Arsenal are also said to hold a growing interest in Matias Fernandez-Pardo.

The highly-rated Belgian attacker is expected to follow the Manchester City-bound Ayyoub Bouaddi out of Lille before the summer transfer deadline.

Liverpool and Manchester United have been linked with Fernandez-Pardo, who was subject to a bid from RB Leipzig over the weekend and has interest from Marseille.

According to Sebastien Denis of French outlet Foot Mercato, the 21-year-old is on Arsenal’s shortlist as they monitor the situation very closely, though would need to offer around €70m (£60m) in order to convince Lille to sell.

More now on Arsenal’s well-documented pursuit of Julian Alvarez.

Transfer specialist Ben Jacobs has been on talkSPORT, reporting that Arsenal will move for the wantaway Atletico Madrid striker if they are given any encouragement in the coming days.

He insists the door is not 100 per cent shut on Alvarez potentially joining Arsenal, with sporting director Andrea Berta alert to the possibility.

However, Jacobs says that outgoings are key if the Gunners are to pull off a late transfer of that magnitude amid ongoing talks with Al-Hilal over Gabriel Martinelli.

Manchester City also look to have wrapped up another couple of signings in their late summer transfer drive.

The FA Cup holders were confirmed over the weekend to have finally agreed a deal with Lille for Moroccan midfield sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi worth an initial €95m (£81.3m), plus €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons.

Fabrizio Romano says that Bouaddi will fly to England on Monday in order to undergo a medical and sign a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.

His arrival comes as Newcastle reportedly make significant strides towards a deal for Nico Gonzalez.

City are also said to be replacing the Tottenham-bound Savinho with fellow Brazilian attacker Allan, who will join from Palmeiras for around €40m (£34.2m).

Manchester United should announce the signing of Carlos Baleba today.

The Cameroon midfielder underwent a medical and signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford over the weekend.

That was after United finally agreed a deal with Brighton for their long-term transfer target on Friday evening worth an initial £65m, plus a further £5m in add-ons.

Brighton are understood to have also inserted a sell-on clause into the deal.

Baleba is not expected to make his United debut until around mid-September due to an ankle ligament injury suffered during pre-season.

Paris Saint-Germain have hinted that Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye could still leave the club before the summer transfer deadline amid ongoing talks with Liverpool.

Both players were left out of the PSG squad again by head coach Luis Enrique for yesterday’s opening Ligue 1 clash at Rennes as Liverpool continue negotiations over a high-profile double deal.

Speaking during the coverage of that game, PSG advisor Luis Campos suggested that Barcola and Mbaye could follow the example of Gianluigi Donnarumma last year and leave very late in the window.

“The transfer window isn’t over at all,” he said.

“Even with incoming transfers, if we find a good opportunity, we’re going to go for it.

“In terms of departures, we’ll see what happens regarding Barcola and Mbaye.

“I understand your questions about them but you also have to understand my position.

“We’ll see what happens at the end of the window, remember last year with Donnarruma it was done at the end of the window. We’ll see.”

Omar Marmoush will undergo a medical at Tottenham today.

Spurs have been pursuing the signing of the Manchester City striker after wrapping up a deal for team-mate Savinho that could be worth as much as £85m.

Fabrizio Romano reports that there is now a verbal agreement in place between the two clubs for Marmoush to join Tottenham on an initial season-long loan that contains the option for a £50m permanent transfer next summer.

The Egyptian international is expected to have a medical and sign a contract in north London on Monday.

Could Eli Junior Kroupi yet provide the transfer answer for Arsenal in attack this season?

The French forward looked likely to move on this summer after a fine first season in the Premier League at Bournemouth, with Tottenham also among the clubs said to be keen on his signature.

However, any chance of a high-profile switch was scuppered by a foot injury suffered at a pre-season training camp in Austria in July that required surgery and was expected to keep him sidelined for three to four months.

A move could still be on the cards in January though if that injury heals as expected, with HandofArsenal insisting that he is a target to watch for many clubs in the mid-season window - including the Gunners.

All roads could yet be leading to Manchester United for Alejandro Balde.

We’ve already mentioned this morning that Hansi Flick is planning to hold more talks with the Spanish left-back today after he left him out of his squad for Sunday’s LaLiga opener against Elche, feeling that he was not 100 per cent focused and needed to clear his mind amid the ongoing transfer speculation.

Flick denied that he had told Balde to leave, saying he has asked the player to think about his future before resuming discussions on Monday.

Catalan publication Sport claim that Balde has given the green light to agent Jorge Mendes to find him a new club following an initial approach from Manchester United made last week.

Barcelona are said to be looking for a fee of around £38m for the 22-year-old, who has spoken favourably about United in the past.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has already explained why Gabriel Martinelli has not featured in any of his matchday squads this season, as Al Hilal reportedly pursue a deal for the Brazilian.

After a surprise omission against Manchester City in the Community Shield, eyebrows were raised once again when the Gunners began the defence of their Premier League crown on Friday night against newly-promoted Coventry City.

Although Arteta made two changes to the side that started at Wembley, with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka replacing Bruno Guimaraes and Noni Madueke, there was to be no recall for Martinelli.

The forward was one of several senior players left out of the matchday squad, along with Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson.

There are no suggestions that Martinelli is injured, rather his omission is down to Premier League rules stipulating that teams are only to name a 20-player squad on matchdays, a ruling that Arteta has requested changes.

Full story!

The Julian Alvarez transfer saga rumbles on, with Arsenal clearly not giving up hope.

It was reported by Diario AS in Spain over the weekend that Alvarez was now leaving the door open to a potential return to the Premier League before the transfer deadline following more talks with Mikel Arteta as he still desperately attempts to leave Atletico Madrid.

Alvarez missed the first game of the new LaLiga season but returned against Villarreal yesterday, coming off the bench in the second half to jeers and loud whistles from an Atletico crowd angry at his public desire to join Barcelona.

He was kept away from fans at the end of the game and had a scarf thrown at him as he walked down the tunnel at the Metropolitano Stadium, with his facial expressions and body language again becoming a huge talking point on social media.

Journalist Nicolo Schira is now reporting that Barcelona will make a new attempt to sign Alvarez this week. Will Arsenal follow suit?