Taylor’s Tuesday Transfers: Arsenal’s Willock decision, Cantwell contract, Matheus Pereira

There are now just 10 days to go until the new Premier League campaign kicks off and time is slowly running out to get new faces through the door before the transfer window shuts on August 31. The futures of Jack Grealish and Harry Kane are set to dominate the headlines this week but there are plenty of other stories brewing and bubbling away behind the scenes. Arsenal, Todd Cantwell, Norwich, that Matheus Pereira transfer request, Nikola Milenkovic, the Olympics and a Twitter mailbag all feature in this week’s jam-packed column…

Arsenal’s Joe Willock decision

Joe Willock’s future at Arsenal is expected to be resolved within the next week and any final decision could rest with Mikel Arteta.

The 21-year-old made an impact from the bench in last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates by curling the ball in off the bar – only for the referee not to award the goal.

Nonetheless, it’s clear that Willock will have to outmuscle the likes of Emile Smith Rowe if he is to feature regularly this season at Arsenal.

The midfielder simply wants to play after equalling Alan Shearer’s club-record seven-game Premier League scoring streak while on loan at Newcastle last season.

Steve Bruce wants to bring Willock back to St James’ Park for a second spell but Monaco are now discussing the prospect of a permanent deal with the player’s agent.

Express Sport understands that reports labeling Willock’s potential return to Newcastle as ‘advanced’ around 10 days ago were wide of the mark.

Arteta refused to provide clarity on the futures of Willock and Hector Bellerin after the defeat to Chelsea, which suggests he cannot rule out potential departures before the end of the window.

“I don’t know. I’m going to coach them and train them, and respect and look after everybody because they are our players,” he said.

“Hopefully they can have their minds here and prepare here because they are Arsenal players and our job is to make them as good as we can.”

Norwich stance over Cantwell exit

Express Sport exclusively revealed on Saturday that Aston Villa are expected to test Norwich’s resolve for Todd Cantwell if Jack Grealish decides to join Manchester City following their £100million bid.

Villa know replacing their club captain Grealish is an impossible task but Cantwell fits their recruitment model and has already showcased his creativity and quality in the Premier League with the Canaries.

Norwich are not currently entertaining the idea of a sale though and would demand a premium of £40m to let him go.

The attacking midfielder remains central to Daniel Farke’s plans following the sale of Emiliano Buendia to Villa earlier in the window but Cantwell’s contract does complicate their stance.

His current deal is due to expire next summer but Norwich do have the option to trigger a one-year extension.

Although a new contract seems unlikely, Cantwell is happy to stay at Norwich for the upcoming season now Premier League football is on offer having previously angled for a move last summer, following the club’s relegation to the Championship.

As seen with the likes of James Maddison, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis and Buendia though, Norwich are unlikely to stand in Cantwell’s way if a suitable offer arrives.

EXCLUSIVE:  Aston Villa to bid for Todd Cantwell if Jack Grealish green-lights £100m Man City transfer

Norwich pressing to complete Tzolis deal

Staying with Norwich, the Canaries remain in talks with Greek side PAOK over a deal for 19-year-old left-winger Christos Tzolis.

The club have now seen two official bids rejected for the teen with the latest worth just under £7m plus £2.5m in add-ons.

Norwich are leading the race for Tzolis despite interest from the Bundesliga and have maintained good relations with PAOK since completing the signing of left-back Dimitris Giannoulis in January.

Express Sport understands a third bid is currently being prepared and the clubs are now edging closer to an agreement for the player.

It’s understood Norwich’s swoop for Tzolis is unrelated to Villa’s interest in Cantwell.

Nikola Milenkovic expected to seal Premier League move

West Ham remain in talks with Fiorentina over a deal for centre-back Nikola Milenkovic.

The Hammers held discussions with Chelsea over a £20m move for Kurt Zouma last week but the Blues told West Ham they must raise their offer in order to sign the Frenchman.

There is serious interest in Milenkovic and has been since the January transfer window when a possible move was explored.

However, Fiorentina are now more open-minded about selling the Serbian international while he is still of value as he enters the final year of his contract.

Tottenham are also keen on Milenkovic but are currently prioritising a deal for Atalanta’s Cristian Romero.

It means West Ham are now in pole position to get the deal done as they look to secure an upgrade on Fabian Balbuena following his move to Dynamo Moscow.

Matheus Pereira chaos

Well, talk about a story. Yesterday, I reported that Saudi Professional League side Al Hilal had never been a serious option for Pereira, unless West Brom significantly reduced their asking price (currently around £30m) as their proposals for the player have been borderline insulting.

Fabrizio Romano later tweeted: “Nothing with Al Hilal, as @RyanTaylorSport reported.”

Shortly after, Pereira released a lengthy statement on his social media channels confirming his desire to leave The Hawthorns “in a fair and correct manner.”

