Football transfer rumours: Chelsea to battle Spurs for Piatek signing?

That Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang-to-Barcelona rumour just won’t go away. Latest chatter is that Arsenal could be tempted to part with their star forward but would want £50m for him. The Gabon international has 18 months left on his contract and, with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli beginning to shine, the Gunners could be tempted to cash in now while the price is high, though Barça will haggle over the fee.

Meet the new Manchester United striker, same as the old Manchester United striker. While the Reds’ pursuit of Bruno Fernandes goes on and on without seemingly getting anywhere, up pops the Daily Star to suggest that Alexis Sánchez will be back, baby, when his loan at Internazionale expires in the summer. That’ll quell the mutiny. Apparently, United’s beleaguered chief executive, Ed Woodward, has told Sánchez’s people that he will not be allowed to make his move to Italy permanent, but will instead be exhorted to go on United’s pre-season tour to whatever Target Market they’ve identified this year for the purposes of tat-flogging.

Related: Tottenham and PSV only £1.7m apart in valuation of Steven Bergwijn

With target-of-many Edinson Cavani finally closing on his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, who were one of the clubs who had the Uruguayan in their sights, have turned their attention to Krzysztof Piatek. The Milan forward has been heavily linked with Spurs, but Chelsea fancy him to reinforce their attacking credentials. Manchester United do too, according to some reports. But the Poland international comes with a £30m price tag that no one has yet met, so this could go to the wire.

Chelsea are also considering bringing Nathan Aké back to Stamford Bridge. The defender left for Bournemouth in 2017, but the Blues have first refusal on buying him back and may yet exercise it.

Carlo Ancelotti is sizing up whether to shop back in Serie A, plucking Cengiz Under from Roma and introducing him to the faded grandeur of Goodison. The 22-year-old Turkey forward has played only eight matches for his club this season having been hindered by a muscle injury but is valued at £34m by the Giallorossi, who are keen to keep him for now, though a summer move is distinctly possible.

More Tottenham offloading is imminent, with Kyle Walker-Peters and Danny Rose expected to leave on loan in the next three days. Southampton are front-runners to take on the former, though Crystal Palace and West Ham are sniffing around too.

Elsewhere in the relegation zone, Watford are eyeing up Burnley’s Ben Gibson for a loan deal, while Aston Villa are reported to have made a £4.2m bid for 2014’s Daniel Sturridge, currently in Turkey with Trabzonspor,

Down in the Championship promotion tussles, Middlesbrough are looking to bring in the Leicester defender Filip Benkovic on loan, though Brendan Rodgers has reportedly made it contingent on the Foxes making reinforcements themselves. Southampton’s Jannik Vestergaard could be the man for that, though Preston’s Ben Davies is also in their sights.