Transfer news LIVE: Arsenal ‘lead race’ to sign £50m target, Tottenham reach Gakpo ‘agreement’, Fernandez latest | OneFootball

Arsenal could turn their attention to Brighton’s £51m-rated midfielder Jack Hinshelwood as they continue talks with Bayer Leverkusen over signing England international Jarell Quansah. The Premier League champions have been keen to sign a defender following the injury to William Saliba and the 23-year-old Quansah, formerly of Liverpool, would be able to cover both centre-back and right back positions.

Meanwhile, Barcelona are set to make a third bid of around £60m for Rodri, but are still set to fall £10m short of Manchester City’s valuation of the Ballon d’Or winner. The deal could yet influence the speed of any move for Enzo Fernandez, with his former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca pushing for the midfielder's signature. Chelsea’s deadline of 5pm on Friday passed without City submitting their £120m bid, and the club expect Fernandez – who was booed by Chelsea fans on his return to Stamford Bridge on Saturday – to now stay for the upcoming season.

Tottenham have agreed personal terms with Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, according to reports in the Netherlands, while Spurs are also close to signing Manchester City winger Savinho and have joined Manchester United and Arsenal in expressing interest in Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen. Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli has rejected the chance to join the Turkish club as part of a deal.

In other news, Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has completed his transfer to Atletico Madrid, while Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed the signing of Ferran Torres, the scorer of the winning goal in the World Cup final, from Barcelona.

Newcastle close in on first signing under Matthias Jaissle

Newcastle are close to agreeing a deal with Benfica to sign right back Amar Dedic.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international is due to arrive before next week’s Premier League opener and will become their first signing under new manager Matthias Jaissle.

Dedic, 23, previously worked with Jaissle at Red Bull Salzburg.

The fee for the right back, who replaces Kieran Trippier and will provide competition to Tino Livramento, is around £30m.

Dedic could be immediately thrust into action in Sunday’s opener against Liverpool as Livramento is still sidelined by the calf injury that forced him to miss the World Cup.

Tottenham news: Spurs set for busy end to the market?

Tottenham Hotspur are set for a busy end to the transfer window, according to Miguel Delaney in his Inside Football newsletter. With Savinho set to be secured for a fee of £65m plus add-ons from Manchester City, they are still chasing Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, and there may even be a right-winger as Roberto De Zerbi has been toying with playing Mohammed Kudus more centrally.

Spurs have been linked with Victor Osimhen, too, who has been offered to several Premier League clubs. Gakpo, a major target all summer, has reached an agreement with Tottenham over personal terms, according to reports in the Netherlands. Liverpool maintained that they would not consider letting Gakpo leave without a suitable replacement.

And Atletico Madrid have signed Tottenham captain Cristian Romero in a £34.2m deal. A great player on his day, a liability as a centre-back and captain on others, Spurs will be happy to get this deal done. Romero signs a five-year deal at Atletico.

(Getty)

Liverpool news: Will PSG budge from £145m Bradley Barcola price?

Liverpool’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola is set to rumble on until late in the transfer window.

While signing a new winger is a priority for Andoni Iraola’s side, Paris Saint-Germain are refusing to budge from their huge £145m asking price.

PSG, though, have been active in this summer’s transfer market. They have signed Ferran Torres from Barcelona, pursued Yan Diomande before he signed for Real Madrid, while the agent of Mika Godts, the Ajax winger, has claimed that PSG have agreed to pay £47m for the 21-year-old.

Where does it leave Barcola, who is behind Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the pecking order at PSG? Liverpool are prepared to play the long game, but Arsenal could also reignite their interest.

(PA)

Man City news: Latest on Rodri, Fernandez and Bouaddi

Barcelona are set to make a third bid of around £60m for Rodri but are still set to fall £10m short of Manchester City’s valuation of the Ballon d’Or winner.

Those negotiations are running parallel to talks on Enzo Fernandez, where Chelsea themselves are insisting on £120m.

City are considering Fernandez and Morocco’s Ayyoub Bouaddi as midfield reinforcements while they are set to sell Tijjani Reijnders to Al Qadsiah for £51m.

Fernandez is set to stay at Chelsea after the club’s 5pm Friday deadline passed without any acceptable bids being received.

Unless Chelsea can be persuaded into a U-turn and be brought to the negotiating table, Fernandez will still be at Stamford Bridge when the transfer window closes on 1 September.

And Ruben Dias is in pole position to become Manchester City’s next captain – because Erling Haaland scores so many goals.

Jamie Braidwood16 August 2026 06:30

Jeff Bezos is buying into Liverpool – this is why

As the consortium that has reached a “definitive agreement” to buy a 30 per cent stake in Liverpool continues to generate noise, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is described by industry figures as a mere “silent partner”.

It’s perhaps apt given the lack of actual explanation or intention behind this, despite all the commotion.

The entry of one of the world’s wealthiest men into football has naturally stoked a lot of emotion, not least from the supporter group Spirit of Shankly. They have written to Liverpool asking for clarity, having warned how previous changes in the running of the club have led to “decisions and behaviours that many would not want to see at Liverpool”.

For all the inevitable focus on the hard figures of the numbers, and the influence of Bezos’s own wealth, there’s a sense this is all about something much bigger. “It just looks like a power/political play over an investment decision,” one well-placed source says.

Holding part of an “asset” in a sphere of such increasing social and political importance gives you entry into another world, as the recent World Cup made clear. It has become a solid platform for the highest politics. That is one of many reasons why beleaguered Fifa president Gianni Infantino won’t resign.

Football itself is morphing, which is why there is such an unstable time at the top. That attracts the interest of figures like Bezos, who are likely to change it more. The world is increasingly centring on football, as its single global sport, so the world’s biggest conglomerates are getting involved. Such concentrations of interest and wealth are inevitable.

Miguel Delaney16 August 2026 01:33

Tijjani Reijnders’s Manchester City exit is a parable of modern football

Tijjani Reijnders’s fleeting time at Manchester City is almost over. The Dutch international is on the verge of joining Saudi Arabian club Al Qadsiah in a transfer worth around £55m. Will he lift the “Pride of the Eastern Province” to Saudi Pro League glory? Who knows? Also: who cares?

Amid the summer transfer churn, perhaps it is not a particularly eye-catching or noteworthy deal. City will make a small profit on a player they bought for £45m last summer. City fans won’t shed many tears. Reijnders is far from the first Premier League player to accept Saudi Arabian riches, and he won’t be the last.

But there is something jarring and a little bleak about the road from AC Milan’s marauding midfielder to Al Qadsiah’s flagship signing in little over a year.