He revealed he received a “life-changing” offer three weeks ago and unexpectedly took aim at new Baggies boss Valerien Ismael, after misinterpreting his comments on the Brazilian’s future.

Ismael said during his press conference that Pereira was “not committed to the Championship”, referencing that he wants to move on, as opposed to attacking his professionalism.

Pereira has quite clearly got the wrong end of the stick having taken offence to these comments.

His agent Jolden Vergette told Express Sport in June that Pereira “deserves a club that can follow his work at a high level”, outlining his desire to remain in one of Europe’s top-five leagues, ideally the Premier League.

While it’s clear a life-changing contract in the Middle East may have turned his head, Pereira makes it clear in his statement that he wants West Brom to receive a credible fee that repays the faith they have shown in him.

Al Hilal are not offering that. Their proposals have been low-ball offers (the highest bid was around £13million) and involved spreading payments across a number of years.

Ideally, West Brom want a large sum of any fee upfront so they can reinvest in their squad for the upcoming season as they target promotion back to the top-flight.

So unless Al Hilal significantly up their offer, the door is well and truly open for other clubs to pounce.

As reported back in May, West Ham and Leicester are amongst the clubs to have shown an interest and the Hammers have held initial talks over a move, although nothing is advanced at this point.

This is clearly a fast-changing saga with emotions now running high and more twists and turns are expected in the coming days, particularly in the aftermath of Pereira hard-hitting statement.

Olympics holding up several potential Premier League deals

There will be movement regarding a number of players currently representing their countries at the Olympic Games once the tournament has been completed on Saturday.

Japan, Spain, Mexico and Brazil are the semi-finalists and several of their players are of interest to Premier League and Scottish clubs.

For starters, Brighton are expected to pursue the signings of Kawasaki Frontale winger Kaoru Mitoma, while they have already seen an opening bid rejected by Getafe for Spain’s Marc Cucurella. Both remain active targets.

Tottenham will of course wrap up the signing of Spanish forward Bryan Gil, who has already confirmed his move to the club as part of a swap deal that saw Erik Lamela join Sevilla.

Spurs are also hot in pursuit of Bologna’s versatile defender Takehiro Tomiyasu and talks are expected to be revisited following the completion of the Olympics.

His Japanese teammate Ko Itakura is also expected to leave Manchester City with Celtic keen on taking him on loan after he impressed at Dutch side Groningen last season.

Furthermore, Jorge Mendes is trying to find a new club for Wolves forward Rafa Mir, who hit a remarkable hat-trick in Spain’s 5-2 win over Ivory Coast.

He starred while on loan at Huesca last season with Atletico Madrid and Villarreal amongst those linked with the 24-year-old, who is expected to return to his homeland next season.

Lastly, Brentford and Watford are amongst a list of clubs to have watched New Zealand’s 19-year-old left-back Matthew Garbett at the Games, as the All Blacks reached the quarter-finals before losing on penalties to Japan.

He currently plays for Falkenbergs in the second tier of Swedish football having been picked up at the Under-17s World Cup in 2019.

Mailbag: Your questions answered…

For the first time since launching this column, I asked fans to get involved on Twitter by filing some questions.

Thankfully, there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of responses but the engagement from those who did is much appreciated.

On Everton (questions by @EFCTOM and @TheDogsofWar1), Denzel Dumfries and Dwight McNeil, here is what I know: Both players are of serious interest to the Toffees but little progress has been made during talks for the Dutch international.

The club have been trying to convince the right-back to join but Dumfries wants to see if any other offers arrive, particularly given some of the clubs that have been linked with him since Euro 2020.

Signing competition for Seamus Coleman is amongst Everton’s priorities for the rest of the window so a right-back is likely to arrive, Dumfries or not.

As for McNeil, I reached out to his agency to establish the extent of Everton and Aston Villa’s interest but I am yet to hear back.

Burnley are notoriously firm in response to enquiries and negotiations – as seen with James Tarkowski – and do not buckle under pressure. No bids are known to have gone in yet.

On Wolves (question from @danwwfc11), the club have been operating beneath the radar this summer but more arrivals are expected before the end of the window.

A lot does hinge on the futures of Ruben Neves and Adama Traore though. If either leave, Wolves will definitely be active and move to bring in replacements, Joao Palhinha being one that has been consistently mentioned.

It just seems like they are taking a more calculated approach this summer and waiting for the right deal to present itself as opposed to spending for the sake of it.

Sorry that’s probably not what you want to hear, but behind the scenes they will have names in mind.

Finally, on Newcastle (question by @strong_te), things are looking rather bleak.

Little progress has been made in the market but Steve Bruce is currently exploring a few loan deals after being handed a restricted transfer budget.

That includes Willock as mentioned above, Hamza Choudhury and Axel Tuanzebe.