Ready for another turn around the red-hot mid-August merry-go-round? No? Well, here goes anyway. Tottenham are considering a surprise move for wantaway Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku, to replace a certain Bayern-bound striker whose name escapes us. Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze is also on Spurs’ attacking hit-list.
For their own part, Chelsea – who are now wearing a Moisés Caicedo-shaped frown – want Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti to reunite with former boss Mauricio Pochettino. Apparently the Italian does not figure in Luis Enrique’s Parisian plans.
There are quite a few dashing towards the PSG exit door at the moment, with Kylian Mbappé’s future at a (permanent) crossroads, while Neymar could be loaned to Barcelona if the finances are right for all parties.
Manchester City are scouring the market for a Riyad Mahrez replacement and, having flirted with Premier League hotshots Michael Olise and Kaoru Mitoma, are now settling on the Rennes winger Jérémy Doku. The French club want around £50m for the 21-year-old.
Arsenal news! It looks as though Mikel Arteta is willing to offload Thomas Partey and Jorginho to go all-in for Roméo Lavia, since the Southampton midfielder is no longer Liverpool’s top priority. Fenerbahce want Jorginho to sit in their new-look thirty-somethings Premier League midfield alongside Fred (is it 2018?). The Gunners also want to sell Folarin Balogun but Inter haven’t yet met the asking price for the US striker; Monaco could do.
Aston Villa would love to sign Nicolò Zaniolo from Galatasaray but they might be selling Aaron Ramsey (the new one) to Burnley first, with a £14m package being discussed for the 20-year-old.
Liverpool simply haven’t lost enough midfielders to Saudi clubs this summer, so Al-Ahli have kindly made a £10m bid for Thiago Alcântara, who presumably will meet Fabinho and Jordan Henderson for coffee dates before and after they’ve counted their millions.
Wolves are set to provide Gary O’Neil with his first signing as manager. It’s … West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell. Michail Antonio could join him in making the trip from the London Stadium to Molineux. Don’t get the train, lads.
And what about the players who aren’t for sale? Manchester United could now keep hold of Scott McTominay despite West Ham interest. Napoli aren’t getting rid of Victor Osimhen come hell or high water, while Leeds have told Everton to look elsewhere amid interest in Wilfried Gnonto.
