Having thrashed Arsenal on the field yesterday, Liverpool hope to get the better of them again by hijacking the Gunners’ move for Monaco midfielder Thomas Lemar. Arsenal have made no secret of their interest in the 21-year-old and are reported to have had three bids rejected by a club that has already lost Benjamin Mendy and Tiémoué Bakayoko, and looks likely to bid farewell to Killian Mbappe in the coming days. While Arsène Wenger has described any hopes of bringing Lemar to the Emirates as “dead because Monaco closed the door”, reports from France suggest Liverpool are ready to bid £55m for a player that, on the face of all available evidence so far this season, they don’t actually need.
Speaking after his side’s emphatic win over Arsenal, Jürgen Klopp refused to be drawn on the future of Divock Origi, who was left out of Sunday’s match-day squad and may well end up being shipped out on loan before Thursday’s transfer deadline. “That’s not something to talk about here,” he said. “If players come in, I think it makes sense to think about what we do on the other side.
The Spanish sports magazine Don Balón claim Manchester United have lodged a €100m (£92m) bid for Gareth Bale, who was jeered by the Bernabéu crowd after missing several chances during Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Valencia on Sunday night before being replaced by Lucas Vázquez in the 74th minute. With his place in the first team far from secure given the rise of Marco Asensio, who scored both Real’s goals last night, United’s bid is an interesting development. Bale said earlier this summer that he wishes to stay in Madrid, while Real’s president, Florentino Pérez, insisted he is not for sale. But €100m is €100m and even in these crazy times that kind of money doesn’t so much talk as lovingly serenade.
Dashingly handsome Swansea striker Fernando Llorente may be the subject of a bid from Chelsea, whose manager, Antonio Conte, is a long-time admirer of the blue-eyed boy from Pamplona. Any deal would be dependent on the success or failure of the Welsh club’s ongoing efforts to re-sign Wilfried Boney from Manchester City, where the Ivorian has had an unhappy, injury-blighted time of it since moving to the Etihad in 2015. Eliaquim Mangala is also expected to head for the Manchester City exit door and move to Internazionale, who are ready to take him on loan. The France international has also been mooted as a potential makeweight in City’s efforts to bring Jonny Evans in from West Brom. The Star say City are also ready to offer Arsenal £70m and Belgian central defender Jason Denayer in exchange for Alexis Sanchez. If they fail in their efforts to convince Arsenal to sell, the Borussia Dortmund striker and Rumour Mill staple Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is next on Pep Guardiola’s shopping list.
The Tottenham Hotspur central defender Kevin Wimmer will sign for Stoke City today subject to a medical after the two clubs agreed a fee of £15m for the Austrian international, while the Chelsea striker Loïc Rémy is wanted by Newcastle United, Cagliari and Las Palmas. Newcastle are also interested tightening their defence by bringing in a new left-back, with Independiente’s Nicolás Tagliafico and FC Krasnodar’s Cristian Ramírez rumoured to have got Rafael Benítez’s antennae twitching.