Wednesday's transfer news: Jadon Sancho to Man Utd latest, plus Chelsea’s Willian in Arsenal talks and Liverpool eye defenders
The market kicks into life this week with United’s possible nine-figure move for Dortmund star Sancho and Arsenal’s plans to swoop for a long-term rival
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Follow the latest updates live from the summer transfer window as Manchester United’s pursuit of Jadon Sancho dominates the headlines, with the Premier League club threatening that they will walk away from the deal if Borussia Dortmund do not lower their valuation.
However, news emerged overnight that United have ‘offered’ an official bid of €100m (£90.3m) for the England forward, with talks set to continue throughout Wednesday. Nother player who United have been strongly linked with is Jack Grealish, but the Aston Villa captain has been offered a new contract worth £100,000 a week to convince him to stay at Villa Park.
Manchester City remain active in the transfer market despite completing the signing of Ferran Torres on Tuesday, with Nathan Ake still set to move to the Etihad Stadium in the coming days. However, City have not made an approach for Barcelona utility man Sergi Roberto despite suggestions in Spain that they are targeting the right-back. Liverpool meanwhile are looking at Norwich City left-back Jamal Lewis and are also being linked with Real Betis defender Aissa Mandi, while Arsenal continue to target Philippe Coutinho and Thomas Partey as they press on with their recruitment plans. Follow the live news below.
Finally, Tottenham Hotspur are close to signing Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojberg in a deal that will involve a £15m payment plus Kyle Walker-Peters, who spent the second half of last season on loan at St Mary’s.
Manchester City are closing in on their second signing of the summer.
Fresh from yesterday's announcement that they had snapped up Ferran Torres from Valencia, City have agreed terms with Nathan Ake, according to Talksport.
It's claimed that the Bournemouth defender is set to join City in the coming days once he has had a medical and the chance to head to the Etihad campus for his unveiling, with the report adding that Chelsea decided against matching the £41m offer that City submitted last week.
Arsenal are also targeting Philippe Coutinho and Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey as they look to improve their options in midfield.
It is not clear whether the Gunners can afford or even desire to bring both players as well as Willian to the Emirates, but they are keeping tabs on all three.
As our own Miguel Delaney reported this week: Coutinho has been offered to Arsenal by Barcelona, with Matteo Guendouzi plus just £9m likely to be the trade-off, so the Gunners have a decision to make...
Here are further details:
While Jadon Sancho is nearing his arrival at Manchester United, a winger leaves the club...
Alexis Sanchez, on loan at Inter Milan, is set to become a permanent part of the Serie A side this week.
Fabrizio Romano of Sky Italy is reporting that Inter will acquire the Chile international on a free, but they will be paying a wage of €7 million per season.
Following his side's promotion to the Premier League after last night's play-off final win against Brentford, Fulham coach Scott Parker has said that he will not overhaul his squad.
The London club were relegated from England’s top flight at the end of the 2018/19 campaign despite spending £100m on players, and Parker has said they will learn from those mistakes...
Full story here:
Brentford meanwhile will feel the cost of failing to win the Play-Off Final, having missed out on an apparent £160m pay day that Deloitte estimated would be the impact of promotion to the Premier League.
But their success this season has also alerted clubs to a number of their players, with The Telegraph reporting that Aston Villa are one of a number of clubs taking a close look at striker Ollie Watkins.
The forward is valued at £18m and has spearheaded Brentford's phenomenal season in front of goal in 2019/20, and while the Bees are not heading for the Premier League, Watkins could well find himself in the top flight.
Manchester City new signing Ferran Torres will arrive at the Etihad Stadium with something of a reputation for being one of the more confident youngsters out on the market.
Having completed a £25m move to City from Valencia, Torres has issued something of a parting shot at certain individuals at the Spanish club that he believes wanted to force him out - including captain Dani Parejo - in a revealing farewell interview with Spanish daily Marca.
Torres did stress he retains his love of Valencia and could see himself back there one day, but also revealed that in order to sign a new contract, he demanded a huge pay rise, the captaincy and the offer to be presented by club owner Peter Lim himself. Unsurprisingly, none of them happened.
Manchester United's decision over who will make up their goalkeeper unit next season could be forced by Dean Henderson.
The Sun reports that Henderson is ready to demand the No 1 spot at Old Trafford after a season with Sheffield United in which he out-performed David De Gea quite considerably.
Henderson is due to return to United in the coming days, but could yet depart on another loan if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains happy with De Gea - despite a season filled with clangers and below-par performances.
Developments at Manchester City and their pursuit of Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake, who is edging closer towards a move to Pep Guardiola's side.
Sky Sports are reporting that Ake will undergo a medical within the next 24 hours after returning from a post-season holiday, and with personal terms as good as signed off, an announcement should come this week.
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has reportedly put five of his defenders up for sale as he looks to free up money for a move for Ben Chilwell.
The Times are reporting that Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Emerson Palmieri and Marcos Alonso are among those to be considered expendable as the Blues' pursuit of Leicester full-back Chilwell continues.
Chelsea are expected to have to make Chilwell the most expensive defender in the world – at around £80 million – in order to secure his services.
Norwich are ready to offload Josip Drmic, Tom Trybull and Moritz Leitner after relegation.
The trio have been told they are unlikely to be involved in the squad when they return ahead of the new Sky Bet Championship season, the PA news agency has reported.
They are due to be part of the rebuilding job at Carrow Road with the Canaries having already made six signings since dropping out of the Premier League, including Kieran Dowell from Everton.
Drmic has been an expensive failure after arriving on a free transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach last summer.
The striker scored just three goals across 25 appearances and was one of the club's top earners, marking a wretched transfer window.
Expensive loan moves for Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann, Sevilla midfielder Ibrahim Amadou and Patrick Roberts from Manchester City were cut short mid-season as Norwich finished bottom of the table.
Drmic was sent off in his last game, a 2-0 defeat against Burnley, and all five of his starts came after the restart following the coronavirus lockdown.
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