Liverpool Pursue Barcola as Arsenal Eye Alvarez in Transfer Window
Liverpool’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola has dragged on all summer. Now it finally has a pulse.
Fresh, positive talks with Paris Saint-Germain have shifted the mood around the deal, with figures inside the French club now expecting the winger to leave before the window shuts. Liverpool, desperate to add pace and craft out wide, remain at the front of the queue.
They have already tested the market elsewhere. Two bids for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh have been rejected, but that hasn’t dulled their intent to strengthen in the wide areas. Barcola, though, is the headline target – even if the price is eye-watering.
Liverpool weighing Gakpo sale to fund Barcola
PSG’s Qatari ownership want well over £110m for the France international, a fee that scared Arsenal away earlier in the summer. Liverpool are still at the table.
To make it work, they may need to sacrifice a key attacker. Cody Gakpo has serious admirers, with Manchester City interested and Tottenham also linked. His sale could form part of a transfer chain that unlocks Barcola’s arrival at Anfield.
Inside the club, the pressure is intense. Liverpool’s football hierarchy, led by sporting director Richard Hughes, know the squad has to be bigger and better balanced by the time they sit down for their customary early-September review. The budget is limited, the needs are not.
As one source framed it, they are “in a boat with six different leaks” and can only plug some of them. Spend too heavily on a winger, and they risk being short elsewhere. Yet without reinforcements, Andoni Iraola’s high-energy football will be hard to sustain across a full season.
Arsenal chase Alvarez to crown title defence plans
Across the title race divide, Arsenal are trying to land one final, statement signing.
Julian Alvarez is the man they want to complete what has already been a productive summer. The Atletico Madrid forward would give Mikel Arteta extra firepower as Arsenal attempt to defend their Premier League crown.
Alvarez initially leaned towards Barcelona, but he is now said to be open to the move to north London. Arsenal sense an opportunity and are pushing to turn that interest into a deal.
The dominoes could fall quickly. Atletico Madrid are exploring a loan for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, with a possible obligation to buy. Chelsea would prefer a permanent sale as they trim their squad before deadline day, and Aston Villa are also considering Jackson, with a £65m move under discussion.
If Atletico secure Jackson, it could smooth Alvarez’s departure. Arsenal are circling. Barcelona remain in the background. The saga is already long, and it may yet define the final week of the window.
City rip up their midfield and spend big
Manchester City, under Enzo Maresca, are tearing up their midfield and starting again.
They have agreed a €100m deal with Lille for 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, who will become the third most expensive signing in the club’s history. City will pay an initial €95m with a further €5m in add-ons for the Morocco international.
Bouaddi arrives as part of a sweeping overhaul after the exits of captain Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders. He will join £116m man Elliot Anderson in a rebuilt engine room. Only Anderson and Jack Grealish have ever cost City more.
The spending is being balanced by some huge sales. Savinho has completed an £85m move to Tottenham, becoming City’s record outgoing transfer. Spurs will pay £75m up front, with £5m guaranteed in add-ons and another £5m potentially to follow.
Savinho now sits among the three most expensive signings in Tottenham’s history, alongside Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. For City, his fee eclipses the £82m they received from Atletico Madrid for Julian Alvarez two years ago.
City are not done. They retain interest in Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and could yet revive a move for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, who would instantly become one of the standout transfers of the summer.
Newcastle move for Gonzalez as Guimaraes successor
Newcastle have identified their replacement for Bruno Guimaraes.
They have agreed a £52m deal with Manchester City for Nico Gonzalez, who is set to become their biggest signing of the window. The 2025 Carabao Cup winners will pay £48m initially, with £4m in add-ons.
City signed Gonzalez from Porto in January 2025 for £49m, so the deal brings them a small profit. For Newcastle, the 24-year-old brings much-needed experience after the departures of Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.
Remarkably, Gonzalez will be the oldest player Newcastle have brought in this summer. He is undergoing a medical today as the club moves to stabilise a midfield that has lost its two most influential figures.
Chelsea cash in as Forest break their record
Chelsea’s clear-out continues, and this time it comes with a sizeable profit.
Nottingham Forest have agreed a club-record £50m fee for striker Liam Delap. The former Ipswich forward has lost his place as Chelsea’s No 9 to Joao Pedro after a poor first season at Stamford Bridge, in which he scored only two goals in 41 appearances.
Chelsea signed Delap for £30m and will bank a £20m profit when the 23-year-old completes his medical on Wednesday.
At the same time, they are trying to move on Nicolas Jackson and would be open to bringing in a versatile attacker if enough outgoings are completed. Marcus Rashford is one name that has been discussed internally, underlining the scale of the potential reshuffle.
United complete midfield rebuild and turn to Balde
On the other side of Manchester, United have finished one rebuild and immediately started another.
Carlos Baleba has joined from Brighton for an initial £65m, with a further £5m in add-ons. The Cameroon international has signed a five-year deal and becomes the third midfield signing of the season under Michael Carrick, taking United’s midfield outlay to £148m.
Baleba believes he can reach a new level under Carrick, himself a former midfielder, and his arrival effectively completes United’s engine-room overhaul.
Attention has now swung to left-back. Alejandro Balde, according to Spanish outlet Marca, has decided he wants to leave Barcelona. Joao Cancelo’s arrival and Balde’s omission from the squad against Elche are said to have changed his stance on staying and fighting for his place.
United are frontrunners for his signature but are prioritising a loan move rather than a permanent transfer at this stage. With eight days left in the window, that stance will be tested.
Watkins and Martinez absent as Villa face uneasy questions
At Aston Villa, two missing names told their own story.
Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez were both absent from the matchday squad, fuelling talk that exits could be close. Watkins, in particular, is thought to be on the brink of a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
It would be a brutal blow for Villa. Watkins has been central to their rise, but his determination to leave has cast a shadow over his legacy at the club. Martinez’s future is also under scrutiny, adding to the sense of unease.
Villa, Atletico, Liverpool, Arsenal, City, United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Forest, Spurs – all are locked into the same late-August swirl. The money is huge, the gaps in squads even bigger.
The only certainty now is that the final week of this window will reshape the Premier League’s balance of power yet again.
