Chelsea plot bold transfer raid for £55m striker as Man Utd star linked with shock loan exit

Welcome to Thursday’s round-up of all the biggest and boldest new Premier League transfer rumours currently doing the global media rounds – and today, we start at Chelsea with news which suggests that their striker search has ended just yet.

Chelsea journalist Si Phillips took to his Substack (paywalled) to explain that Chelsea haven’t yet given up on signing Victor Osimhen – but that the Nigerian, who has joined Galatasaray on loan in a remarkable deal after Napoli failed to agree a deal with the Stamford Bridge side on deadline day, may not be the first-choice target.

The club “still very much appreciate” Osimhen but have also got “top scouts” looking at Benjamin Šeško (who recently signed a new deal at RB Leipzig, which contains a £55m release clause) and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Evan Ferguson. Apparently Osimhen’s season-long loan deal in Turkey does, however, have a clause which allows him to talk to specific clubs come January, which could well include Chelsea.

The 3AM Verdict: It felt like Chelsea made the final decision to move for Osimhen very late and consequently left themselves little time to manoeuvre their way into a successful deal – hopefully they’ll give themselves more room to breathe in three months’ time. But we wouldn’t be shocked if they were looking elsewhere, nor are we surprised by the alleged clause allowing Osimhen a way out of the Süper Lig. Phillips has a pretty solid track record with Chelsea rumours, incidentally.

Red Devil set for ‘stunning’ loan deal

Sticking with the theme of players moving to Galatasaray on a temporary basis, TeamTalk reckon that the Istanbul club are also in talks with Manchester United over a move to take Brazil midfielder Casemiro on loan for the rest of the season.

Specific details are thin on the ground but the Turkish transfer window remains open until the end of next week, which is why their teams are involved in so many late deals right now, and speculation over the former Real Madrid man’s future has only intensified follow a dismal display in the recent 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The 3AM Verdict: The report originates with a Turkish journalist and we genuinely can’t claim to know how plausible it is – Manchester United wouldn’t be able to sign a replacement unless it was on a free transfer, which seems to be the biggest issue here. On the other hand, Ineos probably wouldn’t mind getting at least some of his reported £350,000 weekly wage off the books, not that Galatasaray could or would pay anything like that.

International star lined up for Premier League move

Finally, we’ll reverse the trend of transfer rumours which feature players heading to Turkey and discuss one player who could be coming the other way – Yusuf Yazici, the 45-cap international who is available on a free transfer after his Lille contract expired and who is now being linked with a move to the Premier League by HITC.

The attacking midfielder, who is 27 and has three goals for his country, has apparently been offered to a number of clubs with his agent on the phone to (deep breath here) Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, West Ham United and Fulham. Covering all the bases, apparently. But guess who allegedly leads the race? Yep, Galatasaray.

The 3AM Verdict: We can only assume that Galatasaray are down to about six players and desperate for cover for them to be involved in all this wheeling and dealing – but that aside, we’d say that Yazici, who played twice in Euro 2024, is a little way short of the standard required for clubs chasing Champions League football, so the mid-table team sound more likely destinations.