£33m Everton star’s comments could reignite Man Utd chase amid intriguing Arsenal transfer update

Welcome back to our daily round-up of the juiciest transfer rumours floating around the internet in the past 24 hours – and let’s start at Goodison Park, or more accurately wherever Belgium are training during the international break, and see whether we can discern any subtle hints about Amadou Onana’s Everton future.

Sport Witness picked up on an interview the holding midfielder gave in which he was asked whether he would remain on Merseyside and gave a rather shifty response: “I don’t have a crystal ball, I am not able to tell you what will happen in the future.” In the language of the modern media-trained professional footballer, that’s practically a come-and-get-me plea.

It probably won’t cheer Sean Dyche any to see what he had to say about spending time with the Belgian squad, either: “I must admit that this change in atmosphere and finding a team with high quality players changes the mood.” I think it’s far to say the implication is that he doesn’t think Everton are all that good.

The 3AM Verdict: There were rumours linking £33m Onana with a move to Manchester United over the summer – obviously, that never materialised, but there are quite a few teams in need of a defensively-minded midfielder right now and Onana is plainly keen to be on their respective radars. As for Everton, I think it’s fair to say that they should gently persuade him to hang around until the summer, at least.

Tielemans staying the course at Villa

Recent reports that a frustrated Youri Tielemans had fallen out with the coaching staff at Aston Villa had led to some speculation that he could leave the Birmingham club just a few months after he arrived from Leicester City – but the Belgian international has been keen to douse the flames of any rumours that may be getting fired up.

According to Sport Witness, his agents have told a Belgian newspaper that Tielemans “remains determined” to make things work in the Midlands and that he “wants to fight for his place.” Of course, they could just be saying that while they frantically ring round every other club in Europe. It’s the sort of thing agents do sometimes.

The 3AM Verdict: Tielemans struggled towards the end of his time at Leicester and hasn’t really got going at Villa either, despite playing in a team that’s obviously headed in the right direction – and it won’t help matters if he can’t make nice at the club, either. He’s still a proven player who could be massive for Villa if he can recover his form, so for their sake let’s hope this is something we all just forget about in a few months’ time.

Arsenal not yelling Timber a second time

Apparently some rumours had started circulating that Arsenal were keeping an eye on midfielder Quentin Timber, the 22-year-old twin brother of summer signing Jurriën who has been impressing in recent months for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.

But Fabrizio Romano, via Caught Offside, is here to dash hopes of a Timber family reunion at the Emirates, saying that he doesn’t think there’s anything concrete behind the stories. Basically, the implication is that somebody who was desperate to fill out a transfer column just decided it seemed reasonable enough and rolled with it.

The 3AM Verdict: It must be annoying being the slightly less talented member of a pair of twins. I can only imagine the size of the chips that Fábio da Silva and Marcus Olsson must have on their shoulders at this point. Anyway, there probably isn’t anything in this as Romano says, but he has established himself as a talented regular in Rotterdam and has played extensively with the Dutch Under-21 team, so it’s not completely insane to suggest he might get a big move at some point. But probably not to Arsenal.