Fulham have rejected a second bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The second offer, believed to be worth around £30 million, comes after an initial offer of around £25 million was rejected earlier this week.
It is understood that Mitrovic wants to leave Craven Cottage for Saudi Arabia this summer and that he has made his feelings known to the Fulham hierarchy.
It remains to be seen whether Al Hilal will make further approaches for the 28-year-old, with Fulham so far making it clear that offers are not welcome for their star player.
Mitrovic, who turns 29 in September, still has three years remaining on his current contract at Fulham, the club he joined in 2018.
He was Fulham’s top scorer in the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 15 goals in 28 appearances in all competitions.
Leicester City move to sign Danish keeper
Leicester City are close to signing Brondby goalkeeper Mads Hermansen as the revamp under new head coach Enzo Maresca continues.
Hermansen is a Danish international and Leicester are growing increasingly confident of agreeing a deal worth around £6 million.
Maresca has moved for Hermansen, who is No. 2 to Leicester’s former goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel at international level, as part of a significant reshaping of the team following relegation to the Championship.
Leicester have already signed Harry Winks and Conor Coady, and are set to bring in Manchester City defender Callum Doyle on a season-long loan.
Maresca is also targeting Swansea forward Joel Piroe but faces competition.
Saudis chase Europa League winners
Sevilla pair Youssef En-Nesyri and Bono have received approaches from the Saudi Pro League (SPL) to become the latest high-profile players to turn their back on Europe for the Middle East.
The Morocco internationals, who played key roles in knocking out Manchester United on their way to Europa League glory last season, have both been subject of interest for Premier League in recent windows but will have the opportunity to join the ranks of players to join the most lucrative competition in the world.
En-Nesyri and Bono played in the Europa final in May when they defeated Jose Mourinho’s Roma team on penalties but have since been targeted by the SPL to follow Karim Benzema in making the move away from La Liga.
The possibility of the pair leaving, with their clubs yet to be revealed, puts Sevilla in the position where they must decide whether to sell two of their key players and rebuild to important areas of Jose Luis Mendilibar’s team.
Bono was No1 last season, playing more games than Marko Dmitrovic, while En-Nesyri scored 20 goals for Sevilla last season and also netted twice at the World Cup as Morocco reached the semi-finals. West Ham have previously been in talks over a move for En-Nesyri but never agreed a fee.
Since winning the Europa League, Sevilla have appointed Victor Orta as their director of football and the Spaniard will decide on whether to negotiate for the pair. He replaced Monchi, who has headed to the Premier League with Aston Villa.
Birmigham bolster defence
Wolves have agreed to sell Dion Sanderson to Birmingham for £2 million while goalkeeper Matija Sarkic will join Stoke City for £1.25 million.
Sanderson, the defender, is having a medical at Birmingham on Friday and returns after a loan spell last season.
Sarkic, the Montenegro international, is also returning to Stoke on a permanent deal after impressing manager Alex Neil during his own loan spell.
Reading and Plymouth vie for striker
Reading and Plymouth are in competition to sign Sam Smith as a free agent following his departure from Cambridge United.
The 25-year-old started his career at the Madejski Stadium before heading to Cambridge where he has scored 35 goals in the last two seasons. Reading have already signed Harvey Knibbs, Smith’s team-mate last season, as a free agent now their EFL transfer embargo has been lifted.
Plymouth, meanwhile, have been looking at striker options since their promotion last season and can offer Championship football to the out-of-contract forward.
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