A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton, Bournemouth and more.
Another day of gossip is in the books, and that means that it’s time for 3 Added Minutes’ regular morning round-up of the biggest (and sometimes strangest) new Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed over the past 24 hours – starting with a story involving Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion.
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Sport Witness suggest that Liverpool “could return” with a fresh bid for Seagulls winger Yankuba Minteh in January, despite the fact that the Gambian is currently sidelined with a serious injury – and they also explain why they “ditched the idea” towards the end of the summer transfer window.
Yankuba Minteh is expected to return from injury in Novemberplaceholder image
Yankuba Minteh is expected to return from injury in November | Getty Images
Apparently Liverpool were ready to bid up to £60m for Minteh, only for Brighton to increase their asking price to £80m in the final week of the window – a fee that was deemed excessive due to the 22-year-old’s injury history, a worry which was proven valid almost immediately.
Although the youngster has suffered another setback, however, they’re still keen to do a deal in January should Cody Gakpo leave – which is said to be “still a possibility.” With the Dutchman’s future seemingly still up in the air, a deal for Minteh remains on the cards, although it’s not clear whether either side would be prepared to adjust their valuation.
The 3AM Verdict: The primary source for this story is a Gambian journalist who clearly has some inside track on Minteh’s situation, but the financial issues which scuppered a summer deal are likely to be a problem again in January, while we’re not convinced that Gakpo is all that likely to leave until the summer. Our guess is that Minteh stays at the Amex for the rest of the season, and that this gets revisited in a year’s time.
Arsenal scouts ‘wowed’ by Dortmund star
Maximilian Beier has 10 caps for Germany - but no goals as yetplaceholder image
Maximilian Beier has 10 caps for Germany - but no goals as yet | Getty Images
Over to a story from TEAMtalk now, who reckon that Borussia Dortmund forward Maximilian Beier is “emerging as a player of interest” for Arsenal, with their scouts said to have been “wowed” by his performances in the Bundesliga.
The 23-year-old has cropped up a possible alternative to Julián Alvarez, who turned out to be tougher to sign than expected over the summer, and Beier has “caught their attention” as they cast around for back-up plans.
There’s no word on how much Arsenal might need to spend to sign Beier, a Germany international who is under contract at Dortmund until 2029, and no suggestion that any kind of discussions have taken place at this early stage.
The 3AM Verdict: There’s nothing inherently implausible about this story, but any rumour which leans solely on the idea that scouts have watched a player is speculative by definition. There hasn’t been any formalisation of Arsenal’s alleged interest, and that could mean that Beier is just one of a dozen players they’re keeping tabs on over the coming months.
Bournemouth star ‘tracked’ by four clubs as £77m price tag set
Alex Scott is pushing for a move away from Bournemouthplaceholder image
Alex Scott is pushing for a move away from Bournemouth | Getty Images
We’ll finish with a story from professional gossipmonger Efrem Konur, who suggests via Polish outlet Sportowy that Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott is now being “tracked” by no fewer than four Premier League teams – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The 23-year-old is entering the final two years of his current contract and has turned down a new deal at Dean Court, but the Cherries still “want to keep” Scott and will demand a “hefty fee” of up to €90m (£77m) to part with his services this January.
No formal offers have arrived just yet, the reports states, although that’s hardly a surprise given how far away the next transfer window is. There’s also no mention of Chelsea – rather curious given that they had offers worth around £65m turned down over the summer.
The 3AM Verdict: We’ll politely note that Konur does not have a 100% hit rate and we’d be rather surprised if, say, Spurs were keen after spending so much on their midfielder recently – and if Chelsea weren’t interested having chased Scott over the summer. We do expect Scott to leave eventually, however, and if he won’t sign a new contract then a January switch will be a real possibility for simple financial reasons. Bournemouth would have to lower their valuation next summer.