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According to reports in The Independent, Chelsea are demanding £44m for striker Diego Costa as they close in on the signing of Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata, who will cost an initial £58m according to The Telegraph.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Blues boss Antonio Conte told Costa that he wasn’t part of his plans for the upcoming season earlier this summer, and the Italian has been looking to bring in another striker ever since.

Having missed out to Manchester United for the signing of Romelu Lukaku, the Premier League holders turned their attentions to Morata and the club announced on their official website on Wednesday that they have reached an agreement with the La Liga giants.

Once the deal for the Spaniard goes through, The Independent says they will work out what they are going to do with Costa, who they value at £44m.

While his former club Atletico are interested, The Independent says the Spanish side only want to pay £25m and they also wouldn’t be able to complete a deal until their transfer ban is lifted in January.

It remains to be seen whether a compromise will be found, but the report adds that Diego Simeone has instructed the club to bring Costa back.

Is Costa worth £44m?

In this day and age and with some of the transfer prices we have seen already this summer, he certainly is.

The 28-year-old scored 20 Premier League goals last term and was an influential figure as the Blues cruised to the title, and he has netted 52 times in 89 top flight appearances for the Blues since moving to Stamford Bridge from Atletico in 2014.

The Spaniard is able to score any type of goal while his hold-up play and the problems that he gives defenders mean that he is a proven danger at the highest level.

Will they get that much for him?

Once the Morata deal is over the line, Conte and Chelsea will step up their efforts to offload Costa ahead of the new season and while they will be hopeful that they can get £44m for the Spain international, an offer of around £30-35m from Atletico for a player they don’t want could be too good to turn down.

Chelsea have increased their offer for Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to £35m, according to the Daily Star.

What’s the word?

The England international has been linked with a move away from the Emirates this summer as he has just one year left on his current contract and is yet to sign a new deal.

Chelsea reportedly tabled an initial £25m bid for the 23-year-old, but they were knocked back.

Now, the Daily Star claims that the Premier League champions have added £10m onto their offer in the hope of persuading Arsenal to sell.

The publication states that Oxlade-Chamberlain is ‘attracted’ by the idea of joining the London rival as he would have an opportunity to play Champions League football.

In addition to that, he is likely to receive wages close to his reported £120,000-a-week demands.

What about Liverpool?

Jurgen Klopp is also rumoured to be an admirer of Oxlade-Chamberlain, with the Daily Star reporting that Liverpool were willing to match Chelsea’s opening £25m offer.

If the England star decides to leave Arsenal, which club would be the best option; Chelsea or Liverpool?

At Stamford Bridge, Oxlade-Chamberlain would likely be used in a wing-back position, similar to the role that he possessed at times for the Gunners last season.

He could play on either side, but would be fighting Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso for a first-team spot, which would make him more of a squad player than a starter – much like his current predicament at Arsenal.

At Liverpool, he would have more opportunities to be in the first XI, and a chance to play in his favoured midfield role, particularly now that Adam Lallana will miss the first few months of the season.

In terms of success, though, Chelsea is the place to be as the club are more likely to win silverware than Liverpool judging on recent years.

If Oxlade-Chamberlain does decide to move on, then he needs to list his priorities, as he would fit into both clubs.

Victor Moses did an exceptional job at right wing-back for Chelsea last season, but the Nigerian international surely needs help if he’s going to sustain those standards for the current campaign.

Cesar Azpilicueta can fill in there if required but that will weaken Chelsea’s backline. In a nutshell, the Blues need another option for their energy-demanding role on the right flank before the transfer window slams shut on Thursday.

Unfortunately, however, Chelsea’s preferred choice Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appears to have turned down a move to Stamford Bridge in favour of potentially joining Jurgen Klopp’s ranks at Liverpool – where he’ll have more of a chance of playing in central midfield.

Finding an alternative this late in the transfer window is a tough ask, but if one option from the Premier League stands out, its Southampton’s Cedric Soares – an incredibly reliable right-back with a bit about him going forward.

So, Chelsea fans, would you back a last-minute swoop for the 22-cap Portugal international? Let us know by voting below…

As reported by The Mirror, Newcastle United are weighing up a late transfer window move for Leicester City attacker Islam Slimani.

What’s the story?

