Have you seen the price of defensive midfielders these days? Liverpool’s failed pursuit of Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia has been well documented, but it seems all is not lost for this transfer window’s official crisis club. Jürgen Klopp has turned his sights on Fulham’s João Palhinha – and/or Cheick Doucouré of Crystal Palace – to shore up the new Fabinho-shaped hole in front of his centre-backs.The Mail reports that Sofyan Amrabat of Fiorentina, André of Fluminense, and Nice’s Khephren Thuram are also potential options. Jacob Steinberg has written that Lavia plumped for Chelsea having felt he was Liverpool’s second choice, so you might wonder what any of those players feel about being fourth, fifth or even sixth choice.
Alisson Becker, meanwhile, is the latest Liverpool player to be linked with a Saudi Pro League outfit: Al-Nassr are said to be keen on the Brazilian goalkeeper. A report in Qatar suggests that Mohamed Salah has ‘given the green light’ to an unnamed Saudi club to negotiate with the Reds over what would doubtless be an unfeasibly large transfer fee. Salah’s agent recently emphasised his player’s commitment to Liverpool but as Jonathan Liew wrote of the Mason Greenwood saga, perhaps it’s the market that will decide.
The current transfer window closes at 11pm on Friday, 1 September. (Some might say it will slam shut, but we operate a strict no-cliches policy at the Rumour Mill.) That leaves various Saudi clubs with a little over two weeks to continue raining petro-dollars down on the Premier League, not to mention across Europe. Even liquified natural gas-rich Manchester City are not immune, with Aymeric Laporte reportedly edging closer to a move to free-spending Al-Nassr. With Josko Gvardiol adding to Pep Guardiola’s central defensive options it seems natural for the Spain international to set his sights on a tilt at the Saudi title.
One player who seems destined to join City’s ambitious treble defence is Lucas Paquetá of West Ham. The champions of everything are due to increase their offer for the Brazilian to at least £80m, especially now that Belgian playmaker Kevin de Bruyne has been ruled out for several months with a hamstring injury. The Rennes winger Jeremy Doku is also nearing a move to the Etihad for a fee of around £45m – although the Hammers themselves are reportedly intent on hijacking the deal as they see Doku as a suitable replacement for Paquetá.
Speaking of clubs splashing the cash, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Chelsea have tied up a deal to sign the striker Deivid from Santos in Brazil. The 18-year-old’s Wikipedia page has already been updated, so we can consider the deal agreed. The Blues are also pressing ahead with their plan to sign Michael Olise (who, of course, they released as a teenager) from Crystal Palace, as their frankly terrifying and distinctly scattergun player recruitment policy continues. Transfer-window deity Romano also reports that Aston Villa are close to sealing a move for the Argentina international left-back and World Cup winner Marcos Acuña from Sevilla.
As revealed by Jacob Steinberg in these pages, West Ham lost patience waiting for Harry Maguire to agree his Old Trafford exit. The knock-on effects are that David Moyes will be casting a beady eye elsewhere for cover in central defence for the Hammers, while the mooted move for Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard to play under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United will not go ahead, unless they get Gareth Southgate’s favourite centre-back off the books.
A touch of Italian football news to finish: Torino’s Stephane Singo, the 22-year-old Ivorian defender, is being pursued by both Milan and Roma. Now, it’s over to Wednesday’s main event.
