balanced – in that case, he’s expected to cost around €40m (£33.4m), a price which his Premier League suitors are reportedly happy to meet.
The 3AM Verdict: Arsenal probably aren’t in direneed of a new defender but rumours seem to point towards them wanting one anyway, and Ndicka is the kind of technically proficient centre-half that Mikel Arteta likes, while packing plenty of physical presence. We doubt this is a priority signing or a player Roma want to lose, so we suspect it’s not all that likely to happen, but perhaps.
Brighton find Verbruggen replacement
Amid speculation that Bayern Munich want to sign Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen this summer, it seems as though the Seagulls have been trawling around for a replacement – and according to Florian Plettenberg, they may have found one in the Bundesliga.
Brighton may be among the clubs keeping an eye on Werder Bremen’s Mio Backhaus, a 20-year-old talent who Barcelona considered making a move for – a deal which now seems to be off following initial talks. Backhaus is Bremen’s back-up as it stands and wants to move to be a number one, which may explain past interest from FC København. Brighton apparently took a look at him last summer, and could conceivably come back for more.
The 3AM Verdict: Brighton back young talent but it would be a big gamble to sign Backhaus as anything other than a number two, and it sounds as though the player himself won’t move to be a support act. We doubt this one happens, but won’t be surprised if Brighton are doing their due diligence.