The biggest new Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Sunderland.
It’s once again time for our regular round-up and review of some of the biggest and juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours – and today, we’ll kick things off with a story which should interest fans of Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Despite playing rather well in the 0-0 draw between the two sides on Sunday, Caught Offside claim that “uncertainty surrounds” the future of centre-back Trevoh Chalobah, with Palace “keeping a close eye on developments” as a number of teams debate a bid for the 26-year-old.
Inter Milan “have begun gathering information” while Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are also said to be interested in the defender, who was impressive on loan with Palace last season in the Premier League. They are said to view him as an ideal potential replacement for Marc Guéhi, who may well be off to Liverpool before the transfer window closes.
Chelsea are said to want €35m (£30m) for the defender, who was an academy product and whose sale would therefore go down as pure profit against future PSR calculations – although apparently the reality is that a loan deal is “the likeliest option.”
The 3AM Verdict: Would Chelsea be a little crazy to sell Chalobahafter Levi Colwill’s injury? Probably, but this is a team that puts good financial businessahead of squad-building, so it’s very possible. As for whether Palace, Inter or another team are more likely to be the beneficiary of such a deal, it’s too early to say – no formal bids have been made.
Newcastle keep ‘very close eye’ on £34.5m midfielder
Up to St. James’ Park, now – TeamTalk allege that Newcastle United have been tracking Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi for “several months” and are keeping a “very close eye” on him ahead of a potential transfer bid.
Indeed, Newcastle are said to have “recently been in contact” regarding a deal but a gap in valuation between the two teams may prove a problem, with Inter’s €40m (£34.5m) asking price said to be around £4.5m too much for the Magpies.
It’s claimed that unless Inter lower their asking price, it’s unlikely that Newcastle will launch a bid this summer, especially as Eddie Howe is said to see the midfield as not being “an urgent need”. Instead, he is prioritising attacking reinforcements with Alexander Isak still potentially leaving the club.
The 3AM Verdict: Although Newcastle may well have Frattesi somewhere on their shortlist, we haven’t seen much that makes us believe a deal is very likely this summer, and this article only reinforces the notion that this is one for the future – or, perhaps, for never.
Sunderland ‘submit official bid’ for Colombian star
Let’s stay in the North East for our final story of this evening’s digest – according to Fabrizio Romano on social media, Sunderland have submitted “an official bid” for Bologna and Colombia centre-back Jhon Lucumí.
The defender, who is apparently “keen” to move to the Stadium of Light, has been linked with a move to Wearside before, but a move may be complicated by the fact that a reported £24m release clause is said to have expired already.
Consistent with previous stories from other sources, Romano suggests that Bologna have a “clear intention not to let him go” and “want to keep” their star defender. That doesn’t seem to be stopping the Black Cats from having a belated crack at a deal – but Romano doesn’t say how much they might have offered.
The 3AM Verdict: Without the financial details, it’s really hard to say how likely it is that a deal gets done, but Romano’s story is corroborated by other sources and Sunderland have been linked with Lucumí several times, so we think the story is perfectly accurate. Nottingham Forest have been mentioned asa potential suitor in the past, too, but nothing here to suggest that they’re still keen.
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