Liverpool reportedly fended off late interest from newly-appointed Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino in order to sign Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and Hove Albion.
The midfielder officially completed his move to the Reds on Thursday morning after signing a five-year contract with the club, where he will become the first player to wear the No 10 shirt since Sadio Mane's departure last summer.
According to Paul Joyce of The Times, Pochettino, who last month was announced as Graham Potter's successor at Stamford Bridge, made a "late movement" to sign Mac Allister. The same report also claims Manchester United and Newcastle had kept an eye on the 24-year-old.
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Mac Allister's move to Anfield is expected to be the first of many in the Premier League this summer, with West Ham captain Declan Rice and his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart, Harry Kane, both expected to be the subject of plenty of interest before the window closes at the beginning of September.
Rice, 24, helped the Hammers win their first European trophy in 58 years as he skippered them to UEFA Conference League glory on Wednesday night after a late goal from Jarrod Bowen secured a 2-1 victory over Serie A outfit Fiorentina. Speaking in the aftermath of the club's victory in Prague, however, co-owner David Sullivan admitted he is prepared to receive offers for the England international in the coming days.
"I think it has to be. We promised him he could go," Sullivan told talkSPORT when asked if Wednesday was Rice's final game for the Hammers. "He set his heart on going and in due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.
"It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can't keep a player who doesn't want to be there.
"I think the offers will start to come [on Thursday]. Three or four clubs have shown interest but out of respect to West Ham, while we're still playing, you don't make offers for players."
Premier League runners-up Arsenal are said to be one of the favourites to secure Rice's signature, with the Guardian reporting on Thursday that the Gunners are confident of beating Bayern Munich in the race for the West Ham captain.
Meanwhile, as well as missing out on Mac Allister, Chelsea are set to lose midfielder N'golo Kante to Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al-Ittihad in a deal worth a reported £86m per year. The two-time Premier League winner is out of contract at the end of July and looks to have played his final game on English shores as he becomes the latest high-profile player, after Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, to move to the Middle East.
If Kante is to finalise his move to Saudi Arabia, he could be joined by a familiar face in the coming months: Riyad Mahrez. The pair who played a key role in Leicester City's incredible Premier League triumph in 2016 could soon be reunited as the Manchester City winger is the subject of interest from Al-Ahli.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed of the interest on Thursday morning but insisted City wouldn't let the Algerian winger leave the club for free this summer and would demand a fee for the five-time Premier League winner who has one year remaining on his current deal.
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