Fulham plot blockbuster move for ex-Man City sensation as Everton eye massive wonderkid deal

It’s once again time for our regular morning round-up and review of all the biggest and boldest new Premier League transfer rumours – starting with a story for football fans in West London that involves both Chelsea and Fulham.

The Cottagers have “emerged as front-runners” in the bidding to land England international Raheem Sterling, who Chelsea are keen to offload this summer having sent him on loan to Arsenal last year – according to TeamTalk.

Their sources suggest that Chelsea want £20m for the 30-year-old winger, and while there are other clubs in the bidding (unnamed in this report, but we’ve seen Bayer Leverkusen and Napoli mentioned) Fulham “believe they hold a significant advantage” due to Sterling’s supposed desire to remain in London.

Fulham supposedly see Sterling as a “marquee signing” that they can give Marco Silva as they look to improve upon a solid 2024/25 season. Discussions with Sterling’s representatives are said to be “at an early stage” but the Cottagers are “optimistic” and Sterling himself is allegedly open to the move.

The 3AM Verdict: This makes a degree of sense but so much will hinge on the financial details – Sterling is on £325,000 per week and that’s well outside of Fulham’s usual budget, so there may be a lot of negotiations ahead. So far we’re seeing a lot of links involving Sterling, but little actual movement.

Everton eye huge rising star signing

Over to The Times now, who have broken what would be a pretty big story for Everton fans – suggesting that the Toffees have added Southampton wonderkid Tyler Dibling “to their list of targets” this summer.

Although the actual amount goes unspecified, it is admitted that the Saints’ asking price “could be a stumbling block” for Everton and a “deal is not imminent”, but they are interested in working something out as they work to rebuild David Moyes’ squad ahead of the new season.

Southampton are “hopeful” that they can hang on to Dibling to lead a promotion charge, but Everton have started looking at the attacking midfielder after missing out on targets including Takefusa Kubo and Johan Bakayoko already.

The 3AM Verdict: Southampton slapped a truly outrageous price tag on Dibling back in January when the hype train started rolling, and while we don’t think the £80m ballpark being discussed then will still be the case, there’s no doubt that this deal would stretch Everton’s resources. We’re sceptical of the chances that a deal gets over the line, quite frankly, and it will be late in the window if it does.

Burnley trying to beat Aston Villa to £9m man

We’ll wrap up this morning’s digest with a story from Sport Witness which suggests that newly-promoted Burnley “have made enquiries” to Napoli regarding midfielder Jens Cajuste – who is also an alleged target for Aston Villa.

The 25-year-old Swede was on loan at Ipswich Town last season and Burnley are said to “appreciate his profile” and have “genuine interest” in completing a deal, with Napoli apparently asking around €10m (£9m).

There are no details about Aston Villa’s alleged interest or any word on whether they are likely to launch a rival bid, but with another suitor, Besiktas, supposedly out of the race, the report claims that a deal for Cajuste would be “pretty straightforward for Burnley.”

The 3AM Verdict: Cajuste was a solid player for Ipswich last season and this could be a relatively affordable piece of the puzzle for Burnley, especially if they do end up as the only bidders. We’re only seeing this story from the Italian press for now, but it could well end up being true.