Aston Villa are exploring the viability of a move to sign Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson, 24, from Chelsea but the asking price needs to be lower than £60m due to the West Midlands club's financial restrictions. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
Bayern Munich's move for French forward Christopher Nkunku, 27, has stalled, delaying Chelsea's attempts to sign RB Leipzig's 22-year-old Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons. (Guardian), external
Chelsea are set to increase their efforts to sign Argentina forward Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United but the 21-year-old will not be allowed to leave Old Trafford on the cheap. (Evening Standard), external
Newcastle are unwilling to pay more than £40m for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa but the Bees have put a £60m price tag on the 28-year-old DR Congo international. (Northern Echo), external
Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen remains of interest to Newcastle - although the 25-year-old Norwegian is not hankering to leave Molineux. (The Athletic - subscription required), external
Tottenham have targeted Monaco's £47.5m-rated French attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche, 23, as a cheaper alternative to Brazil winger Savinho with Manchester City demanding £70m for the 21-year-old. (Independent), external
Crystal Palace want 19-year-old Southampton winger Tyler Dibling to replace fellow Englishman Eberechi Eze, 27, whose move to Tottenham is edging closer. (Talksport), external
Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 27, is set to join Nottingham Forest from Juventus after Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis brokered a deal with the Turin club's general manager Damien Comolli. (Tuttosport - in Italian), external
Leeds are poised to sign 25-year-old Switzerland striker Noah Okafor from AC Milan in a deal worth £18.4m (21m euros). (Sky Sports Italy - in Italian), external
Wolves and West Ham are both interested in Spain midfielder Marc Casado but face a tough ask persuading the 21-year-old to leave Barcelona. (Marca - in Spanish), external
West Ham are close to finalising a deal which will allow 27-year-old Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez to join Fenerbahce on loan. (Talksport), external
Espanyol are in talks with Burnley over re-signing 20-year-old Italy U21 forward Luca Koleosho on a season-long loan. (Sky Sports), external
Brazil forward Rodrigo Muniz's move from Fulham to Atalanta is off after the Cottagers rejected a proposed £35m deal for the 24-year-old from the Serie A club. (Fabrizio Romano)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Liverpool have sanctioned a British record £130m move for Alexander Isak next week – confident that Newcastle will finally let the wantaway striker leave.
Wolves ace Jorgen Strand Larsen remains a target for Newcastle as they continue to search for a new striker.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca would like to add a central defender following Levi Colwill's injury, but the Italian remains at odds with the directors and ownership over the issue.
DAILY MAIL
Newcastle now have no intention of allowing Alexander Isak to leave in light of a bombshell statement in which he accused the club of 'broken promises'.
Eberechi Eze's move to Tottenham is expected to be agreed in the next 'two to three days'.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Aston Villa are exploring the viability of a move to sign Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea before the transfer window shuts.
DAILY MIRROR
Nicolas Jackson is being offered for £60m-plus as Chelsea prepare to carry on spending. Chelsea striker Jackson wants guarantees of regular first team football and the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Arsenal have all been sounded out this summer.
Newcastle are weighing up a surprise move for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Former Brentford defender Ben Mee is poised to join Sheffield United.
THE ATHLETIC
Leandro Trossard has agreed a new contract at Arsenal which will grant him a significant pay rise.
Manuel Akanji is the latest Manchester City player to attract interest from Galatasaray, who are continuing to discuss a deal for goalkeeper Ederson.
Manchester United are set to appoint Brentford's Stephen Torpey to lead their academy.
THE INDEPENDENT
Tottenham Hotspur have identified Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche as a new target due to the lofty asking price for Manchester City's Savinho.
THE GUARDIAN
West Ham have made an improved offer for Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes.
DAILY RECORD
Celtic's hopes of landing Louis Munteanu have suffered another setback - with the CFR Cluj star said to be on the brink of a move to La Liga.
Hearts are trying to sign a goalkeeper before the transfer window closes.
Ross County are considering a move for Trevor Carson.
Guardian Rumour mill
Will Unwin
After all the excitement surrounding the prospect of Savinho leaving Manchester City to join Tottenham, it might eventually transpire that the Londoners are not willing to pay a whopping £70m for a winger who does not score. Therefore they need to construct a cunning plan B. Conveniently this is already on the big blackboard in the recruitment room. Maghnes Akliouche of Monaco is the second option and would be considerable cheaper than the Brazilian, coming in at round £47.5m.
