Transfer rumour ranking: Liverpool ‘bomba’ top as Everton and Palace consider winger swap

A Liverpool surprise is top after Arsenal signed Bruno Guimaraes, while Tottenham are linked with a World Cup striker…

With so much transfer talk doing the rounds, we’re here again through the summer to sift through the bullsh*t and highlight the whispers that might have some substance.

Each day we’re ranking the top 20 rumours involving Premier League clubs, the higher the link, the more likely we feel they are to become done deals.

So we start with the tittle-tattle…

20) Kenan Yildiz – Juventus to Arsenal

Yildiz will reportedly cost north of £80m and has emerged as a possible alternative to Vinicius Jr. Arsenal enquired earlier in the summer and were politely told a deal was not possible, but they could return to the table and Yildiz will surely find it difficult to say no after Juventus failed to qualify for the Champions League. One to watch, potentially…

19) Folarin Balogun – Monaco to Tottenham

The USA World Cup star could be available for a relatively cheap fee and Spurs are sniffing – but that’s it. For now. They have other forwards in mind, including Cody Gakpo but Liverpool do not seem keen to sell.

18) Ezri Konsa – Aston Villa to Arsenal

Arsenal may have missed out on Vinicius Junior, but they are back on the march for Konsa after failing with an offer earlier this window. Aston Villa are reportedly ‘braced for a fresh bid’ from the Gunners for the Englishman, who could fill in for William Saliba and his current teammates are ‘increasingly resigned’ to him leaving. There is also interest from Liverpool.

17) Jorge Salinas – Racing Santander to Manchester United

Lewis Hall appears unattainable and Man Utd are searching for an alternative left-back signing. They are reportedly ‘willing’ to activate Salinas’ release clause to beat Atletico Madrid to his signature. The Red Devils have also been linked with Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and Leipzig’s David Raum.

16) Joshua Zirkzee – Manchester United to Juventus

Man Utd could do with cashing in on Zirkzee, but reports in Italy claim they have opened the door to him joining Juventus on loan, potentially in a similar manner to the way in which Marcus Rashford moved to Barcelona last summer.

15) Nicolas Jackson – Chelsea to Aston Villa

Unai Emery likes Jackson from their time together at Villarreal, but this one is complicated. If Villa buy Jackson, under UEFA’s 45-day rule, this would be seen as a player exchange coming so soon after the Morgan Rogers sale, meaning any profit on the books from selling the England star would take a serious hit. Could Villa get around this by loaning Jackson? Nope, because Premier League clubs can only loan one player from any other Prem club and Villa have just signed Alejandro Garnacho on such a deal. It’s difficult, but both clubs seem motivated to find a way to get this done.

14) Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil – Crystal Palace/Everton swap deal

Word on the street is that Palace and Everton are discussing a swap deal involving Johnson and McNeil. Johnson only joined Palace from Spurs in January and in the same transfer window, McNeil came very close to joining the Eagles. The former is worth significantly more than the latter, so there will surely be some cash thrown into the equation if this deal goes through.

13) Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye – PSG to Liverpool

Liverpool have spoken to Barcola’s representatives, who have intimated the France winger’s eagerness to move to Anfield. Which is all well and good, but PSG have made it known they intend to drive a hard bargain, starting at £145million. Which is obviously ludicrous. Liverpool have now made a bid, apparently, but this failed to charm the European champions. There has since been talk of an agreement between the two clubs, but the reporter who said that has likely jumped the gun. Still, there is now talk of the tantalising prospect of a ‘double deal’.

12) Savinho – Manchester City to Tottenham

It feels as though this one has been doing the rounds for far too long, and even Tottenham are sick of it. They have issued a deadline of the weekend for City to decide whether or not they are interested in a deal, with the player keen to go. Finally, we’re set for some movement, with £60million the figure being thrown around and Fabrizio Romano is confident they will get him.

11) Cristian Romero – Tottenham Hotspur to Atletico Madrid

Romero was always going to leave Tottenham this summer; it was just a matter of where he went next. Inter Milan have been there for him all summer, but it’s Atletico who are the current favourites to sign the Argentine, with a £35million package to be proposed to Spurs. Which still seems short of their earlier demands. Arsenal also want Romero but Spurs understandably won’t sell to their biggest rivals.

10) Ayyoub Bouaddi – Lille to Manchester City

City are leading the race for the Morocco World Cup star but plenty remains unresolved. Our colleagues at TEAMtalk are reporting that he has now agreed terms with the Premier League side who are keen to have him this season, but Lille want him back on loan. Still, the Premier League side are now getting really close.

9) Rodri – Manchester City to Barcelona

Barca’s opening bid suggested they weren’t serious and perhaps they were just trying to screw with Real, but it is claimed the Catalans are not perturbed by City’s reaction to their first offer and another will follow. Maybe they were just chancing their arm, but they seem confident of getting a deal. Don’t they always? It helps that Rodri wants the move.

8) Matteo Ruggeri – Atletico Madrid to Aston Villa

With Ruben Amorim seemingly having scuppered any plan to sign Pervis Estupinan from AC Milan, Villa have instead gone to Atletico and agreed a fee just north of £17million for the Italian left-back. Just details to sort, apparently.

7) Shea Charles – Southampton to Fulham

Sasa Lukic is off to Ipswich and Fulham will replace him with Charles, according to Fabrizio Romano, who says the midfielder will cost a ‘£30m package’. A big sale for the Saints and a necessary signing for the Cottagers.

6) Nobel Mendy – Rayo Vallecano to Hull City

Acun Ilicali’s incredible post about Hull’s transfer business included a Senegalese player given a 70% chance of joining. Now that a €20m deal for Mendy has been agreed, we can presume that player is him. Capable of playing centre-back or left-back, Mendy is only 21 and looks like a solid addition for the newly-promoted Tigers.

5) Geronimo Rulli – Marseille to Manchester City

With James Trafford off to Leeds, City are looking for a new back-up goalkeeper. That signing will reportedly be Marseille’s Rulli, who is due to have a medical in Manchester on Monday, per Fabrizio Romano.

4) Ousmane Diomande – Sporting Lisbon to Nottingham Forest

Forest are said to be involved in advanced talks with Sporting over a £34million move for the centre-back as Oliver Glasner seeks a stopper to slide in alongside Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic to form a back three. Glasner wanted Diomande at Palace and could finally get him in this window. This deal has seemed close for a while, but amid talk of Liverpool hijacking the move, Forest are finally in the final stages.

3) Pep Chavarria – Rayo Vallecano to Chelsea

This deal looked off for a while, but Chelsea have now returned with a new offer for the Vallecano star, who has been their top target to replace Marc Cucurella. They have already agreed personal terms with the player, and have now reportedly agreed a fee with his current club (around £22m plus add-ons).

2) Gustavo Hamer – Sheffield United to Coventry City

Hamer spent three fruitful years at Coventry before joining Sheffield United in the Premier League. Another three years on and Hamer is getting another go in the top flight after City agreed to pay £6m for his services.