After losing Emi Buendía and Tyrone Mings to serious injuries – not to mention their opening game of the season to Newcastle United – Aston Villa are in dire need of a pick-me-up and Unai Emery hopes to boost morale by signing Nicolò Zaniolo from Galatasaray. The Italian midfielder is open to the move and the club’s manager, Okan Buruk, has made it clear Galatasaray are prepared to sell if the price is right.
Having been made to look rather silly following their failed attempts to bolster their midfield by bringing in Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia, Liverpool’s recruitment department might be tempted to hijack Brighton’s proposed purchase of Carlos Baleba from Lille for the thick end of £14m. The Cameroonian central midfielder is only 19 and has just 20 senior appearances under his belt but beating Brighton to his signature now would prevent Liverpool being gazumped by Chelsea when Brighton decide to move him on for £120m in January.
Resigned to losing Lucas Paquetá to Manchester City, West Ham have lined up Mohammed Kudus as the Brazilian’s replacement. The Ghanaian midfielder currently plies his trade with Ajax, from whom the Hammers signed Edson Álvarez last week. Brighton are reported to have agreed a £39m deal with Ajax to bring Kudus to the sunny south-east but have thus far been unable to agree personal terms with the 23-year-old. West Ham are also threatening to cool their interest in Harry Maguire because they feel the mooted deal is taking too long.
While Neymar’s £86m move to Al-Hilal is just a few coughs for the club medics away for completion, the Riyadh-based club is ready to ramp up its efforts to sign Aleksandar Mitrović. Despite vowing he would never play for Fulham again after they rejected two bids from the Saudi Pro League side, the Serb striker came on as a second-half substitute in their weekend win over Everton but remains hell-bent on taking the Saudi riyal.
Bournemouth have triggered the £20m relegation clause in the contract of Leeds midfielder Tyler Adams, who is no longer wanted by Chelsea. The USA captain had looked to be on the verge of joining Mauricio Pochettino’s squad last week until Chelsea concentrated on bringing Caicedo and Lavia to Stamford Bridge instead. Resigned to losing their star midfielder, Leeds are now hoping to replace him with his Rangers counterpart Glen Kamara.
Left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad for their win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend, Kieran Tierney was being courted by Newcastle and Celtic, but with Jurrien Timber now likely to be sidelined for several months, the Scottish full-back could be forced to remain at the Emirates to provide back-up for Takehiro Tomiyasu.
A conspicuous absentee from Arsenal’s starting line-up on Saturday, Gabriel Magalhães is the latest high-profile Premier League star to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, although his current employers are reported to be “under no pressure to sell” the centre-half. Having already seen a potential move to Saudi for their £72m flop Nicolas Pépé collapse, Arsenal may cut their losses and negotiate the termination of the French winger’s contract so they can get him off the payroll and he can move to Besiktas on a free.
Elsewhere in the Emirates departures lounge, Folarin Balogun is browsing the non-fiction bestsellers for something to read while he waits for Monaco to return with an improved bid for his signature, which Arsenal value at £50m. The USA striker spent last season on loan at Reims in Ligue 1, scoring 22 goals in 39 appearances.
