Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are ready to duke it out in a battle royale to secure the services of Bournemouth central defender Nathan Aké. French sports daily L’Equipe claim Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions have the edge and will sign the 24-year-old Dutch international for up to £40m. Rumour Mill regular Harry Maguire continues to be linked with both City and Manchester United and could cost more than twice that amount if either club manage to lure him away from Leicester.
Following his sensational return of two goals in 32 appearances for Huddersfield Town last season, Steve Mounie is a striker in demand. Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Watford and Bournemouth have all made enquiries about the availability of the Benin international, who signed from Montpellier for around £12m two years ago.
The head of Marko Arnautovic is spinning in a manner not entirely dissimilar to that of the girl in The Exorcist after being turned by yet another offer from China. The West Ham striker failed to force through a move to Guangzhou Evergrande last January, but now seems determined to fulfil every kid’s boyhood dream of playing in the Chinese Super League on a four-year deal worth £40m. With Lucas Pérez and Andy Carroll gone from the club, West Ham are a little light up front and will only countenance selling their sulky striker if they can find an adequate replacement. West Brom’s Salomón Rondón and Porto’s Moussa Marega are currently inching their way across Manuel Pellegrini’s radar.
Speculation that Alexandre Lacazette could be heading for the Arsenal exit door just won’t go away and the French striker is currently being touted as a potential replacement for his Barcelona-bound compatriot Antoine Griezmann at Atlético Madrid. With a budget of just £45m to spend on new players and in dire need of some defenders and a Wilfried Zaha, Arsenal boss Unai Emery needs to offload several players in a bid to bolster his transfer kitty.
Atlético are also interested in taking Willian off Chelsea’s hands but are reported to have had a bid of £35m laughed out of Stamford Bridge. Currently serving a two-window transfer ban, Chelsea are understandably reluctant to sell their Brazilian winger, but would face the prospect of losing him for nothing when his contract expires at the end of next season. Knowing he has the club over a barrel, the 30-year-old is holding out for a two-year deal which they are reluctant to give him due to his advancing years.
Manchester United have held talks with Barcelona regarding the future of central defender Samuel Umtiti, who is available for a fee of £45m. Liverpool have also approached the Spanish champions with a view to taking Ousmane Dembélé off their hands, but L’Equipe say the winger is not interested in going anywhere.
And finally, Manchester United are ready to riff, be-bop and scat all over the pain of Newcastle fans by ramping up their interest in Magpies midfielder Sean Longstaff. Ole Gunnar Solskjær wants his superiors to seal a deal for the £25m-rated 21-year-old before he takes his team on their pre-season tour of Australia next Sunday.