The last week of the summer window is upon us and there is still a lot to do. The biggest story is Mohamed Salah’s interest in a move to Saudi Arabia, with Al-Ittihad poised to make the Liverpool star the highest-paid player in the world. Arsenal have been working hard to deliver up to seven first-team stars before the deadline and the £38m move of Folarin Balogun to Monaco could be the next confirmed move as Kieran Tierney joins Real Sociedad on loan.
Chelsea are working on signing another striker after some problems earlier in the season and are interested in Brennan Johnson but the £40m-rated Nottingham Forest forward prefers a move to Tottenham, where Brentford have instructed £80m Raise pounds if they want Ivan Toney in January. Young star Deivid Washington has joined the Blues but could be out on loan.
Mohammed Kudus is expected to join West Ham after initial concerns that the deal had fallen through, while Crystal Palace mull over giving up ex-Chelsea star Eden Hazard for a season. Manchester United sign goalkeeper Altay Bayındır. Follow the latest transfer news, rumors and deals on Standard Sport’s live blog!
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Santos agrees to Forest’s loan
Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos has agreed to a one-season loan move to Nottingham Forest.
The 19-year-old midfielder opted for a move to the City Ground last night after failing to make Mauricio Pochettino’s squad in Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by West Ham.
Signed for £16m from Vasco da Gama in January, Santos is held in high esteem at Stamford Bridge but finds himself on the fringes of Pochettino’s squad.
The former Brazil international joins Steve Cooper’s side to play football in the first team. The deal is unrelated to Chelsea’s interest in Forest forward Brennan Johnson.
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Cooper on Johnson’s interest
Steve Cooper insists everything is business as usual with Brennan Johnson despite heavy transfer speculation.
Chelsea have talked about a move for the Nottingham Forest striker as they are on the lookout for more attacking signings, while Brentford saw a record-breaking £40m club offer rejected earlier in the summer.
Tottenham are also linked with the Wales international who impressed in his first Premier League season last year.
While any sale of their academy graduate would prove hugely unpopular with their fans, Forest are tempted to balance the tally after spending around £150m on 27 players last season.
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Tierney wants to go on loan to Sociedad
Arsenal have agreed to send Kieran Tierney on loan to Real Sociedad.
According to The Athletic, the left-back is keen on the move as it means significantly more playing time and the offer of Champions League football.
Newcastle and Celtic were also enthusiastic, but it’s the Spanish team that won the race.
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Crystal Palace bet on hazard deal
Crystal Palace are ready to roll the dice and sign former Chelsea star Eden Hazard on a one-year deal.
According to Football Transfers, Palace are planning a surprise move for the injury-prone Belgian, who has been a free agent since the end of June after his contract with Real Madrid expired.
There have been suggestions Hazard could retire aged 32 due to his ongoing injury woes, but Palace chairman Steve Parish believes a pay-as-you-play deal is worth the risk.
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Arsenal use Balogun funds for last summer’s signing
Arsenal are close to agreeing a £38million transfer fee with Monaco to sell striker Folarin Balogun.
According to Sky Sports, talks with the striker have progressed and only the payment structure and certain terms of the striker’s future remain to be determined. RMC Sport add that the deal is initially valued at £38m plus further surcharges after the Gunners eased their £50m claims.
Arsenal are looking to lay off up to seven first-team stars over the next week and academy graduate Balogun looks set to bring the biggest pay packet.
Football.London report Mikel Arteta could use the funds to wrap up his summer spending with a wide forward.
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Salah is open to a move to Saudi Arabia
The biggest news yesterday was Al-Ittihad’s interest in Mohamed Salah.
According to widespread reports, the Saudi side were increasingly confident of luring the Liverpool star to the Middle East this summer, having previously decided next year was more likely. Salah is open to the idea.
Salah would make £173m a year – that’s more than £3m a week, tax-free – to become the highest-paid player in the world, but unsurprisingly Liverpool aren’t remotely tempted to make money.
Their talisman signed a new three-year deal last summer so Liverpool aren’t under any pressure to sell. The Saudi transfer market is open until September 20th, so it might not end in a week.
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Brentford have handed Toney a £80million price tag
Brentford have priced Ivan Toney at £80million ahead of expected January bids.
The forward is banned from playing football until the end of January after being found guilty of hundreds of breaches of the FA’s betting rules.
However, it is known that both Tottenham and Arsenal are interested in the player ahead of his return to action.
According to The Times, Toney switched agents in anticipation of transfer interest.
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Tottenham see Pepe offer rejected
Tottenham have seen Porto reject a £51.5m offer for Pepe.
According to Portuguese publication A Bola, Tottenham have placed a £38.6million bid for the 26-year-old winger this week, plus a further £12.9million in bids.
Porto immediately rejected the offer as they won’t sell under the player’s £65m release clause.
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Pochettino wants to break the long Chelsea curse with a new signing
Mauricio Pochettino will urge Chelsea’s next forward to wear the number 9 shirt after learning about the club’s curse.
New strikers including Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson have opted not to take on the number considered cursed by many in and around Stamford Bridge.
Ever since Diego Costa left the club in 2017, Chelsea have struggled to find a top scorer. Tammy Abraham is arguably the only forward to play with the number 9 since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
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Kudus opens up about West Ham as the Ajax star drops forthcoming transfer hint
Mohammed Kudus has confirmed he could leave Ajax soon.
The Ghana international scored a hat-trick as the Dutch giants defeated Ludogorets in the first leg of Europa League qualifiers on Thursday night.
While Ajax manager Maurice Steijn stressed he was confident of having Kudus in his squad for the second leg in Amsterdam on August 31, the player has now opened up about his future.
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