Spurs slap huge £80m price tag on Man City target as Liverpool eye bargain defender deal

It’s Wednesday morning, and that means… well, the same thing as every other morning means, which is our round-up of the biggest and wildest new Premier League transfer rumours currently doing the media rounds – and to kick things off, we’ll take a look at a big-money story concerning both Tottenham Hotspur and champions Manchester City.

With Pep Guardiola apparently looking for a replacement for Kyle Walker, he seems to have turned his attention to Spurs right-back Pedro Porro, but it looks like the Portuguese player wouldn’t come cheap. According to Football Insider, the 25-year-old would set Manchester City back a meaty £80m.

Despite that massive price tag, Porro remains high up on City’s shortlist as the club continue to “monitor” him. It isn’t mentioned in the article, but Porro has also been widely linked with a move to Real Madrid, although they’re believed to be prioritising a bid for Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The 3AM Verdict: That seems more than a little steep, and if the report has any truth in it then we assume it’s very much a ‘hands off’ warning rather than an actual valuation. Not that City don’t have the cash to make such a bid should they so desire, of course… We’re leaning towards the expectation that Porro will remain a Spurs play for a little longer yet.

Liverpool get budget-friendly Badé update

News now for fans of Liverpool, who have cropped up in the Spanish media in connection with highly-rated French defender Loïc Badé, who currently plays for struggling Sevilla. Sport Witness have cobbled together reports from a couple of Iberian outlets and reckon that they have some good news for Arne Slot.

How can Manchester United turn things around? Is Thomas Tuchel the right man for England? Watch the Premier League Panel to find out.

Apparently the Andalucian club will happily sell Badé for an amount that’s “well below” his reported release clause of €60m (£50m). Liverpool have the 24-year-old well up near the top of their list of candidates to be Virgil van Dijk’s long-term replacement, it would seem. The defender came close to leaving last summer for a fee in the region of €20m (£16.7m) but rejected potential moves to both AS Roma and VfB Stuttgart.

The 3AM Verdict: Badé is certainly for sale despite his impressive performances, and the only real question is whether Liverpool want him or choose to look elsewhere. The Frenchman is a fine defender but not necessarily a great passer by modern standards, although he is comfortable under pressure from opposing strikers. Whether he fits Slot’s requirements remains to be seen.

Chelsea and Bournemouth players on Bundesliga shortlist

Finally, some news from the capital that could be of interest to fans of Chelsea and will certainly be of interest to England international left-back Ben Chilwell, who remains frozen out of the first-team squad at Stamford Bridge – TeamTalk reckon that he may have a new path out of the club, courtesy of Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.

Apparently the German giants are “weighing up” a move for the defender, but also have their eyes on Bournemouth’s up-and-coming Hungarian wing-back Milos Kerkez. According to the report, Dortmund have sent scouts down to Dean Court to watch the 20-year-old in action.

The 3AM Verdict: Chilwell is certainly available and will probably be glad that a club other than Manchester United have expressed an interest – some reports suggest that the Old Trafford outfit will try to sign him in January after negotiations failed at the end of the summer, but it’s far from certain. Kerkez, meanwhile, has also been linked with both United and Liverpool in recent months. A big-money move seems likely sooner or later, perhaps next summer.