West Ham eye blockbuster Man Utd transfer raid as Liverpool eye £62m double deal

You might think that it would be pretty hard work cobbling a daily round-up of new transfer rumours together just a few days after the end of the transfer window – but with clubs across the Premier League already mapping out their summer signings, there a stories flying all over the place, and we’ve picked out three especially juicy rumours for you today.

We’ll start with a tale from TeamTalk, who claim that West Ham United are already working on a more permanent solution to their long search for a striker than the loan deal for Evan Ferguson that they completed on deadline day – and they’ve set their sights on none other than Rasmus Højlund, who cost Manchester United up to £72m when they signed him from Atalanta just 19 months ago.

It's fair to say the 22-year-old Dane has had his ups and downs since moving to Old Trafford, and with new head coach Ruben Amorim apparently less than keen on him there is a chance that United decide to cut their losses and are “considering parting ways” with him.

West Ham see Højlund as a “potential” target and will consider launching a bid for him if they don’t make Ferguson’s move to the London Stadium permanent in the summer. Apparently, United could let Højlund leave for as little as £40m.

The 3AM Verdict: Anything’s possible with Manchester United these days, and given that they want to rebuild the squad despite the fact that they are reportedly in danger of breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, they may well take whatever they can get for players Amorim deems surplus to requirements. The biggest reason to doubt this story is simply that West Ham have been linked with literally dozens of strikers – they’ll sign someone, but the odds on any specific player are surely limited.

Brighton set to seal summer swoop

Down to the south coast now – a story from Sport Witness, which cites sources in the Danish media, suggest that Brighton & Hove Albion have worked their magic again to seal a deal for yet another promising young talent.

According to the report, they have already “finalised” a deal for 19-year-old Brøndby wing-back and midfielder Clement Bischoff, who has also turned out for Denmark’s age group teams.

He will join Brighton in the summer for a fee of €8m (£6.7m), the report claims, which would be a record sale for the Danish side, and will sign a five-year deal at the Amex Stadium. Apparently everything is “pretty much in place” and the deal should get the green light very soon.

The 3AM Verdict: We can’t claim to be familiar with Bischoff’s game, but it’s usually wise to trust Brighton’s scouts, so we’ll assume until proven otherwise that this will be a very good signing. It sounds like an announcement will be made in the coming days, and the Danish sources mentioned are usually on the money, in our experience.

Liverpool set for £62m double deal

Finally, a big story from Liverpool, who have spent less than any other team in the Premier League this season but don’t seem keen to be quite so stingy next summer. According to a new story from Caught Offside, the Reds are interested in securing deals for two new midfielders and have identified Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and VfB Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller as their “top targets”.

De Jong, who has been in and out of Xavi’s first team at Barcelona, could be allowed to leave the Camp Nou in the summer for around €35m, while 23-year-old Germany international Stiller has a release clause set at €40m, which Stuttgart will expect to be paid in full.

That makes for a double deal worth €75m (£62m), which would apparently “not be viewed as too costly” as they aim to find Arne Slot some midfield reinforcements. No final decision has yet been made on whether or not to bid, however.

The 3AM Verdict: The stumbling block with De Jong is his colossal wage packet at Barcelona, and he won’t be in a rush to move for less – understandably. This is the first time we’ve heard Stiller come up in connection with Liverpool but the deep-lying playmaker is certainly a rising star of the German game.