Newcastle set up shock bid for Chelsea star as Everton reach ‘draft agreement’ for £26m man

Welcome to Saturday’s daily digest of the biggest and often wildest Premier League transfer rumours – and we start today up at St. James’ Park, where it seems that Newcastle United are plotting an audacious bid for one of Chelsea’s recent big-money buys.

England Under-21 international Noni Madueke had an excellent spell of form towards the end of last season, and according to Football Insider that has persuaded them to have a crack at signing the winger, who arrived for a reported £29m in January 2023.

He isn’t their only target, however, and the article also claims that they’re looking at Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville or even West Ham United and England star Jarrod Bowen – but apparently they view Madueke as a “significant improvement” on their current options, so he may be at the top of the list.

The 3AM Verdict: Madueke is a hugely talented and dangerous winger who is suffering from the presence of Cole Palmer – if he continues to play on the right wing under Enzo Maresca then Madueke will have a tough job getting regular minutes. Throw in the fact that Chelsea almost certainly need to sell some players to meet profit and sustainability rules, and this might not be so very far-fetched. There’s no word on the price tag.

Everton reach ‘draft agreement’ for midfielder

Just a couple of days ago, we commented on reports that Everton were allegedly interested in unwanted Napoli midfielder Jesper Lindstrøm – and now Sport Witness claim that the two clubs have reached a “draft agreement” on a loan deal, with no obligation to buy. Rather wonderfully, one of the sources for the story is the brilliantly-named Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli.

Our recent article has more details on the Denmark international, who signed for Napoli for a reported €30m (£26m) last year, but sufficed to say that a loan deal for a talented player who has rather lost his way in Italy makes sense given the financial constraints that the apparently un-sellable Toffees are currently operating under. Elsewhere, TeamTalk report that Everton have told disappointing striker Beto that he can leave the club.

The 3AM Verdict: Lindstrøm is a direct and hard-working attacking midfielder who makes a lot of sense for the way Sean Dyche sets his team up – and if they really can borrow him for a year, that’s probably pretty good short-term business. As for the lack of a future purchase clause, we’ll reserve judgement until we see if he can get through his lost season in Naples. As for Beto? He looked really good on debut against Tranmere Rovers, but didn’t do much after that.

Chelsea leading way for Forest star

Let’s wrap up by cycling all the way back to Chelsea now – if Caught Offside have their facts straight, then they’re right at the front of the queue for Nottingham Forest’s talented young defender Murillo, and have even opened negotiations for the 22-year-old Brazilian.

Apparently Maresca sees Murillo as a “strong target” but Forest will “demand a huge transfer fee” in order to let him leave. Never a team to be dissuaded by a gigantic asking price, Chelsea seem to be pressing ahead and now lead Arsenal in the race to sign the centre-back, with the Gunners concentrating on Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori. Atlético Madrid had been mentioned as a potential buyer in the past, but they seem to have dropped away after signing Euro 2024 winner Robin Le Normand.

The 3AM Verdict: Murillo showed a lot of promise and has all the talent required to go a long way, but he hasn’t yet played at his best week in, week out and that makes it feel slightly surprising that clubs with European aspirations would be prepared to break the bank for him. Then again, Chelsea have smashed it to pieces for players with much shorter track records.