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We round up the latest Premier League transfer rumours, featuring news from Spurs, Newcastle and Liverpool.
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Another weekend, another disappointing result for Tottenham Hotspur – but if their fans need some light relief after being dumped out of two cup competitions in the space of a few short days, then they can at least enjoy the privilege of headlining our latest round-up of the biggest and spiciest new Premier League transfer rumours.
According to Caught Offside, the North London club were “determined” to sign Palmeiras’ Colombian midfielder Richard Ríos in the January transfer window, and are continuing to monitor the 24-year-old with a view to snapping an “impressive” player up in the summer.
The report suggests that Ríos is the apple of Ange Postecoglou’s eye, specifically, and if the Australian doesn’t survive the coming months then they may move on – but it sounds like it will be a difficult deal to get done anyway, with the Brazilian side determined that their star asset shouldn’t leave for anything less than the entirety of his colossal €100m (£83m) release clause. West Ham United and Nottingham Forest are watching him “closely” as well.
The 3AM Verdict: We very much doubt that any of those three teams will fork out the full £83m, so much may depend on whether Palmeiras soften their negotiating stance – but Ríos is a hugely talented player, and we’re not surprised that Premier League teams are following him. If Postecoglou needs to survive the season for Spurs to push a deal over the line, however, we’re not sure the odds that he’ll make the move to the capital are necessarily all that good.
Italian side eye ‘dream’ Newcastle target
We’ll head all the way up north to Tyneside now, where Sport Witness have a story concerning the future of Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali – who is, apparently, Juventus’ “dream” summer signing, with sources in the Italian media detailing the Old Lady’s plans to make a move at the end of the season.
It seems that Juve wouldn’t be looking to sign him straight up but to offer a player plus cash deal, with former Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, who has struggled in Turin since moving last summer, set to be offered in part-exchange.
The report concludes that Juventus’ aspirations to sign Tonali are likely to “falter” when they find out how much Newcastle would want for the Italy international, but Luiz, who was exceptional in helping Villa qualify for the Champions League last season, would be a tempting trade target.
The 3AM Verdict: We’ve seen quite a few reports from the Italian press hinting that Tonali is on Juventus’ shopping list, so we’re not dismissing the chances that they do make a move. On the other hand, Tonali is seen as a key player at St. James’ Park and it’s highly unlikely that Eddie Howe would want to sell. We suspect that Sport Witness are correct that it’s more likely to falter than succeed.
Liverpool eye Van Dijk successor
We’ll wrap today’s digest up with a claim from TeamTalk, who reckon that Liverpool are starting to prepare for the potential departure of talismanic defender Virgil van Dijk – and have identified a centre-half playing in the Netherlands as their preferred target.
The player in question is 27-year-old Feyenoord defender David Hancko, who Liverpool want to sign this summer regardless of whether Van Dijk departs or not. The Slovakian international, who played under Arne Slot at De Kuip, is apparently valued by his current club at a hefty €50m (£41m).
Apparently, Liverpool’s priority remains tying Van Dijk down to a new deal, but they plan to press ahead with a defensive signing regardless of their success in that regard, and Hancko – who has also been linked with Chelsea and Spurs in the past – is at the top of their shortlist as it stands.
The 3AM Verdict: Hancko is a very handy player, and we do expect him to be high on a few shopping lists come the summer – and expect Liverpool to add to their defensive ranks, if only because Van Dijk is getting on in years and some of his comrades in Liverpool’s defence are rather injury prone. Whether Hancko is the man, we don’t know, but Slot is at least very familiar with him.