Man Utd look to seal £100m double transfer coup as West Ham plot Chelsea flop raid

Plenty of recurring themes in today’s Premier League transfer rumours; we have a big name Premier League player being targeted for an absurdly expensive Saudi Arabian switch, we have Manchester United fussing over a protracted saga involving a midfielder, and we have West Ham trying to recover from the latest episode in the multitudinous Declan Rice multiverse.

Whatever happened to originality? Anyways, sit back, get yourself comfortable, read some gossip, and enjoy Indiana Jones 5 this weekend.

Saudis want Mahrez

Somewhere deep in the marble bowels of his labyrinthine palace, Mohammed bin Salman is spinning an over-sized, glittery wheel of sorts. On it, the name of every player from all of Europe’s top five leagues have been painted, and a little arrow clicks and ticks as they zoom by, quickly at first, and then ever slower; teasing, intriguing. It’s like The Price is Right, or more accurately, The Price is Never an Issue.

The latest moniker that the crown prince’s gaudy prop has settled on, seemingly, is that of Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez. According to the Daily Mail, Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli will look to swoop for the Algerian international this summer, with an annual salary of £43 million touted. Just for context, that’s about five times as much as the he is on at the Etihad. It is understood that Mahrez is interested in ending his career in the Middle East.

The 3AM Verdict: We’ve said it a thousand times already and we’ll likely say it a thousand more before the summer is through, but this kind of transfer is a real concern for many a financial reason. On a footballing level, it would be a real shame to see a talent of Mahrez’s quality walk away from the Premier League, but if there is one thing that City are adept at - aside from winning silverware - it is replacing departing players.

United reopen Mount talks

Elsewhere, Manchester United are said to have reopened talks with Chelsea over a potential agreement to sign midfielder Mason Mount this summer. The Red Devils had a third offer of £55 million rejected for the England international last week, but the Blues have apparently decided to lower their own asking price to £65 million. I can smell a saga brewing...

Sources close to the deal can’t, though. As per the Daily Mail, those who profess to know such things ‘believe the matter will come to a head in the next week and will not drag on indefinitely’. Which will win out, actual knowledge or my ill-informed gut instinct? Only time will tell...

On top of that, reports from Italy suggest they’re willing to pay £43m (plus add-ons) for Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana, which could see the Red Devils splash over £100m on two new signings.

The 3AM Verdict: We’ve spoken about Mount before, and very little has changed to alter my stance on him. He didn’t have a great season last term, but he is still a wonderful player, and if United can sign him for the right price this summer, they would be pulling off a major coup over one of their biggest rivals.

West Ham keen on Zakaria

And finally, it is quite the achievement to be entirely forgotten by a club before your loan spell with them has even officially ended, but Denis Zakaria has somehow managed it at Chelsea. Six hundred minutes of football in west London have done little to quicken the pulse, and he will head back to parent club Juventus as little more than a fiendishly difficult answer in a future Sporcle quiz.

Perhaps he will fare better on the east side of the capital. According to a report from TuttoJuve, West Ham have submitted a bid of around £13 million for the Swiss international, but face serious competition from Champions League-qualifying French outfit RC Lens. Juve, for their part, are demanding closer to £17 million.

The 3AM Verdict: Zakaria is no slouch, even if he rarely got to showcase his best assets at Chelsea. With Declan Rice’s exit edging ever closer, West Ham will need midfielders, and the Swiss talent could prove to be a fairly astute bit of business - provided they can snap him up.