After a confident performance against West Ham United on Saturday, spirits are again high at St James’ Park. However, there’s still a recognition amongst supporters that business needs to be done before the transfer window shuts if they are to reach their potential in the top-flight this season.

Good news for them then that the club are still working on big deals. The Mirror reckon the Magpies are interested in signing Leicester City’s Slimani, with the Foxes willing to sell in order to recoup a large part of the £29m they spent on him last summer.

Can Newcastle show ambition in the last week of the window and make a big money signing?

Worth splashing out on?

Slimani had a difficult first season in English football after making his move from Sporting Lisbon last summer, scoring just eight goals in his 28 appearances for the Foxes in all competitions.

However, there is potential for prolific goalscoring there and his season prior to joining Leicester points to a player that could have the attacking class and finishing ability to be a real success at Newcastle.

In 2015/16 he scored an impressive 27 goals in the Portuguese top-flight for Sporting Lisbon and if Rafa Benitez could tap into that kind of form then he would most certainly be worth splashing out on in the last week of the transfer window.

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has predicted that Aston Villa will gain their second Championship win on the bounce when they face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Steve Bruce’s side had a tough start to the season, and their promotion chances hit a snag when they failed to find a win in their first three matches.

After back-to-back defeats, the Midlands outfit responded with a 4-2 victory over Norwich City, which included a hat-trick from Conor Hourihane.

Since then, the Villans have been unbeaten in the league, but they have only managed to win once after drawing three in a row.

Bruce and his men were dumped out of the Carabao Cup in midweek when they suffered a 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough, and Saturday’s opponents Forest had similar disappointment when they were beaten 5-1 by Chelsea.

The Reds have picked up 12 points from a possible 24, and their most recent Championship result was a 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

While making his predictions for Sky Sports, Prutton backed Villa to claim a 2-1 victory this weekend.

“Aston Villa have got to win this for me. They’re undefeated in the league in five now, and while they’ve got a few too many draws in there it looks like things are coming together. Both sides suffered disappointing losses in midweek, but they made so many changes between them that it should make too much of a difference. Nottingham Forest are in 10th at the moment, and if they find themselves there at the end of the season them I’m sure Mark Warburton will be delighted.”

It took 93 minutes for England to break the deadlock against a resilient Slovenia side in a vital World Cup qualifying match at Wembley on Thursday evening.

And it was Harry Kane who yet again found the back of the net to save England’s blushes in a rather painful night for the national side.

At half-time, fans in the stadium and at home were quite rightly concerned and frankly bored with the game. In fact, broadcasters failed to find an England highlight to assess during the break, such was the lack of activity on the field.

The second half was more of a battle, with Slovenia also needing a result to keep their qualification hopes alive. With 5 minutes to go, Joe Hart was forced into a double save, when Tim Matavz was in on goal.

And just when it looked like England had run out of ideas, up popped the man in form Kane, who latched onto the end of a Kyle Walker cross to spark wild, and rather relieved, celebrations from supporters.

Following his last minute heroics, England fans took to Twitter to thank Harry Kane for ensuring qualification…

Troy Deeney’s scathing assessment of Arsenal following Watford’s 2-1 victory over the Gunners on Saturday evening seems to have opened up a can of worms.

Some (admittedly very few) will claim he should not have been so honest on live television, but most will be applauding the Watford striker for being so honest and shedding some light on what way be going on behind the scenes at Emirates Stadium.

It’s clear there is a lack of heart and passion in the Arsenal training room and Deeney spoke of how he ensured he took full advantage of that on Saturday.

Unsurprisingly, Deeney has caught the attention of many pundits in the media, not least former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, who has called upon Arsene Wenger to listen to Deeney’s comments and learn from them in his MailOnline column.

We asked our writers what they thought of the striker’s damning comments…

Oliver Huddlestone

Deeney’s comments are spot on. You used to face Arsenal and know it was going to be a tough, battling game with the likes of Adams, Keown, Ashley Cole, Vieira all in your face.

These days they are too soft, and Wenger’s team has proved over the last few seasons that outplaying teams and dominating possession in the Premier League isn’t enough anymore; there’s a lot more to the game than fancy flicks and rehearsed celebrations.

Chris McMullan

I really hope that Troy Deeney’s comments don’t get broadcast as anything other than a refreshingly honest reflection from a football player. So often, we are submitted to dull and cliched interviews from footballers after games, but this time the Watford striker spoke honestly and openly, giving us all an insight into the game that we rarely get from what was, essentially, a post-match interview.

