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If things were not already hard enough for Manchester United and Arsenal as they try to secure the signature of Sporting striker Viktor Gyökeres, it will not get any easier now Liverpool have entered the race for the Sweden international. The 27-year-old is thought to be unhappy with his club for pricing him out of a move. Sporting want around £85m to part with their main man and Liverpool will need to get close to that fee if they want to beat their rivals to him.
With Nottingham Forest not keen to sell Anthony Elanga, Newcastle are having to look elsewhere for a new winger. PSV’s Johan Bakayoko and Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi are the next couple of names on the shortlist as they weigh up their options.
After initial rejection from Bournemouth over a deal for the centre-back Illia Zabarnyi, Paris Saint-Germain are back in for the Ukrainian. The Cherries have already lost centre-back Dean Huijsen and on-loan goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. With Milos Kerkez set to join Liverpool in the coming days, they will not let Zabarnyi leave on the cheap and want around £55m for him.
Álvaro Morata loves a loan move, ticking off Juventus and Galatasaray in recent years. Having seen the sights of Turin and Istanbul, the next destination could be the delights of Como, where he can take in the lake and its surroundings. The Spanish striker will join the club from Serie A rivals Milan for the season after agreeing to team up with head coach Cesc Fàbregas.
Manchester City have turned down a £6.5m bid from Udinese for centre-back Callum Doyle. The defender has spent the past four years out on loan at Sunderland, Coventry, Leicester and Norwich, and feels it is time for a permanent exit from the Etihad Stadium.
Nikola Krstovic was Lecce’s top scorer last season and that could earn him a move to Leeds. A tally of 11 goals in 37 games helped keep Lecce in the league, putting his price tag up to €30m (£25.5m) – although it is suggested Leeds will not be paying that figure for the striker. Fellow promotees Sunderland are in talks to sign the Polish goalkeeper Marcin Bulka from Nice. The Black Cats are looking to invest this summer to give themselves a vague hope of staying in the Premier League, starting with Bulka.
The main reason behind this column is to explain which clubs want which players, but some footballers are wanted by absolutely no one. The person in question on this occasion is Manchester United left-back Tyrell Malacia, who the club are struggling to find any suitors for. He won the Eredivisie while on loan at PSV last season but his injury record is putting some off. So if any sporting directors are reading, please think about giving Malacia a good home.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that Kyle Walker-Peters will depart Southampton at the conclusion of his contract in a few days. The right-back is an enticing prospect as a free transfer, with Tottenham and West Ham lurking in the background.
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Finally, Galatasaray want to strengthen ahead of their Champions League campaign and they have an eye on Aston Villa duo Emiliano Martínez and Lucas Digne. The Turkish champions hope a combined fee of €27m (£23m) will be enough to lure them from the west Midlands to Istanbul.
