Summer Transfer Update Seven – Eze, Isak and Sancho all on the move!
The summer window always feels like theatre. Rumours flicker, agents posture, and clubs try to game-out not just their squads but also their spreadsheets. Some deals are already rubber-stamped, others are crawling towards the finish line, and a few are the kind of links that sound fanciful but still tell you something about the direction of travel.
This year’s transfer cast list has everything: strikers forcing moves, midfielders priced like blue-chip stocks, and wingers juggling between renaissance and redundancy. Here’s a snapshot.
What you need to know in the transfer world
Rumoured
Carlos Baleba to Manchester United doesn’t seem to be happening this summer
Brighton know their market. Carlos Baleba, still only 21, just completed a genuine breakout season. He started regularly, finished with three goals and an assist, and looked increasingly comfortable threading passes under pressure before snapping into tackles when possession flipped. His ball recoveries per game were among the best in the league for midfielders, and his ball-carrying into the middle third turned more heads than ever.
United’s logic is obvious. Slot him next to Kobbie Mainoo or Bruno and suddenly you have an engine that can close space, regain the ball and recycle quickly. But Brighton have set the tag at £110 million, deliberately mirroring what Chelsea spent on Moisés Caicedo. For United, boxed in by the Profit and Sustainability Rules, it is too hot to touch. Spending nine figures this late in the window risks sanctions.
So while the football fit is enticing, the numbers make it a non-starter. Next summer, when a bidding war inevitably materialises, United might join in. Right now, they simply cannot.
A change of scenery, part two: Jadon Sancho to Roma
Jadon Sancho’s 2024–25 campaign, on loan at Chelsea, steadied the graph. He played over 40 matches in all competitions, chipped in five goals and eight assists, and began to look a little more like the creative hub Dortmund fans once knew. His output leaned toward chance creation rather than relentless dribbling, threading through-balls and feeding runners from the half-spaces.
Roma could be the reset. Serie A’s tactical rigidity might help sharpen his decision-making. A role on the right in a 4-2-3-1 would let him step inside, combine with midfield and leave the flank for a full-back. It is still a risk, consistency has been his shadow since leaving Germany, but the raw numbers suggest a player with useful gears left. As rumours go, this one makes more football sense than it might appear at first glance.
Tottenham’s wide-forward Plan B and C: Savinho or Tyler Dibling
After missing out on Eberechi Eze, Spurs look set on bolstering their wide options. Two names keep surfacing: Savinho and Tyler Dibling.
Savinho, after a season in Manchester City colours, featured in 29 league games, produced eight assists, and looked electric whenever he isolated full-backs. His progressive carries per 90 put him among the league’s most active dribblers. Plug him into Ange Postecoglou’s set-up and you add a chance-creating outlet who can unpick low blocks.
Dibling is the other side of the coin. At 19, he featured in 33 Premier League matches for Southampton, scored his first senior goal in September, and showed flashes of raw pace and direct running. He is less polished, more developmental, but has that restless drive that Spurs have traditionally liked to nurture.
This is the classic hedge: one player ready to produce today, another who could bloom tomorrow. Tottenham might not get both, but the links reflect their twin-track strategy.
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly plotting a surprise transfer move for Manchester City winger Savinho, just one year after his £30.8 million arrival at the Etihad.
— 365Scores (@365Scores) August 8, 2025
The Brazilian talent, who joined City last summer, has caught the attention of Spurs’ recruitment team as they… pic.twitter.com/04sqYAITsV
A London shuffle that actually suits him: Raheem Sterling to Fulham
Sterling’s season at Arsenal was subdued. Twenty-eight appearances in all comps, one goal, five assists — the numbers of a contributor rather than a guaranteed starter. But take him over to west London to Marco Silva’s Fulham and you immediately see the appeal.
Fulham thrive when their wingers dart into the box, time far-post runs and attack early crosses. That’s Sterling’s bread and butter. Pair him with Antonee Robinson’s overlaps and you sketch out a left side that can hit fast and hit hard.
The stumbling block is salary. Chelsea want his wages off the books, but Fulham would need the terms softened. Footballing fit? It works. Financials? That is the only question.
Progressing
Alexander Isak to Liverpool
Isak’s 2024–25 season is one you frame. Twenty-three league goals, a mix of tight-angle finishes, cool penalties and drifting runs into the left half-space. Technically secure, quick over five yards, and ruthless once in stride. Liverpool’s courtship is obvious.
The controversy is what has made this rumour theatre. Newcastle turned down a £110 million bid. Isak then refused to play, trained separately, and accused the club of reneging on promises about a new contract.
