Newcastle United plot bid to sign £32m striker transfer target as Aston Villa ready move for Ligue 1 gem

Another day, another piping hot batch of transfer rumours to devour, as clubs across the Premier League and beyond look to get their groundwork done nice and early ahead of the summer transfer window opening in mid-June.

This process is made tricky, however, by how much still has to be decided before the end of the current campaign, with the battle for European places in particular set to have a big say in where a number of top class footballers end up ahead of the 2026/27 season. This uncertainty hasn’t stopped the rumour mill going into overdrive, of course, and we’ve rounded up the latest batch of piping hot transfer stories doing the rounds today:

We begin proceedings at Arsenal, where Mikel Arteta is preparing for plenty of comings and goings this summer. Caught Offside claim that Real Madrid left-back Alvaro Carreras is the latest player to emerge on the Gunners’ transfer radar, and that his long-term contract with Real Madrid - it runs until 2031 - “doesn’t necessarily rule out a transfer”

The report goes on to claim that Man United, Napoli and Juventus are also in the running to sign the 23-year-old, but suggests that Arsenal’s apparent readiness to involve him heavily in first-team action and provide him with a lucrative pay packet means they have an advantage over other admirers.

The 3AM verdict: We’ve been praising the ex-Man United youth academy prospect for some time now. Alright, probably not as far back as when he was on loan at Preston North End, granted. Arsenal have recruited exceptionally well in recent years, methodically strengthening their squad in all areas to the highest standard.

Left-back is definitely somewhere they could do with more numbers, but given the length on Carreras’ contract, getting him in for a sensible price may prove to be a tall order.

Newcastle United mull over Nicolas Jackson swoop

To St. James’ Park next, where Newcastle United find themselves in the painful position of having to find a top class striker for the second summer in a row. It’s fair to say they made a real pig’s ear of filling the void left by Alexander Isak last summer, with their rushed, £124m total spend on Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa failing to provide them the goals they needed.

Football Insider suggest that the Magpies have reignited their interest in Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson, who has spent the season on loan at Bayern Munich. It’s well known that they won’t trigger their option to sign the Senegalese striker for £56m, but the Blues - who paid £32m for him in 2023 - are said to be looking for a similar fee for any other club who wants to buy him.

Newcastle are claimed to be mulling over whether such a fee would be wise investment, but are conscious that the player may opt for a move elsewhere in Europe where he could secure Champions League football - something the Magpies simply can’t offer at the moment.

The 3AM Verdict: Jackson has had a decent enough season with Bayern, scoring ten goals, but has been far from the main man up top - he’s very much Ballon d’Or hopeful Harry Kane’s understudy. His erratic finishing in his first couple of Premier League seasons with Chelsea was notable, but he still did manage to score a few goals along the way.

At 24-years-old, he’s getting to the point of his career where it’s hard to justify his inconsistency as being down to ‘raw talent’, and Newcastle really need to be spending their money on a more proven Premier League goal-scorer. That said, Wissa scored 19 in the league for Brentford the season before joining, and look how that move turned out.

Aston Villa plan ‘ambitious’ move for Ligue 1 gem

Last up, it’s over to the West Midlands, where Aston Villa - and seemingly half the Premier League - are said to be eyeing up Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche. Team Talk assert that the Villans are after him, along with *deep breath* Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham.

It’s said that if Villa can secure Champions League football, they’ll be ready to make their move, with the financial benefits of doing so likely to boost their summer spending power. The club will be looking to freshen up their attacking options, and could find themselves having to replace Morgan Rogers should the England star move elsewhere.

The 3AM Verdict: Call us cynics, but when half a dozen Premier League teams are linked with one player, it does give off some distinct ‘agent getting their client’s name out there’ vibes. That said, Akliouche is clearly a quality player - he has seven senior caps for France, which is no mean feat given the enormous squad depth the 2022 World Cup finalists possess.

There’s no mention of the fee Villa would need to pay, but it would be a surprise to see him leave for less than £40m, say. The 24-year-old can player either on the right wing - a position Unai Emery’s side could certainly do with strengthening - or more centrally, and would definitely add some real quality in these areas.