Newcastle and Aston Villa battle to sign forgotten ex-Premier League talent as Arsenal eye major £60m deal
Rounding up the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours - with stories from Newcastle, Villa, Arsenal and more.
With the end of the season in sight, the rumour mill is really starting to warm up ahead of the summer transfer window – and we at 3 Added Minutes are here to help you keep up with all the latest stories with our daily round-up of the juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours.
Today, we’re starting off with a story from Sport Witness concerning a potential transfer battle between Aston Villa and Newcastle United over a midfielder who will be familiar to many – Mattéo Guendouzi, the 26-year-old former Arsenal man who currently plies his trade in Serie A with Lazio.
Apparently, the Frenchman doesn’t actually want to leave Lazio but “there is a price on his head” – specifically €35m (a shade under £30m) – and Newcastle and Villa have “emerged as candidates” alongside Inter Milan.
Inter, however, are unlikely to make an immediate move due to the finances involved, which leaves a clear path forward for the two Premier League sides, who are “at the forefront” of the race. It doesn’t sound like there are any actual negotiations taking place, mind you.
The 3AM Verdict: We’ll call this a maybe. Guendouzi has come a long way since flaming out at the Emirates, and this isn’t the first time we’ve seen stories connecting him with a move back to England. It doesn’t sound like he’s in a hurry to leave Lazio, mind you, and at best he’s one name on a pair of shortlists right now. One to watch, but not to get too far ahead with.
Arsenal & Liverpool eye €70m defender
Over to a story from Spain, now – El Nacional report that Liverpool and Arsenal are “preparing to submit offers” in the region of €70m (£59.5m) for Barcelona defender Jules Koundé, with both teams “closely monitoring” developments around his future.
Koundé has flourished since moving to right-back last season and while Barcelona “have no intention of selling” the 26-year-old, we all know what the Catalan club’s finances look like these days. Even though Arsenal don’t seem to desperately need a right-back, they’re said to hold “particularly strong” interest and see him as a good fit for Mikel Arteta’s system. The Frenchman himself is said to be “happy” at the Camp Nou, however.
The 3AM Verdict: Arsenal need to spend money in other areas, so would they really spend nearly £60m on a defender? We’re not entirely convinced, and nor do we see Koundé as a natural replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold – he’s a technical right-back but not one who bombs forward and creates a high volume of chances, which would seem to fit Arne Slot’s system more closely.
Manchester City could miss out on Kevin de Bruyne replacement
We’ve already released a column discussing the reasons that Manchester City view Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz as the ideal replacement for the outgoing Kevin de Bruyne, but if TBR Football’s reporting is on the money then they may be disappointed.
Apparently, a “verbal agreement” has been reached between Wirtz and Bayern Munich, with the player’s father reported elsewhere to have been keen to see his son move to the Bavarian giants.
No deal exists yet between the clubs, and Manchester City “still want the player”, so they have time to beat Bayern’s bid and make their pitch to Wirtz, but apparently the Bundesliga giants are “making better progress” towards making what would be one of the biggest transfer deals of the summer.
The 3AM Verdict: Wirtz is almost too perfect of a fit for Pep Guardiola’s system, so expect City to move mountains to try and persuade him to take over from De Bruyne next season – but if he wants to remain in Germany, they’ll have a tough time convincing him. Expect this one to run and run, with no conclusion in the next few weeks.