Arsenal are now closing in on a deal to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United, but they are just getting started with their summer recruitment. The Gunners are said to be very close to reaching an agreement with Newcastle, and Guimaraes will be a vital addition to the midfield, helping Mikel Arteta establish a truly elite midfield tandem between Declan Rice and Guimaraes.

The Gunners are also said to be working on a left-winger deal, and it’s clear Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr is their prime target, but that is totally dependent on the Brazilian deciding not sign a new contract with Los Blancos, which remains in the balance.

But Arteta could yet sign another player amid an injury concern to start the new season.

Arsenal could move for a centre-back

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal could move for a new centre-back amid concerns surrounding William Saliba to start the season. Romano told Time2Play: “Arsenal is easily set to be one of the busiest clubs in the Premier League. The reigning English champs have already bagged Christos Tzolis to replace [Leandro] Trossard on the wing, but they’re nowhere near done.

“The plan is to stack another winger onto Arteta’s squad, and they might even grab a new centre-back given Saliba’s lingering back issues.”

Saliba underwent surgery on his back after the World Cup, where he exited at the semi-final stage following a defeat to Spain. The centre-back will be carefully managed by Arsenal upon his return, given the sensitive nature of the injury, and that will be a big blow for Arsenal.

Arsenal already have centre-back options

Stephane Mahe via Reuters

The Gunners have relied heavily on the Saliba-Gabriel Magalhaes tandem, but they will likely have to lean on others, like Cristhian Mosquera, Jurrien Timber or others to fill the void until Saliba is fully cleared to play, and we don’t yet know when that will be.

Fortunately for Arteta, he typically signs defenders who can play at centre-back and full-back, so Arsenal have a wealth of defenders who can play in the middle. It’s for that reason it is a surprise to see reports that Arsenal could sign a new centre-back, and it would be a big surprise to see them spend a significant fee to get one.

Another up-and-coming centre-back signing or a veteran signing for cover would make more sense, but again, any signing would likely go down badly with players like Timber, Riccardo Calafiori or Mosquera, who are not likely to start the season as starters, but all are more than capable of playing there.

Everton are said to have a back-up plan in case they can’t get hold of Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston this summer. The Toffees are pushing hard to land Johnston, who impressed after coming back from a serious injury last season, helping Celtic to a league and cup double, and he then went on to impress with Canada at the World Cup.

David Moyes has called Martin O’Neill to inform his old friend of his interest in the right-back, and there has been talk of a £15million bid, but Celtic might just have a bigger fee in mind, given Johnston’s importance to the team and the fact they will welcome big money for other players this summer, meaning they don’t have to, and certainly don’t want to sell.

That’s not to say Johnston is out of reach for Everton, but they may have to pay above £15million to get a job done, and in the meantime, Johnston has been in action for Celtic, on Monday night, so a deal does not seem to be very close, and the Toffees are said to be lining up an alternative.

Molina earmarked as Johnston alternative.

According to according to Italian journalist Luca Cerchione, Everton hold interest in Atletico Madrid right-back Nahuel Molina amid their ongoing Johnston chase. Roma are also said to be interested, and the Italian giants have reportedly submitted a €15million bid, and Gianluca Di Marzio has followed up that report with a claim of his own.

He says Roma have offered €15million plus bonuses for Molina, but their main option is Givairo Read, and they are hoping Feyenoord drop their €25million plus add-ons asking price, and if they do not, then a deal for Read will not be possible, leaving them to sign Molina.

The Argentina World Cup star is expected to move on from Atleti this summer, and it’s likely Everton will only circle back to him if they don’t sign Johnston and he remains available. But for now, Johnston does appear to be the primary option.

It’s easy to see why, too, with Johnston an incredibly reliable and hard-working character, while Molina has been charged by FIFA for allegedly punching a Spain player after Argentina’s World Cup final defeat.

Simeone a big fan of hard-working Molina

Speaking in 2024, Atletico boss Diego Simeone said of Molina: “Molina is a player who is very important for us, who has many, many good things, others to improve, like all footballers. When a player has shown himself to be so important for us, with his runs, goals, crosses and work, it’s normal that when he goes through a difficult moment the criticism appears.”

He added: “Nahuel Molina is a noble and hard-working boy. When he gets through this period, he will give us the good things that he has.”

Simeone said this summer: “Molina, Musso, Robin… They have the characteristics of the players we need in our squad. About Nahuel, I’m very clear that his best football comes in transitions, from the middle of the pitch forward.”

Tottenham Hotspur now have a ‘very good chance’ of signing Manchester City winger Savinho, with Fabrizio Romano issuing a new update on the club’s pursuit of the Brazilian, as well as naming another new target.

Tottenham continued an impressive run of form in pre-season by beating Chelsea 2-1 in the Sydney Super Cup on Saturday, as their half-a-dozen new summer signings continue to get to grips with life in a white shirt.

Roberto De Zerbi previously claimed that Spurs’ summer business was 60% done, which suggested that there could still be four new additions arriving before the deadline next month.

However, the Italian has since claimed that he hopes for two or three more arrivals by September 1, all of which look to be attacking players given the north London outfit are being linked with moves for two wingers and a striker as things stand.

While the two wingers look nailed on given the strong interest in signing both Savinho and Cody Gakpo from Liverpool, the likelihood is that the striker signing will depend on either Dominic Solanke or Richarlison leaving the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the latter considered the most likely to leave.

Spurs will be hoping to complete a deal for long-term target Savinho sooner rather than later.

Romano: Savinho Has ‘Very Good Chance’ of Joining Tottenham

via Reuters

Tottenham have been trying to land Savinho for most of this summer, after also trying the land the Brazil international 12 months ago too.

Spurs failed to convince Man City to let the 22-year-old, described as ‘extraordinary’ by Pep Guardiola, go in 2025, but they are more hopeful of finding an agreement this time around after the forward’s minutes were more restricted last term.

Romano has issued a new update on the north London outfit’s pursuit of Savinho, saying there is a ‘very good chance’ of the deal happening, and that he isn’t expecting any surprises in regard to it potentially falling through.

The Italian journalist also revealed potential interest in Chelsea winger Pedro Neto, should they fail to sign Savinho.

He said on his YouTube channel on Tuesday evening:

“The priority, the number one, two, and three target remains Savinho, and I think at the end of the summer transfer window, Savinho has very, very good chances to join Tottenham.

“So I don’t expect any surprises here. Eventually, if the deal is not happening for Savinho, Pedro Neto could become an option for Tottenham Hospur. So that could be an interesting situation to follow.”

Gold Issues Update on Nicolas Jackson to Tottenham

via Reuters

It was only on Tuesday morning that the Daily Mail claimed that Tottenham were considering a summer move for another Chelsea player in Nicolas Jackson.

The Senegalese striker is being heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer, with Aston Villa understood to be very keen to reunite him with Unai Emery, although they may have to pay his £65m asking price to do given they are unable to loan both he and Alejandro Garnacho in the same window.

Reliable Football London correspondent Alasdair Gold quickly quashed the talk of Jackson moving across London, claiming that Spurs are unlikely to explore a move for the 25-year-old.