West Ham United has pulled the plug on their move for Chelsea left-back Emerson Palmieri. The Brazilian-Italian was a subject of interest from the Hammers, and they agreed to a £15 million fee with Chelsea. The Blues permitted them to hold talks over personal terms with the full-back. However, the talks have not progressed because his demands are proving an issue. Matchplug understands that the Irons are being asked to pay him a huge salary, but they believe it is unrealistic and will now abandon their pursuit of his signature. Chelsea has added Marc Cucurella to their squad and they now have four left-backs in the group. The Blues will gladly offload Emerson, who spent the last season on loan at Lyon and did well. The Euro 2020 winner has admirers back home in Italy, but it remains unclear if any of them can meet the amount West Ham has paid to Chelsea. If he remains at Stamford Bridge in this campaign, he is likely to spend all or most of it on the bench because the competition for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s team is much. Although West Ham could revive the move, for now, they are considering alternative targets.

Nice wants to add Nicolas Pepe to their squad in this transfer window as he struggles at Arsenal. The winger joined the Gunners from Lille in 2019 as their record buy, but he has failed to justify the huge money they spent to sign him. The Ivorian has been handed several chances to prove himself, but he failed and Mikel Arteta has moved on. The Spanish manager has brought out the best from the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, and this means Pepe will struggle to play. He is now looking to leave the Emirates and Arsenal is more than happy to help him find a new home. Matchplug understands that the ambitious Nice wants to add him to their squad in this transfer window and they have been in talks with Arsenal. The idea is to take him on loan for the rest of this season and it remains to be seen if they will add an option to make the transfer permanent.

Everton has rejected Chelsea’s £45 million bid for Anthony Gordon as they hold out for £50 million. The midfielder is now a shining light in the Everton team and he was one of the players that helped them to survive relegation from the Premier League last season. As they rebuild their squad and seek to have a better season, Chelsea is eyeing a move for the impressive youngster. Matchplug understands that the Blues have offered £45million for his signature, but Everton is standing firm on their valuation. This could force the Londoners to abandon their pursuit, but it remains unclear if the player wants the transfer. Chelsea has focused on signing young players for their squad in this transfer window and he is one of the most promising men in the EPL right now. However, Everton has lost Richarlison who joined Tottenham and they cannot afford to let another important first-team player go if they want to remain competitive. It is interesting to see if Chelsea will return to try to sign him again with an improved offer.

Manchester United has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale as the Portuguese star maintains he wants to leave. Ronaldo informed the club earlier in the summer that he wants out, however, they have maintained that the striker will not leave. He was their top scorer last season with 24 goals and  missed their preseason after asking for more time off. His agent, Jorge Mendes, has been searching for a new home and some reports claim United has softened its stance on his future. However, Matchplug understands that the club remains adamant he would not leave. Erik Ten Hag is struggling to make his squad competitive in this campaign and the team is currently at the bottom of the Premier League table. Some people at the club believe it is better to offload Ronaldo, but the club has refused to bow to the pressure and they insist he would be on their books when this transfer window closes.

Despite struggling and ultimately leaving Chelsea this summer, Timo Werner insists he had a good time in England. The German has just returned to RB Leipzig two years after he left them in a big money deal. He was one of the best strikers in the world when he first played for the German club before and would now look to replicate that form now that he is back. However, he shouldn’t look back at his time in England and be proud of it because he was awful for the most. However, speaking at his latest unveiling, the striker remained positive about his spell in England and insisted that he had a good time. He said, as quoted by Matchplug: ‘The last 24 hours have been really exciting, and it’s been a lot of fun to see so many familiar faces again. ‘I had a good time in England. I learnt a lot and got to know a new league. ‘At the same time, Leipzig developed a lot too. They’ve won a title and have the same high ambitions as Chelsea.’

Crystal Palace is eyeing a loan return for Aaron Wan-Bissaka three seasons after they sold him to Manchester United for a record-breaking fee. The ‘spider-man’ made a name for himself as a tough-tackling right back at Selhurst Park and it made United splash a whopping £50 million on his signature. The defender was a regular in the United team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he is not as good in attack as he defends. That meant he struggled to play under Ralf Rangnick and Erik Ten Hag is also not a fan of his. We expect the former Ajax manager to opt for the more attacking Diogo Dalot as his first choice right-back. This will come as a major blow for the 24-year-old who was ever-present in the starting XI in his first two seasons. Matchplug understands that he could head back to Palace on loan for this campaign. The Eagles similarly re-signed Wilfried Zaha from United after initially selling the winger to the Red Devils. It remains unclear if Ten Hag will allow him to leave or keep him as a backup to Dalot.