Transfer rumor roundup 6/29: Defoe signs with Bournemouth
By Nick Pitner
Here’s a roundup of the latest news and transfer rumors surrounding which players could be joining new teams in the coming months.
Thursday’s transfer news is headlined by Bournemouth’s confirmation that striker Jermain Defoe has signed a three-year contract with the club.
The 34-year-old heads back to the south coast after spending the 2000-01 season there on loan from West Ham.
Of course, the Cherries were a second-division side back then, which is one level below where Defoe’s most recent club, Sunderland, will be next season.
Although the Englishman scored 15 of Sunderland’s 29 goals last season, his haul wasn’t enough to see the Black Cats avoid relegation.
However, because Sunderland were relegated, that fate triggered a clause in Defoe’s contract that allowed him to leave on a free transfer.
Consequently, Bournemouth, who sported the Premier League’s seventh-best attack last season, have now added the competition’s seventh-ranked goalscorer all-time free of charge.
Along with bolstering their offensive options, the Cherries are expected to bring back a former player to shore up their defense.
According to The Guardian, Nathan Ake is close to sealing a permanent, club-record £20 million transfer from Chelsea.
The Dutchman spent the first half of last season on loan at Bournemouth, scoring three goals in eight starts while winning 59 percent of his duels, per Squawka.
Such success caused Chelsea boss Antonio Conte to recall the 22-year-old for the Blues’ title run-in, but despite his ability to play both centrally and at left-back, Ake proceeded to feature for just 98 minutes for the eventual champions.
After that inactivity, the promising youngster is keen to get first-team opportunities again, and his positive experience at Bournemouth allowed them to beat out competition from West Brom, Newcastle, Southampton and West Ham for his signature.
Elsewhere in London, Tottenham have their sights on AC Milan playmaker Suso, the Mirror reports.
Following Moussa Sissoko’s first-year flop at Tottenham, manager Mauricio Pochettino is already prepared to move on from the Frenchman, and sees the more skillful Suso as an ideal replacement.
Having starting his senior career at Liverpool, albeit in underwhelming fashion, the 23-year-old is familiar with the Premier League, but is now a more matured product after providing seven goals and nine assists while leading AC Milan to Europa League qualification this past season.
Although Suso has two years left on his Milan contract and the club’s new owners reportedly don’t want him to leave, he’s so far rejected their advances over an extension, giving Spurs hope of acquiring his services.
A Premier League deal that’s much further along is Everton’s signing of Burnley defender Michael Keane, who the Burnley Express reports is set to break the Clarets’ outgoing transfer record.
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While 25 percent of his fee is slated to go to Manchester United due to a clause inserted in his 2015 move from Old Trafford to Burnley, Keane is expected to command a £25 million outlay from Everton.
That investment comes despite the 24-year-old’s contract at Burnley expiring after the coming campaign.
In 35 starts for the Clarets last season, Keane averaged 10 defensive actions per game and won an outstanding 61 percent of his duels, per Squawka.
Outside of England, one of Europe’s brightest young midfielders appears poised for a summer transfer, as Dani Ceballos is garnering heavy interest from Real Madrid, according to AS.
The 20-year-old, who has dazzled while helping lead Spain to Friday’s U21 Euro Final, currently plies his trade for Real Betis, but seems to have all the makings of Luka Modric’s heir in central midfield for Los Blancos.
In fact, across 24 La Liga starts last season, Ceballos placed in Betis’ top three in shot attempts (37), efforts on target (16), average key passes (1.3) and tackles per game (3.1), per WhoScored.
According to Squawka, Ceballos also completed more take-ons (79) than any other U21 player in La Liga, and no central midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues was fouled more times than him (118).
With such a supreme statistical profile, it’s no wonder why Real Madrid are keen to add him to their ranks, and Ceballos’ mere €15 million release clause makes him all the more enticing.
Even though Madrid are reportedly prepared to offer him a five or six-year contract, they are anticipated to sign Ceballos this summer and allow him to remain at Betis to get further playing time this coming campaign.