Man Utd & Liverpool in transfer ‘tug of war’ as West Ham accelerate £40m striker move
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There are now just six days left until the January transfer window slams shut, as transfer windows are wont to do, and once again we’re keeping you in the loop on all the latest stories with our morning round-up of some the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours – and today, we’re starting with a big story concerning Manchester United and their perennial rivals Liverpool.
Caught Offside claim that both sides have set their sights on the same player – Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, after whom both sides have “already enquired” with the Ligue 1 club open to offers as they look to sell their way out of a serious financial crisis. Apparently a fee in the region of €22m (£18.4m) would be required to secure the 21-year-old winger’s services.
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Hide AdTottenham Hotspur are interested too, although they have “not yet taken any formal steps” towards a bid. That would suit United and Liverpool, who prefer to make a move in the summer – Spurs’ desperate need for new signings combined with Lyon’s desperate need for cash could speed the process up, however.
The 3AM Verdict: Cherki is often described as one of the most talented players in Europe but his qualities as a flying winger have on occasion been overshadowed by questions about his attitude. Still, he’s too talented for someone not to want to sign him on a discount – where that’s any of the teams in this story remains to be seen. We doubt United or Liverpool make a January move, as the Red Devils have other priorities and reports suggest that Liverpool don’t plan any deals.
Spurs in for Swiss Euro 2024 star
If there’s one reason Spurs wouldn’t sign Cherki, it’s that they’re actual buying a different forward entirely – at least, according to Sport Witness, who cite French newspaper L’Equipe in reporting that Ange Postecoglou’s embattled side are interested in Switzerland and Monaco striker Breel Embolo, who scored two goals for his country at Euro 2024 (and, for that matter, at the last World Cup).
The 27-year-old is into the last 18 months of his contract with Monaco and are “open to a sale” to maximise their profits. Not that Spurs will have it all their own way if they are indeed interested – apparently Galatasaray and Como are interested, as are unnamed clubs from Saudi Arabia.
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Hide AdThere’s no word on how much Embolo, who has 15 goals in 73 caps for the Swiss national team, might cost any buyers, but he set Monaco back around £10m when he arrived in 2022.
The 3AM Verdict: Embolo is one of those players who can be spectacularly good on his day, but doesn’t do it quite as often as you’d like – so, he’d be perfect for Spurs. Joking aside, this is the first time we’ve heard this link and there isn’t much corroborating evidence so far, but it’s not inherently plausible. A wait and see, we think.
West Ham in ‘strong position’ for Seagulls swoop
To round things off today, we’ve got yet another story which suggests West Ham are on the brink of buying their new striker – this time, it’s TeamTalk who claim to have the inside track, and they reckon that the Hammers are in a “strong position” to strike a deal for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Evan Ferguson.
It would be an initial loan deal with a purchase clause of between £35m and £40m, according to unnamed sources, although Brighton are also said to be “mulling over” their valuation for the talented Irishman – in fairness, that could just mean that they’re waiting to see if anyone else comes in to push the price up.
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Hide AdQuite a few teams have been connected with a move for the young striker but based on this report it sounds like Everton are the only other serious suitor, but they have a problem as they need to terminate the deal for one of their current loanees before they can add another. They’re trying to do just that by sending Armando Broja back to Stamford Bridge, but West Ham sound like they’re pushing the accelerator to get this one over the line before anyone else can get their house in order to make a rival bid.
The 3AM Verdict: If we had a penny for every entirely plausible story which suggested that Graham Potter’s team were on the brink of completing a deal for a striker, we’d have… well, not much, but more than 1p at this point. And if they were all true, West Ham would have more strikers than they could possibly need. We think that the Ferguson saga will run until close to deadline day, and suspect other teams, such as Bournemouth, may stick their oar in before the end. West Ham will end up with a forward, but heaven knows who.
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