Nkunku

AC Milan have agreed a £36m deal – including add-ons – to sign Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku as the Blues close on a deal for Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho.

Nkunku, 27, is expected to accept a pay cut in order to join the Italian side on a five-year contract and has been given permission to travel for a medical.

The Blues have also included a sell-on clause as part of the deal, which will end Nkunku’s two-year stay at Stamford Bridge.

The move will have wider implications for Chelsea, with negotiations advancing to sign Garnacho.

The Argentina international, 21, has not played for United this season and is one of several players at the club who has been training away from the main group.

No fee has yet been agreed between the two clubs but BBC Sport has been told by sources that a deal is close.

CHELSEA outcast Christopher Nkunku is set to fly to Italy tonight to tie up a £38m move to AC Milan.

Nkunku seemed poised to join Bayern Munich on loan as the Blues struggled to find clubs willing to pay the asking price for the France international.

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But things moved fast when Milan turned their previous interest into a concrete bid.

And Nkunku’s impending move should accelerate Chelsea’s pursuit of Alejandro Garnacho and Xavi Simons.

It is understood that Milan will pay a guaranteed sum of between £33m and £34m for Nkunku, with the rest of the total fee relying on performance.

That would represent a break even for the Blues on the Frenchman, who was signed for £56m two years ago and so is currently worth about £35m on the club’s books.

Nevertheless the Nkunku transfer would be another coup for Chelsea’s recruitment team, perhaps the biggest in a summer that has already seen them agree incoming and outgoing deals worth HALF A BILLION pounds.

In fact, the £38m for Nkunku would put the Blues into profit – albeit temporarily before they decide whether to meet RB Leipzig’s £60m asking price for Simons and the £50m Manchester United say they want for Garnacho.

The Frenchman arrived from Leipzig with a big reputation but was seriously injured in pre-season.

His Chelsea career never got going, although he did contribute five goals in the Conference League campaign that ended with the Blues lifting the trophy last season.

Nkunku, unlike other players who were out of Enzo Maresca’s first-team plans, did also travel to the USA for the Club World Cup and scored once in six appearances.

But he and Nicolas Jackson were left out of the Chelsea squad for the first two Premier League matches of the season as the club tried to offload them.

As SunSport revealed, the Blues’ activity in this transfer window will enable them to meet both Premier League financial rules and the terms of their Uefa punishment.

By balancing the big-money arrivals of players like Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens with successful sales of Noni Madueke and now Nkunku, they have revamped Maresca’s squad without putting themselves in danger of further penalties.

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson is on Aston Villa’s transfer wish list, Chelsea are bidding to sign RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons and Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho, plus Tottenham eye Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche.

Aston Villa are exploring the viability of a move to sign Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson, 24, from Chelsea but the asking price needs to be lower than £60m due to the West Midlands club’s financial restrictions. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Bayern Munich’s move for French forward Christopher Nkunku, 27, has stalled, delaying Chelsea’s attempts to sign RB Leipzig’s 22-year-old Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons. (Guardian), external

Chelsea are set to increase their efforts to sign Argentina forward Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United but the 21-year-old will not be allowed to leave Old Trafford on the cheap. (Evening Standard), external

Newcastle are unwilling to pay more than £40m for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa but the Bees have put a £60m price tag on the 28-year-old DR Congo international. (Northern Echo), external

Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen remains of interest to Newcastle – although the 25-year-old Norwegian is not hankering to leave Molineux. (The Athletic – subscription required), external

Tottenham have targeted Monaco’s £47.5m-rated French attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche, 23, as a cheaper alternative to Brazil winger Savinho with Manchester City demanding £70m for the 21-year-old. (Independent), external

Crystal Palace want 19-year-old Southampton winger Tyler Dibling to replace fellow Englishman Eberechi Eze, 27, whose move to Tottenham is edging closer. (Talksport), external

Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 27, is set to join Nottingham Forest from Juventus after Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis brokered a deal with the Turin club’s general manager Damien Comolli. (Tuttosport – in Italian), external

Leeds are poised to sign 25-year-old Switzerland striker Noah Okafor from AC Milan in a deal worth £18.4m (21m euros). (Sky Sports Italy – in Italian), external

Wolves and West Ham are both interested in Spain midfielder Marc Casado but face a tough ask persuading the 21-year-old to leave Barcelona. (Marca – in Spanish), external

West Ham are close to finalising a deal which will allow 27-year-old Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez to join Fenerbahce on loan. (Talksport), external

Espanyol are in talks with Burnley over re-signing 20-year-old Italy U21 forward Luca Koleosho on a season-long loan. (Sky Sports), external

Brazil forward Rodrigo Muniz’s move from Fulham to Atalanta is off after the Cottagers rejected a proposed £35m deal for the 24-year-old from the Serie A club. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Jack Grealish agrees to Everton loan, Chelsea and RB Leipzig in talks over swapping Xavi Simons for Christopher Nkunku, and Nicolas Jackson favours Newcastle move.

