Thursday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester City are considering hijacking Chelsea's move for RB Leipzig's 22-year-old Netherlands winger Xavi Simons. (Talksport), external

Brighton will demand more than £100m for Carlos Baleba after Manchester United expressed an interest in the 21-year-old Cameroon midfielder. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund is more open to leaving Manchester United this summer as AC Milan try to negotiate a loan deal with an option to buy. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Manchester City have added Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche to their list of targets and will rival Bayer Leverkusen for the signature of the 23-year-old French winger. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Roma are in talks with Aston Villa over a deal for Leon Bailey but have yet to make a formal bid for the 28-year-old Jamaica winger, who is also attracting interest from Besiktas and Saudi Pro League clubs. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Fulham are willing to break their transfer record of £34m to sign Shakhtar Donetsk's 22-year-old Brazilian winger Kevin. (Sky Sports), external

Southampton have made a second counter-offer to Everton for Tyler Dibling after rejecting three bids from the Toffees for the 19-year-old England Under-21s winger. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Manchester United expect Chelsea to bid for Alejandro Garnacho, but the Blues hope to get the 21-year-old Argentina winger for significantly less than United's asking price of £50m. (Sky Sports), external

Nice are advancing in talks with Crystal Palace over a deal for 27-year-old French forward Odsonne Edouard. (Footmercato - in French), external

Bayern Munich have offered £52m, add-ons and a share of any resale for Germany striker Nick Woltemade, but Stuttgart are demanding £65m. (Sky Sports Germany)

Ipswich Town are willing to part with Iraq forward Ali Al-Hamadi, 23, amid interest from Luton Town and Cardiff City. (TeamTalk), external

English defender Brad Hills, 21, is set to depart Norwich City for Stockport County on a deal potentially worth £2m. (Pinkun), external

Swindon Town have rejected another bid for English striker Harry Smith as they look to keep the 30-year-old at the club. (Swindon Advertiser)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba is valued by his club at more than £100m, with Manchester United unwilling to buy at that price.

DAILY MAIL

Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite has suffered a hamstring injury in training and could be out until the end of September.

THE SUN

Crystal Palace are planning to raid Liverpool before the end of the transfer window - in a bid to secure Harvey Elliott.

Crystal Palace striker Odsonne Edouard is nearing a switch to French side Nice.

THE TIMES

Manchester City are holding out for a fee of about £67m for Brazil winger Savinho, who is of interest to Tottenham Hotspur.

Newcastle United expect to complete the signing of Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey in a £38m deal.

THE ATHLETIC

Roma are in talks with Aston Villa to sign winger Leon Bailey on loan with an obligation to buy.

Manchester City have held talks with Gianluigi Donnarumma's agent to discuss a deal to sign the Italian goalkeeper.

DAILY MIRROR

Manchester City have rejected an offer from Nottingham Forest for Rico Lewis.

Jack Wilshere has turned down an opportunity to return to work at Arsenal's academy as he continues to pursue his first steps into senior management.

THE GUARDIAN

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is undergoing a medical at Leeds ahead of completing a free transfer to the promoted Premier League club.



Guardian Rumour mill

Rob Smyth

It’s been an unusually busy summer at Manchester City: lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous. And Hugo Viana, City’s new director of football, isn’t done yet. According to selected rags, City may hijack Chelsea’s move for the RB Leipzig and Netherlands forward Xavi Simons.

City are also attempting to reunite last year’s France Olympic squad by stealth. First they signed Rayan Cherki; now they’re being linked with the Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche.

From the erstwhile champions to the reigning champions. Crystal Palace are keen to take Harvey Elliott’s scheming feet off Liverpool’s hands, which may also facilitate a move in the opposite direction for Marc Guéhi. Other reports suggest Guéhi will see out his contract at Palace and do one for free next summer.

Brighton want nine figures for Carlos Baleba – £100m, doofus – which is a bit too rich even for Manchester United’s taste.

Everton want Southampton’s Tyler Dibling to join Jack Grealish in a revamped, floppy-haired attack. Fulham may break their transfer record to sign the Brazilian winger Kevin from Shakhtar Donetsk. And if that doesn’t sound Brazilian enough for you, his full name is Kevin Santos Lopes de Macedo do Nascimento Luís Nazário de Lima Fred.

Roma and Besiktas are desirous of Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey, as are Nottingham Forest of Manchester City’s Rico Lewis. Like we said: lotts ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.




TBR

West Ham now keen to sign former Manchester City midfielder Pep Guardiola called ‘outstanding’

Lucas Arnold

TBR Football can exclusively reveal that West Ham United are considering a move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Aleix Garcia.

West Ham have recently been frustrated in their pursuit of Southampton playmaker Mateus Fernandes.

The Hammers made an approach to sign Fernandes, only to learn that Southampton want over £50m for the 21-year-old – they were almost insulted by the initial offer that arrived from east London.

That being said, West Ham are still working hard to find a new midfield talent to dovetail with Lucas Paqueta at the London Stadium – a player they will not be selling on the cheap.

And although funds are limited at the club, West Ham are showing interest in former Manchester City man Garcia, who’s currently playing his football in the Bundesliga.

Exclusive: West Ham interested in Bayer Leverkusen’s Aleix Garcia

That being said, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has now provided the latest on West Ham’s transfer situation before the end of August.

Initially asked if there was a chance that Paqueta could leave West Ham this summer, Bailey went on to mention the Hammers’ interest in Garcia.

Replying to the idea of Paqueta leaving, Bailey said: “They stood by him, so I don’t think there’s a massive push for him to leave – the talk of West Ham accepting £30m has been totally ruled out.

“He’s been playing the last two years— he’s not been like Pogba, he hasn’t been banned, he hasn’t spent two years on the sidelines.

“So why would they suddenly drop from £70m down to £30m? That’s nonsense – they have other options.”

And now Spanish midfielder Garcia, who left Man City to initially head to Romania in 2020, is a potential target.

Pep Guardiola hailed Garcia as an ‘outstanding’ young player many moons ago, and he rekindled his career at Girona before heading to Germany.

Bailey continued: “One option is Leverkusen’s Aleix Garcia, a player they quite like, he’s not really on anyone’s radar at the moment.

“There are other players, but West Ham need to move some out first to free up funds. They liked Jacob Ramsey, but that was never an option.

“Harvey Elliott was another target, but after Mohammed Kudus left, they only had £40m, and they spent £15/20m of that on Hermansen. Funds are very limited.

“Someone like Garcia might be available for that sort of money. James Ward-Prowse has come back into consideration, but there are players they want to move on.”

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