Aston Villa make bold transfer ‘approach’ for £60m striker as Man United target La Liga gem

Another day dawns and the rumour mills is still churning out stories – so we’re back with out latest round-up and review of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours to help you stay in the loop, starting with a story for Aston Villa fans.

While most media outlets suggest that the Villans have set their sights on the signing of Porto striker Samu Agehowa, Sport Witness have picked up on reports which would have them headed in a different direction – and making a move for RB Leipzig striker Loïs Openda.

Villa are said to be “keen” on the 25-year-old Frenchman and he is, in turn, “interested” in moving to Birmingham, although it’s suggested that he isn’t actively agitating for a move. Still, Leipzig are “willing to negotiate.”

Openda, who scored 13 goals last season, is supposedly available for around €70m (£60m), about €10m less than his release clause would suggest. It’s said that it’s “unclear” whether there is any chance that Villa spend that much, however, and everything hinges on the future of Ollie Watkins.

The 3AM Verdict: There’s a heck of a lot of caveats here, and between those and the more concrete stories suggesting that they want Agehowa, we suspect that this deal isn’t likely to happen. The price tag is pretty hefty, too.

La Liga star on ‘radar’ of Manchester United

The Spanish press seem convinced they know which midfielders Manchester United are going to sign, and no sooner have they started looking rather wide of the mark with widespread stories about a bid for Javi Guerra than they bring up another name – Sevilla’s Lucien Agoumé.

Fichajes claim that the Frenchman has “entered the radar” of the Red Devils, who are “closely monitoring” him ahead of a possible bid. There hasn’t yet been an official approach, apparently, but Sevilla are preparing for a “possible offensive” in the transfer market. Apparently, the 23-year-old Agoumé wouldn’t be averse to a move to the Premier League, but there’s no mention of the kind of transfer fee we’d be looking at should United decide to make a move.

The 3AM Verdict: Fichajes don’t have a great track record and we’re not seeing anything to corroborate this claim. Combine it with a lack of detail and some evidence that the Spanish media are pretty clueless about United’s transfer business as a whole, and we’ll believe this one when we see it.

Leeds United ready to ruin Everton’s transfer plans

Finally, an interesting story from GiveMeSport which suggests that Leeds United are ready to put the disappointment of missing out on Igor Paixão behind them and put in a bid for Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss, allegedly also on Everton’s shortlist.

Leeds are said to be “willing to pay” to land the attacking midfielder and could trigger a release clause which is reported to stand at £24.5m. Apparently a “meeting” was held between Leeds and the Moroccan’s representatives earlier this week. This could sting Everton into action – although not mentioned in this article, El Khannouss is widely reported to be among the Toffee’s targets as they look to add some attacking firepower before the end of the window.

The 3AM Verdict: Leeds are finding it tough to land their attacking targets, a frustrating reality for newly-promoted teams, and if Everton do weigh in then they may find it tough to win the battle too. Still, this is a less audacious move than the bid for Paixão.