Man City Eye £95m Real Madrid Star as Crystal Palace Targets £25m Defender

Our verdict on the latest Premier League transfer rumours – featuring news from Man City, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

Welcome to Friday’s round-up and analysis of the biggest Premier League transfer rumours that have been washing around online for the past day or so – and we start with some news that could get Manchester City fans a little hot under the collar.
With Argentine striker Julián Álvarez making his way to Atlético Madrid, it seems as if Pep Guardiola might attempt to find his replacement on the other side of the Spanish capital, with TeamTalk claiming that Manchester City are considering a bid for Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.

The Brazilian is priced at £94.5m, apparently, but that’s chicken feed for the financial might of Abu Dhabi – not that it’s all good news. Apparently one of the indicators that Rodrygo could be leaving is that Real have already started planning how to reinvest the money they’d earn, and they could be targeting an equally audacious bid for Rodri. That’s not a trade many City fans would take… Should City fail to sign Rodrygo, they will turn to Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, anyway.

The 3AM Verdict: Ever since Kylian Mbappé made it clear that he was headed for Madrid, the rumour mill has been awash with links between Rodrygo and various Premier League clubs – but all the noises coming from the Bernabeu and from regional media suggest that Carlo Ancelotti wants him to stay put. City do, at least, have the financial clout to twist their arm, but we’re casting doubts over this claim for now, and even more doubts over the Rodri link, which isn’t really backed up very well in the report. The Eze suggestion seems rather more plausible as it stands.

Eagles swooping on centre-halves
Speaking of players that could be leaving Selhurst Park this summer, we continue to move closer towards a deal between Palace and Newcastle United that would see Marc Guéhi leave London – but Oliver Glasner and his transfer team are working hard to find a suitable replacement.

According to the Evening Standard, the club are deciding between Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah, who is transfer listed as the Stamford Bridge outfit look to move academy players on for financial purposes, and Maxence Lacroix, a French centre-back who has impressed with VfL Wolfsburg. It’s not clear how much Lacroix might cost, but Chalobah would set Palace back around £25m.

The 3AM Verdict: Losing the excellent Guéhi will hurt but these are both more than capable replacements, especially given that Palace will likely turn a tidy profit on the deal. Chalobah was very good for Chelsea when he was given chances last season and looks ready to be a regular for a club like Palace, while Lacroix is an impressive all-round defender with good technical skills who could be just as useful. Swapping Guéhi for £30-40m and one of these defenders looks like good transfer work on paper.

Cherries in for Serie A star
Finally, a word from Sport Witness about Atalanta striker El Bilal Touré, who could well be on his way to Bournemouth after a potential deal with VfB Stuttgart stalled. The Malian became the most expensive signing in the Serie A side’s history last summer when he was bought for €30m (£25.7m) but only managed 11 appearances and two goals last season after a serious hamstring injury.
The 22-year-old forward had been extensively linked with a move to Everton last summer but apparently Sean Dyche would prefer to persist with Beto rather than sign a new forward now – or perhaps Touré’s struggles in Bergamo have put the Toffees off. No transfer fee is mentioned, but this could be Bournemouth looking for a replacement for Dominic Solanke if he leaves for Tottenham Hotspur in the coming days.
The 3AM Verdict: You can see how Andoni Iraola might conclude that he would be a good replacement for Solanke – he’s a good hold-up forward who knows how to get the better of defenders and an efficient finisher, albeit one who’s never notched up a really big haul in his short senior career. He’s not a great technician, by any means, but then neither is Solanke – but he doesn’t have Solanke’s nous and knack for finding a half-yard of space yet. This could be a good long-term solution, but in the short term would probably cost Bournemouth a fair number of goals.