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Our round-up of the latest Premier League transfer stories includes news from Manchester United, Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool.
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Welcome to Tuesday’s round-up of the biggest and boldest new Premier League transfer rumours – and we’re now inside the last fortnight of the January transfer window, which means the stories are coming thick and fast. Happily, we’re here to help sort the wheat from the chaff.
Let’s start off with a story which popped up in a few outlets but which the Manchester Evening News were among the first to report in detail on – they claimed yesterday that Manchester United have made an approach for Lecce’s 20-year-old Danish left-back Patrick Dorgu, who the Italian club reportedly value at €40m (£33.8m).
Apparently, no formal offer has yet been made for the full-back, who has become a regular for Lecce’s embattled side and made six appearances for the senior Denmark squad, but it seems that Ruben Amorim has identified him as the ideal wing-back to take United into the 3-4-3 era… Elsewhere, it looks likely that United will attempt to find Tyrell Malacia, who has had a torrid time with injuries, a loan deal.
The 3AM Verdict: Dorgu isn’t the complete package yet, as you might imagine, but he has the physical gifts, the quality of tackling and the off-ball movement in the final third to become a very fine player, and Manchester United aren’t the first big club to be linked with him. It feels relatively unlikely that he’s ready to turn the alleged ‘worst team in the club’s history’ around on his own already, though. United’s interest seems to be genuine based on the spread of outlets reporting it – and Sport Witness even spotted that Dorgu’s agent was in Manchester…
Spurs eye surprise Chelsea raid
News from the capital now. According to Caught Offside, Tottenham Hotspur’s search for a central defender has expanded to include a player their crosstown rivals Chelsea only just signed this summer – specifically, former Fulham man Tosin Adarabioyo, who has struggled to force his way into the first team at Stamford Bridge since signing on a free transfer, although he did bag the opening goal against Wolves last night.
Apparently, he’s “being considered” but it doesn’t sound like an offer has been made just yet, and the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Milan Skriniar are still options for Ange Postecoglou’s injury-stricken side. There’s no word on a price tag or, to be honest, much detail of any kind in the article, which always makes us feel rather sceptical, but we’re prepared to be proven wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time...
The 3AM Verdict: We haven’t seen anything corroborating this story and the combination of his recent arrival and the fact that there’s very little detail – not even a stab at a potential fee – makes us doubt the truth behind this one. Enzo Maresca doesn’t seem to be head over heels with Adarabioyo, but they also just recalled Trevoh Chalobah and selling defenders past Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile doesn’t seem like it’s the order of the day at Stamford Bridge. We suspect Spurs will look elsewhere.
Liverpool in for promising forward
Let’s wrap today’s column up with a story which should interest Liverpool fans - according to a new report from TeamTalk, the Reds have “identified” Lyon winger Rayan Cherki as a potential target and have “registered their interest” in the winger, who has also been attracting the attention of Bayern Munich.
Lyon are having a fire sale as they need to clear a substantial amount of debt in order to avoid compulsory relegation to the French second tier and apparently Arne Slot’s side are willing to fork out up to €22m (£18.6m) to get their man, which could be a bit of a bargain if he lives up to his potential. The strike against Cherki is a long-standing qualm about his attitude, but Liverpool have nevertheless “intensified” their interest in the versatile and electric winger.
The 3AM Verdict: A note of caution for any Liverpool fans getting excited about this one - one of the sources for this story is Spanish outlet Fichajes, who print an awful lot of transfer stories which don’t amount to anything. TeamTalk are claiming their own sources, too, mind you. This looks like a good price for a very talented (if tempestuous and perhaps inconsistent) player, so we can see it - but because he’s available at a knock-down price, there will be competition for his signature.