Manchester United, Brighton, Chelsea and Spurs feature in the latest Premier League transfer rumours.
Saturday has finally arrived but while most of us get to put our feet up for a couple of days, the rumour mill never stops turning – so we’re back with your daily digest of the biggest and strangest new Premier League transfer rumours.
Today, we’re going to kick things off with a story from GiveMeSport which suggests that Manchester United are “set to make a move” for teenage Sunderland midfielder and burgeoning star of the second tier Chris Rigg, with the Red Devils allegedly “closely monitoring” the 17-year-old, who already has three goals in 11 games this season in the Championship.
Apparently new part-owners Ineos, who are now in charge of transfer business at Old Trafford, want to sign more “high potential talents” and are particularly interested in getting their hands on more players who would qualify as home-grown down the line. Rigg, who has stood out with his league-leading club, fits the bill, but no financial details are mentioned.
The 3AM Verdict: Rigg is on a very rapid upwards trajectory, but we hope he has the sense to stay at a club where he’s getting regular starts rather than heading to a big club prematurely. We certainly don’t have any trouble believing that Manchester United are watching him, and we’d be shocked if half of the Premier League wasn’t monitoring him with equal intensity. We wouldn’t expect him to move until the end of the season, anyway.
Seagulls eye up former Liverpool star
News now from the south coast – Spanish outlet Fichajes claim that Brighton & Hove Albion are “closely monitoring” (a cliché getting plenty of use today) Monaco and Japan winger Takumi Minamino, who Premier League fans will of course recall from his time at Liverpool.
The 29-year-old’s performances in Ligue 1 are “attracting interest”, apparently, having “generated great excitement” with the prospect of a move to the Amex Stadium, although it isn’t made entirely clear who’s getting all that excited. The author, at least. Minamino has bagged three goals in 10 games so far this season.
London sides move for ‘monster’
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are both set to make a move for Lens centre-half Abdukodir Khusanov – at least, according to TeamTalk. They reckon that the 20-year-old, who would become the first Uzbek national to play in the Premier League, has made a “big impression” on his suitors, and could be plying his trade in England soon.
It’s not just those two sides interested in a defender apparently described by his team-mates as a “monster”, either – Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Brentford, West Ham and Brighton are all namechecked in the article, as well as a slew of the usual European suspects. Apparently his recent form would mean that he would command a massive £25m transfer fee.
