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Real Madrid are willing to reverse course and sanction an Arsenal transfer after their price was named, while a third major Man Utd signing is expected to go down to the wire – all in Friday’s transfer gossip.

REAL OPEN TO £42.5M ARSENAL TRANSFER

Arsenal’s pursuit of extra creativity has been well documented, and their search could end with Real Madrid after the Spanish giants laid out their demands.

Rising playmaker Emile Smith Rowe has rarely put a foot wrong when given opportunity to impress. The Gunners recently rewarded the academy graduate with a new contract, though aged 20, placing all their creative hopes on him would be a huge burden to carry.

As such, Arsenal have been tipped to make a splash, with Leicester’s James Maddison and former loan player Martin Odegaard both touted.

Convincing Leicester to sell Maddison to a rival who has consistently finished below them in recent years will be an uphill struggle. Instead, a permanent move for proven performer Odegaard appears a better bet.

The Norwegian shone on his short loan at the Emirates last year, and Real were understood to be open to giving him a chance to resurrect his career back at the Bernabeu under Carlo Ancelotti.

However, according to the Sun (citing ESPN), a deal with Arsenal could be reached for £42.5m.

They claim Real do believe Odegaard – who has recently attracted criticism for his pre-season friendly displays – has a future in Spain. However, they hold doubts over his ability to step up and ultimately take over where Luka Modric will leave off.

As such, they will greenlight a permanent transfer if Odegaard ‘asks to leave and a substantial offer is tabled.’

£42.5m is likely to get the job done, putting the ball now firmly in Arsenal’s court.

Steve Bruce’s most iconic moments for Man Utd, Hull City and Aston Villa

MAN UTD FORCED TO BE PATIENT

Kieran Trippier is being patient over the prospect of a “dream” move to Manchester United, knowing it could go down to the closing days of the summer window as his potential new club need to make sales to finance a possible £30m fee. (Telegraph)

Manchester City will offer fresh terms to a number of their star players, including a three-year contract for goalkeeper Ederson. (Daily Mail)

The makers of a new headset which can diagnose a concussion in just four minutes are looking to bring the technology into English football – it is currently being tested in France. (Daily Mail)

Liverpool are trying to offload some of their fringe players or face having to wait until next summer to land one of Jurgen Klopp’s chief targets – Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus. (Daily Mirror)

Arsene Wenger could make a shock return to the managerial ranks with reports in Switzerland making him favourite to take over their national team. (Daily Mirror)

LIVERPOOL STAR FACING PREMATURE EXIT

Kostas Tsimikas could be on his way out of Liverpool after only a year with Napoli reportedly in talks over a move for the Greece left-back. (Daily Star)

Jules Kounde is “buzzing” about the chance to sign for Chelsea. Transfer talks with his current club Sevilla are currently continuing. (Daily Star)

Arsenal are ready to listen to offers for 32-year-old Brazilian winger Willian as they try to reduce their wage bill. (Daily Star)

Chelsea have lowered their asking price for striker Tammy Abraham to around £35m to try and drum up interest from Arsenal, West Ham and Aston Villa. (The Sun)

Watford, Crystal Palace and Brentford are all keen on Falkenbergs star Matthew Garbett. (The Sun)

Sampdoria are yet to receive any concrete interest in Mikkel Damsgaard, who has been linked with Barcelona and Tottenham. (Daily Express)

Jose Mourinho wants to prove he has not lost the art of winning by bringing success back to Roma. (Guardian)

GREALISH FUTURE DETERMINED ‘WITHIN DAYS’

Aston Villa are to restart talks with England midfielder Jack Grealish, 25, next week. They are willing to offer him a new deal to ward off advances from Manchester City. (Express and Star)

Premier League champions City, however, have begun negotiations with Villa for the playmaker – and a decision about whether a deal for Grealish can be struck is expected to be made within days. (Guardian)

Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola has offered the Manchester United and France midfielder, 28, to Liverpool. (Le 10 Sport)

West Ham are preparing a £20m bid for Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma, 26, who is said to prefer a cross-London move rather than be used as a makeweight in a deal with Sevilla for fellow French defender Jules Kounde, 22. (Daily Mail)

Sevilla want a deal worth close to 80m euros (£68m) if they are to sell Kounde. The France international’s former club Bordeaux also negotiated a 20% sell-on clause when they sold him in 2019. (Goal)

Tottenham are likely to increase their bid for Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero. Atalanta have already turned down a player swap deal from Barcelona for the 23-year-old. (SportItalia, via Daily Mail)

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AND MORE TRANSFER GOSSIP

AC Milan have made Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech their top target as they look to bolster their attacking options. (Calciomercato – in Italian)

Aston Villa are preparing to begin talks with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez about a new long-term deal. His efforts in helping Argentina win the Copa America generated fresh interest in the 28-year-old. (90min)

Newcastle United have overtaken Aston Villa in the race to sign former England Under-21 defender Axel Tuanzebe, 23, on loan from Manchester United this summer. (Football Insider)

Neil Lennon feels Celtic’s hopes for the 2021-22 season were set back by their lengthy, and eventually failed, pursuit of Eddie Howe to become their new manager. (Daily Record)

Celtic could switch their focus to Watford’s Ben Foster if they miss out on Joe Hart. (Scottish Sun)

St Mirren midfielder James McGrath has emerged as a target for Watford. That is if the Hornets miss out on Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson. (Scottish Sun)

The post Paper Talk: Real Madrid ready to sanction Arsenal transfer for tempting fee; ‘dream’ Man Utd deal to go down to the wire appeared first on TEAMtalk.