Liverpool consider sensational Chelsea transfer swoop while Spurs get £17m bargain boost

Welcome to Wednesday’s wrap up of the biggest and boldest transfer rumours doing the media rounds right now – and we start with Liverpool, who are contemplating a pretty seismic swoop for one of Chelsea’s most promising young players.

Caught Offside reckon that the Reds could be prepared to test Chelsea’s willingness to sell home-grown players by launching a pretty audacious bid for Levi Colwill, the young defender who has been one of Mauricio Pochettino’s most reliable performers over the course of the first half of the season.

No figures are mentioned, but Liverpool are very much in the market for a centre-half and Chelsea may be forced to sell some assets in order to fund future spending without falling afoul of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. Colwill only recently signed a new deal which ties him to Stamford Bridge until 2029, but could easily be the defensive upgrade that Liverpool need with Virgil van Dijk getting older and the injured Joël Matip liable to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The 3AM Verdict: We’re raising an eyebrow at this one, but if Chelsea are seriously considering selling Conor Gallagher just to make sure they net some pure profit for the balance sheet, then why not go after a different home-grown player of theirs? Selling academy talents is beneficial under the current financial regulations so while this seems like it could just be wild speculation, we wouldn’t say it’s entirely impossible.

Spurs target offered for cut price

Following the departure of Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur were linked with quite a few different forwards including young Nigerian striker Gift Orban, who at the time simply couldn’t stop scoring goals for Belgian side KAA Gent and was valued at a reported €30m (£25.8m).

Orban hasn’t been quite so lethal this season, however, and has scored a relatively lean 12 goals in 29 games so far, well below the standards he was setting just a year ago. Sport Witness report that his (relative) goal drought means that the asking price has dropped substantially, and claim that he was offered to Eintracht Frankfurt for just €20m (£17.1m) recently – and such a bargain price could see Spurs consider making a fresh bid soon.

The 3AM Verdict: Orban may not be shining as brightly this season, but he hit 20 goals in 22 matches last campaign and at just 21 years of age has plenty of room to grow. He’s also got a lot of the attributes you want in a young striker, with great movement and excellent physical attributes. Perhaps £25m was deemed as being too much of a gamble, but as the price drops the chances of snapping up a big bargain increase. We wouldn’t blame Spurs for taking their chances.

Leeds line up Meslier replacement

With French goalkeeper Illan Meslier widely expected to leave Leeds United in the near future – with Spanish side Celta Vigo deemed a likely destination – Daniel Farke’s side are in the market for a replacement, and Sport Witness reckon they’ve found one.

Citing reports in the Italian media, they think Spezia’s Polish stopper Bartłomiej Drągowski could be the man, describing Leeds as being in “pole position” – pun probably not intended. The 26-year-old had an up-and-down spell at Fiorentina earlier in his career but put in some fine performances at his current club despite Spezia’s relegation to Serie B last year, and by all accounts has been excellent in the Italian second tier. The bad news for Leeds is that they may not be alone in their pursuit, with French side Rennes also interested.

The 3AM Verdict: Drągowski put in some excellent performances during his time in Serie A, but had a tendency to drop the occasional clanger as well – so this is a goalkeeper with all the ability you’d want for a club with Premier League ambitions, but also one who can cost you the game occasionally. No price is mentioned in the article, sadly, which makes it hard to weigh up the cost to benefit ratio here, but the potential is there for the Pole to be a good signing.