The latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester United and more.
While the summer transfer window continues to throw up stories faster than most of us can process them, 3 Added Minutes are back once more with our regular round-up and review of some of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours to help keep you up to date – and today, we’re starting with a story for both Newcastle United and Aston Villa fans.
According to Football Insider, Newcastle have “opened preliminary talks” to sign Villa’s club captain John McGinn, with Eddie Howe supposedly giving a personal “green light” to a bid.
The Magpies have supposedly been spurred on by news that McGinn would be “keen on a move to St. James’ Park” while they see his capture as a way to bolster their midfield following the loss of Sean Longstaff, who joined Leeds United earlier in the window.
Villa, for their part, don’t want to sell McGinn and rejected an approach from Everton recently, supposedly telling the Toffees that no bids for the Scotsman “would be considered” – but the player is apparently unhappy with being substituted off early in big matches and could agitate for a transfer.
The 3AM Verdict: We haven’t seen this story anywhere else, which makes it hard to corroborate, and Football Insider’s track record doesn’t inspire much faith in our opinion. That said, it’s not an especially implausible story on any level, so we’ll watch this one with interest. There are no details on the financial aspects of any potential deal.
Manchester United eye second-choice striker, plus update on £100m deal
We’ll hand the floor over to GiveMeSport now, as they have not one but two new stories for Manchester United fans to chew on – starting with the suggestion that Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis is “in their sights” should they fail to land Benjamin Šeško.
As negotiations over the Slovenian wear on, United have targeted the 30-goal Greece international “should a deal fall through”. Porto’s Samu Agehowa, previously linked with Aston Villa, could also be an option as Ruben Amorim turns to his home country for some options.
Elsewhere, GiveMeSport provide their take on stories connecting United with a bid for Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba – the Seagulls are said to have “no plans to part ways” with the young midfielder and would demand at least £100m to let him leave. Nothing short of a club record bid from United would make them change their mind.
The 3AM Verdict: The primary source for the Pavlidis story seems to be The Sun, which makes us doubt it from the very start, especially with so little corroboration from more reliable outlets. United are focused on Šeško, and we’re not sure anyone knows their Plan B right now. The interest in Baleba is definitely genuine, but we suspect the finances involved prevent such a deal from being struck this summer.
Sunderland and Manchester United scouting Serie A star
We’ll stick with United for the final rumour of our latest little digest, which comes courtesy of Sport Witness, who have corralled some stories from Italy which suggest that both the Red Devils and Sunderland share an “interest” in Fiorentina defender Pietro Comuzzo.
Apparently both teams have sent scouts to watch the 20-year-old in recent weeks and have “kept a close eye” on his progress – while other sources suggest that Bournemouth have also been “actively scouting” the young Italian.
Fiorentina supposedly want a fee of €40m (£35m) to part ways with Comuzzo, and are alleged to have rebuffed a bid of €30m from Napoli back in January. The player himself is said to be “not too interested” in pursuing a move at this point in time and it’s suggested that be won’t agitate for a deal to be pushed through.
The 3AM Verdict: We don’t see Comuzzo leaving this summer, and a flurry of stories in the Italian press may hint at his agents laying the groundwork for a future move – we think he’ll be in Florence for another year. Sunderland are certainly interested and have been monitoring him all summer, but we’re less sure as to whether United are truly keen.
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