If it lands, Isak becomes the centre-forward Liverpool have been craving: a finisher who also links play, presses with intelligence, and slides seamlessly into Arne Slot’s left-leaning build-up. It is the blockbuster saga of the summer.
🚨 According to Fabrizio Romano, Alexander Isak has rejected all renewal offers and is pushing for a move to Liverpool ❌
— 365Scores (@365Scores) August 14, 2025
The striker reportedly has no intention of joining the squad for the upcoming clashes against Aston Villa and Liverpool 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xbhVkXK4xF
Senne Lammens to Manchester United
The goalkeeper carousel keeps spinning at Old Trafford. With doubts over the depth behind André Onana, United have looked to Belgium. Senne Lammens, 23, started 40 matches for Royal Antwerp last season, kept nine clean sheets and showed real progress in shot-stopping under pressure. At nearly two metres tall, he is a commanding presence but also young enough to be moulded.
For United, it is the sort of sensible acquisition that balances the books. Not a galáctico, but a medium-term fix at a sensible price. The move is far enough along that it feels more than speculation.
Rasmus Højlund to Napoli
Højlund’s second season at United was streaky, to say the least. The raw attributes — speed in behind, left-foot finishing, willingness to press — are still enticing. But the United pecking order has shifted with the arrival of Benjamin Sesko, and minutes will be harder to find.
Napoli have come calling, with a loan deal including an obligation to buy at around £40 million. It is a way for United to recoup some of their £72 million outlay while letting the Dane reset in a league where strikers often blossom with more space and tactical clarity. For Napoli, it’s opportunism. For Højlund, it’s a potential rebirth.
Done Deals
Done: Eberechi Eze to Arsenal
Arsenal’s summer headliner. Eze arrives for a hefty £67.5 million fee, but you pay for profile. Across 2024–25, he produced eight goals and eight assists for Crystal Palace while carrying the ball into the final third more than almost any other English midfielder. He also scored the winning goal in the FA Cup Final against Manchester City. Clutch.
For Arteta, he is a Swiss army knife. He can play as a left-sided eight, stretch wide when Arsenal want five lanes of attack, or even slot false-nine in specific pressing schemes. His first touch and disguise on passes into the half-space give Arsenal a new layer against low blocks.
The steal of the summer! Eberechi Eze, who was already one step away from joining Tottenham, will join Arsenal instead! The Crystal Palace star preferred a move to Arteta’s side and the £60M transfer is all but confirmed 😱 pic.twitter.com/zP9IM7nUUV
— 365Scores (@365Scores) August 21, 2025
Done: Darwin Núñez to Al Hilal
It ended where it had to. Núñez’s Liverpool chapter will be remembered for streaks of chaos: moments of brilliance, moments of frustration. In 2024–25 he started just eight league games and scored five goals.
Al Hilal offered the out. He will be a star in the Saudi Pro League, where open games feed strikers with constant cutbacks. Liverpool clear the wage bill and bank a fee, Núñez gets to reboot as a main man, and everyone moves on.
Done: Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle
Newcastle’s midfield needed energy. Ramsey provides it. His knack is arriving late into the box and carrying past pressure with one touch.
The reported £40 million fee is market rate for a Premier League-proven midfielder in his prime years. For Newcastle, who may yet lose Isak, Ramsey ensures the midfield lines stay dynamic and vertical. A tidy, forward-looking piece of business.
The state of play
- Manchester United: Sensibly swerving Baleba’s £110 million tag under PSR pressure, while moving for Lammens and juggling Højlund’s future.
- Liverpool: Cash from Núñez redirected into the Isak chase — one move that could reshape their title defence.
- Tottenham: Savinho for today, Dibling for tomorrow — if they can close either, the wing options look far deeper.
- Arsenal: Paid a premium, but Eze’s carrying and creativity fit the squad perfectly.
- Fulham: Sterling is the rare rumour that actually balances all three sides of the deal.
- Newcastle: Ramsey in, Isak saga unresolved. Their season’s ceiling depends on how that story ends.
What to watch
Two clocks tick. One is financial: clubs are learning not to test PSR late in the window. The other is strategic: if Liverpool land Isak, do rivals panic-buy or hold? Spurs’ wide choice, United’s goalkeeper deal, Napoli’s striker search — all hinge on those dominos.
The thread running through? Clubs are buying output that can be banked immediately. Eze’s carries, Savinho’s assists, Lammens’ first full season in goal — they are numbers you can trust. The window may feel chaotic, but the logic is there if you read the right lines.
