Chelsea are considering a move to sign Brighton striker Evan Ferguson, while Manchester United are interested in a move for on-loan VfB Stuttgart striker El Bilal Toure. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumors and gossip from around the globe.
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TRENDING RUMORS
– Chelsea are considering a move to sign Brighton striker Evan Ferguson, according to the Guardian. Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Everton, Tottenham and West Ham have all been monitoring the 20-year-old as he looks set to leave Brighton, either on loan or permanently, this window. Leverkusen have showed the most interest in Ferguson, but Al Nassr pulled out of a deal to sign Victor Boniface, meaning they won’t move for him now. That leaves the door open for Chelsea to make a £40m offer to land one the best young forwards in England.
– Manchester United are interested in a move for on-loan VfB Stuttgart striker El Bilal Toure, according to Foot Mercato. The Red Devils are reported to have “accelerated” in their pursuit of the 23-year-old, who is on loan from Atalanta, and it is reported that there could be a three-way deal situation emerging in which the Bundesliga club would make his loan become permanent for €18m before moving him on to Old Trafford.
– An approach for FC Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez has been made by Manchester City, says Fabrizio Romano. Negotiations are reported to be underway between both clubs, and while the Liga Portugal side would prefer to keep the 23-year-old, he could be signed if Man City activate the €60m release clause in his current deal. Gonzalez joined the Dragoes from Barcelona, who are in line to receive 40% of any future transfer fee.
– An agreement has been reached between Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan for centre-back Fikayo Tomori, reports Gianluca Di Marzio. An initial €25m plus €5m in bonuses is reported to have been agreed for the 27-year-old, and he is set to consider his future and a potential return to the Premier League after initially wanting to remain in Italy.
– Napoli are working on a deal to bring in former Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin, reports Fabrizio Romano. Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli are discussing the termination of his loan at Turkish club Fenerbahce. The 27-year-old has already agreed to move to Napoli, as Gli Azzurri look to replace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
CONFIRMED TRANSFERS
– Manchester United have completed the signing of defender Ayden Heaven from Arsenal. The 18-year-old’s sole senior appearance for Arsenal came in the Carabao Cup against Preston North End last year. Read
– Atalanta have signed former AC Milan midfielder Daniel Maldini from Monza for €13m.
ICYMI – Chelsea signed England midfielder Keira Walsh from Barcelona for €550,000 late on Friday night. Read
– Wrexham announced the signings of former England striker Jay Rodríguez and forward Sam Smith, with sources telling ESPN that the deal for Smith is a club-record. Read
EXPERT TAKE
ESPN’s Sam Tighe explores Evan Ferguson’s links with Chelsea.
With starting striker Nicolas Jackson on a seven-game goal drought, backup option Christopher Nkunku rarely trusted to play Premier League games and a busy second half of the season on the horizon, it makes sense that Chelsea are scanning the market for a striker. They simply need more options.
Given about half of the Blues’ front office used to work for Brighton & Hove Albion, they’ll know Ferguson extremely well. That means familiarity with all of the good things he does — his one-touch layoffs to midfield runners are particularly good — but also the bad bits, like his troubling injury record over the last few years.
Ferguson has battled patella tendon issues and ankle problems over the last 18 months, preventing him from gaining momentum and making good on the potential that had the whole world talking about his ability not so long ago. The stunning hat trick he scored against Newcastle United in September 2023 should have been the start of something special, but now he’s stuck behind João Pedro, Danny Welbeck and Georginio Rutter in the pecking order at Brighton and is keen to move on.
Still just 20, there’s a phenomenal player waiting to be unlocked. That fits Chelsea’s modus operandi like a glove, but there must also be an awareness that it seems unlikely he’d be in a position to hit the ground running.
OTHER RUMORS
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Gomez: Giménez to AC Milan would benefit all parties
Herculez Gomez believes an agreement between Feyenoord and AC Milan for Santiago Giménez will benefit all parties involved.
– Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez is in Italy for a medical ahead of joining AC Milan for €35m. (Calciomercato)
– Liverpool told Al Nassr that they would not let forward Darwin Nunez leave, before the Saudi club signed Jhon Duran for €77m, but Nunez, 25, reportedly wanted to speak to the club about a move. (Sun)
– Manchester United are trying to offload midfielder Casemiro, 32, before the transfer deadline. (Manchester Evening News)
– Borussia Dortmund are progressing in talks over the €22.5m signing of Lyon forward Rayan Cherki. (Fabrizio Romano)
– Juventus have made contact with Newcastle over the loan signing of centre-back Lloyd Kelly. (Fabrizio Romano)
– The agent of Chelsea’s João Félix, Jorge Mendes, is exploring a potential move to AC Milan. But the forward is also on the radar of Aston Villa as a potential replacement for Jhon Durán having made just three starts for the Blues in the Premier League this season. (Nicolo Schira)
– Chelsea defender Aaron Anselmino was offered to Dortmund on loan, but the club said no, and now Marseille are looking to land him on loan. (Patrick Berger)
– Everton are looking to land Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, 21, on loan before the deadline. (Football Insider)
– Manchester United have received an enquiry from Tottenham regarding winger Alejandro Garnacho. Spurs are reported to be keen on a loan for the 20-year-old, with talks expected to continue between both clubs over a potential deal now Napoli have pulled out. (Daily Mail)
– Bayern Munich are exploring a loan deal for left-back Adam Aznou, and want him to join a Bundesliga club, but they are not planning on letting the 18-year-old leave permanently. (Florian Plettenberg)
– Inter Milan have agreed a loan deal to sign Roma full-back Nicola Zalewski, with an option to sign permanently in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano)
– AC Milan are working to offload Noah Okafor, with an intermediary having offered the forward to West Ham United. (Nicolo Schira)
– Barcelona are keeping an eye on Vanderson ahead of the summer, but AS Monaco don’t want the full-back to leave. (Mundo Deportivo)
– Gianluigi Donnarumma has been left in the dark as Paris Saint-Germain track Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier ahead of the summer transfer window. (L’Equipe)
– Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli has agreed personal terms on a deal that would keep him at Fiorentina until 2029. The two clubs still need to reach an agreement, though, as La Viola want a loan with a conditional obligation to make the deal permanent worth no more than €12m-€15m, while Juve want between €18-€20m. (Nicolo Schira)
– Burnley are in advanced talks to sign former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards from Sporting CP. (Fabrizio Romano)
