Liverpool plot mega raid for £70m-rated Nottingham Forest star as Newcastle brace for Saudi bid

The weekend is finally here but as most of us prepare to take a well-earned break, the rumour mill simply keeps churning out fresh stories – so we’re here with our regular round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours to help you keep up to date.

We’ll start which a report from GiveMeSport which alleges that Liverpool are “closely monitoring” a Nottingham Forest star said to be worth as much as £70m by other sources – centre-half Murillo.

With defensive reinforcements a priority amid uncertainty over Ibrahima Konaté’s future, Liverpool have “identified Murillo as one of the options” for a summer splash, and apparently view him as a “perfect signing”.

Murillo doesn’t have a release clause in the contract he signed over the winter, so any negotiations would be “complicated” – an understatement, perhaps – but that doesn’t seem to be dampening any Anfield ardour for the defender.

The 3AM Verdict: We don’t doubt that Liverpool admire Murillo but we doubt he goes anywhere this summer. Between the likely cost and his new contract, Forest are in great shape to keep hold of him and we think that Liverpool need to spend enough in other positions that Murillo will simply prove too costly.

Newcastle star becomes Saudi Plan B

It’s not often that Newcastle United are anything other than the beneficiaries of Saudi Arabia’s free-spending attitude towards football, but that could change, according to a Sport Witness story. It seems that Pro League side Al-Hilal are targeting midfielder Bruno Guimarães as their “Plan B” for the summer, should they fail with a bid for Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes.

Sport Witness’ report acknowledges that details are scant and that the story can be taken with a “pinch of salt”, even questioning whether Al-Hilal’s backers would want to undermine Newcastle, given that the money all comes from the same place…

The 3AM Verdict: We suspect that again, this is likely to be a false alarm. Both the Pro League and Newcastle’s primary financial backing comes from the Saudi PIF and it’s unlikely that it would damage one of its products to benefit another. Besides, Bruno has shown no signs of wanting to leave St. James’ Park. We suspect he stays put.

Leeds target unwanted Chelsea star

Let’s move on to a story which sounds a bit more likely to happen, shall we? TeamTalk claim that Leeds United are “seriously considering” a bid for half-forgotten Chelsea goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović, who is currently impressing on loan at Strasbourg.

Leeds are keen to move on from error-prone goalkeeper Illan Meslier and are taking advantage of Petrović’s “uncertain” future at Chelsea, where he is likely to be buried down the pecking order next season, a fact which will “open the door” for a move.

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There are no details of how much the Serbian stopper might cost or on whether he’d be interested in the move in the report, which also notes that Leeds want to sign two strikers to bolster their attacking options this summer.

The 3AM Verdict: We do believe that Leeds want a new goalkeeper (several players, such as Aaron Ramsdale, have been linked with a move to Elland Road) but the absence of any detail in this story fails to convince us that Petrović is a key target. One name on a shortlist, perhaps, but we’d expect to see more meat on the story if he was the priority. The most likely of today’s trio of tales, nevertheless.