Tottenham, as is well-documented, are in talks over the signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. If that goes through, one potential replacement for the winger at Selhurst Park is Southampton’s Tyler Dibling, who is still waiting for his big summer move after interest from Nottingham Forest, Everton and some Bundesliga clubs.
Nicolas Jackson’s name has cropped up on more days than not in this daily column of transfer tittle-tattle. Needless to say, a lot of what is said about the striker has little substance but the latest talk might not head into the ether quite so soon. Aston Villa really need a new No 9 and Chelsea are quite eager to get rid of the Senegalese frontman, which could make this a gloriously symbiotic move for everyone.
As the opening weekend proved, Wolves and West Ham really need to do some business before the window slams in their faces. It might not therefore be particularly helpful that they both want the same player, nor to mention it might be difficult to convince Marc Casadó boyhood club Barcelona to move to Premier League teams who will almost certainly struggle this season but it is worth a try.
Everything is going swimmingly at Marseille after one game this season. And by that, we mean it’s absolute chaos. An opening night defeat to Rennes on Friday concluded with England Under-21 international Jonathan Rowe have a good old fashioned dustup with teammate Adrien Rabiot, a man no stranger to controversy. Both were almost immediately placed on the transfer list. The good news for Rowe is that he is already in talks with Bologna about going to Italy, only a couple of months after completing a permanent move to the south of France from Norwich. Rabiot, one assumes, will be linked with every Premier League club as he has been for most of the past decade.
Veteran striker Jamie Vardy is still looking for a new club after leaving Leicester. The 38-year-old still has plenty to give despite his veteran status and has been linked with a move north of the border to Celtic where he would link up with his former Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers. “Listen, I would not speak about any individual player,” said Rodgers of the rumours. “Of course I worked really well with Jamie, he was brilliant for me in my time at Leicester. But there’s been so many names floated about. I wouldn’t disclose either way.”
Ipswich are keen to bolster their ranks in midfield and make a cheeky little loan offer to sign Newcastle teenager Lewis Miley but Eddie Howe is eager to keep the 19-year-old at St James’ Park and give him more of a chance. Elsewhere in the Championship, the former West Ham forward Dapo Afolayan may leave St Pauli this month and is wanted by Leicester, West Brom and Blackburn. There’s also interest in Belgium from Gent and Genk.
The Athletic
West Ham’s dreadful start has put Graham Potter, his players and an entire club on edge
By Roshane Thomas
After a summer which featured glimpses of optimism, West Ham United were handed a reality check at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. A chastening loss to one of the three promoted clubs on the new season’s opening weekend put scrutiny on every section of the club: manager, ownership and players.
The manner of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Sunderland left head coach Graham Potter and supporters with more questions than answers. Only two of this summer’s signings, wing-back El Hadji Malick Diouf and goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, featured in the starting XI. But more additions are needed — in defence, midfield and attack.
Ahead of the visit of Club World Cup champions Chelsea on Friday, The Athletic has examined Potter’s reaction to the loss on Wearside, how the hierarchy feels about their head coach and who is likely to depart in the remaining 13 days of the summer window.
What is the mood among the squad?
The players were given Monday off, then returned for training at Rush Green yesterday. Although a positive atmosphere remains in the camp, West Ham’s captain Jarrod Bowen urged his team-mates to produce a response against Chelsea.
“I’m obviously fuming,” the England international told the club’s website after the Sunderland game. “I thought the goals were quite easy. We’re all disappointed in the manner that we conceded the goals. I’m disappointed and fuming with the start that we’ve had today. The fans will be the most disappointed out of everyone. Coming up here today, they’re expecting more. We all need to give them more.”
Potter is concerned about the lack of leaders, but has seen Bowen grow into his role as skipper. The 28-year-old forward was given the armband last summer by Potter’s predecessor Julen Lopetegui and has shouldered responsibility when needed. Bowen’s plea for an improved performance is not too dissimilar to the reaction West Ham’s then captain Declan Rice tried to elicit midway through the 2022-23 season.
Between October 25 and February 24, West Ham won once in 11 league games, losing seven times. Rice called for a team meeting at the training ground, which the club’s manager at the time David Moyes was not aware of. There were home truths in that debrief but it led to a 4-0 victory against Nottingham Forest in their next match.
