Fresh twist in Ivan Toney to Man Utd transfer saga as Liverpool chase £50m powerhouse defender

Welcome to your daily dose of the biggest transfer rumours floating around the Premier League right now – and we start with the latest insights into the future of Ivan Toney, the Brentford and England striker who has been linked with a move to pretty much all of the biggest clubs in the top flights this summer.

According to Caught Offside – or at least Fabrizio Romano, speaking through them – it looks like Arsenal and Chelsea, the two sides most frequently linked with a big-money bid, are now cooling their interest, and Romano would be “surprised” if he joined either.

He does, however, think that Manchester United are now firmly in the frame, describing them as “one to watch, especially if the asking price drops.” He goes on to dismiss recent reports that his value could be as low as £30-40m, however, and claims that Toney won’t be sold “for a bargain fee.”

The 3AM Verdict: Toney’s recent form has probably chilled his market a little, and he hasn’t scored in Brentford’s last eight games. That’s not the kind of bang you expect from the bucks Thomas Frank was discussing not so long ago, when he claimed that Toney was worth £100m. Still, he remains a proven Premier League goalscorer, and that’s worth a pretty penny. It will be interesting to see what kind of price point ends up triggering a proper bid for him.

Arsenal back in for Brazilian

Over to the Emirates now, where Arsenal are reportedly planning on making yet another attempt to sign Aston Villa and Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, having failed to make that move happen despite making multiple bids in recent transfer windows.

Football Insider reckon that their interest “hasn’t gone away” (or at least their sources think as much) and that they’ll be back at the negotiating table yet again come the summer, especially with Jorginho, Thomas Partey and Mohammed Elneny all possible departures. They also note that Barcelona are interested – the Catalan superclub seems to have an uncanny knack of being linked with players that they almost definitely can’t afford every time a new window rolls around, and we doubt that Barcelona will sign him very much.

The 3AM Verdict: Aston Villa have made it pretty clear that it will take a massive, Declan Rice-sized bid for them to sell perhaps their most influential player. That said, he only has two years left on his contract so Villa will either have to sell, sign him to a new deal, or risk losing him for a relative pittance further down the line. That situation could see Arsenal’s persistence finally pay off.

Liverpool scouting Sporting star

With widespread reports that Liverpool are planning to appoint Sporting manager Rúben Amorim to succeed Jürgen Klopp at the end of the season, it’s not exactly a shock that they’re also being linked with some of Amorim’s best players – and Caught Offside suggest that they’ve been scouting centre-half Gonçalo Inácio, who has a €60m (£51.2m) release clause, in recent weeks.

But that doesn’t mean that they’re locked in to making a bid, and indeed the rest of the report actually pours some cold waters on the suggestion that they’ll sign the impressive young centre-back. Apparently their scouting is “normal due diligence” and there’s nothing concrete in the links yet. But they’re certainly looking for a centre-half, and Inácio is clearly an option.

The 3AM Verdict: The centre-half market is set to be extremely crowded this summer, but Inácio – along with Sporting team-mate Ousmane Diomande – will be among the most in-demand of the lot. A talented ball-playing defender and already a full Portugal international, just about every side in need of a new defender will consider a bid, but it seems equally certain that paying the release clause in full is the only way that he’ll be going anywhere.