Man Utd poised to sign £50m Champions League finalist as Everton prepare for latest transfer exit

Welcome, as always, to 3 Added Minutes’ daily run-down of the biggest, boldest, and occasionally most implausible Premier League transfer rumours that have done the rounds in the global sporting media over the past 24 hours – but we start with one that seems eminently believable, for once, because it’s a rumour we’ve heard before.

Manchester United have been linked with a bid for Inter Milan and Netherlands right-back Denzel Dumfries – Champions League finalist and winner of the World’s Most Scottish-Sounding Name Competition for the past six years – on a few occasions in recent seasons, and Caught Offside reckon that the Red Devils could be going back in for another bid this summer as Dumfries struggles to agree a new deal with the Nerazzurri.

Inter want to keep star players like Dumfries but he is one of several players whose contracts need renewing and there have been widespread reports that they will have to make some sales in order to balance the books. Apparently Dumfries wants to double his current £52,000 per week wage packet, but Inter aren’t willing to do that, so United could well find a deal pretty easy to strike. He's believed to be valued at over £50m by his current club.

The 3AM Verdict: Dumfries is an attacking wing-back rather than a defensive full-back, and a world or so away from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, so signing Dumfries would imply a broader transition in the club’s tactical style. They desperately need to do something to get more players up to support the attack, and bringing in much more aggressive wide players would go a long way towards achieving that, so we’d say this sounds like both a believable rumour and a pretty decent idea. No word on how much he might cost, mind you.

Chelsea set to scrap for Everton star

There have been more than a few rumours linking Everton and Belgium holding midfielder Amadou Onana with a move away from Goodison Park in the summer, but one club who hadn’t been interested was Chelsea – until now, according to The Hard Tackle, who cite reports from Belgium.

Arsenal and Barcelona are among the sides who have been said to be interested in securing Onana’s services, with a fee expected to hover around the region of €60m (£51m), but now the Blues are also considering a bid despite having already spent rather a large amount of money on holding midfielders over the past couple of seasons, and have apparently “initiated negotiations” already.

The 3AM Verdict: Onana is a powerful defensive midfielder with excellent tackling skills, but it’s still unexpected for Chelsea to throw their hat into the ring when they already have Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and Roméo Lavia on the books. Because of that, we’re treating these reports with some scepticism, but then Chelsea’s dealings in the transfer market haven’t always made sense recently…

DCL departure looking likely

Onana isn’t the only Everton star who could be leaving Merseyside, however – at least not if Football Insider have their facts straight. They think that victims of a summer clear-out could include Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the once-talismanic striker who has struggled so badly with his fitness over recent seasons.

The former England striker is “expected to attract attention from multiple Premier League sides” when the transfer window re-opens, apparently, although the report notably stops short of actually naming them. Equally innominate “well-placed sources” have, however, suggested that any suitors would want proof that his fitness wasn’t compromised before making a bid. Which seems fair enough…

The 3AM Verdict: We’re not convinced that there’s anything all that solid behind this report, but it’s scarcely a challenge to imagine Everton wanting to move on a forward who has been brilliant in the past but who has managed just four goals in 25 games this season – especially given the dire financial situation. Calvert-Lewin’s contract runs until the end of next season, so it would make sense for Everton to sell while he still has some value. We wonder who will take a chance on him…