Chelsea in £26m move for England U21 star Madueke

▪ CHELSEA have stepped up their efforts to land Noni Madueke from PSV Eindhoven with an opening £26.5million offer for the winger. The England Under 21 star has established himself as one of Europe’s most promising young wide players since leaving Tottenham aged 16 to join the Dutch club in 2018. Chelsea’s recruitment staff were alerted and new technical director Christopher Vivell also showed an interest while at RB Leipzig. Chelsea also remain keen on Marcus Thuram from Borussia Monchengladbach, plus Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo at Brighton and young Real Madrid defender Rafa Marin.

▪ NEWCASTLE UNITED are interested in Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves. The 25-year-old has 18 months left on his deal.

▪ WOLVES have agreed a £15m deal for Brazilian midfielder Joao Gomes, 21, from Flamengo. The deal comes on the back of terms being agreed with Nice for Mario Lemina, and Paris Saint-Germain winger Pablo Sarabia will join for around £4m plus add-ons.

▪ TOTTENHAM are looking to hold further talks with Sporting Lisbon next week over a deal for Pedro Porro. They remain keen on Brighton’s Leandro Trossard.

▪ ASTON VILLA defender Frederic Guilbert is close to cancelling his contract and finalising a move to Strasbourg.

▪ BURNLEY have signed defender Ameen Al-Dakhil from St-Truiden and have also bid for PSV defender Jenson Seelt and Hjalmar Ekdal, of Djurgardens.

▪ MIDDLESBROUGH have been told Rotherham midfielder Dan Barlaser is not for sale, despite him having only six months left on his deal. Boro had offered £900,000 for the 25-year-old.

▪ EVERTON defender Niels Nkounkou is cutting short a loan at Cardiff to join St Etienne.

▪ BROMLEY of the National League have signed midfielder Mitchel Bergkamp, son of former Arsenal star Dennis.