Arsenal, Villa and West Ham target Brentford players - Paper Round

The vultures circle Brentford, West Ham target James Tarkowski, Manchester United miss out on a defender and Luis Suarez will join Juventus.

Brentford are ready to sell two of their big name players following their failure to win promotion to the Premier League. The Daily Mail says that Brentford want £25 million for both Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma, with Aston Villa, Fulham and West Ham interested. David Raya is wanted by Arsenal, and Rico Henry is wanted by Brighton and West Brom.

Paper Round’s view: Brentford have plenty to do to finally get into the Premier League, but with the relatively small amount of money that Championship broadcast rights and ticket sales bring in, and the impact of coronavirus, they may choose to exploit the interest from the Premier League in their players in order to get a sizeable amount of cash.

West Ham United could make their first new signing of the summer transfer window, after completing a permanent transfer for Tomas Soucek. The sale of Grady Diangana to West Bromwich Albion has given them the funds to make a bid for Burnley central defender James Tarkowski, with David Moyes keen to improve the defence at the London Stadium, reports the Telegraph.

Paper Round’s view: The sale of Diangana is controversial and has even brought criticism from captain Mark Noble. Fans are unhappy with the way the club is run and selling a youngster to buy a central defender is unlikely to get anyone excited. Nevertheless, Tarkowski is an excellent player who would go some way to shore up the defence.

Sport website ESPNFC believes that Luis Suarez is close to joining Juventus. The 33-year-old Uruguayan international is planning to move to Italy to link up with former Barcelona colleague Arthur. Suarez is going to replace Gonzalo Higuain, who is expected to make a move to MLS side Inter Miami.

Paper Round’s view: Higuain’s transfer has been a failure for Juventus despite the league titles they have won with him. Moving him on in place of Suarez makes sense, despite his injuries. Suarez is more mobile and aggressive across the front of the attack and should be a useful foil with Cristiano Ronaldo up front next season.

Benoit Badiashile will not be joining Manchester United, with the 19-year-old central defender set to stay at Monaco for the next season, reports the Sun. Boss Niko Kovac wants to develop the player over the next year, and they rejected a £22 million bid from United, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen on improving his defence.

Paper Round’s view: Harry Maguire needs a speedy partner and Badiashile might have been a young choice, but he is certainly a talented option. It seems as if United are leaving their business late in a transfer window once again, so they may not have enough time to find another option.