Fresh twist in Arsenal's Ivan Toney transfer chase as Aston Villa brace for star defender bid

Welcome to Wednesday’s round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours and our verdicts on the biggest and boldest stories doing the rounds in the worldwide media – and we start in London, with news of a potential twist in the long-running Ivan Toney saga.

According to Caught Offside, Arsenal “still retain some interest” in the Brentford and England striker but may find themselves outgunned in the battle to sign him by Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli, who are “stepping up their pursuit” of the 28-year-old with the offer of a typically lucrative contract.

Apparently they are ready to offer £30m to the Bees, who risk losing Toney on a free transfer at the end of the new season, and would pay him £10m a year for his services. Whether the player himself would even consider such a move is unclear, and the report reckons that Toney will have “other possible opportunities” in England before the end of the window regardless of what Arsenal decide to do.

The 3AM Verdict: We discussed Toney’s situation last week and concluded that it was increasingly likely he would be forced to stay at Brentford, but then again we didn’t expect the Saudi Pro League to get involved. This is the first remotely credible source we’ve heard about the interest, and we’re not clear on exactly how one steps up a pursuit that hadn’t even started, but it’s the kind of statement signing the Saudi league would love to make. We strongly suspect he’d prefer to move to a side like Arsenal, however.

Villa man targeted by Serie A side

Up to the Midlands now – Sport Witness have picked up on a report from Italy which claims that Atalanta are preparing to make an “ambitious” bid for Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash after another transfer bid at his position fell through.

Apparently Villa would demand a “significant fee” to allow him to leave at this point in the window, but Atalanta are “ready to move quickly” and the outcome of any negotiations could become clear within days. The article acknowledges that it would be difficult to prise Cash away when Villa are rather thin on his side of the defence, and they may well have to topple the club record of €29m (£24.7m) they spent on El Bilal Touré last summer.

The 3AM Verdict: The original source of the story seems to be a local journalist and they’re often very reliable on their own beat, but we don’t have a clear idea of how well-informed this report really is. We certainly doubt that Villa would sell on the cheap given a dearth of options at right-back, and Atalanta aren’t noted as particularly big spenders, which makes us sceptical that this will come to fruition if it is true.

Fulham up bid for Andersen

Finally, we’re heading back to the capital for a report from The Athletic (paywalled), which claims that Fulham have made a second bid for key Crystal Palace centre-back Joachim Andersen after an initial offer of around £20m was rejected.

It is expected that Palace will turn down the fresh offer, too, which stands at £25m plus up to £5m in add-ons – Oliver Glasner’s side want £40m for the 28-year-old Dane. Andersen, who started every Premier League game for Palace last season, is top of Fulham’s shortlist as they seek defensive reinforcements following the losses of Tosin Adarabioyo, Tim Ream and Jorge Cuenca, but they have also had a bid for Aston Villa’s Diego Carlos turned down this month.

The 3AM Verdict: Andersen is huge for Crystal Palace and the club would be loathe to lose him, especially given the high chance that Marc Guéhi will be off to Newcastle United soon, so they will likely play hardball – but £30m for a 28-year-old defender is getting close to the kind of offer they can’t ignore. As for the veracity of the report, it originates with David Ornstein, who seldom gets it wrong, and has been backed up elsewhere. It will be very interesting to see what Palace’s defence looks like come September.