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Yesterday’s Premier League transfer roundup was made up of Juventus’ bid for Romelu Lukaku, Brighton’s offer for Bristol City’s Adam Webster and Everton’s interest in Mario Lemina. Today’s edition details Bournemouth’s attempt to sign Harry Wilson, Arsenal still being in the race for Wilfried Zaha and Aston Villa’s pursuit of Baptiste Santamaria.
Bournemouth ready to bid for Wilson
Report: According to The Sun, Bournemouth are ready to make a bid of £25m for Liverpool’s Harry Wilson. As it stands, the Cherries are said to be in pole position to sign the Wales international, with the 22-year-old wanted to provide competition for Ryan Fraser and David Brooks.
Verdict: Bournemouth follow Borussia Dortmund in reportedly being interested in Wilson, but Eddie Howe and co would be a far more fitting destination than the Bundesliga side for the youngster. Unlike at Dortmund, where the battle for places in the starting XI is intense, the Premier League side do not have as many options on the flanks. Alongside Brooks and Fraser, the South-Coast team do have Junior Stanislas and Jordon Ibe, but they only made 20 starts between them last season.. Wilson is coming off the back of a fantastic season for Derby County, where he scored 16 goals in all competitions. He is unlikely to earn a regular starting spot at Liverpool any time soon with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane ahead of him, so a move makes sense as he needs to be featuring week-in week-out at this stage of his career.
How likely is the deal? 7/10
Pepe deal will not put Arsenal off signing Zaha
Report: It is understood by iNews that Arsenal are still in the hunt to sign Wilfried Zaha this summer despite being close to the signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille. The Gunners hope that they can agree a good deal with Crystal Palace for the Ivory Coast international.
Verdict: It is hard to imagine that Arsenal would be able to afford this deal even if they managed to negotiate a price that would represent value for money. They were said to have a transfer budget of just £45m this summer, but they have already spent £33m on Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba, whilst Pepe will cost a reported £72m. Zaha would most likely cost somewhere in that region as well as per Palace’s valuation.
If they have that amount of money to spend, surely it would be wiser to spend it on a defender? 51 goals conceded in the Premier League last season says that the backline could do with some reinforcement.
How likely is the deal? 4/10
Villa have Santamaria bid turned down
Report: As per L’Equipe, Aston Villa have had a bid of €7m (£6.4m) turned down by Angers for midfielder Baptiste Santamaria. The offer was deemed as insufficient by the Ligue 1 outfit.
Verdict: Not a day seems to go by during this summer’s transfer window when Aston Villa aren’t linked to another player. As they continue to sew up a deal for Marvelous Nakamba, they now appear to have turned their attention to another central midfielder. If Dean Smith and co do bring in both Nakamba and Santamaria, they would have eight – yes, EIGHT – central midfielders to choose from. One would hope that a couple will be moved on if that is the case. They have got rid of 10 players overall, but with 29 men still in the first-team squad, more departures should be expected. The 24-year-old is at least defensively adept, having made 3.1 tackles per game last season in Ligue 1. This put him in the top 10 of the whole of France’s top tier.
How likely is the deal? 5.5/10
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