Alexander Isak changed the tone of his transfer saga late on Tuesday night with an explosive statement, accusing Newcastle United of “broken promises” and “lost trust” with Liverpool still strongly linked with a move for the Swedish striker.
The Reds’ offer of £110m fell well short of Newcastle’s valuation with the deadline for the transfer window now fast approaching, but the player has three more years on his contract, retaining some leverage for Eddie Howe’s side.
The Premier League champions are still linked with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, too, with the England defender a year away from becoming a free agent, though the FA Cup holders have stood firm on a valuation, despite the difficult situation.
Arne Slot’s side have the funds to buy again, with the boost of a £25m sale of Ben Doak to Bournemouth. While Eberechi Eze’s potential move to Tottenham Hotspur also dominates the closing stretch of the window, though the deal is edging closer with Palace negotiating a suitable payment structure in a deal worth more than £55m.
Manchester United continue to endure frustration with their goalkeeper situation, and could rival Manchester City for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Follow all the latest transfer news, gossip, rumours and done deals in The Independent’s live blog below:
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Transfer news live
- Newcastle respond to explosive Isak statement
- Liverpool set deadline over Isak pursuit
- Tottenham edge closer to Eberechi Eze deal with Crystal Palace – but key obstacle remains
- Spurs also line up Savinho alternative
- Wrexham close in on £8m deal for Man City starlet
Kiwior in talks to exit Arsenal
11:25
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Luke Baker
Some Arsenal transfer news, with defender Jakub Kiwior in talks with Porto after a move to the Portuguese club.
The 25-year-old Pole is seemingly surplus to requirements at the Emirates after the arrival of Christian Mosquera this summer and the proposed deal is a loan with an obligation to buy.
According to Sky Sports News, the total package would be more than £23m, including the loan fee, which would represent a decent return for the Gunners who paid around £20m for Kiwior in 2023.
DONE DEAL! Bailey leaves Villa
11:11
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Luke Baker
Leon Bailey has left Aston Villa for a season-long loan with Roma.
Villa confirmed that attacker Bailey has moved to the Serie A side, who have an option to permanently sign him for£19m.
The 28-year-old joined Villa for £25m from Bayer Leverkusen back in 2021 and scored 22 goals for the club in 144 appearances. His best season was 2023-24 when he netted 14 times in 52 games in all competitions.
Aston Villa can confirm Leon Bailey has joined AS Roma on loan.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 20, 2025
The Fifa rule that hands Isak transfer leverage over Newcastle
10:56
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Lawrence Ostlere
The ugly Alexander Isak transfer saga continues to drag on, with a now public back and forth between the striker and Newcastle United, as he tries to force through a move to Liverpool.
But there is a little-known Fifa rule on transfers which could play into Isak’s hands and provide him some leverage in the dispute.
Read more:
Leverkusen hijack Dortmund's Echeverri deal
10:41
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Lawrence Ostlere
An interesting saga in the Bundesliga, where Dortmund appeared to have sewn up a loan deal for Manchester City wonderkid Claudio Echeverri, only for Leverkusen to step in at the last moment and whisk him away.
Echeverri was signed by City two years ago but returned to boyhood club River Plate on loan and continued to thrive in Argentina, by all accounts.
He has made a few appearances for City – in the FA Cup final, the Premier League and the Club World Cup, scoring in the latter, but Pep Guardiola now wants the 19-year-old to earn some game time elsewhere, and there are few better places than the Bundesliga to learn your trade.
BREAKING | Claudio Echeverri to Bayer 04 Leverkusen – DONE DEAL!
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 19, 2025
Hijack complete. Dortmund submitted an official offer, but #BVB have now been informed that #Echeverri will join B04. Full agreement between Leverkusen/ManCity following the prior verbal agreement with the 19… pic.twitter.com/DwYBBQUaJ6
El Khannouss a key part of Eze's Spurs transfer
10:27
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Lawrence Ostlere
A key domino in this summer’s transfer window is Bilal El Khannouss. The 21-year-old won a bunch of young player awards in Belgium before moving to Leicester City, and did well last season in the Premier League despite the club’s relegation.
Now Crystal Palace have identified El Khannouss as a replacement for Eberechi Eze, and they have “made contact” with Leicester, reports the Athletic. If the Moroccan midfielder moves, that would pave the way for Eberechi Eze to depart Selhurst Park for Tottenham in a deal worth around £60m.
Leipzig contact Chelsea over Nkunku
10:12
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Lawrence Ostlere
More on Christopher Nkunku, whose potential move to Bayern Munich has stalled, as mentioned below, per the Guardian.
