Transfer deadline day is looming and Jürgen Klopp could still use another midfielder or two. The Liverpool manager’s final tactic of the window appears to be working through targets in alphabetical order – starting with Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat and the £25m-rated 22-year-old Brazilian André.
Fluminense want to keep André until the winter window, but Amrabat has been advised to hurry up and decide whether he wants to join Liverpool, Manchester United or Atlético Madrid by the end of this week. United are also tying up a deal for the Turkish keeper Altay Bayindir, while Brandon Williams is off to Ipswich on loan.
The Tractor Boys are top of the Championship above Leicester, whose bid for an immediate Premier League return could suffer if Crystal Palace can steal Kelechi Iheanacho away this month. Another relegated side, Southampton, have made a small fortune this summer in sales – and could cash in again with the defender Armel Bella-Kotchap interesting Bayern Munich.
While he rests up after back surgery, Pep Guardiola will have time to think. Perhaps too much time. The Manchester City manager is already getting his transfer plans in order, with Jérémy Doku undergoing a medical, João Cancelo leaving for Barcelona, Máximo Perrone going to Las Palmas on loan and Bernardo Silva inking a new contract.
But what of Lucas Paquetá? The West Ham midfielder had emerged as a surprise transfer target for City before the FA launched an investigation into the player’s potential betting breaches. That move appears to be off – for the summer, at least – knocking £70m off the Hammers’ transfer kitty as they chase Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus and Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri.
Having replaced Aleksandar Mitrovic with Raúl Jiménez up front, Fulham need attacking reinforcements. Their long-awaited move for Callum Hudson-Odoi could be hijacked by Everton or Nottingham Forest though, while the Gent striker Gift Orban may end up being unwrapped by Tottenham instead.
Another option for Marco Silva is the Juventus striker Moise Kean, who could be available for a cool £25m. Fulham are leading Sevilla in the race with Juve preferring a straight sale rather than a loan, and Fulham suddenly in possession of a large wad of Saudi cash. Some of it may go Spurs’ way, too, in order to safely transport Eric Dier across London.
Around the corner, Chelsea are buying up young attacking talents at a rate of almost one a day; Santos’s Deivid Washington and Lyon’s Bradley Barcola, who is also wanted by PSG, are the latest targets. The Blues’ under-21 squad, which must resemble a small army, is also where you’ll find Romelu Lukaku these days – but José Mourinho is hoping to bring the Belgian to Roma.
Finally, Mason Greenwood’s hopes of a move to Saudi Arabia are fading – with Steven Gerrard labelling reports of interest from his Al-Ettifaq side as “fake news”. The Mirror reports the Saudi league are concerned that Greenwood’s arrival will harm their image, while the Mail claim a feud with Cristiano Ronaldo is the root cause.
