Liverpool tipped to seal ‘sensational’ swap deal as Chelsea eye astonishing Real Madrid bid

Welcome to Tuesday’s round-up of the latest (and biggest) Premier League transfer rumours, and we’ve spotted a couple of absolutely massive stories floating around the media in the last 24 hours – but are any of them likely to prove true?

We’ll start at Anfield, with a story from Sport Witness which draws on reports from Milan – and they think that Liverpool and AC Milan are in talks over a “sensational” swap deal which would see Federico Chiesa leave for his homeland just four months (and 78 minutes of actual football) after signing from Juventus in the summer.

Apparently speculation that the Reds want to offload the oft-injured Chiesa is mounting in Italy, but this specific rumour also suggests that a player would be going the other way – in this case, Milan’s Dutch international midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who is apparently Arne Slot’s second choice for the holding midfielder role if he can’t get his hands on Martín Zubimendi. It sounds like this could all happen this January, too.

The 3AM Verdict: The specific wording of Sport Witness’ story states that Liverpool would be allowed to “make inroads” on a deal for Reijnders, so we’d assume that Milan would want cash as well as Chiesa. That makes it both complicated and potentially unappealing, and a non-starter if Liverpool do have a second, more successful go at signing Zubimendi. The complexities surrounding swap deals mean we’re sceptical that such an agreement is likely.

Chelsea chasing Real deal

A huge shout now from TeamTalk, who cite sources of varying reputation in the Spanish media, which suggests that Chelsea could be set to make a move for Real Madrid forward Vinícius Junior, who is currently locked in a dispute over a new contract with his club.

Marca – the most reliable outlet namechecked in the piece – apparently reckon that he will eventually agree an extension to a contract which currently runs until 2027, but others suggest that the Ballon d’Or runner-up could have his head turned by overtures from Paris Saint-Germain or Saudi Arabia. Into this chaos come Chelsea, who have “joined the race” and are ready to move in if the Brazilian decides he wants a new challenge.

The 3AM Verdict: Details are understandably hazy, but even if Vinícius did decide to move on, Chelsea would surely have a hard time putting together a wage package which would match or better those which he could get elsewhere – remember that for all the commentary about the money Chelsea have spent in recent years, they generally pay relatively low wages. We suspect that the player will stay in Madrid but if he does leave, it won’t be for Stamford Bridge. You never know, we suppose.

Old rivals to clash over young star

Finally, we’ll take a look at a story from Caught Offside which claims that Liverpool and Manchester United are both “closely monitoring” gifted Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado – a 21-year-old holding player who has “caught the eye” of both sides’ scouts.

We’re clearly not at a point where any negotiations have taken place, with the article noting only that Barcelona would “ask for even more” than the €15m (£12.6m) that he’s valued at by Transfermarkt – hardly in depth financial details. Nevertheless, the report is clearly convinced that both sides share a keen interest in a player who has only recently broken into Hansi Flick’s first-team plans. As an afterthought, it’s mentioned that Newcastle United want him too.

The 3AM Verdict: This feels like a speculative shout and there’s no solid detail in the story, but Barcelona are a selling club these days so such links shouldn’t be discounted. Certainly we’re talking about two teams (well, three, although Newcastle are barely namechecked) who need a holding midfielder…