Well, the Athletic reports that RB Leipzig have started talks with Chelsea over bringing Nkunku back to the club where he spent four seasons before moving to Stamford Bridge.
The deal is “not close yet” but Nkunku is prepared to join Leipzig.
Villa exploring Jackson deal
09:47
,
Lawrence Ostlere
Aston Villa are looking into the possibility of signing Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, according to the Telegraph, but only if the Blues’ £60m price tag drops significantly before deadline day.
Villa do not have as much PSR headroom as some of their Premier League rivals, having missed out on qualification for the Champions League this season, although the sale of Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle has eased some of that pressure.
The club can spend but it sounds like Chelsea will need to soften their stance on Jackson if he is to move on.
West Ham and Wolves compete for Barcelona starlet
09:32
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Jack Rathborn
Should West Ham get Alvarez off the books, then a deal for Barcelona’s Marc Casado could materialise, reports Marca.
Wolves are also keen on the Spain midfielder, though the 21-year-old is reluctant to leave the Camp Nou.
The Premier League duo will negotiate with the Catalan giants in a bid to bring the defensive midfielder to England and offer regular first team football.
West Ham set to sanction Alvarez loan deal
09:21
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Jack Rathborn
West Ham could sanction a move for Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez to Fenerbahce on loan.
The Hammers could then free up some wages and strengthen before the deadline.
Talksport reports the 27-year-old could leave before the deadline with Graham Potter desperately searching for improvements after a rocky start to the season.
Cristian Romero ends transfer speculation by signing new Tottenham contract
09:10
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Jack Rathborn
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has ended uncertainty over his future by signing a new long-term contract at the club.
The 27-year-old Argentina centre-back, who had been heavily linked with a move to Atletico Madrid earlier this summer, was named as Spurs' new skipper on Wednesday following the departure of Son Heung Min.
Romero had entered the final two years of his previous deal, but has put pen to paper on new terms running until 2029. This news will be a major boost to new Tottenham boss Thomas Frank, who fielded several questions on the topic of Romero's commitment in Friday's press conference - days after he named him captain.
Rodrigo Muniz set to stay at Fulham
09:00
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Jack Rathborn
Brazil forward Rodrigo Muniz is set to stay at Fulham with his move to Atalanta now off.
The Cottagers knocked back an offer of £35m for the 24-year-old, who scored the equaliser against Brighton to earn a point during the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
But the Serie A club are unlikely to return with an improved offer, reports Fabrizio Romano.
Forest near Douglas Luiz deall to bring Brazilian back to Premier League
08:51
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Jack Rathborn
Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz is heading back to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest.
The 27-year-old joined Juventus from Aston Villa, but the move has failed to work out, leaving Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to broker a deal for the player’s return.
A deal with the Turin club's general manager Damien Comolli is now close, reports Tuttosport.
Newcastle set limit on Yoane Wissa deal
08:42
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Jack Rathborn
Newcastle appear ready to keep Alexander Isak after their emphatic response to the player’s bombshell statement on Tuesday night.
But they are also reluctant to pay more than £40m for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa, reports the Northern Echo.
The Bees have put a £60m price tag on the 28-year-old DR Congo international, which could leave another frustrated party in this saga.
Bayern hit trouble in Nkunku pursuit to delay Chelsea deal for Simons
08:31
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Jack Rathborn
Bayern Munich have encountered trouble in their pursuit of Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku.
A deal for the 27-year-old has stalled, reports the Guardian.
And the knock-on effect is that it has delayed Chelsea's attempts to sign RB Leipzig's 22-year-old Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons.
Bournemouth sign Liverpool winger Ben Doak in deal worth up to £25million
08:21
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Jack Rathborn
Bournemouth have completed the signing of winger Ben Doak from Premier League rivals Liverpool in a deal worth up to £25million.
The 19-year-old Scotland international has agreed a five-year contract at Vitality Stadium.
Doak spent last season on loan at Championship club Middlesbrough, scoring three goals and registering seven assists in 24 appearances.
Bournemouth are understood to have paid an initial £20m and could spend a further £5m in add-ons as they reinvest some of the funds received from a series of lucrative summer departures.
Forward Dango Ouattara finalised a £42.5m move to Brentford at the weekend, while the south-coast club had already sold defenders Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez to Paris St Germain, Real Madrid and Liverpool respectively for a total of around £150m.
Lionesses star Michelle Agyemang leaves Arsenal on loan to join another WSL club
08:10
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Jack Rathborn
Arsenal’s Michelle Agyemang has rejoined Brighton on loan for the 2025/26 Women’s Super League season following her breakout summer with England at Euro 2025.
