Transfer news live: Liverpool ramp up Isak approach, Gyokeres to Arsenal delayed, Bayern push for Diaz – UK Times

Manchester United are still some way from signing Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and there has been no movement in negotiations between the clubs.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reports that “the gap between Manchester United and Brentford on their valuation of Bryan Mbeumo remains considerable”, with the two clubs said to be several millions of pounds apart.

A deal is not yet imminent though talks are continuing.

Mbeumo is expected to make the move to Old Trafford ahead of the new season but the United hierarchy are wary of overspending on transfers like their predecessors did and have PSR considerations to take into account.

Arsenal are still interested in Eberechi Eze, with Mikel Arteta keen on the Palace playmaker. The club are set to approach Palace over a deal soon.

The 27-year-old has a £68m release clause, though Arsenal are expected to try and negotiate a deal at a lower price point.

Eze, who scored eight goals and got eight assists for the Eagles in the Premier League last season, is not believed to be deterred by Arsenal’s move for Noni Madueke.

Arsenal’s history could have been very different without Harry Woods. Without him, there may have been no Herbert Chapman, no trio of league titles in the 1930s, no status as London’s biggest club.

Arsenal narrowly avoided relegation in 1923-24. They only won 12 league games that season. Woods scored in six of them. He was Arsenal’s top scorer.

He also got a mere nine league goals. Which had a renewed pertinence more than a century later when Kai Havertz emulated him: for the first time in 101 years, Arsenal had no player in double figures for league goals.

Wolves are closing in on the signing of Fluminense forward Jhon Arias.

The two clubs have reportedly agreed a deal worth around €20m for the 27-year-old, who impressed with his performances for the Brazilian club during the recent Club World Cup.

Rumours emerged on Monday that Brentford are considering signing Omari Hutchinson, with the 21-year-old having impressed last season despite facing relegation at Ipswich.

Hutchinson also impressed in the recent U21 Euros, and signed for Ipswich in a club-record £22.5m deal last season.

It is assumed a fee of at least the same level would be necessary to prise him away from Portman Road.

Could he be a replacement for Bryan Mbeumo who is rumoured to be making the switch to Old Trafford this summer?

Newcastle have had a club-record bid rejected for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.

It is now a fascinating situation as to whether Eddie Howe’s side are pushing for an Alexander Isak replacement of another forward option ahead of their Champions League campaign.

The German club reportedly rate the French forward at £100m.

With the recent arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, the door has opened for a move away from Chelsea for Nico Jackson.

Several Premier League clubs are said to be interested alongside AC Milan, though rumours suggest that Chelsea may be demanding a fee as high as £100m for the Senegal international.

That number is ridiculously high so Chelsea would probably settle for less if they are serious in offloading the forward.

Defender Tuanzebe, who left United in the summer of 2023, filed a legal claim with the High Court last week in relation to a period from July 2022 involving an injury he had at the time. It is considered a high-value claim, which is understood to be more than £1m.

Bayern Munich are preparing another offer for Luis Diaz, according to Sky Sports.

Liverpool consider him not for sale and do not want any further bids, though at the same time they are said to value him around €100m (£86m).

Bayern are prepared to offer the Colombia international at least a four-year deal.

Their previous bid was for £58.5m so they would need to up their offer significantly to bring Liverpool to the table.

Napoli have rejected another bid from Galatasaray for Victor Osimhen worth around £60m.

There were issues with the deal such as Galatasaray’s desire to pay the fee in five instalments.

Napoli would prefer a price closer to £65m and spread across two instalments at most.

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna met a delegation from Galatasaray in Milan on Friday to try to break through the stalemate.