Bowen will hope his critical assessment of West Ham’s performance at the weekend also leads to a marked improvement.
What is the manager’s outlook?
Since his appointment in January, Potter has had a paltry record of five wins in 19 league games. A slow transfer window and midfield star Mohammed Kudus’ departure to rivals Tottenham Hotspur for around £55million have increased frustration among supporters.
Following the season-ending 3-1 victory over already relegated Ipswich in May, Potter was optimistic ahead of the new campaign but felt key additions off the field were required. The head coach felt it was necessary to appoint James Bell as a sports psychologist to assist his squad in managing stressful situations better. Given the number of dressing-room incidents last season, Potter has been keen to have a harmonious environment.
He wanted Ben Roberts, Chelsea’s goalkeeping coach, but they were reluctant to sanction his departure. Jack Stern, formerly of Brighton & Hove Albion, was considered for the role before the appointments of Casper Ankergren and assistant Linus Kandolin to coach the club’s ‘keepers. Potter has also strengthened his recruitment team with the additions of Simon Gillett and Antonio Tramontano.
With West Ham winning three of their five warm-up friendlies and losing just once, Potter was encouraged about the new season and looking forward to righting a few wrongs. It is why the manner of defeat at Sunderland would have come as a shock. His side showed few signs of defensive weakness in pre-season against Grasshopper, Manchester United, Everton, Bournemouth and Lille, but were porous against the Premier League newcomers.
This was always going to be something of a transitional year following the departures of stalwarts Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal, Michail Antonio and Lukasz Fabianski, but it’s concerning to hear Potter calling for his squad to “do the basics better”.
“We have to learn this painful lesson, because if you don’t, you can talk about how well you play, or about attacking football or whatever, but ultimately it doesn’t matter,” said Potter. “If you don’t do the basics well, then it’s hard to win games. So we have to really improve that, get back to Rush Green and start working again.”
How do the board feel?
Potter still retains full support from the West Ham hierarchy. On Sunday, vice-chair Karren Brady came to his defence when she appeared on UK radio station TalkSport.
It was Brady who championed Potter’s appointment in January. The head coach signed a two-and-a-half-year contract then, which does not include a break clause, after being against accepting a deal only until the end of last season. Brady led negotiations, and all parties agreed to Potter’s terms.
“West Ham is not a club that panics about its managers,” she told TalkSport. “We tend to stick with them, support people and see it through. I really hope he does well. He’s a pleasure to work with, he’s incredibly professional. I know his relationship with the players is good. I know he’ll be sitting down with them today to have a long, hard think about what went wrong yesterday, expecting a reaction and expecting to put it right.”
Of the eight managers (Avram Grant, Sam Allardyce, Slaven Bilic, Moyes, Manuel Pellegrini, Moyes again, Lopetegui and Potter) David Sullivan has hired since becoming co-owner in January 2010, half — Grant, Bilic, Pellegrini and Lopetegui — were ditched midway through their contracts. The board’s track record shows they only sack their managers when West Ham’s Premier League status is under threat.
Any potential incomings or outgoings?
With the summer window remaining open until September 1, West Ham are expected to make an improved offer for Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes. The Championship side rejected an opening bid worth up to £30million, including add-ons, for the 21-year-old, but Potter believes the Portugal Under-21 international would be a key addition. Fernandes’ deal runs until summer 2029, and Southampton say they are not willing to sell below their valuation.
“We’re not a club that’s going to roll over and just accept a bid because they feel like they want him on the cheap,” Southampton CEO Phil Parsons said at a fans’ forum earlier this month. “Everybody has a price, but it’s not cheap. I promise.”
Potter intends to bolster the squad over the next two weeks. West Ham have already bought Diouf from Slavia Prague and Hermansen from Leicester City, as well as signing Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson as out-of-contract free agents. Should they fail to sign Fernandes, then 21-year-old Carney Chukwuemeka of Chelsea, who played 12 times for Potter during his brief reign at the west London side in the 2022-23 season, is on the list of alternatives.
West Ham have missed out on several midfield targets. Tyler Morton joined Lyon from Liverpool and Ardon Jashari went to Milan from Club Brugge, having turned down the London Stadium side. Heorhiy Sudakov, of Shakhtar Donetsk, is holding out for a move to a team in continental Europe. There was also interest in Enzo Millot before his switch to Al Ahli from Stuttgart. Previous target James McAtee has now joined Nottingham Forest from Manchester City.
