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Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's daily Premier League transfer roundup.
In today's edition, we have details about Manchester United's pursuit of Bruno Fernandes, Chelsea ending their pursuit of landing Bournemouth's Nathan Ake, and Watford strengthening their attack with the signing of Ignacio Pussetto.
United and Sporting a long way apart in Fernandes valuation
Probably one of the hottest rumours of the ongoing transfer window, Manchester United and Bruno Fernandes continue to dominate the headlines. The latest update on the Red Devils’ pursuit of the Sporting Lisbon ace comes from Sky Sports, who have reported that the two clubs are still locked in negotiations about the final valuation of the player.
It is believed that Sporting want £60 million plus Marcos Rojo in exchange for Fernandes, whilst United are willing to offer £50 million and are fine with Rojo going the other way. There have also been reports that have suggested that Sporting are deliberately dragging talks so that they can retain the player until the crunch game against Benfica on Friday.
All in all, though, there’s a general consensus that this deal will eventually go through. When it goes through is anybody’s guess at the moment.
Chelsea end Nathan Ake pursuit
Chelsea have reportedly decided to abandon their attempts to sign former player Nathan Ake over concerns about his suitability of slotting into the defensive system Frank Lampard is trying to deploy at Stamford Bridge.
Ake, who has been extensively scouted by Chelsea since the start of the season, looked like he’d be the subject of a £40 million bid by the London club, but recent developments suggest otherwise.
In any case, this news will come as a welcome relief for Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, who is under immense pressure at the moment owing to the horrendous form his side have exhibited of late.
Losing one of his most important players in January would’ve definitely been a huge blow for the Cherries boss, who can now devise a strategy which includes Ake to arrest the recent slump his team find themselves in.
Tahith Chong's agent meets Inter Milan representatives
Manchester United’s highly-rated youth prospect Tahith Chong’s agent met with Inter Milan representatives in Italy today per Fabrizio Romano, to discuss a potential move to the San Siro.
Chong, who is an academy graduate and has made seven appearances for United so far this season, will become a free agent in the summer with his contract expiring.
Talks of a new deal at Old Trafford haven’t yielded positive results thus far, and his agent has therefore been in talks with several clubs who have shown an interest in landing the 20-year-old Dutch winger.
Besides Inter, Juventus have also been heavily linked to Chong in the past few months, and it will be interesting to see how things develop with regards to his future in the next few months.
Watford complete Ignacio Pussetto signing
Watford, who have experienced a renaissance of sorts after the appointment of Nigel Pearson at the helm, completed the signing of 24-year-old Udinese winger Ignacio Pussetto on a four-and-a-half-year deal for £7 million.
Pussetto can play on the wings and also as a striker and is expected to bring a fresh dimension to Watford’s attack which has benefited from captain Troy Deeney’s return from injury.
