Follow the latest updates live from the Premier League summer transfer window as clubs continue to strengthen ahead of the new season. Manchester City look poised to announce their first signing of the off-season with reports that a £24m fee has been agreed with Valencia for winger Ferran Torres, who could arrive to replace Leroy Sane imminently.
City have also been alerted to the availability of David Alaba, whose contract extension talks with Bayern Munich have hit a stalemate, while Chelsea are pressing on with their interest in another defender in Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell.
Arsenal meanwhile appear to have had a second offer for Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey rejected which included offering midfielder Matteo Guendouzi in the opposite direction, while the Gunners continue to be one of three clubs linked with Barcelona’s unwanted midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who is also being monitored by Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester. Manchester United meanwhile remain coy on their interest in Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish, with Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa demanding £90m and £80 respectively for their prized assets. Follow the latest transfer news below.
A Premier League battle for a Czech Republic right-back looks on the cards, the Independent can reveal. Three sides are hoping to sign Vladimir Coufal, who is available for between £2m - £4 million.
Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough are fighting it out to sign Pompey's goalkeeper Alex Bass, reports local Portsmouth outlet The News.
The 22-year-old kept eight clean sheets in 25 games this term and has three years left on his contract. Palace currently have 33-year-old Vicente Guaita as their first-choice, with fellow 33-year-old Wayne Hennessey having served as his backup.
Alexis Sanchez will have to take a £200,000-per-week pay cut to join Inter Milan on a permanent deal from Manchester United, reports ESPN.
The forward has impressed on loan in Serie A and is wanted by Inter, but would have to take a sizeable reduction in salary from his level at United, thought to be around £400,000 per week.
Not exactly transfer news, well not at all, but the most powerful man in football is in some deep water:
The principles of a deal for Manchester United to sign Jadon Sancho have been agreed between intermediaries, The Independent can reveal.
Dortmund will accept an initial £60m, although there is still a distance regarding the pay plan thereafter. Full story from chief football writer Miguel Delaney:
Latest Jadon Sancho news coming right up...
NEW: Brighton have handed both striker Aaron Connolly and winger Steven Alzate four-year contract extensions.
The club clinched Premier League survival in their penultimate match of the season, a season in which both Connolly and Alzate made breakthroughs and impressed in the top flight under manager Graham Potter.
Connolly, a 20-year-old Irish international, made 24 appearances and scored three goals while Alzate, a 21-year-old London-born Colombian international, made 19 appearances.
After such a good season, Lille are paying the price with Europe's biggest clubs hovering over all their best players. The squad is set to be ravaged and one of those who may be sold is their player of the year, the Brazilian centre-back Gabriel.
The 22-year-old is thought to be worth around £20m and Manchester United are in pole position to sign him, according to Sky Sports.
Full story on the man who will carry plenty of power at Aston Villa next season, Johan Lange:
Aston Villa have appointed Johan Lange as the club’s new sporting director replacing the outgoing Jesus Garcia Pitarch.
Lange arrives after six years working as technical director for FC Copenhagen, who won three Danish titles during his time in the role. Reporting directly to Villa’s board, he will have responsibility for overseeing the football aspects of the club including analytics, sports science, player recruitment and youth development.
Lange said: “Aston Villa is one of the most famous clubs in European football with a rich history, but it is also a progressive club looking to the future. I am excited and honoured to be given this opportunity to contribute to the club’s ambitious strategy to become a force in Premier League football again.”
Pitarch, known better as Suso, departed this week after only one year at Villa Park. He presided over last summer’s spending spree, which saw around £140m spent on a dozen new players to bolster the squad after promotion from the Championship. While there were some successes, including Tyrone Mings who became an England international in the early part of the season, several players underperformed like £22.5m striker Wesley, who returned only five league goals in his debut Premier League campaign.
Chelsea's hopes of attracting a new world class goalkeeper may have suffered a blow after Atletico Madrid issued a hands-off warning over Jan Oblak.
Speculation is rife that Frank Lampard does not see Kepa Arrizabalaga as his long-term goalkeeper due to his poor performances this season. The £72m goalkeeper looks set for a Stamford Bridge exit if Chelsea can find a replacement, but that could prove the tricky part.
Spanish publication Marca reports that Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has said that Oblak "remains an Atletico player, period", and while that may well change in the future, it's worth noting that he said exactly the same when Antoine Griezmann stayed with the club two years ago.
Here's the full story on Norwich City's latest acquisition after they announced the signing of midfielder Kieran Dowell on a three-year deal from Everton.
The race to sign former Southampton captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is hotting up as Tottenham look to have moved ahead in the battle with Everton for his signature.
Sky Sports reports that Spurs are leading the race to sign the Denmark midfielder and have lodged a £15m offer, though Saints have put an asking price on his head that is £10m more than their bid.
However, it's added that Tottenham will look to include right-back Kyle Walker-Peters in negotiations which could sway Saints into parting with their wantaway midfielder, with the 24-year-old submitting a transfer request last month.
At £41m, Man City may be getting a bargain in signing a young defender who qualifies for the homegrown quota and gives them more options in what was a stretched defensive department.
But it's understood that Chelsea still have a clause in their agreement with Bournemouth that will allow them to match any accepted offer, meaning that should frank Lampard feel that he is in need of a centre-back, Ake would represent a very attractive and affordable option.
Whether Ake would want to go back to the club that decided he wasn't good enough for them though, that is the question.
BREAKING
More news just landing - but this will create a much bigger stir than the latest from Norwich.
The BBC are reporting that Bournemouth have accepted a £41m offer from Manchester City for defender Nathan Ake, who has also interested the likes of Arsenal and former club Chelsea in recent months.
It would be a serious sign of intent that City are ready to spend, spend spend this summer, and offers Ake the chance to step up and follow int he footsteps of his Dutch teammate Virgil van Dijk in leaving the south coast for a chance to challenge for the Premier League title with a much more established club.
BREAKING
Norwich City have announced the signing of England Under-21 midfielder Kieran Dowell on a three-year deal from Premier League side Everton.
The Canaries have confirmed the move for an undisclosed fee, with the 22-year-old actually making his first Premier League appearance for the Toffees against Norwich four years ago, before heading out on loan to Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Derby County and Wigan Athletic.
Dowell will be tasked with trying to help Norwich secure an immediate return to the Premier League after their relegation this season.
The future of Philippe Coutinho will prove to be one of the most talked-about subjects this summer, with the Brazilian midfielder not required at Barcelona and unlikely to remain at Bayern Munich.
Spanish newspaper Sport reports that Coutinho's agent Kia Joorabchian has already been locked in talks with a number of Premier League clubs in an effort to secure him a return to England, having left Liverpool in 2018.
Sport reports that Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have all snubbed the chance to sign Coutinho, but Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City are all interested and remain in dialogue with Joorabchian - who already has a large say in matters at Arsenal given his other interests in David Luiz and Cedric Soares as well as his close ties with technical director Edu.
It's said that talks have included a permanent transfer and a loan with an option to buy, but Tottenham and Leicester have the current bonus of European football as Arsenal need to win the FA Cup final this weekend to book a place in the Europa League.
Liverpool are on the look-out for the right players to add to their Premier League title-winning squad.
With Adam Lallana having already left, and others such as Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri facing an uncertain future, Jurgen Klopp is open to making moves in the transfer window, and one name who has constantly cropped up in recent months is Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
The Spain international has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League over the years, only to remain in the Bundesliga, but he is said to be keen on a move to England before it's too late and has his heart set on Liverpool.
But ESPN reports today that Liverpool have no interested whatsoever in the 29-year-old due to his age, injury record and the fact that he doesn't fit into Klopp's current style, given the intensity required. If the report is correct, it looks like the move is not only off, but it was never on.
Tottenham have been one of the quieter clubs during the transfer window so far, with the club keeping their interests close to their chest - no surprise there.
With Daniel Levy known for leaving his business late in the window, Spurs fans could be left to sweat long after the season gets underway on 12 September, with clubs having nearly an extra month to complete any deals.
But one name who has cropped up in reports is the Porto winger Luis Diaz, with Portuguese outlet Record reporting that Jose Mourinho has expressed an interest in the 23-year-old.
Liverpool are also expected to dip their toes into the transfer market this summer, although Jurgen Klopp appears to have no interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara and will not make a move for the 29-year-old. The club instead have been linked with a replacement for Dejan Lovren in the form of Schalke defender Ozan Kabak, while they will also be on the hunt for a replacement for Adam Lallana, who joined Brighton on a three-year deal.
