Fulham have rejected a £25.5m bid from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for Aleksandar Mitrovic out of hand, with the Premier League club adamant their talisman is not for sale. Mitrovic is the latest player to attract serious interest from the Gulf state and is thought to be open to the move. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté and Roberto Firmino are among those to have signed up to playing there next season.
Al-Hilal, one of four Saudi top-flight clubs owned by the Public Investment Fund who acquired Newcastle in 2020, have signed Rúben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly this summer from Wolves and Chelsea. They also completed a €40m move for the Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic on Wednesday evening.
Mitrovic, who joined Fulham from Newcastle on a permanent deal in July 2018, has established himself as a key player at Craven Cottage. The Serbia striker signed a lucrative five-year contract until 2026 two years ago, before breaking the Championship goalscoring record en route to promotion.
The Wales captain, Aaron Ramsey, is another player subject of Saudi interest but Cardiff are also pushing hard to sign the midfielder, who is a product of the Championship club’s academy.
Cardiff are hopeful of gaining clarity on Ramsey’s situation in the next week but have not given up hope of luring the 32-year-old back to the Welsh capital. Ramsey is contracted to Nice after triggering a 12-month extension but is open to moving on.
Ramsey recently reiterated his next move will be a family-based decision. “One day I would love to go back there, but who knows when that time might be,” he said of a Cardiff return last month.
Nottingham Forest are interested in signing goalkeeper José Sá from Wolves. The 30-year-old, who was a member of Portugal’s 2022 World Cup squad, could be one of two additions to the goalkeeping department, with the club still keen on bringing back Dean Henderson from Manchester United.
Henderson spent last season on loan at Forest, impressing until injury brought a premature end to the season. United’s own situation with goalkeepers after the departure of David de Gea have delayed any potential deal for Henderson.
Sa joined Wolves from Olympiakos, who, like Forest, are owned by Evangelos Marinakis, in 2021 and has been first-choice at Molineux ever since but there is an acceptance he could be sold as Julen Lopetegui rebuilds the squad. Conor Coady, Ruben Neves and Nathan Collins have already left the club.
Aston Villa have completed the signing of defender Pau Torres from Villarreal. The 26-year-old, who has been capped 23 times for Spain, moves to Villa Park for an undisclosed fee after agreeing a five-year deal.
Bournemouth have had a £15m bid, plus add-ons, rejected for the Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott. The Championship club value Scott at closer to £25m but there is an acceptance that the 19-year-old will move on this summer. Scott, who spent time on the books at Southampton and Bournemouth as a youngster, joined City from Guernsey as a 16-year-old.
Bournemouth have tracked Scott for the past couple of seasons and the midfielder ranks high on their priority list this summer. Bournemouth have previously signed Lloyd Kelly and Antoine Semenyo from the Championship club.
Scott spent a year at Bournemouth aged 13 before returning to the Channel Islands. He became Guernsey FC’s youngest-ever player aged 16, before joining City on a free. He has since established himself as one of the club’s prized assets and most consistent performers.
Southampton have completed the signing of the midfielder Shea Charles from Manchester City in a deal worth up to £15m. The 19-year-old joins the Championship club on a four-year deal for an initial fee of £10.5m. He has eight caps for Northern Ireland and made his City debut in last season’s final-day defeat against Brentford. The Southampton manager, Russell Martin, said: “Shea is a very talented, intelligent and mature young player with great potential to develop his game with us.”
