Arsenal and Man Utd tracking same three midfield transfer targets
Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City are all expected to be in the market for midfielders in the summer, with their shopping lists looking remarkably similar.
As ever, the big Premier League clubs will make significant investment in their squads in the next transfer window and one position in particular is going to be a hot topic.
Manchester United are especially in need of a central midfielder, having tried and failed to sign one last summer and with Casemiro leaving the club at the end of the season.
Arsenal and Manchester City are in a less pressing situation, but are keen to strengthen in midfield ahead of another Premier League title challenge next season.
A trio of players already in the Premier League have been linked with all three heavyweights, which could see transfer battles break out in the coming months.
Elliot Anderson
First of those three players is Nottingham Forest and England star Elliot Anderson, who is hoping to start for the Three Lions alongside Declan Rice at the World Cup this summer.
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Sky Sports report that Anderson is in no rush to leave Forest and is focussed on their Premier League survival and the huge tournament at the end of the season.
Clearly if the Tricky Trees are relegated then they will find it very difficult to hang onto the 23-year-old, but if they stay up they will try to hang onto one of their most valuable assets.
Earlier this season, Nottingham Forest reportedly slapped a £75m price tag on Anderson and that could rise still further if he stars for England at the World Cup.
Adam Wharton
Anderson’s England teammate Adam Wharton is another attracting interest from plenty of clubs, with Liverpool and Real Madrid also thought to be interested in the Crystal Palace man, alongside Arsenal and Manchester United and City.
Wharton only turned 22 last month but has already established himself as an impressive Premier League performer and is likely to go to the World Cup with Thomas Tuchel’s side this summer.
Reports suggest that he is only interested in leaving the Eagles for a Champions League club, but clearly Manchester United, City and Arsenal are on course to secure top level European football next season.
Still under contract until 2029, Palace would want at least £80m for the man they signed from Blackburn Rovers in 2024.
Sandro Tonali
The third Premier League star being tracked by the Red Devils, Gunners and Cityzens is Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali.
Juventus showed an interest in him in January, while Arsenal were also thought to be weighing up a move but it never amounted to anything.
Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, has made no secret of the fact that he sees his client moving to a team regularly challenging for titles.
‘Exactly, that was the aim from the moment he went to England: to try and turn him into a star player,’ Riso said when asked of a potential move to a team in Premier League title races.
‘I think he’s the Italian player with one of the highest values in the world.’
Riso added: ‘Everyone is waiting for the World Cup, then a thousand scenarios will unfold, but it all kicks off after the World Cup.’
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