Potter is short of attacking options. The club have Wilson, Bowen, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville, who is nearing full fitness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Antonio, though now a free agent, continues to play for the under-23s following the expiry of his contract as he builds up fitness after being seriously hurt in a car crash last December.
There is a lack of depth in central defence too, with Villarreal exploring a deal for Konstantinos Mavropanos. His departure would leave Maximilian Kilman, Nayef Aguerd and Jean-Clair Todibo as the only recognised options.
Elsewhere, Edson Alvarez, Andy Irving and Guido Rodriguez are expected to leave the club before the window closes.
Where will their next positive result come from?
The next six Premier League fixtures up to the October international break are against Chelsea (home), Forest (away), Tottenham (home), Crystal Palace (home), Everton (away) and Arsenal (away). West Ham have not beaten Chelsea, Forest or Spurs in a league game since December 2023, while recent meetings with Palace and Everton have been tough encounters.
Lopetegui’s West Ham won once (a 2-0 victory at Palace) in their first six top-flight matches last season. It is crucial that Potter avoids a repeat of that slow start.
Sport Witness
West Ham player heading for Brazil return – Hammers agree to let him go
Defender Luizão is officially a free agent after terminating his contract with West Ham, and interest in the 23-year-old is already building both in Brazil and abroad.
The news was first reported by journalist André Hernan, who says the centre-back reached an agreement with the Premier League club to part ways and will now evaluate new proposals.
Lucas Tanaka, a local insider, adds that Sport Recife are keeping close tabs on the situation, while other Brazilian sides have also shown interest.
Atlético Mineiro and Corinthians had previously made approaches for Luizão, but West Ham refused to release him at the time. Now, with no transfer fee involved, the defender has a much broader range of options.
As recently covered here, Fortaleza had been working on a loan deal for Luizão, but that scenario now changes completely with the player free to negotiate directly with any club.
A left-footed centre-back who can also play as a defensive midfielder, Luizão joined West Ham from São Paulo in late 2022 but never broke into the first team. He spent last season on loan at Polish side Pogoń Szczecin, making 30 appearances.
Sport Witness
West Ham and Wolves in contact for €30m transfer – PL duo willing to table bids, club open to sale
West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers could battle for Barcelona’s Marc Casadó towards the end of the summer window, according to multiple claims from Spain.
Marca reports the midfielder has attracted ‘significant interest’, especially from West Ham and Wolves.
They add the possibility of the two English clubs offering €30m to Barca isn’t ruled out.
Wednesday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo relay that and then provide their own take on both West Ham and Wolves.
It’s claimed the Premier League duo want to sign the 21-year-old and have contacted him over a potential move. Real Betis also made an approach as they want him to replace Johnny Cardoso.
Casadó hasn’t advanced talks as he isn’t considering leaving the Camp Nou. He had a key role under Hansi Flick last season, mainly due to injuries to other players.
His situation is going to be different this season as he’ll be behind Pedri, Frenki de Jong and Gavi in pecking order. Casadó will drop further down once Marc Bernal is available for selection.
Barcelona aren’t considering selling him for now, but if the Spaniard were to ask for exit, they will listen to offers. Mundo reports the La Liga winners will need at least €30m to sanction a move.
Wednesday’s edition of Sport reports Casadó losing prominence saw several clubs come forward at the start of the window. He had closed the exit door, but now there are new clubs that are ‘willing to offer a lot of money’ to him and Barca.
The report immediately points out claims made elsewhere about West Ham and Wolves, suggesting they are willing to make offers.
Sport add Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth are keeping an eye on his situation. Real Betis have also enquired but are unlikely to meet the Catalan club’s demand.
Barcelona and the player’s entourage are aware of the interest shown these clubs and are waiting to see how things evolve.
According to Sport, Flick’s side would sell Casadó for €30m if he were to ask for a move. At this moment in time, there are no offers on the table and Barcelona believe they’ll be bids in the coming days.
To sum up these reports, Casadó’s desire is to succeed at the Camp Nou, but that’s going to be difficult considering Flick has several options in the midfield. West Ham and Wolves made approaches and would be willing to table bids. Barcelona are open to selling the Spain international for €30m if he requests a transfer.