The new season kicks-off on August 5th, and Premier League clubs are scrambling to get their ducks in a row ahead of the new campaign.
Numerous deals have stalled and appear to be heading nowhere. These include Frenkie De Jong's departure from Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo's desire to leave Manchester and Barca's pursuit of Cesar Azpilicueta.
For today though, here's the biggest transfer stories making the rounds:
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Oleksandr Zinchenko joins Arsenal for £32 million
In a reversal of roles, Arsenal have raided Manchester City this summer and have added Zinchenko to their ranks along with Gabriel Jesus who joined earlier this summer.
The Ukrainian had been an important squad player for Pep Guardiola in his time at Manchester City. The 25-year old spent five seasons in Manchester, making over 130 appearances for the club and winning a slew of Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup titles.
Mikel Arteta knows Zinchenko well having coached him at City in his time as assistant manager. Yesterday, Arteta spoke glowingly about his newest acquisition:
"We're so happy Alex has joined us. He's a player that I personally know really well and continued to follow him after my time at Manchester City.
"Alex is a high quality player who will give us options and versatility. It's not only about the positions he can play but as well, the versatility he will give us in attack and defence.
"Alex is a person with great human qualities and character, and I'm delighted that everyone has made this huge effort to bring Alex to the club."
Jules Koundé on the brink of Chelsea move?
Koundé has been one of the most highly sought after central defenders over the past 18 months or so. However, to date, he remains a Sevilla player despite huge interest in him.
Chelsea have been heavily linked to the 23-year old over the last two summers. According to the Daily Telegraph, the French defender is set to be The Blues third signing of the summer.
However, reports this morning from Sky Sports News suggest that Koundé is more likely to stay in Spain and join newly rich again Barcelona. Sky Sports Spanish football expert Alvaro Montero had this to say:
“After signing Christensen, Lewandowski, Kessie, Raphinha, target number one is a player for the defence, that is what FC Barcelona want and need.
“We have been speaking in the last few days about Pau Torres, Inigo Martinez and Cesar Azpilicueta, but if you ask me, I would say Jules Kounde is target No 1 for sure.
“After that, two days ago the player refused to go with Sevilla to the south of Portugal because he wanted to wait, but after that, he decided to go and prepare with his team-mates.
“It is said and it is true that there was an agreement between Sevilla and Chelsea for around 75 million euros, but inside FC Barcelona they think the player wants to play for them and it is said in Barcelona that the player is waiting.
“So on Friday morning, 24 hours ago, this situation was quite tricky for FC Barcelona as they thought the player would not be able to absorb this pressure and he was going to sign for Chelsea.
“But now, in the last few hours, it is even closer than before and now I would say he is closer to signing for FC Barcelona than he is for Chelsea, but it is going to depend on the agreement between the club and the player.
“But inside FC Barcelona, they believe Jules Kounde wants to play for them.”
West Ham bid £35 million for 'the next Zlatan' Gianluca Scamacca
The Irons are coming off the back of a stellar couple of seasons and have been linked to a number of strikers this summer. While The Hammers are heavily linked to Chelsea striker Armando Broja, they have in the past 24 hours put in a £35 million bid for Sassuolo's Scamacca.
The Italian striker scored 16 goals in 35 Serie A appearances last season and would add some much needed firepower to the East Enders.
West Ham will again be in a European competition next season and will need a big squad to challenge on all fronts. What this means for cult hero Michail Antonio however remains to be seen.
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