Newcastle United and Spurs battle to sign £50m star as Arsenal eye audacious striker swoop

Welcome to the day after deadline day. the dust has now settled, the fax machines will have been wheeled back into darkened corners, Fabrizio Romano will have returned to his winter hibernation, and transfer dealing will have ceased. But the rumour mill, of course, whirs on – and we’ve already got some potential summer signings for you to mull over, courtesy of the press.

And let’s start with news of a possible transfer battle between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, who could be fight it out for the signature of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Egyptian international forward Omar Marmoush – who we recently called out as one of the players to watch ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Hard Tackle report, via German outlet Bild, that the 24-year-old is interesting both top-four chasing teams, and that they’ll make a move in the summer. Transfermarkt value him at €15m (£12.8m), which seems far too low given that he’s bagged 12 goals and a few assists in 25 games this season.

The 3AM Verdict: A dynamic central striker with good pace, nice technique and a keen eye for a finish, we like Marmoush a lot, although we have some doubts over whether he’s quite good enough to be the starting number nine of a team with serious Champions League aspirations. He’d certainly be a handy squad player, though, and even if he isn’t the second coming of Harry Kane or Alan Shearer, either side would be thrilled to have him for the kind of money Transfermarkt reckon it will take.

Arsenal in shock United swoop

In what may be the most outrageous rumour of the past 24 hours, Football Insider have claimed that - according to unspecified sources - Arsenal are seriously planning to try and bring Marcus Rashford to the Emirates next summer, having supposedly tried to buy him for £45m back in 2022.

Apparently, United would demand rather more for him this time, although no fee is specified. Rashford has, of course, struggled for form this season and has been bedevilled by allegations surrounding his off-field conduct. Manager Erik ten Hag has been keen to draw a line under such things, understandably, but we can expect plenty of speculation about the England forward's future over the coming weeks, or at least until he starts scoring again.

The 3AM Verdict: We're going to guess that the sources are unspecified because they are the intrusive voices in Football Insider's head. But Rashford has been struggling, clearly isn't himself, and something has to give, so we're going to hear reports about him leaving Old Trafford for the next six months unless things sort themselves out. Would United really sell him to Arsenal? It feels too wrong to be right, but we suppose that stranger things have happened.

Villa line up Leverkusen raid

Aston Villa weren’t overly busy over the course of January, but that seems to be because they’re keeping their powder dry for the summer – if a Birmingham Mail article linking them with a swoop for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios is correct, at the very least.

The Argentine World Cup winner won’t come cheap, however, and if they want to pry him from Xabi Alonso’s hands then it will apparently cost them a meaty £50m. Still, that’s what they allegedly asked for Jacob Ramsey, so they don’t really have any right to complain. The 25-year-old is under contract until 2028, which partly explains the steepling price tag.

The 3AM Verdict: Palacios is a brilliant defensive midfielder who’s fantastic in the tackle, reads the game well and is a very tidy, economical passer. He isn’t a dynamic player around the box, so don’t see this as a possible Douglas Luiz replacement, but he could be a big addition to the squad and provide some stern competition for Boubacar Kamara. £50m seems a touch steep, however, and we do wonder if Villa will choose to spend that money elsewhere.