It will, of course, be used as another stick with which to beat Arsene Wenger. That’s perfectly fair. But perhaps the reason why this sounds like such a visceral criticism of Arsenal is because it’s such an obvious thing that we can all see.

Sometimes, the obvious criticism misses the point. Sometimes, there’s a tactical reason behind a supposed problem that gets sorted out in the long term. Not at Arsenal: it’s clear that the lack of spine, fight and passion are just that. And without any of those things, fundamental to the game, there’s no hope of Arsenal winning the title.

Christy Malyan

In every aspect imaginable with the exception of conning supporters into paying premium ticket prices, Arsenal are a weak club.

Their board is too weak to sack a manager who hasn’t won the title since 2004, their manager is too weak to sell players who don’t want to play for him (Ozil and Sanchez) and to not play players he was happy to sell during the summer (Elneny), which is a farcical situation in itself, and even their most experienced defenders are too weak to contain a striker who can’t even get into the Watford starting XI.

There was a time when Vicarage Road was dubbed Arsenal’s second home, because it’s five minutes down the road and they always won there. Now they’re being mocked by the Hornets’ back-up centre-forward.

According to Don Balon, Manchester United are interested in signing Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

What’s the story?

Despite spending £40m on Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic during the summer transfer window, it is understood that United boss Jose Mourinho is still keen to boost his midfield options.

Ander Herrera has struggled to make his mark in the absences of Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini, and it has been suggested that the Spaniard could move on at the end of the season.

According to Don Balon, Mourinho wants a world-class holding midfielder to play alongside Matic and Pogba, and has identified Real Madrid’s Casemiro as the perfect player to join the club.

The report has claimed that United would be willing to offer Casemiro a better salary than he currently collects at the Bernabeu as Mourinho continues to spend big in a bid to return the 20-time English champions to the top of European football.

Would Casemiro be worth the money?

The 25-year-old has been a first-team regular for Real Madrid since re-joining the club from Porto in the summer of 2015.

The 18-time Brazil international made 42 appearances in all competitions last season, and has managed two goals in 12 appearances for the Spanish giants this term.

Casemiro actually scored six times for Los Blancos during the 2016-17 campaign, whilst his style of football would certainly work well in the Premier League.

It seems unlikely that Real Madrid would sell the defensive midfielder without putting up a fight, but the chance to play in the Premier League might well turn his head.

United are well-stocked in midfield when everyone is fit, but the Red Devils do lack a world-class defensive midfielder that can get about the pitch, and Casemiro certainly fits the ball in that respect.

Chelsea advanced to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup as they beat Everton 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, but Blues fans weren’t overly impressed with Charly Musonda’s performance.

The 21-year-old was handed a rare start – just his second of the season in all competitions – and chance to impress Antonio Conte against the Toffees after an Instagram post from him earlier this month hinted that he was unhappy with his lack of opportunities.

While he picked up an assist when his cross was headed home by Antonio Rudiger in the 26th minute, the Belgian certainly struggled with other aspects of his game and was often out-muscled by his opponents before being replaced by Pedro in the 70th minute.

Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on his showing via social media, and while some said he was simply “really poor”, others believe he ‘isn’t Chelsea level’ yet.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Danny Rose angered the Tottenham Hotspur supporters before the start of the new Premier League season when he revealed that he wanted to return ‘back up north’.

Rose also criticised Tottenham’s lack of transfer activity during the summer, and at that point, it did appear that the 27-year-old’s career with Spurs was coming to an end.

Rose missed almost nine months of action with a serious knee injury, but returned to the Tottenham team for the Champions League clash against Real Madrid last month.

The left-back made his first Premier League appearance of the season against Crystal Palace at the weekend, and has earned a recall to the England squad for their upcoming international friendlies against Germany and Brazil.

Rose, who is valued at £25.2m by transfermarkt.co.uk, spoke to Tottenham’s official television channel after the Palace game on Sunday, and discussed how much it meant to return to the field.

There is no question that the defender’s long-term future is still up in the air, but a number of Spurs supporters are keen for a line to be drawn under the saga.

A selection of the best Twitter reaction to Rose’s interview can be seen below: