Paul Pogba, Kieran Tierney, Wilfried Zaha: Transfers state of play ahead of Deadline Day
Wednesday 7 August 2019 18:16, UK
With the summer transfer window closing on Thursday at 5pm, Sky Sports looks at the state of play of some of the biggest transfers still to get over the line...
It's nearly time. After all the pre-season friendlies and tours to Asia and America, the 20 Premier League clubs are now finalising those last remaining deals to bolster their squads ahead of the new campaign.
The deadline is looming - but there's still time to wrap up some of the biggest transfers that have been developing over the summer.
Here, Sky Sports News reporters look at five big names who are still in limbo, explaining what's happened so far, why it hasn't happened yet, and the likelihood of it happening before 5pm on Thursday...
Kieran Tierney
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth: "Arsenal have been after the Celtic left-back all summer. Why have they not signed him yet? Simple - money.
"Arsenal's first bid of £15m was rejected out of hand by Celtic, who wanted £25m. The Gunners returned, and offered £25m - but Celtic rejected them once again, as they were not happy with the deal proposed of £18m up front, with the rest depending on Champions League qualification.
"Celtic boss Neil Lennon then declared that was the end of the matter, before softening his stance soon after. He said Celtic had contingency plans and he fully expected Arsenal to come back in for the player.
"And Arsenal continue to push for Tierney. Those close to the deal are telling us they expect a resolution and Tierney to become an Arsenal player before the 5pm deadline on Thursday."
Likelihood of Tierney joining Arsenal: 9/10
Romelu Lukaku
Sky Sports News reporter Paul Gilmour: "The reason Romelu Lukaku is still a Manchester United player is essentially because Inter Milan has been unable to meet the asking price, while Paulo Dybala's failure to agree terms at Old Trafford meant a premature end to Juventus negotiations.
"One source has told us Inter Milan have had a new £68m bid including add-ons rejected, which hasn't helped Lukaku's mood. Juventus has not fully given up either but without Dybala, it's thought it would be a difficult deal to get done.
"Lukaku is desperate to leave Old Trafford because he feels he hasn't been treated fairly since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became manager, and equally United are keen to offload.
"The club, so far, have not been prepared to stray from their valuation of around the £79m paid to Everton for the Belgian in 2017, so the key question is - will Lukaku's current stance put pressure on the club to accept?"
Likelihood of Lukaku leaving: 8/10
Wilfried Zaha
Sky Sports News reporter Michael Bridge: "Palace would only consider selling Zaha if a bid of around £80m was made by a club, and the agreement was that ideally it would be a club in the Champions League. Arsenal went in for him, but obviously they're not in the Champions League, and they had a £40m bid rejected.
"Then there was the Africa Cup of Nations, so it was relatively quiet - but after that, Palace's stance didn't change. Everton came in with a £55m bid but their interest wasn't welcomed - the second bid including Cenk Tosun was rebuffed, as Palace aren't interested in Tosun.
"Zaha came back this week in training; he trained fully yesterday with the team. Roy Hodgson hasn't completely ruled him out yet to face Everton - funnily enough - on Saturday. But it would take a ridiculous bid for them to even consider selling him now, given there's only one day left and nobody went even near his evaluation. It's too late to replace him.
"It's Deadline Day, anything can happen, and Everton are a serious club this summer. However, it would have to take a serious bid for Palace to even think about selling Zaha. At the moment, I just can't see it happening."
Likelihood of Zaha leaving: 3/10
Paul Pogba
Sky Sports News reporter James Cooper: "I think Paul Pogba will be a Manchester United player on Sunday, lining up potentially with the captain's armband if Ashley Young doesn't play. Pogba himself would prefer to be playing his football elsewhere next season, probably at Real Madrid more than anywhere else, but economics come into play and United won't even look at anything below the £150m mark.
Live Renault Super Sunday
"It would be interesting to see whether there was an agreement like there was with Cristiano Ronaldo, in that they might have promised him that they will let him go next summer if he stays another year. In his defence, unlike Lukaku, he's been exemplary in his behaviour on and off the pitch.
"I don't think anyone can afford £150m for him plus his wages. It would have taken something extraordinary for him to leave Manchester United - he's something of a luxury in the eyes of teams like Barcelona or Real Madrid. These deals take a long time to sort out, and even if Real came up with a huge figure for him on Deadline Day, getting that deal done quickly would leave a major headache for United to find a replacement.
"So all roads are leading to Paul Pogba being a Manchester United player against Chelsea on Super Sunday."
Likelihood of Pogba staying: 9/10
Bruno Fernandes
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth: "There have been talks between the two clubs - the representatives of Tottenham met with Sporting Lisbon in the last week enquiring into the possibility of buying Bruno Fernandes.
"On Wednesday, Bruno Fernandes' agent held a meeting with the Sporting Lisbon president and was told he would not be sold unless a club paid €70m (£64.4m) up front. It's thought that what Spurs were prepared to pay did not meet Sporting's evaluation.
"As it stands, Tottenham have said 'thanks, but no thanks'. It's now going to depend on whether Sporting go back to Spurs lowering their request and try and compromise with them, but at the moment they want those €70m.
"Spurs are focusing on other targets, namely Real Betis' Giovani Lo Celso - they could get both, you can't rule that out, but as of now, I think that the likelihood of the deal going through is very low. But if the deal for Lo Celso or Dybala falls through, there will be more chances it will."
Likelihood of Fernandes joining Tottenham: 3/10
Follow Deadline Day on Sky Sports
It's Transfer Deadline Day for the Premier League and Championship on Thursday - and Sky Sports will be bringing you all the latest news on who your club is signing.
Start your day with Deadline Day Breakfast (6am) ahead of a special Good Morning Transfers show (9am), with Deadline Day - The Countdown (4pm) taking you to the 5pm deadline. The Transfer Show - Deadline Day at 6pm will analyse the big moves before Deadline Day at Ten rounds up all the transfer headlines.
As well as tuning into Sky Sports News, don't miss a thing with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
