Reportedly the victim of a violent robbery in his Catalonia home in the early hours of Monday morning, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is shaken but recovering after being hit in the face with an iron bar by one of four intruders who subjected the striker, his wife Alysha and their two children to a frightening ordeal. The raid occurred at a time when Aubameyang is believed to be mulling over a £26.5m move to Chelsea, where he wants a three-year contract which the club are reluctant to offer him at the age of 33.
Should Aubameyang sign, his arrival at Stamford Bridge would mean even fewer playing opportunities for Christian Pulisic, who is hankering after a loan move before the World Cup, but club owner Todd Boehly is understood to have told the USA international he’ll be staying despite interest from Manchester United and Newcastle. Currently halfway through a two-year loan spell at Milan, who are trying to offload him, Chelsea midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko could be heading for Tyneside. Newcastle are reported to be in “advanced talks” to sign the 28-year-old Frenchman, who also has an admirer in Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper.
Desperately in need of a forward, Wolves are on the verge of signing Sasa Kalajdzic from Stuttgart for £15.4m. Standing 6ft 7in in his socks, the lanky Austria international will cough for the Molineux medical staff later today. Wolves have secured his services despite interest from Brighton, Everton and Manchester United.
Crystal Palace and West Ham are both hopeful of taking Aaron Wan-Bissaka on loan but Manchester United are reluctant to let him leave Old Trafford even though he’s only played four minutes of first-team football this season. An absence of cover at right-back means Erik ten Hag has no intention of letting the 24-year-old go anywhere.
Fulham like the cut of Layvin Kurzawa’s jib and have apparently agreed a deal with Paris Saint-Germain to bring the French left-back to Craven Cottage. Marco Silva is also reported to be determined to sign the Dutch winger Justin Kluivert from Roma. PSG would rather like to sign N’Golo Kanté from Chelsea and with just one year left on his contract the London club might be prepared to let their pint-sized dynamo return to his home city.
“You have to consider everything that is on the table and on the table is his potential, on the table is his influence and his quality,” said Thomas Tuchel. “But on the table of course is his age, his salary and his injury rate. From there you build a whole picture and try to find a solution.”
Having spent last season on loan at Real Betis, with whom he won the Copa del Rey, Arsenal full-back Héctor Bellerín may join the Spanish side in a permanent deal. The 27-year-old has also been repeatedly linked with a move to Barcelona, who were believed to prefer Juan Foyth, but the Villarreal and Argentina right-back has just picked up an injury that could leave him sidelined for up to three months.
And finally, having conducted most of their summer transfer dealings uncharacteristically and commendably early, Tottenham Hotspur could make a late move for Atlético Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco. The Belgian has a release clause of around £51m but the Telegraph reports that the Spanish side may be prepared to let him go for considerably less.
