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Michael Carrick and Eddie Howe patrol their respective touchlines | Getty Images
A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Man Utd, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Arsenal and more.
Another busy day of gossipmongering has passed, and that means that it’s time for 3 Added Minutes’ regular morning round-up of the biggest (and wildest) Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed over the past 24 hours – starting with a story involving both Manchester United and Newcastle.
According to TeamTalk, both sides had scouts in attendance at AS Monaco’s match against Lyon this weekend, with the plan being to “closely monitor” a pair of rising Ligue 1 stars: Winger Maghnes Akliouche and midfielder Lamine Camara.
Both United and Newcastle are said to be “firmly in the mix” for Camara’s signature, although it’s suggested that other, unnamed Premier League sides are also keen on the Senegal international. It sounds like they’ll face competition for Akliouche, too, amid “significant interest” from around Europe.
There’s no suggestion that any offers are being prepared as yet, nor any suggestion as to the likely asking prices for either player, but the reporter clearly believes that both are high up on the radars of both the Red Devils and the Magpies alike.
The 3AM Verdict: Camara has been linked with Manchester United before, although that’s true of just about every elite young midfielder in Europe. We certainly believe that both players will accrue widespread interest this summer, and could easily believe that both United and Newcastle are in the mix – but it looks like we aren’t at a point where we can think about actual bids just yet.
Aston Villa & Newcastle in ‘race’ to sign Serie A star
Newcastle feature in our next rumour too, which comes courtesy of Caught Offside – they claim that both they and Aston Villa are in a “race” to sign Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram this summer, amid “growing indications” that the Frenchman could leave the San Siro.
The 28-year-old is supposedly considering moving for a new challenge, and the interest from both of his supposed suitors in the Premier League has already “moved beyond casual scouting,” with the pair alleged to have “made early contact” with Inter to discuss the terms of a potential deal.
It certainly won’t come cheap. Apparently Inter will “hold out” for a hefty fee of around €70m (£60m) – the player has a minimum fee release clause of €85m, so that’s the maximum – and there may be interest from Saudi Arabia to compete with, too.
The 3AM Verdict: Both sides will be in the market for a forward this summer, and if there is a sniff of a chance that Thuram is available then we’d expect both to be interested. But they’ll be looking at other players too, and there’s no guarantee that they won’t find a deal that they’re happier with. Early days, in other words.
Arsenal ‘ready to launch’ bid for wonderkid
Let’s finish up with a second story from TeamTalk, which claims that Arsenal are “ready to launch” a “big-money move” for Lille wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi, an 18-year-old midfielder regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in world football right now.
The French-Moroccan prodigy has apparently “been on the Gunners’ radar” for some time, not that they’re the only team interested – Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are all “keen” as well, with all four teams said to have had scouts in attendance for a recent match against Marseille.
It’s Arsenal who are said to be “leading the chase,” however, although precisely what their being ‘ready to launch’ a bid means is not revealed – there is no word of any official contact being made, nor any suggestion of what they might pay for Bouaddi’s services.
The 3AM Verdict: Bouaddi is going to be the source of continuous speculation over the coming months but he may well stay with Lille for another year yet, as he signed a long-term contract extension just a few months ago. In any case, we suspect that this article is rather speculative, with no details suggesting that Arsenal have indeed pulled ahead of their potential rivals in the bidding in any tangible way. We’d caution Gunners fans not to get too excited just yet, not that we’d be at all shocked if they did eventually make a move.
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