Chelsea plot bargain £9m swoop as Newcastle and Man City battle for midfielder tipped to 'explode'

We begin Friday’s Premier League transfer rumour round-up with an update on Chelsea’s apparent pursuit of a new goalkeeper this summer. According to Tutto Juve, the Blues are looking for a high quality stopper as they prepare for next season, and have included 34-year-old Juventus keeper Wojciech Szczęsny on their list of prospective targets.

The Pole was formerly on the books at Arsenal, and could be lured back to London for as little as £8.6 million in the coming weeks. It is claimed that if Juve were to receive an offer in that region, then they ‘would say yes’ to selling Szczęsny, and subsequently put the fee towards a deal for Monza’s Michele Di Gregorio.

The 3AM Verdict: Szczęsny is a fine goalkeeper, granted, but this feels like a huge slice of short term thinking from the Blues. At 34, the Pole has some good years left in him, but presumably not many, and as soon as he arrived, you imagine that attention would turn to finding a viable successor to his number one jersey. As long as Chelsea are willing to deal with that, then this could be an alright piece of business.

Toon battle City for teenage midfielder

Elsewhere, Manchester City are said to be among the clubs who have joined Newcastle United in the race to sign Schalke teenage midfielder Assan Ouédraogo. Last month, Sky Germany reported that the Magpies are considering a swoop for the the 17-year-old in the summer, but more recently, Fussball News have suggested that they could face competition from the defending Premier League champions.

Alongside City, Manchester United are also said to have sent officials to Schalke ‘to take a closer look’ at the starlet. Ouédraogo’s current contract lasts until 2027, and he is supposedly valued at around £6.8 million, although it is predicted that his market value ‘will explode’ to around £43 million in the near future if he keeps up his current rate of progression.

The 3AM Verdict: Ouédraogo has been a rare beacon of hope for Schalke, who find themselves on the cusp of a truly dreadful situation. To that end, selling the young German feels like an inevitability, and somebody is going to bag themselves a potential bargain in the process.

Villa want Iheanacho

And finally, according to Football Insider, Aston Villa would like to sign Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho in the summer transfer window. The Nigerian is out of contract at the King Power Stadium in the coming weeks, and has reportedly rejected the offer of an extension from the newly-crowned Championship champions.

This development has alerted Villa, who are in the market for reinforcements at the point of attack, and who could look to secure another free transfer involving the Foxes having picked up Youri Tielemans last year.

The 3AM Verdict: This could be a savvy piece of business from Villa. Iheanacho is a proven Premier League goal scorer, and to sign a covering option of his calibre on a free transfer almost feels like too good of an opportunity to pass up on.