The start of the 2023/24 Premier League season is now less than a month away, with newly promoted Burnley entertaining defending champions Manchester City at Turf Moor on Friday, 11th August.
Despite this, a significant number of transfer deals are likely to be concluded ahead of the new season, with Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea all keen to introduce new additions to their squad before the campaign gets underway.
Below, we’ll take a closer look at the very latest transfer rumours, while asking which players are likely to be on the move in the coming weeks.
Will Kane Head to Paris or Bayern Munich (or Stay in North London)?
Harry Kane remains the subject of seemingly endless transfer rumours at present after Spurs endured a desperately disappointing 2022/23 campaign and the striker entered the final year of his contract.
Bayern Munich have a known interest in the striker, with talks thought to be at an advanced stage at the time of writing. However, it has been reported that PSG have now entered the fray, with the Parisian club at the beginning of a rebuild and willing to spend approximately €100 million on the 29-year-old striker.
What’s more, the club reportedly sent representatives to London last week to speak directly with Kane and Spurs’ chairman Daniel Levy, while they’re thought to value the player a little higher than Bayern and have prepared a much more generous salary offer.
However, it appears as though Munich is Kane’s most likely destination for now, although Spurs retain hope of securing the player’s services with a new deal. Ultimately, much will depend on Kane’s desire to become the record Premier League scorer, with the Englishman now on 213 goals and just 47 behind Alan Shearer.
Joao Felix Remains in Demand
The £113 million signing of Joao Felix by Atletico Madrid raised eyebrows in the summer of 2019, with the creative, deep-lying forward seemingly unsuited to the playing style of Diego Simeone.
Such fears have arguably proven to be well-founded, with the 23-year-old Portuguese having scored just 34 goals in 131 matches and struggled to perform with any consistency in Spain.
He also flattered to deceive during a loan spell at Chelsea last season, scoring four goals in 16 matches for the similarly faltering Blues. However, there’s no doubting Felix’s talent, or his ability to thrive in a settled and attack-minded side. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Portuguese is being linked with a myriad of clubs in the pre-season, including Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester United.
Newcastle would appear to be Felix’s most likely destination given the resources at the club and the challenge of playing in UCL next season. However, ambitious Aston Villa have the revered Unai Emery in charge, while the Villains’ recent signing of Spanish international Pau Torres could also convince Felix to join on loan.
Will Romelu Lukaku Leave Chelsea Once Again?
It’s incredible to think that Belgian powerhouse Romelu Lukaku could be on the move again this summer, with the striker having already commanded €333.36 million (£284.71 million) in transfer fees during his career.
However, the 30-year-old is once again deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge, especially given new manager Mauricio Pochettino’s desire to play a high-pressing game.
Unsurprisingly, Inter Milan are in pole position to sign Lukaku, where the Belgian previously excelled in partnership with Lautaro Martinez. He also spent last season on loan at the San Siro, and Inter are expected to pay £25 million plus add-ons for the striker (Chelsea value him at around £40, which is significantly less than the £96.5 million they spent on him in 2021).
Of course, much will depend on Inter’s ability to conclude the sale of goalkeeper André Onana to Manchester United, which could see the club rake in up to €47 million.
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