Liverpool are set to beat Arsenal to the signing of the Salford City teenager Will Wright, who scored more than 50 goals across age groups last season.
They will pay £200,000 for the 17-year-old, who is undergoing a medical. He will join the club’s youth set-up initially.
Arsenal had appeared to lead the chase for Wright after agreeing a deal at a higher price. Crucially, however, the player preferred to move to Merseyside, in part due to geographical reasons but also due to the attractiveness of Liverpool’s project, and so Salford were forced to accept a lower offer.
He made three appearances for Salford’s first team last season, including a brief cameo in an 8-0 FA Cup defeat by Manchester City.
Since 2014 Salford have been owned by members of Manchester United’s Class of 92, with Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville among their former shareholders. David Beckham and Gary Neville remain co-owners of the club, as leaders of a consortium who took over in May.
Meanwhile Lyon are interested in the Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton, 22, and have made contact with the Anfield club.
Morton, who helped England to win the European Under-21 Championship in the summer, has also attracted attention from West Ham United. However, they are looking to sell some of their present midfield options first. Braga, Ajax, Strasbourg and Ipswich Town have also been monitoring Morton.
Morton was instrumental in England’s U21 victory in Slovakia last month
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Lyon have tabled a bid for Morton, who is 23 in October, but it remains below Liverpool’s asking price, which would be in excess of £10million.
Elsewhere Chelsea have sold João Félix to the Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr in a deal worth £43.7million.
The transfer is a financial boost for Chelsea, who need to show a “positive transfer balance” as part of a Uefa settlement for breaching the European body’s financial rules.
The fee Chelsea have received from Al-Nassr means they are set to recoup much of the £45million they paid Atletico Madrid for Félix last summer. The west London club also received £5million from AC Milan as a loan fee for his six-month stay in Italy during the second half of last season.
Félix signed for Chelsea permanently last summer, but failed to make an impact
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Félix will join his fellow Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo, and the former Benfica manager Jorge Jesus, in Riyadh. The 25-year-old had attracted interest from Benfica, Félix’s first club, but Bruno Lage, their head coach, confirmed that the club needed the forward to take a pay cut to make a homecoming work.
Félix failed to make an impact at Stamford Bridge and did not fit into Enzo Maresca’s system. He made 12 appearances in the Premier League last season but of those only three were starts. In all competitions, he scored seven goals from 20 appearances. After a disappointing loan spell, AC Milan opted against pursuing a permanent deal.
Chelsea have now recouped close to £130million this summer, after the sales of Djordje Petrovic to Bournemouth (£25million), Kepa Arrizabalaga to Arsenal (£5million) and Noni Madueke also to Arsenal (£52million). Mathis Amougou, the 19-year-old midfielder, was also sold to Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg.
Félix scored three goals in 21 games for Milan during a poor loan spell
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They are also hoping to sell Raheem Sterling, Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi and Armando Broja, while Christopher Nkunku’s future remains uncertain, as does that of the striker Nicolas Jackson.
Chelsea have signed Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and João Pedro during this transfer window, while Dário Essugo, Kendry Páez, Mamadou Sarr and Estêvão Willian have completed transfers to join the club following pre-agreements. Sarr and Páez have joined Strasbourg on loan.
Chelsea are in talks to sign the RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons and the Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, with both deals requiring sales to progress before completion.
Trafford has been given the No1 shirt after completing his move from Burnley to Manchester City
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Goalkeeper James Trafford will wear the No1 shirt at Manchester City after the former academy graduate rejoined the club on a five-year deal.
The 22-year-old completed a £27million move from Burnley after City took advantage of a matching rights clause inserted in the transfer which took Trafford to Turf Moor in 2023 to hijack long-standing interest from Newcastle United.
The allocation of the No1 jersey adds a layer of intrigue to Trafford’s return. Ederson, who wears 31, came under pressure at times last season from Stefan Ortega, who is expected to leave this summer.
England coach Thomas Tuchel is keen for Trafford to kick on this season before the World Cup and, to do so, he will have to play regularly for Pep Guardiola’s side.
“Rejoining City is such a special and proud moment both for me and my family,” Trafford, who first joined City at the age of 12, said. “I always dreamed that one day I would be able to come back to Manchester City.”
Trafford is City’s sixth signing of the summer following the arrivals of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders, Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Cherki and Sverre Nypan.
Everton have completed the transfer of left back Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich for a fee of around £8million. The 19-year-old defender has signed a deal until the end of June 2029.
Aznou, a senior international with Morocco, is a youth product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy. He spent three years with the Spanish giants before heading to Munich in the summer of 2023. He will provide cover initially for Vitalii Mykolenko, but Everton believe he can challenge the Ukraine international.
Trossard has two years remaining on his Arsenal contract but is likely to leave
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Leandro Trossard is increasingly likely to leave Arsenal, having attracted interest from Borussia Dortmund and Premier League clubs. The sale of the Belgium attacker, 30, would help Arsenal fund moves for a left winger and Eberechi Eze, the Crystal Palace attacking midfielder. Trossard has two years left on his contract at Arsenal.
West Ham United have expressed an interest in signing Mateus Fernandes, the midfielder who was the player of the year at relegated Southampton last season. However Fernandes, 21, has interest from ten clubs including Atletico Madrid, who are a more likely destination than east London. The Portugal under-21 player made 36 league appearances for Southampton having joined them from Sporting Lisbon for about £15million last summer.