Newcastle could beat Nottingham Forest to key signing as Tottenham prepare shock £50m sale

It’s once again time to round up the juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours that we’ve spotted over the past 24 hours – and we’re going to start off with a story concerning the latest developments in a transfer tug-of-war between Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.

Sport Witness have picked up on new reports from Italy which suggest that Newcastle have joined Forest in pursuing AC Milan winger Alexis Saelemaekers, with the Magpies “emerging as a candidate” to bid for the Belgian this summer.

AS Roma, who currently have the 25-year-old on loan, would love to sign him permanently but Milan want €20m (£17.1m) and that seems to be out of Roma’s price range. Apparently Roma want to offer up a swap deal involving Tammy Abraham, but Milan don’t seem too keen.

Both Newcastle and Forest, then, have the upper hand and are “ready to invest” in a player who struggled at the San Siro but has performed well at Roma and Atalanta in the past.

The 3AM Verdict: A versatile attacking player who has operated as a number ten and even a full-back as well as on either flank, Forest have been linked several times with Saelemaekers and we certainly believe that they’re interested – but prior reports had suggested that the player himself wasn’t all that keen on a move to the City Ground. Given his utility and price point, a bid from Newcastle makes sense, too.

Daniel Levy could offload Tottenham Hotspur star

Over to some surprising news from Tottenham Hotspur, now – according to TBR Football, Spurs “would consider” the sale of star right-back Pedro Porro over the summer “for the right price.”

Porro has been among Spurs’ best and most reliable performers over the past two years, but with Djed Spence playing good football and challenging for a starting spot, they are ready to move on amid interest from Manchester City. Real Madrid had been keen, but with Trent Alexander-Arnold expected to move to the Bernabeu the right-back role has been filled there. Spurs would apparently consider bids of around £50m, about £10m more than they paid Sporting for him in the first place.

The 3AM Verdict: With Porro contracted until 2028, we are suspicious of this story – sure, Porro would have a price, but we expect that they would want more than £50m from City as there are no obvious factors which should twist their arm into a sale.

Chelsea ‘reignite’ £64.3m goalkeeper bid

Finally, a tale from TeamTalk which suggests that Chelsea have joined Manchester United and Manchester City in a race for Porto’s highly-rated goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

Chelsea want an upgrade in goal and have identified Costa as “a potential target” for the summer, with the two Manchester clubs also keeping a watching brief. United seem keen to move on from André Onana, while some reports hint that Ederson could be off to Saudi Arabia.

Costa has a €75m (£64.3m) release clause in his Porto contract and while he could be available for less, the claim is that they are “unlikely to offer a big discount”, with a few million the most any suitors can shave off the asking price. Chelsea also remain interested in Mike Maignan, who is locked in a contract dispute with AC Milan and could be available for €40m (£34.4m), the article continues.

The 3AM Verdict: Chelsea wanted Costa last summer, too, but couldn’t reach an agreement with Porto – we wonder if their financial position has changed sufficiently to allow a deal to get over the line this time, especially given the fact that they’re likely to spend big in other positions, too. This feels like a deal that won’t be easy to get over the line, but the interest is real enough.