Monday News (includes West Ham)
Posted: 02 Feb 2026, 10:05
BBC
Juventus have made an enquiry about Everton's Beto, but the Toffees are reluctant to let the Guinea-Bissau striker, 28, leave because he is one of only two senior forwards in the squad. (Talksport), external
Juventus are close to a deal for Manchester City's 19-year-old English striker Justin Oboavwoduo. (Sky Sports Italia - in Italian), external
Tottenham, Leeds United and Sunderland are monitoring Real Madrid's 19-year-old Brazil forward Endrick, who is impressing on loan at Lyon. (Fichajes), external
Manchester United will not be able to prevent 28-year-old England striker Marcus Rashford from staying at Barcelona if the Spanish club offer 30m euros (£26m), under the terms of his loan deal. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external
Nottingham Forest are looking at other targets as their approach for Inter Milan's Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi, 26, is unlikely to succeed. (Sky Sports), external
Celtic have rejected a £14m offer from Nottingham Forest for 22-year-old Belgium midfielder Arne Engels. (Mail), external
Liverpool are interested in Inter Milan's 29-year-old Netherlands wing-back Denzel Dumfries. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Liverpool's Hungary midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, 25, says his future is not in his hands as talks continue over a new contract. (Athletic - subscription), external
Chelsea are monitoring Nantes' 18-year-old French defender Tylel Tati. (L'Equipe), external
Leicester City and Birmingham City are two of six Championship clubs who have contacted Newcastle United about 32-year-old English defender Jamaal Lascelles. (Sky Sports), external
Brighton are in negotiations with Marseille over a return for 25-year-old on-loan Denmark midfielder Matt O'Riley. (Athletic - subscription)
Sky Paper Talk
Premier League
Arsenal are weighing up making a Deadline Day signing after Mikel Merino's injury setback - talkSPORT
Dominik Szoboszlai says his future "is not in my hands" as talks continue with Liverpool over a new contract - The Athletic
Juventus have made an enquiry over Everton striker Beto - talkSPORT
Fulham have reached PSV's asking price with a third and final offer for Ricardo Pepi - The Sun
Chelsea made an offer of €30m (£26m) for Nantes defender Tylel Tati. FC Nantes rejected the initial approach - L'Equipe
SCOTLAND
Hansa Rostock sporting director Amir Shapourzadeh has sensationally quashed any talk of striker Ryan Naderi joining Rangers before Monday's transfer deadline - Scottish Sun
WSL
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said she would be "happy to go" if the club's hierarchy believed she was not capable of correcting the team's poor form after their 5-1 Women's Super League defeat to Manchester City on Sunday -The Athletic
OTHER
Jude Bellingham will be out injured for approximately a month. That means he'll miss the tie against Benfica and at least four league matches - Marca
Former Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin has left Mexican side Club America by mutual consent after claiming that his children were the victims of racist abuse - The Independent
Saudi dealmakers are considering a surprise transfer that would see Karim Benzema move from Al Ittihad to Al Hilal - talkSPORT
NFL
The Arizona Cardinals plan to hire Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as their next head coach, a league source told - The Athletic
RUGBY UNION
England are preparing an all-Northampton centre pairing of Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman for their Six Nations opener against Wales on Saturday - Daily Telegraph
Guardian Rumour mill
Michael Butler
Supporters of acute accents rejoice! Rennes’ Jérémy Jacquet is on his way to Liverpool after the Premier League champions won the tug of war with just about every other side in England for the 20-year-old centre back. After missing out on Marc Guéhi for just £20m, Liverpool will pay £55m up front (plus £5m in add-ons) and became the preferred bidders with the France Under-21 international not joining until the summer.
Speaking of young defenders from France, Chelsea have been linked with Tylel Tati, who surprisingly doesn’t play for Strasbourg but Nantes. The 18-year-old would cost around £26m (€30m).