England winger Jack Grealish, 29, has agreed to join Everton on loan from Manchester City. (Teamtalk), external

Chelsea are in talks with RB Leipzig over a potential swap deal for Netherlands midfielder Xavi Simons, 22, that could mean France forward Christopher Nkunku, 27, returning to the German club. (Guardian), external

Nicolas Jackson favours a move to Newcastle United should the Senegal striker, 24, leave Chelsea during the summer transfer window. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Newcastle will wait to resolve the future of Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, before deciding whether to move for Chelsea striker Jackson. (PA news agency), external

Newcastle have made a bid for Brentford’s Yoane Wissa but Liverpool are monitoring the situation as they see the DR Congo forward, 28, as an alternative if they fail to sign Isak. (Caught Offside), external

France forward Randal Kolo Muani, 26, would prefer to join Juventus than Newcastle after spending the second half of last season on loan with the Italian club from Paris St-Germain. (Teamtalk), external

Sunderland have enquired about signing 26-year-old English defender Lloyd Kelly, who has just joined Juventus on an obligation-to-buy move after an initial loan from Newcastle. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

AC Milan are in talks over signing Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund, 22, but they want a loan with a buy option whereas Manchester United would prefer a permanent sale. (Sky Sports), external

After signing Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, Manchester United have shifted focus to offloading England winger Jadon Sancho, 25, Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho, 21, and Brazil forward Antony, 25. (Standard), external

Manchester United are considering signing free agent Dominic Calvert-Lewin after the former England striker, 28, left Everton at the end of last season. (Caught Offside), external

Nottingham Forest have made an offer for Monaco’s 21-year-old French midfielder Soungoutou Magassa. (L’Equipe – in French), external

Kostas Tsimikas is edging nearer to leaving Liverpool after being left out of their Community Shield squad, with Nottingham Forest having been interested in the 29-year-old Greece left-back. (Echo), external

Besiktas and Fenerbahce might make a move for Marseille’s Jonathan Rowe, while Rennes and Atalanta have also been linked with the 22-year-old English winger. (L’Equipe – in French), external

Jamaica forward Michail Antonio, 35, says he is talking to clubs in England and abroad after leaving West Ham at the end of last season. (Talksport), external

Enzo Fernandez will not leave Chelsea this summer despite reports in Spain linking the Argentina midfielder, 24, with a move to Paris St-Germain. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr have reached an agreement with France winger Kingsley Coman, 29, over a move from Bayern Munich. (Bild – in German), external

Mali midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, 32, has joined newly promoted Saudi club Neom as a free agent after leaving Everton. (L’Equipe – in French), external

Liverpool are competing with Spanish giants for Adam Wharton, but could lose Harvey Elliott to Wolves, while Real Madrid forward Rodrygo’s agents have held talks with a trio of Premier League clubs…

Liverpool are set to rival Real Madrid and Barcelona for £60m-rated Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton, 21. (Daily Mail – subscription required, external)

A move for Chelsea’s French striker Christopher Nkunku, 27, could also be part of Liverpool’s summer plans. (Footmercato – in French, external)

Wolves are stepping up their efforts to sign Liverpool’s English midfielder Harvey Elliott, 22. (GiveMesport, external)

Premier League trio Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal have already held talks with the agents of Real Madrid’s 24-year-old Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who has fallen down the pecking order at the Bernabeu. (Fichajes – in Spanish, external)

Aston Villa are hoping to turn Axel Disasi’s loan move from Chelsea permanent in the summer, with the club already starting negotiations with the 27-year-old French defender. (Footmercato – in French, external)

Chelsea, meanwhile, have a shortlist of potential centre-back signings, including 22-year-old Englishman Jarrad Branthwaite of Everton, and England international Marc Guehi, 24, at Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports, external)

Aston Villa could bring Barcelona’s 25-year-old Spanish striker Ferran Torres back to the Premier League for a fee in the region of £42m during the summer transfer window. (Birmingham Mail, external)

Southampton are interested in Sturm Graz right-back Max Johnston, 21, with the Scotland international reportedly available for £3m. (Sky Sports, external)

Wrexham are considering a move for 26-year-old Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien – currently on loan at Swansea City – following their promotion to the Championship. (Football League World, external)