WEST Ham United are set to complete the permanent signing of on-loan playmaker Said Benrahma to make room for the arrival of Jesse Lingard.
Benrahma joined the Hammers on a loan deal last summer with an arrangement to make the deal permanent for a fee of around £21.75 million following a £4.25 million payment for the loan of the Brentford player.
The Hammers can only bring in Lingard if they sign one of their two loan players - Watford's Craig Dawson being the other - on a permanent basis.
That is because Premier League rules only permit clubs to have a maximum of two domestic loan signings within their squad.
LIVERPOOL are set to complete the signing of 16-year-old Derby sensation Kaide Gordon, Rams manager Wayne Rooney has confirmed.
The attacking midfielder made his first-team debut in a 4-0 Championship win over Birmingham in December, becoming the fourth-youngest player ever to turn out for the Derby first team.
Gordon, capped by England at under-16 level and described as “a fantastic player” by Rooney, would initially sign as a scholar and would become eligible for a professional contract when he turns 17 in October.
DAN Gosling has turned down the chance to move to Nottingham Forest.
The Rams had a bid accepted by Cherries for the midfielder, but the player rejected the approach.
Forest boss Chris Hughton previously signed Gosling when he was Newcastle United manager in 2010.
Gosling's contract with Cherries expires in the summer, but the Daily Echo understands he is keen to stay and fight for his place.
Cherries remain open to offers for the 30-year-old before the transfer window closes next week, but the former Everton ace is thought to be desperate to right the wrongs of last season and stay put to help get the club back in the Premier League.
PRESTON are leading the race to land Liverpool’s Sepp van den Berg on loan until the end of the season.
The 19-year-old is highly-rated at Anfield, although he hasn’t been able to force his way near the first-team this season despite the injuries Jurgen Klopp’s side have.
Nevertheless, there is a hope that he will be able to make a breakthrough in the coming years, but the next stage of his development is set to be a loan.
BIRMINGHAM City have submitted a £2m bid for Hibernian striker Kevin Nisbet.
Aitor Karanka's side have made their move for the 23 year-old with a decision to be made by Hibs having received the offer.
Sunderland in League One and Premier League Sheffield United have also been linked with Nisbet, who has scored 13 goals in 29 appearances for Hibs this season.
He has also contributed five assists this season and plundered 23 goals in the Scottish second tier last campaign, which he spent at Dunfermline.
Nisbet scored 34 goals in 2018-19 in Scotland's League One and has scored over 80 career goals.
BRISTOL City are making a move for Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury.
Former Arsenal trainee Lansbury is out of contract this summer after joining from Nottingham Forest in January 2017 for £2.7m.
He is available on loan after being left out of Villa's Premier League squad.
Attacking midfielder Lansbury, 30, has been limited to just three Carabao Cup appearances this season.
He is now ready to quit Villa and move either permanently or on loan with a view to landing a future contract.
Championship Bristol City are keen on Lansbury, who scored 32 goals in 145 League games for Forest.
A NUMBER of Championship clubs have been linked with United States captain Aaron Long who is looking for a short-term loan to build up match fitness while Major League Soccer is suspended.
West Ham made attempts to sign the 28-year-old defender in January 2020 but approach was rejected by New York Red Bulls.
The centre-back, who has won 18 caps for his country, has been the subject of at least one official approach from a Championship club.
The deal would be similar to the one agreed by Swansea for Long's international team-mate and Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris.
WATFORD have offered West Ham the option of making Craig Dawson's loan move permanent before the transfer window closes.
Dawson joined the Hammers for the season in October as nothing more than squad cover in defence for David Moyes
But the 30-year-old has taken his chance with a string of impressive performances which has cemented himself as first choice in the side.
Now Watford are prepared to bring forward the option on West Ham signing him on a permanent basis, knowing it will help provide them with funds mid-season.
A fee close to £3m has been asked for, though the Premier League club are under no obligation to complete the deal now and may prefer to wait until the summer.
MIDDLESBROUGH have had a bid accepted by Preston North End for defender Darnell Fisher.
The 26-year-old has entered the final six months of his contract at Deepdale and Boro are set to capitalise.
A recruitment source has told Football Insider that the fee agreed is around £300,000 and a transfer is now close.
The right-back has made 16 appearances across all competitions this season but has been forced to watch on from the bench since the 2-0 loss at Bristol City earlier this month.
Fisher is out of contract in the summer, and according to reports, Preston have not tabled him a new deal.
STOKE City want more than £15m for defensive starlet Nathan Collins.
The Irish teenager, who has come through the ranks at the Bet365 Stadium, has emerged as a key piece in the middle of Michael O’Neill’s defence this season.
His form has not gone unnoticed and we understand half-a-dozen Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, have been watching the player.
Several of those clubs have made contact with Stoke, but they have all been told that he is not for sale.
Burnley placed a bid of just under £5m, but Stoke barely took that seriously and a club source confirmed to us that they would not even consider thinking about a deal unless it started at £15m, even then that would only be a starting point.
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