Agyemang, 19. scored twice at the tournament and was named best young player as the Lionesses defeated Spain to retain their European title in Switzerland.
She spent last season on loan at Brighton, scoring five goals, as she earned a surprise call-up to Sarina Wiegman’s England squad and then rescued the Lionesses against Sweden in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semi-finals.
Newcastle hint at Alexander Isak decision
08:01
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Jack Rathborn
summer and hinted at no future deal for an exit materialising in the closing stages of the transfer window.
The saga turned ugly on Tuesday evening with the Swedish striker accusing the club of “broken promises” and maintaining that “trust is lost” between the parties.
But the Carabao Cup winners hit back with their own strongly-worded statement, hitting Isak’s hopes of a move to Liverpool, who had a £110m bid rejected earlier this summer, by underlining that they “do not foresee those conditions [of a sale] being met]” before the deadline.
A club statement read: “We are disappointed to have been alerted to a social media post by Alexander Isak this evening. We are clear in response that Alex remains under contract and that no commitment has ever been made by a club official that Alex can leave Newcastle United this summer.
Leeds in talks over AC Milan forward as Daniel Farke makes transfer priority clear
07:50
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Jack Rathborn
Leeds are advancing in talks with AC Milan for Noah Okafor as Daniel Farke looks to strengthen his forward line.
The promoted club have made eight summer signings but want to add to their attack and are progressing in their attempts to sign the Switzerland winger.
Okafor, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Napoli, could join the exodus from AC Milan after Tijjani Reijnders, Theo Hernandez and Malick Thiaw were sold.
Wrexham close in on £8m deal for Man City starlet Callum Doyle
07:36
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Jack Rathborn
Wrexham are closing in on an £8m deal for Manchester City defender Callum Doyle that would take their summer spending past £30m.
The 21-year-old is set to become Phil Parkinson’s 10th summer signing while City continue to trim their squad and bring in money by selling youth-team products.
Centre-back Doyle would become the second biggest buy in Wrexham’s history after Nathan Broadhead joined from Ipswich last week in a move that could cost up to £10m.
Spurs also line up Savinho alternative
07:35
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Jack Rathborn
Tottenham Hotspur have identified Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche as a new target due to the lofty asking price for Manchester City’s Savinho.
In addition to the pursuit of Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, Spurs have looked at the Brazilian winger, who was omitted from the City squad for the Premier League opener at Wolves last weekend due to an injury sustained in a friendly with Palermo, though the 21-year-old faces stiff competition this season to play every week under Pep Guardiola.
City can also call on Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, Oscar Bobb and Claudio Echeverri to play out wide, though Savinho remains highly-rated by the club since joining from Troyes for £30.8m in 2024.
Tottenham edge closer to Eberechi Eze deal with Crystal Palace – but key obstacle remains
07:35
,
Jack Rathborn
Tottenham Hotspur have edged closer to a deal to sign Eberechi Eze after encountering difficulties over the weekend in negotiations with Crystal Palace.
The FA Cup holders have made a request over the payment structure of the transfer, with a proposed deal for the England international discussed at £55m plus add-ons.
Another round of negotiations concluded on Monday afternoon, and while no compromise has been reached, there is a feeling that talks are progressing towards an agreement, with the final details over how the sum will be paid between the clubs.
Liverpool set deadline in pursuit of Alexander Isak
07:34
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Jack Rathborn
The saga that has rolled on for most of the summer concerns Alexander Isak, Newcastle and Liverpool.
The Premier League champions submitted a £110m bid for Newcastle’s main forward but that was rejected out of hand and the Reds moved to sign Hugo Ekitike.
They have remained interested in Isak but the weekend’s results prove that Newcastle need his services more than Liverpool do.
The latest in this move is that Liverpool have made Isak their priority for the closing weeks of the window but want the deal done sooner than later.
They’ve set a deadline of next week to get an agreement done with Newcastle otherwise they will move on to other targets.
Alexander Isak accuses Newcastle of ‘broken promises’ over transfer saga
07:34
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Jack Rathborn
Alexander Isak has accused Newcastle of breaking promises to him and has said his relationship with the club is damaged beyond repair and that it is in everyone’s best interests he leaves.
The striker tried to force through a move before the end of the transfer window by claiming the Carabao Cup holders had long known what he wanted to do and claimed his private conversations with them had been misrepresented.
Liverpool had a £110m bid for Isak swiftly rejected by Newcastle, whose stance has been that the Sweden international is not for sale, while the Premier League champions have claimed they will not return with a second offer.
