Al-Hilal close to £50m deal for Ollie Watkins amid flurry of transfer links
Al-Hilal have agreed a deal of about £50m with Aston Villa to sign England forward Ollie Watkins, 30, according to Thursday's transfer gossip. The same round-up also links Chelsea with Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and reports Sunderland have made an approach to Manchester City for Jack Grealish.
Fabrizio Romano is cited for the Watkins agreement, described as worth about £50m with Aston Villa. The column lists a series of transfer rumours from a range of outlets covering Premier League and European clubs. Several reports specify player ages and fees alongside the clubs involved. The items are presented as transfer gossip rather than confirmed club announcements.
Chelsea have been credited with lining up Bournemouth's English midfielder Alex Scott, 23, as a replacement for Argentina's Enzo Fernandez, 25, who might be on the move to Manchester City (Sun). The report also states Chelsea are closing in on a £36m deal to sign Italy defender Honest Ahanor, 18, from Atalanta (Sky Sport Italy). Both moves are presented as part of Chelsea's recruitment activity in the same transfer round-up. The sources attach different levels of certainty to each target.
Aston Villa are linked with Rafael Leao and have been told the Portugal winger, 27, is close to agreeing a move from AC Milan, with Galatasaray set to pay about £38m (Corriere dello Sport). The same transfer bulletin says Villa have asked about West Ham and France defender Jean-Clair Todibo, 26, as they search for a centre-back (Mail). Those items appear under Villa's reported recruitment plans in the columns cited.
Sunderland have made Manchester City an offer to sign England winger Jack Grealish, 30, on loan (Athletic). Separately, Marseille are reported to be confident of keeping Brazilian forward Igor Paixao, 26, despite interest from Arsenal and Sunderland (Teamtalk). The column groups Sunderland's loan approach alongside other clubs' efforts to bolster wide attacking options.
Newcastle have not yet withdrawn from a potential deal to sign Lille and Belgium winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 21, but are said to be unwilling to jeopardise compliance with Premier League and Uefa spending rules (Mail). In response, Lille are being linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen's French striker Martin Terrier, 29, as a possible replacement for Fernandez-Pardo (L'Equipe). Those items are presented together in the same transfer update.
Fiorentina are reported to have turned down Nottingham Forest's initial bid of £6m for Brazilian right-back Dodo, 27 (Sky Sport Italy). Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios, 27, is said to be close to completing a £23.5m move to Ipswich Town (Sky Sports). Everton are described as lining up a deal to sign Guinea-Bissau forward Franculino, 22, from Midtjylland and prepared to sanction the sale of Republic of Ireland defender Jake O'Brien, 25 (Teamtalk).
The transfer items in the column are attributed to a variety of outlets, including Fabrizio Romano, the Sun, Corriere dello Sport, The Athletic, Sky Sport Italy, Fichajes, the Mail, L'Equipe, Sky Sports and TeamTalk. Each report supplies the specific club, player, age and fee or deal status cited above.
