£68m Palace man ready to leave in 2025 as Newcastle look to sell star in January
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Welcome to Thursday’s round-up of all the biggest and boldest Premier League transfer rumours that we’ve seen doing the rounds in the global sports media over the past 24 hours – and we’ll start with some bad news for Crystal Palace fans.
As if their recent form wasn’t tough enough to handle, they also face the prospect of losing some of their star players over the course of the coming year, with the likes of Adam Wharton and Marc Guéhi generating plenty of interest – but one player who is apparently getting his bags packed is Eberechi Eze, according to Caught Offside.
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Hide AdLiverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are both interested in him, apparently (although we note that the source for that part of the story seems to be the less-than-reliable Football Insider), and the England international has “given a green light” for a move as he “wants to try out a new challenge”. He was available for £68m due to a release clause this summer, but it’s not yet clear what sort of bids will be required to prise him away from Selhurst Park.
The 3AM Verdict: The key to Palace’s future transfer dealings will be whether they continue to play hardball, as they did with Guéhi in August. Eze has a few years left on his current deal, so they have a strong negotiating position, but if they prevent players from moving clubs then they may sour the dressing room. As it stands there’s been a lot of smoke surrounding a move for Eze, but very little fire, so we’ll see what happens.
Toon star set to depart
Speaking of wingers who could be on the way out of their current clubs, TeamTalk have an update on the future of Paraguay international Miguel Almirón, who was linked with a move away from Newcastle United in the summer. It sounds like the likelihood of a transfer away have only increased, and that there’s every chance the winger leaves over the winter.
Apparently most of the interest in a move comes from clubs in the United States and Saudi Arabia, although the report doesn’t name any specific teams. The alleged interest from Everton is brought up as well, but the implication is that the Toffees probably won’t be keen as any move would have to be permanent. Newcastle are probably keen to find a buyer, judging by the claim that they’d use the financial space created to sign Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo.
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Hide AdThe 3AM Verdict: Although we’re sure there is interest from the USA and Middle East in Almirón, we can’t help but note a lack of new information in this report, which always make it feel a little less reliable. Still, we don’t doubt that Newcastle do want to sell ‘Wor Miggy’, and we’ve seen the link with Mbeumo elsewhere, which always lends some credence to a rumour.
Chelsea drawing up centre-back shortlist
We’ll close out our reportage from a quiet day on the rumour mill with another line from Caught Offside, this time concerning reports that Chelsea could be searching for a new centre-back – and specifically, a recent rumour that they’re looking at Nottingham Forest’s Murillo.
The young Brazilian has many admirers but Fabrizio Romano, speaking exclusively to Caught Offside, doesn’t necessarily think a move to Stamford Bridge is imminent. Chelsea are “following several players” and there is “nothing concrete or really advanced” as it stands. Romano also believes that Forest would hold out for a huge fee, which is partly why he’s still at the City Ground in the first place.
The 3AM Verdict: No word on the other names on this alleged shortlist, but we’re inclined to believe that Chelsea will spend most of their cash on a striker in 2025 – not that they don’t find ways to spend big in other positions, anyway. Murillo is young and Chelsea like players who can develop, so we wouldn’t be shocked if he fits their criteria. This all feels like hearsay at the moment, however, even if it’s eminently plausible hearsay.
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