The latest transfers, gossip and rumours as deadline day begins to pull into view
Opta Profile: Eberechi Eze - Transfer heist in north London?
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Arsenal have dramatically stolen Eberechi Eze from Tottenham’s grasp after acting decisively following a major injury blow to Kai Havertz.
The Gunners moved quickly after the news that Havertz damaged his knee in their win over Manchester United, and look set to complete a transfer worth £60m and £7.5m in add-ons – pretty much exactly Eze’s release clause, which expired for this window last Thursday. Spurs are now searching for a new attacker as the deadline looms with Manchester City winger Savinho remaining a target.
Alexander Isak’s explosive statement this week accused Newcastle United of “broken promises” and “lost trust”, with Liverpool still strongly linked with a move for the Swedish striker. The Reds’ offer of £110m fell short of Newcastle’s valuation and the North East club issued a statement of their own saying conditions for a sale were unlikely to be met before the transfer window deadline. Newcastle have missed out on a raft of strikers and their latest bid, offering £40m to Brentford for Yoane Wissa, has also been rejected.
Elsewhere, Manchester United continue to endure frustration with their goalkeeper situation, and could yet rival Manchester City for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, while striker Rasmus Hojlund could be on his way to Napoli. Chelsea are closing in on Brighton winger Julio Enciso and are still working on a deal for United’s Alejandro Garnacho, Leeds are set to announce AC Milan’s Noah Okafor, and Nottingham Forest are close to completing a deal for Douglas Luiz from Juventus.
Follow all the latesttransfer news, gossip, rumours and done deals in The Independent’s live blog below:
Transfer news live
Arsenal snatch Eberechi Eze from under Tottenham's noses with medical booked for Friday
Gunners are in late talks with Eze over whether the England international will play for Palace tonight
Newcastle issue response to Alexander Isak's 'broken promises' statement
Rasmus Hojlund prefers loan with obligation to buy if he is to leave Old Trafford this summer
Brentford reject Newcastle's £40m offer for striker Yoane Wissa
Napoli open talks to sign Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund
Chelsea set to sign Paraguayan winger Enciso from Brighton
1 minute ago
Leipzig to target Elliott as Simons replacement?
Harvey Elliott has agreed personal terms with RB Leipzig as the German club prepare a move to replace Xavi Simons, reports Sky in Germany.
Liverpool would demand a fee of around £40m to let the England U21 international move.
Chris Wilson21 August 2025 16:17
11 minutes ago
Eze and Palace set for U-turn tonight?
Reports are emerging suggesting that Crystal Palace could be set to not play Eberechi Eze tonight in their Conference League play-off first leg against Fredrikstad.
Previous reports insisted that the England international would play despite his impending move to Arsenal, though the Sun are reporting the opposite, saying that the 27-year-old has opted against taking any risks ahead of signing for the Gunners.
Chris Wilson21 August 2025 16:07
31 minutes ago
Hojlund prefers 'permanent' move away from Old Trafford
Rasmus Hojlund is the subject of interest from clubs including Napoli and RB Leipzig, but he has made it clear to potential suitors that he prefers a loan move with an obligation to buy in order to have some degree of certainty over his future.
Reports suggest United would want around £40m for Hojlund in any permanent deal or obligation, with Napoli in the driving seat for the striker after advancing a move in the wake of an injury to Romelu Lukaku.
Hojlund’s future is in more doubt following Sesko’s arrival (Martin Rickett/PA)
Hojlund’s future is in more doubt following Sesko’s arrival (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)
Chris Wilson21 August 2025 15:47
51 minutes ago
Forest exploring deal for Cash
Nottingham Forest are exploring a deal to re-sign right-back Matty Cash, according to The Athletic.
Forest are yet to make a formal approach for the Poland international, and are said to harbour an interest in City’s Rico Lewis too.
However, the deal for Cash would be an altogether easier and cheaper option, with the 28-year-old under contract until 2027.
Chris Wilson21 August 2025 15:27
1 hour ago
AC Milan close in on deal for striker
Potential news for Rasmus Hojlund as AC Milan look to have turned their attention to Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface.
Fabrizio Romano reports that there is a “club-to-club agreement done for initial loan move with €30m buy option”, with the player’s agent on his way to Milan to progress the deal.
Chris Wilson21 August 2025 15:07
1 hour ago
Enciso signing for 'BlueCo' explained
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has offered a brief explanation into the deal for Julio Enciso, which has been labelled as a signing for BlueCo.
In short, Strasbourg will be signing the player and then selling him to Chelsea in a year or two, he says.
“Chelsea cannot sign Enciso and loan him to Strasbourg because they already have three loan players there which is the FIFA limit,” says Maguire.
“Chelsea also have to follow the UEFA business plan following their breach of cost control rules. This involves having a negative net spend this window. So if Chelsea did sign Enciso creates more pressure to sell players.
“By getting Strasbourg to sign Enciso and then sell him to Chelsea in 1-2 years solves all the problems,” he adds.
Chris Wilson21 August 2025 14:49
1 hour ago
Chiesa could stay at Liverpool
Federico Chiesa had been expected to move back to Serie A this summer but could now stay at Liverpool after his late cameo to win the match against Bournemouth.
“I’m very happy at Liverpool,” he said after the game. “I will speak to the club but I want to stay here and fight to win many trophies.”
Arne Slot said: “When we needed him, he delivered. And that is always positive for your future at a club”.
Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa (right) scored his side’s third goal of the game at Anfield (Peter Byrne/PA)
Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa (right) scored his side’s third goal of the game at Anfield (Peter Byrne/PA)
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 14:35
2 hours ago
Douglas Luiz closing in on Forest move
Douglas Luiz is on his way to Nottingham Forest.
The Brazilian made 27 appearances for Juventus last season, after switching from Aston Villa, but struggled to hold down a place in the starting XI.
And his time at Juve appears to be over, according to multiple reports, with a move to Forest set to be completed imminently.
Douglas Luiz is coming back to the Premier League
Douglas Luiz is coming back to the Premier League (Getty Images)
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 14:14
2 hours ago
Liverpool set deadline in pursuit of Isak
The saga that has rolled on for most of the summer concerns Alexander Isak, Newcastle and Liverpool.
The Premier League champions submitted a £110m bid for Newcastle’s main forward but that was rejected out of hand and the Reds moved to sign Hugo Ekitike.
They have remained interested in Isak but the weekend’s results prove that Newcastle need his services more than Liverpool do.
The latest in this move is that Liverpool have made Isak their priority for the closing weeks of the window but want the deal done sooner than later.
They’ve set a deadline of next week to get an agreement done with Newcastle otherwise they will move on to other targets.
The saga surrounding Alexander Isak remains the most intriguing transfer story of this summer's window
The saga surrounding Alexander Isak remains the most intriguing transfer story of this summer's window
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 13:55
2 hours ago
Echeverri to go out on loan
Manchester City have agreed to loan midfielder Claudio Echeverri to Bayer Leverkusen for the season.
The 19-year-old will join the 2024 Bundesliga champions to help replace Florian Wirtz, who has moved to Liverpool for £100m, and as part of Erik ten Hag’s new-look team.
Leverkusen will not have an option to buy Echeverri as part of the deal, with the Argentinian due to return to City next summer.
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 13:34
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