Chelsea make bold move for £51m midfielder as Arsenal ready bid for goal-machine striker

We begin Tuesday’s Premier League transfer rumour round-up with news of Chelsea and their apparent pursuit of Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners. According to SportMediaSet, the Blues had scouts in attendance to watch the Serie A club’s commanding 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield last week, and were particularly taken with the Dutchman.

Indeed, it is suggested that Chelsea are very keen on the player and have ‘made a move’ ahead of the summer transfer window. The Blues could be willing to pay as much as £51.2 million to lure him to Stamford Bridge in the coming months, but may have to fend off interest from Juventus, who are also said to be circling with intent.

The 3AM Verdict: Koopmeiners is an impressive talent, and one who is likely to be on the wish list of several top European clubs this summer. Whether the centre of midfield is an area of high priority for Chelsea is, however, a matter of some debate. The Blues have already invested heavily in their engine room, and while a swoop for the Dutchman would be a real coup, there are surely better uses for the £51 million or so he would likely cost.

Arsenal eye Gyokeres

Elsewhere, according to Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Notícias, Arsenal are becoming ‘more attentive’ to the prospect of signing Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, and an offer from the Gunners for the Swede is ‘becoming more and more likely’.

The former Coventry City forward has hit 36 goals and 16 assists in 43 outings during his debut season in Portugal, and is understood to have a release clause of around £85.4 million written into his contract in Lisbon. Regardless, Arsenal ‘hope to reach an agreement’ with Sporting in the coming months, and could look to include players as part exchange in a bid to drive down Gyokeres’ asking price.

The 3AM Verdict: It is hard to argue with Gyokeres’ return this season. When these rumours initially broke several weeks ago, we preached caution about signing a player off the back of a relatively fleeting purple patch. Since then, however, the Swede has just kept on firing on all cylinders, and it does feel as if he is deserving of a shot with one of the traditional heavyweights of European football. Arsenal, for their part, need a striker, and Gyokeres could be as sound a bet as anybody heading into the summer transfer window.

Tottenham in for Amoura

And finally, Tottenham Hotspur are said to have made a ‘concrete offer’ for Algerian international Mohamed Amoura. The striker has been in fine form this season, netting 22 goals and contributing a further six assists in 40 games across all competitions for Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

As a consequence, he has supposedly caught the eye of transfer chiefs in North London, with DZ Foot suggesting that the Spurs have made a tangible bid for his services. Royale Union Saint-Gilloise are, however, said to be demanding £17 million for Amoura, a figure that Ange Postecoglou’s side are yet to match.

The 3AM Verdict: If there is any truth in this report, and it is a big ‘if’, then Tottenham need to heed the exact warnings that we spoke about when discussing Gyokeres above. Yes, Amoura has been in fine form this season, but he also hasn’t found the back of the net since the end of February, and you could argue that Spurs in desperate need of a player who they can rely upon to a much greater extent. Postecoglou will want a striker in the summer, but whether Amoura is the right man, we’re not so sure.