Football transfer rumours: Bayern to sign Luis Díaz after new bid?

Bayern Munich clearly had the hump when main target Florian Wirtz was lured to Liverpool rather than Bavaria. So after missing out on the former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker, are they trying to exact a spot of revenge by snatching Luis Díaz from the Reds? Latest reports from Germany suggest Bayern have upped their efforts with a £52m offer for the 28-year-old, and that new talks have taken place between Díaz’s representatives and Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl.

Liverpool aren’t having any of it, only hinting that they would consider letting the Colombian go if a significant offer arrived; £52m doesn’t fall into that category. The player himself has suggested he is open to an “exciting offer” but that may just be to improve his current contract at Anfield. And that’s rather a sticking point: scroll down the list of Liverpool players’ wages and he’s surprisingly low but there appears to be no sign of an increase on the table.

While Darwin Núñez (on more than double Díaz’s wages) continues to be linked with a move to Italian champions Napoli, the big fish for Liverpool’s transfer rod is still Alexander Isak. And maybe Arne Slot’s champions have received some encouragement for a raid on the striker with news from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano that Newcastle have joined the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt frontman Hugo Ekitike.

The 23-year-old, rated at around £85m, has attracted interest from the Saudi Pro League and various Premier League clubs, including Liverpool (this thing goes in never ending circles, doesn’t it) and Chelsea. But the belief is that he wants to stay in Europe and Newcastle would certainly have the wonga if they sold Isak to Liverpool – even if it would go down like a piece of Ikea furniture with a vital screw missing if they sold the Swede to a Premier League rival.

It’s all happening at Nottingham Forest and not in a good way in many respects. With winger Anthony Elanga lined up to join Newcastle and chief string puller, Morgan Gibbs-White, set for a medical at Tottenham, Forest are in danger of seeing their squad pulled apart after an excellent 2024-25 campaign which saw them flirt heavily with a Champions League place before finally finishing seventh.

But news of incomings will boost spirits and one well-known Premier League frontman being heavily linked again is Brentford’s Yoane Wissa. Forest are believed to have had a £25m bid rejected out of hand last winter. Brentford want double that and perhaps the budget is there now for Nuno Espírito Santo to bring in the Congolese international.

The Wissa deal – Spurs have also shown interest – is complicated by the saga of Bryan Mbeumo’s proposed switch to Manchester United. It’s a deal being played out in public and so slow moving that former United star Rio Ferdinand has claimed on his Youtube channel that if it doesn’t come off “it would be a custard, egg on your face situation”. And it doesn’t get any worse than that. Brentford don’t want to lose both players so this may take a fair while to be resolved yet.

Back to Forest and they’re reportedly trying to fill their Morgan Gibbs-White shaped hole with Manchester City midfielder James McAtee. The 22-year-old has just captained England U21s to Euros glory which might have put a few quid on his transfer fee. That, by the way, is a bone of contention. Forest are believed to be offering £25m but City want something north of £40m. West Ham are also sniffing having just sold Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham.

And, finally, talking of Spurs, Thomas Frank seems to be piecing together a new squad rather nicely and there could be a fresh arrival in defence too. Attracting attention is Belgian centre-back Koni De Winter. The Genoa defender enjoyed an excellent season in Serie A and could be prized away for £25-30m. Inevitably, Inter and other Italian clubs are also monitoring the situation.