The most recent Premier League transfer gossip, along with updates from Fulham and Nottingham Forest, as Manchester United and Arsenal get ready to make bids for the same striker.
Wednesdays bring the same excitement as any other day: wild transfer speculations are back, along with our selection of the most outrageous, audacious, and well-researched rumours circulating in the international press. We begin our midweek offering with some news for Manchester United and Arsenal supporters, as additional information about their pursuit of Joshua Zirkzee, a striker for Bologna, has surfaced.
We discussed the young Dutchman’s future prospects last week, but thanks to Caught Offside, we now know that his contract’s rumoured release clause of €40 million (£34.2 million) only applies to Bayern Munich, his former team. As a result, any English teams in the running may have to pay a significant amount more to acquire the 22-year-old.
Apparently, this hasn’t deterred United in any way, as the report implies that they remain in the lead in the competition to recruit him and have put in “the most work” in terms of initial talks. Although it doesn’t appear that Arsenal has made a formal contact, they still seem interested and aren’t in a rush. In any case, Zirkzee is not likely to leave Serie A until the summer.
The 3AM Verdict: We think Zirkzee is a wonderful addition to the right club because of his blend of technical brilliance, smart movement, and dangerous bursts of pace. Nevertheless, it’s debatable whether he would fit in better at United or Arsenal because, as we noted in our piece from last week, he plays more like a “false nine” than the traditional centre forward. Finding out how much he would actually cost either team will be intriguing.
The race for Brazilian internationals is still led by Fulham.
The greatest period of time between transfer reports about André of Fluminense has probably been three days. Don’t panic, Fulham supporters—you’re still in the running for the four-cap international. In fact, even with Atletico Madrid emerging as a rival, Sport Witness believes Fulham to be his most likely destination.
They quote Brazilian publications to say that André is still “confident” about making a move in the current transfer window and that Fulham is “best placed” to acquire him because of the Premier League’s greater financial clout. But in the upcoming days, Atlético is anticipated to put that assessment to the test with a formal bid.
The 3AM Verdict: André is a really exciting prospect who would definitely bring a level of class to things at Craven Cottage. However, it had always seemed a little surprising that other, traditionally bigger clubs weren’t bidding for him. André has a fantastic passing range and lovely technique. Now that that has changed, it will be intriguing to watch what transpires. Despite the Brazilian media’s convictions, we continue to believe that the Cottagers would be much benefitted if he switched Fluminense for Fulham.
Forest is given more momentum as they look to replace Mangala.
As they pursue Florian Neuhaus, the Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder who has been linked to replace Orel Mangala, who is expected to leave the City Ground shortly, Nottingham Forest has received some very positive news.
Sport Witness has obtained evidence that reveals that the reports that initially stated Mönchengladbach had no interest in selling Neuhaus this window aren’t exactly accurate. Die Fohlen would need to find a successor, but if they can accomplish that, they would be willing to let the 26-year-old go. With Forest firmly in the mix, it appears that all of this indicates that there is, in fact, a “high probability” that he departs before the end of the winter transfer window.