Sunday's transfer news: PSG want Bale-Neymar swap, Man Utd in Pepe talks, Arsenal eye Kean, Spurs update
Sunday's news, rumours and done deals in the transfer window
Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Manchester United’s squad revamp continues at haste, with reports that talks with Lille are at an advanced stage to sign forward Nicolas Pepe. The club have this weekend rejected a fresh £54m offer from Inter Milan for Romelu Lukaku, but if the striker leaves a move for Pepe appears to be in the pipeline.
Arsenal are keeping tabs on Juventus and Italy forward Moise Kean, although one player who could head for the exit is Alex Iwobi after the academy product grew concerned at the prospect of Wilfried Zaha arriving as his replacement. Tottenham meanwhile are closing on a club-record transfer for Giovani Lo Celso, with a £67m offer to Real Betis set to prise the midfielder to north London.
Meanwhile, new Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has set his sights on one of the club’s former strikers as Andy Carroll is being strongly linked with a move back to the north-east. Liverpool meanwhile may have wrapped up their transfer business for the summer already, with Jurgen Klopp admitting the club do not need to sign anyone before the transfer window deadline. Follow the latest updates below.
The summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Thursday 8 August across the Premier League and Championship. The European transfer window remains open until Monday 2 September.
The reaction to the Gareth Bale saga this morning is mixed, to say the least.
A number of fans believe Bale should stand his ground and play out his contract to spite Zidane, given the way he is being treated after giving so much to the club.
But others feel that Zidane is within his right to say as much given how little Madrid are now getting out of the Welshman, with injuries and poor form deeply hampering him last season.
What do you think?
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is poised to become the highest-paid player in his position.
The Spaniard will sign a new contract, according to the Sunday Telegraph, worth a staggering £117m over six years.
It's claimed that United have won the battle to convince De Gea to extend his stay at Old Trafford, with the contract set to be signed once De Gea returns to England from the club's pre-season tour.
The £375,000-a-week contract will see him become the world's highest-paid goalkeeper ahead of Thibaut Courtois, who took the title when he joined Real Madrid last summer.
Newcastle United are looking to press on with their summer transfer plans now that Steve Bruce is in place as manager.
One area in need of strengthening - and let's be honest, they all need strengthening - is the frontline attack following the exit of on-loan striker Salomon Rondon, who has followed Rafa Benitez to China after joining Dalian Yifang from West Brom.
As a result, Bruce is considering a move for the club's former striker Andy Carroll, according to The Sun, with the Geordie available on a free transfer after being released by West Ham at the end of the season. Carroll is still training with West Ham after they afforded him the luxury to maintain his fitness, but an offer to return to St James' Park could be in the post.
Some more details are emerging on the future of Gareth Bale.
According to Sky Sports, the Welshman will not allow himself to be forced out of Real Madrid, and he will only leave the club this summer if a move makes sense for both his career and his family.
However, while his agent would not be drawn on the links to Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Tottenham, he did reveal that "there could be a surprise this summer".
What does that mean? Well, your guess is as good as ours.
Some news in from the Championship.
Sheffield United have paid an undisclosed club-record fee for Bournemouth striker Lys Mousset.
France Under-21 international Mousset has put pen to paper on a three-year contract after the two clubs agreed a reported fee of £10million.
"For the third time this summer, the Blades have smashed the club's transfer record," United announced on their official website.
"French striker Lys Mousset has signed a three-deal with the Blades after an undisclosed fee with AFC Bournemouth was reached for his services."
Mousset joined Bournemouth from Le Havre in 2016 for a reported £5.7m, but was mainly restricted to the role of substitute.
The 23-year-old, who scored five goals in 71 appearances for the Cherries, is the Blades' fifth signing since winning automatic promotion to the Premier League last season.
The Blades set a new transfer record when signing Luke Freeman from QPR and broke it again to bring Callum Robinson in from Preston earlier this month.
The South Yorkshire club have also signed former Manchester United forward Ravel Morrison, while defender Phil Jagielka has returned to the Blades after his contract at Everton expired.
Blades boss Chris Wilder added: "Lys is big, quick and a different type of threat at the top of the pitch to what we already have.
"It is a fantastic bit of business for us in the current market and we are looking forward to him joining up with the squad."
Tottenham will allow unwanted striker Vincent Janssen to leave the club this summer, but his destination appears to be something of a surprise one.
The Dutchman miraculously returned to the club after unsuccessful loan spells to play a part in their run to the Champions League final.
However, Mauricio Pochettino has made no secret that he is free to leave, and the 25-year-old looks set for a move to Mexico to join Monterrey, according to Football London.
Crystal Palace are on the hunt for a replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka after he joined Manchester United.
The Mail on Sunday reports that Palace have already held talks with Liverpool and are interested in a move their former defender Nathaniel Clyne, who is free to leave Anfield this summer after the emergence of Trent Alexander-Arnold over the last two seasons.
Clyne left Palace for Southampton in 2012 before moving on to Liverpool four years ago, but a serious knee injury cost him his place in the side and he spent last season on loan with Bournemouth.
William Saliba will travel to London on Tuesday to undergo a medical with Arsenal.
The Sunday Mirror reports that the 18-year-old will arrive at their London Colney training ground to complete his move from St Etienne, although he will return to France to see out the rest of the season on loan with the Ligue 1 side.
Spurs are currently in action in Singapore in their pre-season friendly against Juventus (which you can follow here) but behind the scenes work continues to strengthen Mauricio Pochettino's side.
The club are pressing on with their attempts to sign Argentina midfielder Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis, but they have been told that it will cost £67m to sign the 23-year-old this summer, according to the Evening Standard.
Talks between the two clubs are continuing and it's thought Tottenham are prepared to break their transfer record to sign Lo Celso, despite shelling out the best part of £55m on Tanguy Ndombele already this summer.
Breaking news
This is a big one. The Independent can reveal that Paris Saint-Germain are keen on signing Gareth Bale, and to lure Real Madrid into a move they are willing to offer up Neymar in a swap deal.
PSG are keen to get rid of the disruptive Brazilian this summer, and although Zinedine Zidane's outburst overnight has given the green light for his departure, talks have been going on in Paris behind the scenes for the last two weeks.
With Bale told in no uncertain terms to leave Madrid and Neymar on the market, the move makes sense for all parties involved, although PSG would want a large cash fee on top of Bale if they were to let Neymar go after two years.
You can guarantee one thing though: Barcelona will not be impressed by this.
Miguel Delaney has all the details:
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies