Hojlund

Liverpool to make £130 offer for Alexander Isak, Rasmus Hojlund nears Napoli move, Brentford’s Maximilian Beier bid rejected and Oleksandr Zinchenko could be on his way out of Arsenal.

Liverpool are expected to make an improved £130m offer for Newcastle’s Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, with add-ons and bonuses making it a British transfer record. (Telegraph – subscription required, external)

Manchester United have agreed a deal to send Rasmus Hojlund, 22, on a season-long loan to Napoli, with a conditional obligation to buy at £38m. (Athletic – subscription required, external)

Brentford have had an offer of about £45m for 22-year-old Germany forward Maximilian Beier rejected by Borussia Dortmund. (Athletic – subscription required, external)

RB Leipzig’s Austria attacking midfielder Christoph Baumgartner, 26, is a leading target for Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports, external)

Crystal Palace have also made an £8m bid for 28-year-old Bournemouth winger David Brooks, but the Cherries do not want to sell the Wales international. (Sun, external)

Roma have made an offer to sign Chelsea’s Tyrique George, but Fulham, Crystal Palace and German champions Bayern Munich are also monitoring the 19-year-old English winger. (Sky Sports, external)

AC Milan are pushing to sign Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji, with Crystal Palace also interested in the 30-year-old Switzerland international. (Sky Sports, external)

Chelsea defender Axel Disasi is wanted by his former club Monaco, who hope to sign the 27-year-old France centre-back on loan, but Bournemouth and Aston Villa are also keen. (Footmercato – in French, external)

Liverpool and Roma are working on the final details of a deal that will see Greece left-back Kostas Tsimikas, 29, move to the Serie A club on loan. (Gianluca di Marzio – in Italian, external)

Marseille are interested in signing Arsenal and Ukraine full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, but the 28-year-old’s wages could prove a stumbling block. (Athletic – subscription required, external)

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is still eyeing a move away from Paris St-Germain before the deadline and an unnamed Premier League club has joined Manchester City among those interested in the 26-year-old. (Sky Sports, external)

AC Milan have turned down Bournemouth’s loan offer, with an option to buy for about £17m, for their Spanish full-back Alex Jimenez, 20. (La Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian, external)

Newcastle prepared for Liverpool to return with new Alexander Isak bid, Wolves try to keep Jorgen Strand Larsen from Magpies move and Manchester United open to Rasmus Hojlund moving to Napoli.

Newcastle are preparing for Liverpool to return with a new bid of between £120-130m for their Sweden forward Alexander Isak, 25. (Teamtalk), external

Wolves are facing a fight to keep Norway striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, as Newcastle are pushing to sign the 25-year-old for around £60m. (Express and Star), external

Manchester United have informed Napoli that they are open to both a loan with an option or obligation to buy for their Denmark forward Rasmus Hojlund, 22. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Everton are interested in signing Manchester City and Netherlands defender Nathan Ake, 30, to reinforce their defence. (Mail), external

Manchester United are hoping Tottenham will enter the race to sign Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho, 21, and provide competition to Chelsea. (Givemesport), external

Roma’s hopes of signing England winger Jadon Sancho, 25, from Manchester United may rest on whether his agent reduces the 10m euros (£8.6m) commission they want for the deal to happen. (Corriere della Sport in Italian), external

Real Betis are still hopeful of signing Manchester United and Brazil winger Antony, 25, but have put the onus on the Premier League club to make a decision over his future. (Mail), external

Tottenham are interested in French attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche, 23, at Monaco and Como and Argentina international Nico Paz, 20. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Spurs are also exploring the possibility of signing France forward Christopher Nkunku, 27, from Chelsea. (Teamtalk), external

Nottingham Forest have contacted Aston Villa about bringing Poland full-back Matty Cash, 28, back to the club and have also made an offer to sign Sevilla’s Spanish right-back, Jose Angel Carmona, 23. (Mail), external

West Ham have agreed to loan Mexico international Edson Alvarez, 27, to Fenerbahce and are tracking Werder Bremen and Austria midfielder Romano Schmid, 25, and are interested in Lens’ French midfielder Andy Diouf, 22. (Guardian), external

However, Inter Milan are confident of securing Diouf on a five-year contract in a deal that could be worth around 25m euros to the Ligue 1 club. (£21.6m). (La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italian), external

Crystal Palace will attempt to gazump Everton in the race to sign Southampton’s English winger Tyler Dibling, 19, by making a £35m-plus bid for the teenager. (Givemesport), external

Borussia Dortmund expect to complete a deal to sign Wolves and Portugal forward Fabio Silva, 23, imminently. (Bild in German), external

Manchester United weigh up bid for Adam Wharton, Chelsea’s bid for Alessandro Bastoni rejected and Xavi Simons keen on Stamford Bridge switch

Manchester United are weighing up whether to make a bid for Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton, 21. (Talksport), external

Inter Milan have turned down a 50m euros (£43m) bid from Chelsea for Italy defender Alessandro Bastoni, 26. (La Gazzetta dello Sport), external

RB Leipzig and Netherlands midfielder Xavi Simons, 22, has told the club he wants a transfer to Chelsea, despite interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City. (ESPN), external

AC Milan are keen to push through a 35m euros (£30.2m) deal for Denmark and Manchester United forward Rasmus Hojlund, 22, but are also considering Juventus and Serbia forward Dusan Vlahovic, 25, as an alternative. (La Gazzetta dello Sport), external

Manchester City and England right-back Rico Lewis, 20, say he has no intention of leaving the club despite interest from Nottingham Forest. (Mail), external

Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana, 29, was left out of Manchester United’s Premier League opener against Arsenal with the club considering a shock move to bring Spanish stopper David de Gea, 34, back to the club from Fiorentina. (Sun), external

However, United have committed their transfer funds to other positions after inquiring about Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, 32, and Paris St-Germain and Italy stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 26. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Jadon Sancho’s salary is the sticking point in a £20m move from Manchester United to Roma. The 25-year-old England winger is keen to see if any other clubs step in and match his weekly wages of about £250,000. (Teamtalk) , external

Roma have also made contact with Manchester United about a deal for 26-year-old Netherlands left-back Tyrell Malacia, who is also interesting Besiktas. (Fabrizio Romano) , external

Atalanta are hoping to thrash out a deal with Fulham to sign their Brazilian forward Rodrigo Muniz, 24, for about 40m euros (£34.5m) on Monday. (Teamtalk), external

France forward Randal Kolo Muani, 26, has agreed a pay cut to join Juventus from Paris St-Germain, in a deal worth about 60m euros (£51.8m). (Corriere dello Sport in Italian) , external

Tottenham are considering a move for 24-year-old Real Sociedad and Japan winger Takefusa Kubo as Thomas Frank looks to bolster his attacking options. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Burnley and Sunderland are both interested in FC Copenhagen’s Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Pereira, 25. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal are ready to swoop for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 28, with the Netherlands international’s contract set to expire next summer. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Hojlund, who joined for £72m two years ago, was United’s main striker last season and scored 10 goals in 52 games.

His debut campaign brought 16 goals after his move from Italian side Atalanta.

The move to drop Hojlund has been backed by United’s leadership.

Amorim has spent £200m on a completely revamped forward line, with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha set to fill the two number 10 slots Amorim prefers.

In addition to Mount, England international Kobbie Mainoo could also play as a false nine – while Bruno Fernandes did the job successfully in the 2024 FA Cup final.

On United’s pre-season tour of the United States, Cunha filled the number nine role – although he also tended to drop deeper.

Seventeen-year-old Chido Obi featured for the first team at the end of last season, although at his stage of his development it is thought unlikely he would be regarded as a regular stater, with his involvement is more likely as a substitute.

Manchester United eye Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand as a midfield option, Tottenham have hope over deal for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, while Fulham are keen on Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund.

Manchester United are lining up a £50m deal for Sporting and Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand, 26, if they miss out on Brighton’s 21-year-old Cameroon international Carlos Baleba. (Sun), external

Tottenham are confident they have put together a deal for Eberechi Eze, 27, that will satisfy Crystal Palace, who value their England midfielder at £68m. (Teamtalk), external

Fulham are showing interest in Manchester United and Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund, with AC Milan also pursuing a deal for the 22-year-old. (Mail), external

Chelsea are making progress in their efforts to sign Alejandro Garnacho, 21, from Manchester United and believe £35m is a fair price for the Argentina winger. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal are ready to consider offers for Ukraine left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, 28, with Porto, Fenerbahce and Real Betis interested. (CaughtOffside), external

Borussia Dortmund have joined Bayer Leverkusen in showing an interest in taking Brighton and Argentina winger Facundo Buonanotte, 20, on loan this season. (Mail), external

Inter Milan will give it another week to try to complete the signing of Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman, 27, from Atalanta before they move on to other targets. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Roma have offered midfielder Manu Kone to Inter Milan, who are looking at a deal for about 30m euros (£26m) for the 24-year-old France international. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Liverpool’s move for Parma defender Giovanni Leoni includes the Serie A side having a 10% sell-on clause in the deal for the 18-year-old Italian. (Sky Sports Italia – in Italian), external

He’s not for sale, Main

Manchester United have reportedly performed a U-turn on the prospect of selling Kobbie Mainoo to help balance the books.

That’s according to former club scout Mick Brown, who told Football Insider: “There are a number of players Man United want to get rid of.

“From what I understand, Kobbie Mainoo is not one of them after a change of mind.

“The likes of Garnacho, Sancho and the others who have been left out of training in pre-season, that’s who the club are looking to raise money from.

“In my opinion, they should never have been considering letting Kobbie Mainoo go, it was a crazy idea.

“After he didn’t sign that new contract, it looked like he had decided he wanted to leave.

“That interest didn’t really come as heavily as they maybe expected, but I won’t complain about that.

“From what I hear, he’s going to be happy to stay into the new season and hopes he’ll be a bigger part of the team as Amorim is going to use him more regularly.”

United are waiting to decide their next move and there have been reports that the player would prefer to switch to Old Trafford.

United sources are adamant they could do a deal before selling players.

But it is accepted that there would have to be exits to ensure they remain compliant with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

And, if Sesko arrived, Hojlund would be marginalised.

If Hojlund was sold for £30m, it would effectively be a loss for United given the forward’s ‘book value’ is £43m as he is two years into the five-year contract he signed.

United have spent almost £130m this summer on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

RB Leipzig show an interest in Rasmus Hojlund, Tottenham are looking to bring Joao Palhinha back to the Premier League, while Jadon Sancho is ready to take a pay cut in order to leave Manchester United.

RB Leipzig are among several clubs looking at Rasmus Hojlund and Manchester United could use the 22-year-old Denmark striker as part of a swap deal to sign Slovenia forward Benjamin Sesko, 22, from the Bundesliga side. (Athletic – subscription required, external)

Tottenham are in talks with Bayern Munich over a loan deal for Portugal international Joao Palhinha, 30, as they look to bring the former Fulham midfielder back to the Premier League. (Athletic – subscription required, external)

Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho is ready to accept a 50% pay cut as the 25-year-old England winger eyes a return to Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. (Bild – in German, external)

Chelsea are expected to make an offer for Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho, 21, before the transfer window shuts and have no concerns over his character after a series of background checks on the Argentina winger. (Telegraph – subscription required, external)

England Under-20 midfielder Nico O’Reilly, 20, will sign a new contract with Manchester City after they rejected two transfer bids from German club Bayer Leverkusen. (Fabrizio Romano), external

La Liga side Girona have agreed a deal in principle to sign Manchester City‘s Brazilian defender Vitor Reis, 19, on loan. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Manchester City also want 19-year-old Claudio Echeverri to go on a season-long loan to Girona, with discussions ongoing between the Argentine winger and the Spanish club. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Premier League duo Liverpool and Bournemouth have both opted not to match newly promoted Saudi Pro League side Neom SC’s huge offer for Nantes’ French defender Nathan Zeze, 20. (TBR Football, external)

Chelsea are interested in Club Brugge’s Ardon Jashari but the 23-year-old Switzerland midfielder prefers a move to AC Milan. (Sacha Tavolieri, external)

Everton will wait until the final weeks of the transfer window to make a loan offer for Juventus and Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 27. (GiveMesport), external

Juventus have joined Atalanta, Napoli and Roma in showing an interest in Brighton‘s 24-year-old Denmark international midfielder Matt O’Riley. (Sky Sports Italia) , external

Inter Milan rejected the chance to sign Chelsea and France striker Christopher Nkunku, 27, as they are focus on a move for Atalanta’s 27-year-old Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ruben Amorim admitted he could not guarantee Rasmus Hojlund’s Old Trafford future – despite the Dane’s dazzling display in the Windy City.

Hojlund opened the scoring in the 4-1 trouncing of Bournemouth before creating space for the third – which he claimed but was not awarded – when Amad Diallo fired through a crowd and into the net.

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The £72million man’s goal came as United stepped up their attempts to land RB Leipzig’s Slovenian ace Benjamin Sesko as their new first-choice No9.

And while he was full of praise for Hojlund’s contribution, Old Trafford chief Amorim conceded: “I am really happy with Rasmus, but I don’t know what is going to happen until the end of the market.

“The important thing is that the strikers that are here are working really well, are improving, are helping the team and that is the most important thing.”

Amorim added: “People focus on the goals and we have suffered a lot because of the lack of goals.

“But it’s not just the goals with Rasmus. It’s also about the way he connects the play.

“Every time we have to clear the ball, we are doing so under pressure.

“His ability to hold the defender off and to connect with the support is helping us a lot to play better.

“And we are playing better because he is playing better.”

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United were far too good for the sub-par Cherries, with the excellent Patrick Dorgu storming through to claim the second and teenage substitute Ethan Williams netting the fourth with his first touch.

Bournemouth’s reply was a late own goal by Matthijs de Ligt, who had replaced Harry Maguire at half-time, but Amorim allayed concerns about the England centre-back.

He explained: “He had an issue during the holidays, during training.

“Harry’s come a little bit late, so we have to be careful with him. It’s just a little bit of fatigue with the training.

“We are trying to control everything and saving all the players to give them the exact number of minutes they need.”

Fatigue was also the reason that Brazilian Matheus Cunha was not involved at Soldier Field, but a delighted Amorim said: “It was a good game.

“We played with intensity. We were aggressive and that is something that we needed to improve on from last season.

“Overall, we had better possessions compared to the last game, so they are listening.

“Of course, scoring first in the beginning of the game can change the confidence of the team. It was a good test, a good day.

“It was just a pre-season game. But if you look at us, at the same players from last year, it looks like a different team and that is a good sign.”

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Whatever the decision on United’s striker dilemma, there can be little argument the addition of Mbeumo – alongside Cunha – strengthens their firepower.

Only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Newcastle’s Alexander Isak and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scored more than his 20 Premier League goals last season.

It was, though, the first time he has reached double figures for a top-flight club, and his expected goals (xG) statistic of 12.3 – which he outperformed by 7.7 goals – is something that would be difficult to repeat.

In the past five Premier League seasons, just 14 players have overperformed their xG by five goals or more.

Sutton said: “He has done well at Brentford but playing for Manchester United is very different. With respect to Brentford, there is no great expectation there. At United, he will be expected to perform straight away.

“He has experience, he is a good finisher and his versatility is a big positive – he can play as a central striker as well as on the wing, cutting inside off the right on to his left foot.

“But he has had one very good season where his numbers were very good, so the question is whether he can repeat that.”

The Cameroon international is not being bought just for his goals, though.

Mbeumo prefers to play on the right behind a striker – with Cunha expected to feature on the left – but also has the versatility to play centrally, offering another solution to the striker problem.

He topped the list for touches per 90 minutes for players who scored more than 15 goals last season – showing his involvement in play – and ranks as one of the best ball carriers in the league, consistently with an effective end product.

He was 17th on the list of top assisters – with seven – but in expected assists he led the way in the Premier League with 9.3 xA.

Alongside Cunha’s creativity, that can only be good news for whoever is chosen to play the central striker role.

“Consistency in those forward positions is what United are striving for, because they have not had it with, say, Alejandro Garnacho or Antony,” said Sutton.

“They are maybe thinking an older, more experienced player, who is more reliable, is what they need. That’s Mbeumo – he fits into Ruben Amorim’s system and he fits the bill as proven Premier League quality too.

“Amorim wants a harmonious camp as well as a consistent performer, not someone who is a 3/10 one week and a 9/10 the next.

“That’s what Manchester United have really been lacking and the numbers Mbeumo provided could be really important. That is the part of the jigsaw they have got to really solve if they want to be challenging at the top end of the table.”