Crystal Palace tipped to chase £40m ex-Aston Villa midfielder as rival for striker target emerges

It’s three days until the first Premier League game of the 2024/25 campaign gets underway with Manchester United hosting Fulham at Old Trafford.

There is, however, still plenty of movement expected in the ongoing transfer window with the potential departure of Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi; Arsenal’s hopeful recruitment of Mikel Merino and an out-and-out striker as well as Aaron Ramsdale’s 2024/25 destination all yet to be determined.

As the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Crystal Palace all prepare for their opening day clashes against Wolves, Manchester City and Brentford respectively, here is the latest news from around the league...

Crystal Palace tipped to chase ex-Aston Villa star

Crystal Palace are said to be watching the transfer situation around Chelsea star Carney Chukwuemeka this summer with reports from the South London Press indicating the Eagles could soon make a play to sign the 20-year-old.

The midfielder reportedly has a release clause in the region of £40 million but it is thought that with the sale of Eagles defender Marc Guehi to Newcastle expected in the coming days, Oliver Glasner’s side could well have the cash to reinvest into the squad.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who can also play on the left wing, was a part of Aston Villa’s youth academy and could well replace the void left by the Bayern Munich-bound Michael Olise.

The Eagles sporting director Dougie Freedman is said to be an admirer of Chukwuemeka who, not only suffering an injury-hit campaign with Chelsea last season, but is also expected to struggle for game time at Stamford Bridge after the new Blues boss Enzo Maresca brought in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Pedro Neto this summer transfer window, adding to an already bloated squad.

Rivals for striker target emerge

Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is reportedly attracting interest from Bournemouth, despite the ongoing links with Ligue 1’s Marseille. The Cherries are now seeking a new striker after their star forward Dominic Solanke signed with Tottenham Hotspur last week in a deal worth up to £65 million.

Now, according to the Evening Standard, the 25-year-old Arsenal academy graduate is an option the club are looking at, along with Porto’s Evanilson.

The Gunners have long been open to selling Nketiah this summer and while negotiations had been underway with Marseille, reports in France now state that the French side are set to swoop for Lens forward Elye Wahi after failing to agree a fee with the Emirates club. Arsenal had been hopeful of receiving up to £50m for the former Hale End graduate but a figure closer to £25m is expected.

Nketiah had previously attracted interest from Crystal Palace but it is now the south coast side who are the latest to have registered their intent as the former Leeds loanee looks for a move that can offer him more pitch time. Nketiah still has three years left on his contract, which is thought to be worth around £100,000-a-week and has made nearly 120 Premier League appearances for the N7 side, scoring 19 league goals in the process.