Arsenal set for £67m double raid on Premier League rivals as Aston Villa & West Ham eye England international

There’s plenty to sink our teeth into in today’s round-up of the biggest and sometimes wildest Premier League transfer rumours currently doing the media rounds, so we’ll waste no time in getting stuck into a story concerning Arsenal’s moves in the transfer market next year.

Caught Offside reckon that the Gunners are set to make a move for not one but two Bournemouth players next year – left-back Milos Kerkez and forward Antoine Semenyo, both of whom Mikel Arteta apparently “appreciates.”

It seems that they want Semenyo to act as a back-up for Bukayo Saka, while Kerkez could replace Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney, both of whom are seemingly set to leave next summer. The only problem is that Bournemouth don’t want to let their guys go cheap, and would apparently demand a combined €80m (£67m) for the pair, a valuation that Arsenal are “unlikely to match.”

The 3AM Verdict: There’s always something slightly convenient about transfer stories which conclude that it may be too expensive to happen, as it’s rather hard to disprove the truth of them if there’s never any movement. Nevertheless, the growing interest in Semenyo seems serious enough, with both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur linked in recent days and weeks. Kerkez, meanwhile, is on a lot of longlists but we’re not sure an elite side will make a move for him until he’s taken another step or two in his development.

Three sides in for England international

Another big story brewing now, courtesy of Sport Witness, who have picked up on reports from the Milanese media which reckon that Aston Villa, West Ham United and Fulham are all interested in a “potential move” for AC Milan and England centre-half Fikayo Tomori.

Tomori has struggled with his form of late and a bad mistake in a defeat to Fiorentina has seen him come in for a lot of stick, which has heightened the sense that he could look for a move back home. No financial details are included, which is slightly frustrating.

The 3AM Verdict: This story feels more like supposition that anything sourced from within the club, but at the same time a Premier League move has been on the cards for Tomori for some time and we don’t think there’s anything implausible here. It’s interesting to note that Newcastle, who were reportedly interested over the summer, aren’t mentioned. At least if he does make a move to England, the England fans who beg for his inclusion in every national squad will actually get a chance to see if he lives up to the hype…

Cottagers eye Muniz replacement

Finally for today, we’ll stick with a Fulham-specific story from TBR Football, who claim that the Cottagers are getting frustrated with Rodrigo Muniz Raúl Jiménez’s respective struggles in front of goal and are looking to make a mid-season move to replace him, or at least add some competition.

The player they’re looking at is towering Racing Genk frontman Tolu Arokodare, a 23-year-old Nigerian striker who has scored six goals in his first 10 games of the new season. Apparently a story in the Nigerian media suggested he was available for £7m in the summer, but his good form over the last couple of months may have added some numbers to the price tag.

The 3AM Verdict: We haven’t had a chance to watch Arokodare play much, but we know that he’s a big man with some impressive work under his belt inside the penalty area, although he hasn’t proven that he can be prolific at the highest level yet. Certainly if the transfer fee suggested was right, then it wouldn’t be too expensive of a gamble. We haven’t heard any other reports to support or contradict the piece yet, in any case.