Liverpool line up ‘explosive’ £70m move as Newcastle legend set to leave St. James’ Park

Welcome to our daily round-up of the biggest and boldest Premier League transfer rumours currently doing the media rounds and we’ll start with news from Liverpool – it seems as though the Anfield outfit are set to kick off the next transfer window with an “explosive” bid.

Jarrad Branthwaite is the man in question and according to TeamTalk the Reds have “concrete and active interest” in their cross-town rival’s most important player, who is valued at £70m. Importantly, the article claims that Branthwaite himself is open to making the move “even if it ruins his reputation among Everton fans,” which it very definitely would.

Liverpool’s first choice may, however, be Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi, with Branthwaite the back-up should Palace be able to tie their star man down to an extended contract. The report also suggests that Everton will do everything they can to prevent the centre-back from leaving mid-season, although of course their financial needs may force their hand if a new owner hasn’t been found by January.

The 3AM Verdict: We’ll believe this when we see it. Liverpool need to find Virgil van Dijk’s replacement eventually but it would be odd for them to spend so much money on a player in January when they could have done it over the summer, and that’s before we get into the politics of a move between two fierce local rivals. The interesting wrinkle, of course, comes if Everton are forced to sell to make ends meet, which isn’t impossible – Manchester United were keen, but after signing Leny Yoro for £52m they’d likely be out of the market in January.

Newcastle legend set for exit

The transfer window may have closed but that doesn’t mean that rumours suggesting that hugely popular Newcastle United right-back Kieran Trippier would be leaving have been put to bed – not according to Caught Offside, anyway.

Apparently an exit is now “increasingly likely” with club sources cited in a claim that the former England defender is in talks to terminate his contract. Apparently his options for a new club would be found either in Saudi Arabia (Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr are both namechecked) or in Turkey, where Eyüpspor have a two-year deal on the table waiting for him. Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş are mentioned, too.

The 3AM Verdict: Trippier is clearly below Tino Livramento in Eddie Howe’s updated pecking order so an exit makes sense, and we like the idea of him heading to Turkish Süper Lig side Eyüpspor, who we hadn’t previously heard of but have surely the most Yorkshire name it’s possible for a Turkish team to have. Oh, and apparently Jonjo Shelvey has signed for them too. We all missed that, didn’t we?

Wolves star set for Seville move

Finally, another transfer story which looks ahead to the January window courtesy of Sport Witness, who cite Andalucian media in their claim that Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Pablo Sarabia is a winter target for his former club Sevilla.

Apparently he wants to return to his homeland and his old employers see the 32-year-old as able to “guarantee goals and assists”, which could be handy given that they sit second-bottom in the early La Liga table and haven’t won in four games. Apparently Sevilla reckon it would be a “low cost operation” due to the player’s age and the fact that he is no longer a first-team regular under Gary O’Neil.

The 3AM Verdict: Sport Witness note that they have a lack of confidence in the source and we’ll agree with them when we say that it’s worth taking with “a pinch of salt”, not that it’s necessarily especially unlikely to happen. It’s three months before Sevilla can sign anyone and these days, that’s a long time for that particular club. But we wouldn’t be stunned if this turned out to have some truth to it.