Jérémy Jacquet in action for Rennes against Monaco
In a turnaround for the ages, Manchester United are now apparently keen to recall Marcus Rashford from his loan at Barcelona – the England international scored again at the weekend – but can’t prevent the Spanish side activating the £26m buyout clause. The trigger has not yet been pulled, so we may have to wait for the summer to know the 28-year-old’s future.
Joshua Zirkzee has said he “can’t wait” to play under Michael Carrick at United but hasn’t yet played a minute of football under the interim manager and could yet be a late departure from Old Trafford. Moves back to Italy and Everton have been mooted – if the Dutchman does join the latter then that could open the door for Beto to join Juventus, who look like they have missed out on Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The Crystal Palace striker looks like he is off to Milan in a deal worth between £30m and £40m. That’s decent money for a man that turns 29 in June, but only a viable sale for the south London club because they are closing on a replacement. Jørgen Strand Larsen has had a stinker of a season – scoring just one league goal for Wolves, in an October home defeat to Burnley no less – but Palace have had a £48m bid for the Norway international accepted, which is more than double the fee that Wolves paid Celta Vigo last summer. Yikes!
The top five moves of the 2026 January transfer window – video
Having missed out on a deadline-day move to Fulham in the summer, Tyrique George looks poised to join Everton on a loan deal with an option for the Toffees to buy. That would be a smart acquisition for Everton, particularly with Jack Grealish’s injury troubles.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has joined Ajax in a permanent deal after the Gunners cut short his loan at Nottingham Forest, who have seen a £14m bid for Arne Engels rejected by Celtic. Brighton’s Brajan Gruda has returned to the Bundesliga for six month, with RB Leipzig pouncing to take the former Mainz midfielder on loan.
Standard
Axel Disasi: West Ham close in on first Deadline Day deal as Chelsea star books medical
Frenchman has toiled in Blues’ ‘bomb squad’ this season
On the move: Axel Disasi Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Sam Tabuteau|Dom Smith
West Ham have scheduled a medical for Axel Disasi ahead of a proposed straight loan move from Chelsea.
Disasi has been frozen out of the Chelsea first team this season, despite training with them at times, and his exit during this winter window was always expected.
While Chelsea always preferred a permanent sale, they do not hold all the cards and Standard Sport understands West Ham are now hoping to close a deal to sign the Frenchman on a six-month loan.
They are understood to have scheduled a medical for Disasi to take place on the morning of Deadline Day.
Axel Disasi has endured a topsy-turvy ride since joining Chelsea from AS Monaco in a deal worth €45 million in August 2023. The 27-year-old was solid in his debut season, but he was not consistent enough to become an undisputed first-choice starter for the Blues. The issues have exacerbated in the last 18 months, as he has barely featured for Chelsea and struggled during his loan spell with Aston Villa for the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
However, the French defender remained at Chelsea beyond last summer, and he has not played a single game this season. So, it is hardly surprising that Disasi has no future at Stamford Bridge, as the West London giants have been ready to cash in on him at the earliest opportunity. His stock remains high, with West Ham United and AC Milan among the prospective suitors vying for his signature in the final week of the winter transfer window.
What next?
AC Milan’s interest in Axel Disasi made sense. The Serie A giants have been scouring the market for a centre-back heading into the winter transfer window, as Massimiliano Allegri wants more resources in his squad to contest for the Serie A title. Disasi has thus emerged as a target for AC Milan.
As for West Ham United, the Hammers are eager to bolster their defensive unit by signing a centre-back in the winter transfer window, as Max Kilman faces an uncertain future at the London Stadium. Additionally, Jean-Clair Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos have been inconsistent at West Ham. Several candidates have thus emerged on the East London club’s wishlist, with Disasi also a viable target.
The latest report has brought good news for West Ham, as they are on the verge of signing the 27-year-old Frenchman on loan from Chelsea before the winter transfer window shuts down. It will be interesting to see if Disasi can resurrect his fortunes and help West Ham avoid relegation from the Premier League.