Liverpool & Man City among clubs chasing huge £125m transfer as Arsenal consider 'big-money' move

Welcome to your Saturday round-up of all the biggest and boldest Premier League transfer rumours currently doing the rounds – and we’ll start your weekend off with a claim that at least three top-flight clubs could be interested in one of the most expensive players of all time.

French international Ousmane Dembélé cost Barcelona a cool £125m not so very long ago, but the 27-year-old is now at Paris Saint-Germain – but not, according to Todo Fichajes, for long. If PSG don’t do well in the Champions League this year than apparently the winger may attempt to force a move to England despite having a contract which runs until 2028.

Apparently Manchester United and Newcastle have “knocked on his door” but it’s more likely that he moves to Manchester City, Liverpool or Arsenal, who are “thinking of bidding for the player.” It isn’t clear what he might cost, but the article claims the interest is both real and mutual.

The 3AM Verdict: This feels a bit fanciful, especially given that Dembélé has only been in Paris for a year, and we’re not convinced that there’s anything concrete in all of this – but a year is a long time in football, so who knows? But the logic provided by the report for their list of likely destinations feels more like guesswork than the result of carefully-sourced intel.

Gunners aiming for “big-money” move

Should Arsenal decide to throw their money in a different direction, however, it seems as though a former Premier League star is among the alternative options – TeamTalk claim that the Gunners are “weighing up” a “big-money” move for former Manchester City winger Leroy Sané, now of course at Bayern Munich.

The report, which cites claims from GiveMeSport, suggests that Arsenal were exploring a move for the Germany international before signing Raheem Sterling, and it seems he remains a player of interest. Talks between Sané and Bayern over a new contract will be crucial, as one might expect.

The 3AM Verdict: There’s a hint of second-hand gossip going around in this one, which always make us sceptical, but there’s nothing inherently unlikely about such a move, especially when we’re getting towards the end of a player’s contract – his £325,000 per week deal expires next June. We don’t doubt that Arsenal have at least done due diligence on a deal, but that doesn’t mean he’s the top target.

Seagulls set for second swoop at defender

Brighton & Hove Albion made a serious splash in the summer transfer market, spending a colossal £195m on new signings, but it sounds like they wanted to bring even more players in – and according to Caught Offside, they could return for at least one player they missed out in January.

They failed with a bid for PSV centre-half Olivier Boscagli but “have not given up” on the Frenchman and are “ready to make another move” when the transfer window re-opens in the new year. The 26-year-old is set to become a free agent next summer, which should ease the process along – but they do face competition from Inter Milan, it would seem.

The 3AM Verdict: What a world we live in, where Brighton are battling with Inter for transfer targets – as you might expect from one of a player they’re looking at, Boscagli is a fine technical player with a good passing range and confidence with the ball at his feet, so we have no difficulty believing that there’s some truth to this one.