Arsenal & Chelsea planning £80m striker battle as Man Utd target big-name wing-back

Welcome to Wednesday morning’s digest of the freshest Premier League transfer rumours – today, we’ve got the lowdown on some brand new stories concerning Manchester United and Wolves, but we’re going to kick things off with a report about a big striker battle brewing at the top end of the Premier League table.

Caught Offside claim to have a new insight into Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak’s situation. The Sweden international has been heavily linked with a big-money move to Arsenal in the near future, but it seems that Chelsea are keen, too – and both London clubs also have the same back-up in mind if they can’t get their hands on Isak.

Several reports have suggested that Newcastle have slapped a massive £115m asking price on their number nine, but this story claims that Arsenal and Chelsea both reckon that they can negotiate that down to £80m, and that this would be an acceptable price point for the club’s respective transfer teams – neither, it appears, would pay the full nine digits that the Magpies want.

Should their plans for Isak fail to come to fruition, the report claims that they would then move on to another scrap over the same player – both teams have lined up RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Šeško as their second choice.

The 3AM Verdict: Arsenal’s interest in Isak and Šeško is well-documented, but this could be a new insight into Chelsea’s plans given that they have had Victor Osimhen as their top target for some time now. Perhaps they’ve changed tack. As for whether they really can move the needle on Isak’s staggering asking price, we’ll find out next summer – there’s next to no chance that either side spend this sort of money in January.

United eye new wing-back

Since Rúben Amorim took over at Manchester United there has been an almost ceaseless stream of transfer rumours concerning potential new signings for the club, most of which are probably quite specious – but now one of Europe’s most respected reporters, Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, has taken to social media with a claim about their targets at wing-back.

A left-sided player is apparently Amorim’s “highest priority” and the club have two targets in mind. Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies is at the top of their list, presumably in part because his contract is winding down and he would be available for free next summer.

Plettenberg reckons that deal would be “difficult to realize”, however, and that AC Milan’s French international wing-back Theo Hernández is also on their shortlist and being “closely monitored”. No word on what kind of fee we might be looking at.

The 3AM Verdict: Manchester United are looking to economise a little more moving forward but clearly need to make some adjustments to the squad to fit Amorim’s style of play – so they probably would move heaven and earth to sign a player of Davies’ stature on a free. As for Hernández, he’s a proven performer at the highest level and with a contract running until 2026 probably wouldn’t break the bank. It’s not clear whether either player is being targeted for January, when there would be very limited funds unless the club can engineer some sales.

Wolves planning summer swoop

Lastly for today’s round-up, we’re taking a look at a story from Sport Witness which originates with the Turkish media – apparently, Wolves are following Galatasaray midfielder Yunus Akgün “closely” with an eye on making a move for the 24-year-old next summer.

Akgün has managed eight goal contributions this season already and if he “continues to perform” at his current level then the Black Country club will make a move. He’s only got a contract up until the summer of 2026, so presumably the price wouldn’t be too colossal unless he signs an extension.

The 3AM Verdict: The first thing we’d like to note about Akgün is that he used to have an outrageous haircut that made him look a little bit like Gary Oldman in the Fifth Element, and if he brings that back we’d love to see him in the Premier League. Otherwise, he’s an excellent passer with a good work rate off the ball and a player who’s starting to get more productive in the final third, so it’s no great shock to see English sides getting linked with him.