Transfer news: Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Tottenham latest
The latest done deals, reports and rumours from the transfer world
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The transfer window closes next week meaning that we are set for a busy few days of action as the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea scramble to bolster their squads ahead of the August 8 deadline.
Manchester United have dominated the headlines in recent days, wrapping up a record deal for Leicester's Harry Maguire. The defender is set to be announced as the club's latest signing in the coming days. United also continue to be linked with a transfer for Juventus' Paulo Dybala, with striker Romelu Lukaku poised to move the other way.
Arsenal have also enjoyed a busy week, completing a club-record move for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe. The Gunners remain in the market for a defender; Celtic’s Kieran Tierney is their top target. Follow LIVE updates below:
The summer transfer window closes at 5pm on Wednesday 8 August for all Premier League and Championship clubs, with teams in League One, League Two and across Europe able to sign new players until 11pm on Monday 2 September.
Good morning everybody and welcome to our live coverage of Saturday's transfer news, rumours and done deals.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects Manchester United to complete “one or two” deals before next week’s transfer deadline after agreeing a fee with Leicester City for England centre-back Harry Maguire.
United will pay £80million for the 26-year-old, with the deal subject to a medical and personal terms, though with Maguire keen to make the step up the latter should prove no obstacle.
Solskjaer declined to comment on the Maguire deal during an interview ahead of the International Champions Cup game with Milan in Cardiff on Saturday.
But United boss Solskjaer told PA: “We’re still hope one or two deals can be done. We’ve been working on cases for a long time and suddenly the deal can be done when it’s dragging on.
“As a club we’ve had targets, but as a coach and manager when you go out on the pitch you have to work with the ones you have.
“You can’t think ‘what if he comes’ or ‘if he’s sold’.
“The reality is you have to work with the ones that are there. I’ve never been thinking ‘I’ll play him there but he’s coming in’.
“Everyone who has been in pre-season has a big part to play and most of them have impressed.
“But it (transfer speculation) doesn’t stop (after the deadline) because you still have to plan for the next transfer window and next summer.”
Tottenham Hotspur have turned to Sporting midfielder Bruno Fernandes as an alternative to Real Betis' Giovani Lo Celso.
The north London club are determined to add to their squad ahead of this month’s transfer deadline and have been in negotiations with Betis since the start of the summer.
Spurs had a bid of around £52m rejected for the Argentina international and have so far baulked at triggering the Argentina international’s £88m release clause.
That has led them to look elsewhere with Sporting’s Fernandes seen as a viable alternative.
Fernandes is also a target of Manchester United but The Independent understands that, despite significant interest, the club have not made an offer for the 24-year-old.
Spurs meanwhile made enquiries into Fernandes’ availability at the start of the window and are now prepared to firm up their interest in Portugal international.
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Yes, in the most surprising of twists, Arsenal have been linked to Philippe Coutinho.
According to reports, Arsenal chiefs are set to meet with Barcelon officials to discuss the possibility of a loan deal for the former Liverpool man.
Coutinho has failed to make an impression at the Nou Camp since joining bck in 2018 for £142m - and Barcelona are reportedly open to the idea of letting the Brazilian go on loan for the season.
... Pull the other one, lads!
Jurgen Klopp has said he cannot yet enjoy the luxury of keeping a winning squad intact as he is still waiting for all of his players to be reunited.
Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles earlier in his career but lost the likes of Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski to Bayern Munich and Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United.
All of Liverpool's first-team players have remained following their Champions League success but Klopp only got Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker and Roberto Firmino back with his squad on Monday after they were given time to recover from international duty.
And Sadio Mane will not report back until the day after Sunday's FA Community Shield encounter with Manchester City after helping Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Klopp was also without Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri until this week following injuries to the pair and Liverpool failed to win their first four pre-season friendlies before beating Lyon on Wednesday.
The five late arrivals might not be ready to start at Wembley so Klopp is preoccupied with finding a winning formula following the staggered starts to pre-season rather than enjoying the continuity.
"It is (nice) but it's not exactly like this because I lost six players for pre-season, which is semi-cool," he said.
"For the first time in my career, now or from Monday onwards when Sadio is back as well, I will have my team together from last year.
"We have to use it but these other transfers we did, keeping this team together, staying on our toes, staying aggressive, staying greedy and let's go again. We will see."
A former teammate of Paolo Dybala has urged the Argentine to push for a move to Liverpool instead of Manchester United.
The Juventus forward has been linked with a move to Old Trafford which could see Romelu Lukaku move in the other direction.
However, Gazzetta dello Sport claims Dybala has "no interest" in joining United, and Andrea Dossena, who played with the forward at Palermo, has reiterated this.
Dossena told Tuttomercato: “If the team in question had been Liverpool or Manchester City , in my opinion he would have had no doubts.
“United are more of a construction site at the moment, and for this reason I understand indecision – I too would be 50/50.”
Brighton have strengthened their defence with the signing of Adam Webster from Bristol City.
The terms of the deal were undisclosed but reports suggest Brighton will pay what would be a club-record £20million fee for the 24-year-old, who has signed a four-year deal.
Webster's arrival comes as Brighton's Lewis Dunk is being widely linked with a move to Leicester as a replacement for Manchester United-bound Harry Maguire.
Brighton head coach Graham Potter, who faced Webster while managing in the Championship last season, said: "Adam is a player the club has been aware of for some time, and someone we came up against last season at Swansea City.
"He is a quality defender, comfortable on the ball, fits the profile of the type of player we want to bring to the club, and he was very keen to join us.
"He is still relatively young but has good experience from the number of games he has played. Predominately a centre-half, he can also play at right-back, and he will bring additional competition alongside our existing defensive options."
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has described their England centre back Harry Maguire as a "special player" they do not want to lose but conceded they have no choice after Manchester United met the club's valuation.
United reached an agreement with Leicester on Friday to sign the 26-year-old for £80m.
Maguire is expected to agree personal terms and complete a medical at the Old Trafford club over the weekend.
"The clubs have agreed (a fee) and there's still some work for it to go through. There's still a bit to go in terms of Harry's medical and whatever personal things to sort out, but it is what it is," Rodgers told Sky Sports.
The deal would make Maguire the most expensive defender in the world, surpassing the £75m Liverpool paid Southampton for Dutch international Virgil van Dijk last year.
"I think it's an incredible piece of business," Rodgers added after Leicester's 2-1 win over Atalanta in a pre-season friendly at the King Power Stadium on Friday.
"This is a guy (Maguire) that knows there has been interest all through the summer and he's been super professional. He's been with his team mates right the way through and been a really, really good guy.
"He's a special player, he's not a player that we would want to lose. But obviously any player will have a valuation and if ever that is met then of course there's a discussion between clubs and whether the player wants to stay or go."
Barcelona have agreed a deal for Junior Firpo from Real Betis.
The Dominican will cost €18m and provide backup to Jordi Alba, report Sky Sport Italia.
Betis could receive a further €7m in add-ons, the player signing a five-year deal.
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