Al-Hilal closing in on Watkins - Thursday's gossip

What the report says

BBC Sport Football’s latest transfer gossip roundup says Al-Hilal are close to agreeing a deal worth about £50m with Aston Villa for England forward Ollie Watkins. The report also says Chelsea are considering Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott as a possible replacement if Enzo Fernandez leaves, while Sunderland have submitted a loan offer to Manchester City for Jack Grealish.

The article places several other clubs in active talks or watching brief positions. Chelsea are also said to be nearing a £36m move for Atalanta defender Honest Ahanor, and Aston Villa are reportedly interested in West Ham centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo as they look to strengthen defensively. Newcastle, meanwhile, are described as still interested in Lille winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo but mindful of Premier League and UEFA spending limits.

Other reported moves include Ipswich Town being close to signing Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios for about £23.5m, and Everton weighing a deal for Midtjylland forward Franculino while being open to selling defender Jake O’Brien. The roundup also mentions interest in players such as Alejandro Balde, Dodo and Igor Paixao, illustrating the broad summer market activity across England and Europe.

As presented by BBC Sport, the piece is a gossip digest rather than confirmed transfer news, so several of the listed deals remain at different stages of negotiation.