The latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Newcastle, Spurs, Chelsea, Everton and more.
Every morning, we at 3 Added Minutes round up and review some of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours to help you stay up to date – and today, we’re starting off with a story for the Newcastle United fans amongst you.
According to the Daily Telegraph’s John Percy, Newcastle hold a “strong interest” in Leicester City’s versatile attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, who can play on either flank or through the middle, and are now “looking at a possible deal”.
That may concern Tottenham Hotspur, another team heavily linked with the Moroccan in recent days. The Times are among the outlets who say that El Khannouss remains an option for the North London side as they work to find a replacement for the injured James Maddison.
Percy’s report also mentions Leeds United as an interested party, while Everton were linked before they moved for Jack Grealish. As Percy notes, El Khannouss has a release clause in his Leicester contract - depending on which reports you believe, it’s in the £20-25m range. Meanwhile, as Newcastle contemplate a new signing, they also have to think about losing Kieran Trippier. Sky Sports’ Keith Downie claims that AS Monaco are “weighing up” a bid for the experienced full-back.
The 3AM Verdict: This is a solid source for the story, and there’s certainly a bidding war gradually bubbling away even if El Khannouss seems to be a secondary target for most of the teams monitoring him. We think Spurs willmove for Savinho instead if they can, and Newcastle may have an easier run at this deal than they might expect – but little has gone to plan at St. James’ Park this summer.
Chelsea target ‘highly-rated’ defender after Colwill blow
Chelsea, like Spurs, are desperately searching around for a new signing after a serious injury – and with Levi Colwill another ACL victim, they are undertaking “an urgent search” for a new centre-back, according to Caught Offside.
One of the players “under consideration” is Bayer Leverkusen’s “highly-rated” Ecuadorian international Piero Hincapié, according to unnamed sources, with Chelsea said to be “monitoring his situation closely”. No formal contact has yet been made, the reports states, while interest from Spain could be a hurdle.
Chelsea’s recruitment team are further alleged to be “showing strong admiration” for Benfica and Portugal defender Antonio Silva – “enquiries have been made” to see if the 21-year-old could be available for sale, apparently. Silva could cost around €40m (£34.5m), it’s claimed, but there’s no price tag suggested for Hincapié should Chelsea go in that direction.
The 3AM Verdict: Both perfectly plausible names but also rumour mill staples, and the kind of names you’d throw into the hat if you were guessing, so we’ll wait for further corroboration of these stories before believing them in full. Chelsea are very likely to be in the market for a defender soon, though.
Sunderland, Everton & Forest all chasing same player
We’ll wrap things up today with a story which concerns no fewer than four Premier League teams – because if Sport Witness’ story proves true, then Everton, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest are all providing “competition” for the signature of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Matt O’Riley.
Everton are said to be “particularly interested” in the 24-year-old, who endured an injury-impacted first season at the Amex Stadium, but both Forest and Sunderland have apparently “made initial contact”.
The fly in their collective ointment is Juventus. The Old Lady are said to have a “draft agreement” in place for a loan deal, but can’t complete that until they sell a few of their current players – giving their competitors a chance to sneak in there. Apparently, should Forest complete the signing of Douglas Luiz quickly, then Juventus will be able to get this one over the line before any of their rivals get a look in.
The 3AM Verdict: The primary sources for this story are Italian so it’s possible that Juventus aren’t as far ahead in the race as the report implies, as local media in Italy can get a little over-excited. Still, it’s hard to call any of the Premier League clubs involved favourites, and since Everton signed Jack Grealish we doubt that they’re really super-interested in another attacking midfielder.
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