Man United and Liverpool in transfer crisis amid bidding wars and scuppered double deals

Mediawatch is losing patience and eagerly awaits the return of actual Premier League football to drown out some of this utter pish.

Double trouble
The Express haven’t totally lost the plot, though, as evidenced by this world-class slice of headline housery, a piece of mischief so brazen in the utter lack of f*cks it gives that Mediawatch found itself standing and applauding the sheer bravura of it all.

Liverpool ‘miss out on double deal’ as club freeze on transfer after early contact

Now you already know something’s afoot here, because of that thing we made up about standing and applauding.

But we still think that on some level, anyone reading that, even armed with the knowledge it is in Mediawatch, is thinking that Liverpool have missed out on some kind of a deal here. Perhaps a double one.

Sure, we’re all fluent enough now in tabloid headline doublespeak to see the tell-tale ‘as’ for what it is and know that the club that’s gone chilly is not in fact Liverpool, but the first bit is surely unequivocal?

Obviously, it is in fact enormously equivocal.

Let’s read on. The standfirst does nothing to suggest the obvious interpretation of that headline is, in fact, the wrong one.

Liverpool have splashed the cash on several new signings already this summer.

That already is another nudge, isn’t it?

Another hint that we are talking about a Liverpool double deal, one they have now apparently f*cked.

Then comes the intro, which hits like a hammer. Quite literally, it turns out.

Liverpool youngster Tyler Morton is reportedly set to join Lyon imminently, in what will be a hammer blow to West Ham’s transfer plans.

Whaaaa?

Surely, even in big 2025, we can’t go around saying that West Ham missing out on a deal is Liverpool missing out on a deal? Even if everyone cares about the latter and only a surprisingly high proportion of national newspaper journalists care about the latter?

And even if we are allowing this absolute p*ss-take to stand, how is missing out on signing one player missing out on a ‘double deal’?

Whoa, there. Be patient, please. The Express are getting to that. Eventually. Several rambling paragraphs about actual Liverpool transfer deals later.

It is claimed that the Hammers were plotting a double deal which would have seen Morton and Harvey Elliott join their side, but they will now have to rethink that plan.

Right, so that Elliott deal is scuppered as well, is it? Kind of an all-or-nothing arrangement, yeah? Seems odd, but okay… oh, you weren’t done.

It remains to be seen whether West Ham continue to push for Elliott nevertheless, with the playmaker facing an uncertain future on Merseyside after struggling for minutes under Slot last season.

So a headline that tells us Liverpool have missed out on a double deal sits above a story about West Ham missing out on a single deal. Thanks, we hate it.

Harry’s game
While pretty much everyone else understandably leads on Benjamin Sesko and the possible knock-on effects of that Newcastle-Man United tangle for Liverpool’s pursuit of Alexander Isak, the Daily Express have gone – as they so often do – another way.

They’ve decided the far bigger story is Harry Maguire. It’s an interesting choice.

Man Utd hit by Harry Maguire bidding war as ‘five clubs make offers’ for defender

Very clear this is framed as bad news for Man United, who have been ‘hit’ by this ‘bidding war’ for a player they don’t have any desire to sell this summer. They’ve knocked back these five offers, but how much longer can they continue to repel these advances?

Probably all summer, given this fairly significant piece of information buried deep, deep down.

However, despite the growing interest, Maguire remains happy at the Theatre of Dreams and is likely to extend his contract at the club and play out the remainder of his career with United. The defender hopes to ‘emulate’ Red Devils legends like Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson by putting faith in the club and guiding them back to their glory days.

We’re not saying there’s no story here at all, and Maguire’s elevated status at a club where he appeared to have no future not so long ago is a tale worth telling, but ‘club receive bids for player they won’t sell and who doesn’t want to leave’ is an odd choice for top story at a time when there are genuine transfer sagas progressing significantly that impact United themselves and other large Premier League clubs.

Eze does it
Elsewhere in Transfer Land, Arsenal’s pursuit of Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze continues. We say pursuit, but it really barely qualifies as that with every report on the saga grudgingly forced to include a line somewhere around the 13th paragraph admitting there hasn’t actually been a bid yet.

But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. Oh no. The Daily Star bring us this nugget.

Arsenal transfer news: Eberechi Eze’s position clear as £26m switch falls through

A clear position from the man himself would indeed be a boon at this stage. What have you got for us?

Eberechi Eze hasn’t dismissed staying put at Crystal Palace despite Arsenal’s keen interest.

So his clear position is that he might stay at Crystal Palace, or he might not? Another mystery solved by the intrepid Reach newshounds.

Oh, and Jakub Kiwior to Porto. In case you were wondering.