The latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Fulham and more.
It’s once again time for our regular morning round-up and review of the latest Premier League transfer rumours – and today, we’re kicking things off with a story that should be of interest to Aston Villa and Chelsea supporters.
According to Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, “talks have already taken place” between the two teams over a proposed deal for Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson after Villa “added [Jackson] to their shortlist”.
Reports elsewhere claim that Chelsea have dropped their asking price from an initial £80m to £65m, which may have encouraged the Villans to open negotiations – but they might not be the only team to make a move.
“Several clubs are interested” apparently, although the only team namechecked is Bayern Munich, but Plettenberg states that while the Bavarians “gathered information” about Jackson, that transfer isn’t taking place. No word on the much-rumoured interest of Newcastle United this time.
The 3AM Verdict: We do believe that Villa have made initial enquiries but it’s too early to tell if they will yield a positive result – their PSR position is much better than it was at the end of June, but £65m is still a stretch for them. We don’t think a move to Newcastle is likely, as Eddie Howe has other priorities, not least of them being Yoane Wissa.
Manchester United eye ‘surprise move’ for former star
Much has been made of Manchester United’s goalkeeping issues after Altay Bayindir’s clanger cost them a game against Arsenal on Sunday, and according to Football Insider (among others) they have come up with a rather intriguing solution – engineering a “surprise move” for David De Gea.
The former United number one, who currently plays for Fiorentina, “remains well-connected” at Old Trafford and could agree to a short-term contract to bridge the gap between André Onana and Bayinidr and whoever comes next,
A new stopper has become a “priority”, apparently, but deals for Gianluigi Donnarumma and Emiliano Martínez are now said to be “unlikely”. With them out of the question, De Gea is allegedly seen as a “more stable and reliable” option.
The 3AM Verdict: There’s no word on what Fiorentina think about all this, and we can’t help but note that the first outlet to report this story was The Sun, and it may be that we’re seeing homework with a distinctly dodgy source being copied by other websites. As it stands, then, we have a few reasons to be sceptical, and it would be a strange PR move by Manchester United. We also note renewed stories linking them with Royal Antwerp’sSenne Lammens.
Chelsea ‘open’ to Fulham deal
Finally, over to a story from The Daily Telegraph which brings us back round to Chelsea, once again as the selling team – or the loaning team, as may be the case, as they are now “prepared to consider” letting Raheem Sterling leave for Fulham on loan with a permanent solution to the player’s future looking unlikely.
Sterling is one of eight players who Chelsea are trying to move on (including Jackson), and Fulham have “shown an interest” in a temporary deal for the former Manchester City, Liverpool and England winger, who is said to be keen to remain in London where his family are settled.
It is noted that Sterling would be “open” to the right move elsewhere in England, but Fulham seems to be a destination that would suit everyone – but his £300,000 per week wages are the “biggest hurdle” for the teams to overcome.
The 3AM Verdict: In truth, we’ve seen this story before, but it’s always worth repeating these reports when more reputable media outlets begin to get hold of them – in this case, it certainly makes it seem that Sterling’s move to Craven Cottage is getting closer.
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