Chelsea to hold midfielder swoop talks ‘in coming days’, Tottenham ‘looked’ at late Crystal Palace raid

All the latest transfer news and speculation from north and west London.
(Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)(Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
(Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Both Chelsea and Tottenham ended the transfer market as two of the Premier League’s most eye-catching recruiters.

Between them, the European hopefuls brought in a whole host of top tier talent, and with plenty of other mooted deals falling by the wayside besides.

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But as the dust settles on months of wheeling and dealing, details continue to emerge about the deals that did go through, and the ones that might have been.

With that in mind, here is Saturday’s transfer speculation...

Alvarez deal still possible

It is still possible that Chelsea could complete a deal for Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez, according to Dutch journalist Mike Verweij.

The Blues were linked with a late move for the Mexican international, and are understood to have bid around £43 million for his services.

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The player himself is also said to have been keen on the transfer, but Ajax resisted any potential departure, and he ultimately ended up staying in Amsterdam.

But according to Verweij, there is still the possibility that the midfielder could join up with Thomas Tuchel’s side in January.

As quoted by Voetbal Primeur, he said: “Now he just wants to make that transfer to Chelsea.

“If a club comes along that is willing to pay fifty million euros for you and want to give you ten million euros net per year… He wanted to go. He was quite broken.

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“A winter transfer is possible. There will be talks with Chelsea in the coming days.”

Spurs eyed Zaha swoop

Tottenham wanted to complete a deal for one more forward in the closing stages of the transfer window, and “looked into” a potential swoop for Crystal Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha, according to The Athletic.

Spurs conducted most of their business earlier in the window, but were linked with a possible move for Leeds United winger Dan James as Thursday’s deadline approached.

But this latest update suggests that Zaha was also a target, although nothing came of their exploratory interest.

United board vetoed Ziyech

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Manchester United chiefs denied new manager Erik ten Hag the opportunity to sign Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech this summer, according to the Manchester Evening News.

The former Ajax attacker was heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge, and at one stage was touted as a potential target for Tottenham too.

But an update from the MEN’s chief football writer Samuel Luckhurst has suggested that the board at Old Trafford put pay to any aspirations of luring the 29-year-old away from the capital.

He said: “Apart from the United board vetoing an approach for the Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech (only regarded as a back-up option), Ten Hag enjoyed a near-fully supportive first window as the club broke the £200m barrier in a summer for the first time.”