Evening Standard
·30 Juli 2026
Transfer news LIVE: Shock Arsenal signing close, Guimaraes, Vinicius Jr boosts; Barcola to Liverpool; Man Utd

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·30 Juli 2026

Follow the latest news, rumours and gossip during summer window
Arsenal have been handed a new boost over Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior as Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham also step up their transfer business during a busy summer window. The Gunners are in advanced talks over Guimaraes and Newcastle now look to be planning for life without their captain, whose Brazil team-mate Vinicius Jr remains a real option amid an ongoing Real Madrid contract stand-off and fresh talks between the two camps. Arsenal are also back in for Ivan Fresneda and have agreed a deal for Cardiff wonderkid Axel Donczew, while they are apparently close to signing a new centre-back in a surprise swoop.
Danny Welbeck is set for a medical at Chelsea, who have clinched another shock signing in the form of Jordan Henderson as they also get ready to announce the arrival of Maxence Lacroix. Liverpool are launching their first bid for Bradley Barcola, who wants to move to Anfield, while Manchester United remain in pursuit of a third midfielder as they target the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Manu Kone and Carlos Baleba.
Marcus Rashford could join Tottenham, who are pushing to sign Savinho, and Manchester City may soon lose Rodri to Real Madrid but are about to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi. Follow the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip live below!
Live updates
Real Madrid have still not completed a deal for Yan Diomande.
A number of days have now passed since Los Blancos were said to have wrapped up a deal with RB Leipzig for Ivory Coast’s star teenage winger worth more than £100m.
However, negotiations continue to drag on and Diomande has yet to travel from Germany to undergo a medical.
It sounds like an issue with a type of bonus that is holding things up, according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri.
Claims that PSG will now swoop to take advantage have been firmly denied as they close in on Maghnes Akliouche from Monaco instead.
Liverpool’s attention now seems to be firmly on Bradley Barcola.
One player who won’t be going to Liverpool this summer is Maghnes Akliouche.
The Reds are known to have lodged an approach with Monaco for Bradley Barcola’s fellow France star earlier this month.
However, it quickly became clear that Akliouche was another key target for PSG, who Liverpool also looked to have missed out to with regards to Yan Diomande before Real Madrid then swooped - more on that to come.
Akliouche was said to have a preference to move to PSG, who saw several bids for his services rejected by their Ligue 1 rivals.
Fabrizio Romano reports this morning, though, that there has now been a breakthrough in talks between Monaco and PSG, with an agreement in the final stages.
Bradley Barcola to Liverpool is “on”, according to the latest reports.
It was revealed yesterday that Liverpool were poised to launch their first offer to Paris Saint-Germain for Barcola, whom French publication L’Equipe claimed had already verbally agreed a switch to Anfield following earlier interest from Arsenal.
However, it seemed that the two clubs were a way apart in their respective valuations of the France winger, with PSG said to be demanding an eye-watering £145m.
Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany says that while negotiations are not easy, a deal to take Barcola to Liverpool is “on” as talks continue.
Arsenal may also finally be edging towards a deal for Bruno Guimaraes.
One of the summer’s most complicated and confusing transfer sagas has involved no shortage of claims, counter-claims, denials, intermediaries and apparent animosity.
It has been reported this week that Arsenal are in advanced talks with Newcastle over a verbal agreement for Guimaraes worth in excess of £75m, while Magpies boss Eddie Howe said yesterday that he could offer no assurances over the Brazilian’s future.
Howe also said rather cryptically that Newcastle could not control the “forces that are at play” over the whole episode.
And Newcastle appear to be continuing to plan for life without Guimaraes, with Portuguese outlet Correio da Manha reporting that they are now lining up Porto youngster Victor Froholdt as part of a Bruno replacement plan.
Arsenal are close to sealing a surprise fourth signing of the transfer window, reports claim.
It has been a relatively slow summer so far for the Gunners, who missed out on Morgan Rogers to Chelsea but are in pursuit of the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Jr after welcoming Christos Tzolis and Illan Meslier, plus making Piero Hincapie’s loan switch permanent.
According to Brazilian journalist Bruno Andrade on YouTube, relayed by Football Transfers, Arsenal are now close to signing a new centre-back to ease their issues in that area with William Saliba sidelined for an extended period with a lingering back injury that was exacerbated during the World Cup.
No name is mentioned at this stage, though it appears that we may find out very soon as Andrade says the move is imminent and developing faster than the Guimaraes saga.
Eddie Howe has revealed Bruno Guimaraes is yet to give him any assurances as to where he will be playing his football next season.
The Brazilian is of interest to Arsenal, who are pushing hard to lure him south.
Howe, though, is desperate to keep ahold of the player, and said: “We’ve spoken numerous times.
“Assurances, I don’t think you can push too hard for those.
“I’ve said many times you want players who are committed. Bruno has always been committed here. His training performances, game performances have been outstanding.”
Tottenham were just 24 hours away from lodging a bid for Eli Junior Kroupi before he was struck down with a metatarsal fracture, TeamTalk reports.
Spurs were prepared to make their move on the player, who Bournemouth insist is not for sale, but he is now facing four months out after undergoing surgery.







































