Arsenal ready transfer raid for bargain midfielder as Spurs look to beat Chelsea to key signing

Welcome to Tuesday’s dose of Premier League rumours – as always, we’ve combed the global media to pick out the juiciest transfer tidbits to chew over, and we’ll start today at the Emirates, where HITC reckon Arsenal have an eye on a Premier League rival’s property.

Apparently their midfield shortlist includes Nottingham Forest midfielder Danilo, who they admired (but didn’t bid for) while he was at Palmeiras, before he moved to the City Ground for £18m last year.

Mikel Arteta and company have apparently “continued to watch Danilo closely,” and are “impressed by the progress he has made” since he arrived in England last January. No word on whether Arsenal will bid or how much he would cost, but it seems that the Brazilian is an option and is, at the very least, being scouted out ahead of the summer. HITC also claim that he is “on the radar of Manchester United,” although no further details are offered.

The 3AM Verdict: We strongly suspect that Arsenal really want Douglas Luiz, would settle for Martín Zubamendi, and are just doing due diligence on everyone else that they look at. Danilo is a very solid defensive player and has picked up the odd goal for Forest too, so you can see why Arsenal might see him as a good foil for Declan Rice, at least. As for United’s interest, Danilo would presumably be a Casemiro replacement, but the more dynamic João Gomes is likely still ahead of him on the list.

Spurs target chasing Stamford Bridge switch

Meanwhile, a few bus stops away at the other end of North London, Tottenham Hotspur are targeting 19-year-old Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu – but according to Sport Witness, he’d rather be heading elsewhere this summer.

The Danish defender, who has been a breakthrough star for mid-table Lecce in Serie A this season, has apparently claimed that his dream move is Chelsea, although some cold water is poured on that by the report, which says that Spurs are his only serious English suitors for now. Juventus, AC Milan and Atlético Madrid are all keen, too, however, so at least he’ll have some options. Apparently he’s valued at €20m (£17.3m) by his club.

The 3AM Verdict: Dorgu hadn’t made a single senior appearance before this season, so there isn’t a ton of track record to go on, but he’s been very impressive so far, and looks like a genuine all-round wing-back – both dangerous in the final third and rugged at the back at the same time. He’s reasonably quick, nimble and has scored a couple of goals just 12 starts into his career, so you can see why some very good sides are keen. If he continues at his current trajectory, that price tag will be a bit of a bargain.

The next Newcastle or West Ham manager gets business going

Let’s finish with another rumour chiselled out of the Italian media from Sport Witness, one which we’re going to politely label “unusual.” It claims that Newcastle United and West Ham United are both “showing interest” in Torino midfielder Samuele Ricci, but that interest comes not from their current managers but from Maurizio Sarri – apparently a bid for Ricci would be contingent on them employing the chain-smoking Italian as their head coach for next season.

Perhaps that isn’t too far-fetched in the case of West Ham, but unless the Turin media know something we don’t, worrying about Eddie Howe’s replacement could be a little bit premature. Either way, they apparently reckon Sarri could end up in charge of either club and he seems to have fallen out with the Lazio board over their refusal to sign the 22-year-old Ricci for him before he departed the Stadio Olimpico.

The 3AM Verdict: So… if two clubs who haven’t yet fired their manager do so, and appoint a specific coach, then they might sign Ricci. For the sake of completeness we’ll say that Ricci is a promising and dynamic young midfielder who already has 150 league starts despite his young age, but also that Torino reportedly want a pretty hefty sum for him. And while we like Sarri well enough as a manager, it would be a strange demand to make for him to sign for a Premier League club. But on a relatively quiet news day, it is at least quite a fun rumour, even if we’re raising our collective eyebrow to Ancelotti-esque heights in response.