Chelsea keeping tabs on Jose Gimenez, Thiago Alcantara has his heart set on Liverpool move

Thiago Alcantara
Thiago Alcantara
With the summer transfer window reopening in a few days’ time, there has been plenty of speculation over the potential signings for the various Premier League clubs. Chelsea have already taken the lead with the purchase of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner from Ajax and RB Leipzig respectively and they will officially join the club when the transfer window reopens on July 27. Meanwhile, relegated Norwich City are already planning for life in the Championship and they have recently announced the signings of Jacob Sorensen and Przemyslaw Placheta, who could play a key role in their promotion push next term. Top Transfer Rumours: Chelsea have been fancied to land the signature of Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen and it is now claimed that club director Marina Granovskaia has reached a ‘total agreement’ with the forward’s agent regarding a summer move. Leverkusen have set a £90m asking price for Havertz, but the Blues are confident of securing the player’s services for an initial £70m fee plus add-ons. Blues boss Frank Lampard also appears keen on strengthening the central defence ahead of next season and the club are understood to have scouted Jose Gimenez recently. However, the deal could prove expensive with Atletico Madrid reluctant to accept anything less than the £109m release clause on the player’s contract. Elsewhere, Manchester City are yet to reach a suitable agreement with Valencia for the purchase of Ferran Torres. The Spaniard has already signalled his desire to work under manager Pep Guardiola, but Los Che are refusing to budge on their £73m price tag for the attacker. They may eventually lower their asking price, considering Torres’ contract expires in under 12 months’ time. In recent days, there has been the talk of Arsenal interested in a season-long loan deal for Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian’s agent Kia Joorabchian shares a good relationship with Gunners technical director Edu, but the decision over the player’s future is likely to be delayed. Coutinho, who is currently on loan with Bayern Munich, is keen on seeing out the club’s Champions League campaign before assessing his options. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed that Thiago Alcantara has already made his decision to leave the club. The Spaniard has set his sights on joining Liverpool this summer. Jurgen Klopp’s side are definitely interested in the 29-year-old, but a deal will be dependent on the exit of ‘an important midfielder’. Deal of the Day: Leeds secured the permanent signing of goalkeeper Illan Meslier from Lorient on Thursday after taking up the option to buy. The 20-year-old played a key role in the club’s top-flight promotion during the backend of the season (seven clean sheets from 10 games) after first-choice goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was banned in February for racial abuse. He has officially put pen-to-paper on a three-year contract. Best of the Rest: Everton and Newcastle keen on Adrien Rabiot Wolves leading the chase for Juventus’ Daniele Rugani Tottenham looking to sign Nicolo Zaniolo and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg West Ham United join the race for Brentford’s Said Benrahma Everton keeping tabs on Espanyol’s Marc Roca
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