Premier League champions Liverpool look set to lose one of their biggest stars with the news that winger Luis Diaz is in advanced talks over a proposed move to Bayern Munich.
Arne Slot’s Reds stormed to the 2045-25 title and the Colombian was in electric form for much of the campaign and Liverpool don’t want to lose him, but Diaz has made it clear he wants a move and things have been accelerating over the weekend. The fee proposed is approaching £80m and that would represent good business for the Merseysiders, who bought Diaz back in 2022 for £37.5m and the 28-year-old has just two years left on his contract.
While Liverpool have already spent heavily, with marquee signing Florian Wirtz costing over £100m, they have recouped around £60m in player sales. Trent Alexander-Arnold has transferred to Real Madrid for £10m while keeper Caoimhin Kelleher switched to Brentford for £18m. As the Reds have sold academy products they have made some good profits, not least on the deal which took defender Jarrell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for a princely fee of £35m.
Add another £30m profit on the sale of Diaz and the Reds are doing good work to comply with profit and sustainability rules; and that might mean they can go back in for Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak. Liverpool have already signed Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, but with Darwin Nunez also likely to be on the move Slot is in the market for another proven goal scorer.
In other Premier League 2025 news Arsenal’s new £60m recruit Martin Zubimendi made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United on Sunday and the former Real Sociedad man is a key part of Mikel Arteta’s plans for the coming season. Arsenal have serious designs on the 2025-26 title and the signing of Zubimendi, along with striker Viktor Gyokores, has been a statement of intent. The Gunners have been looking for a striker for over a year and the Sweden international has bagged 68 goals in 66 games for Sporting Lisbon.
Now 27 years of age, Gyokores played for Coventry City in the Championship so this is a step up for him. Interestingly, Isak was absent from the Magpies squad for the friendly with Arsenal.
Trafford nears his return to the Etihad
Of the newly promoted teams, Burnley have been pretty busy in the market, bringing in Kyle Walker as part of their 2025-26 survival squad. But they look set to lose one of the key players from their 2024-25 promotion campaign with the news that keeper James Trafford is set to return to Manchester City in a £31m deal.
The 22-year-old starred last season for the record-breaking Clarets, keeping 29 clean sheets and making two late penalty saves in a 0-0 draw with Sunderland. Trafford joined Burnley in 2023 for a fee of £14m and played for most of the 2023-24 campaign as he and his team suffered a torrid time. But he bulked up during the close season and now, at 6ft 6in he is a real unit with brilliant shot-stopping capability, combined with vastly improved control of his area and distribution skills.
Trafford was called up to the England squad recently and now he is ready to fight for his place at Manchester City, after missing Burnley’s pre-season win over Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
The Chelsea clear-out gathers pace
Spending gazillions on players requires some creative accounting for a club to stay on the right side of profit and sustainability rules. It also means you have to make some room in your squad and, once again, the player turnover at Chelsea will take some keeping up with. On their way in are Joao Pedro at a cost of £60m from Brighton and Hove Albion, Jamie Gittens, in a £51m move from Borussia Dortmund; and big fees have been spent on young guns Liam Delap and Estevao Willian.
The Premier League 2025 betting odds here at SBOTOP say the Blues will be contenders this season but the money men have some more juggling to do over the next three weeks. Some of the players who have been bought at high price over the last couple of seasons will have to make way, and one such star is creative midfielder Joao Felix who looks to be Saudi-bound. Al Nassr are close to agreeing a deal worth over £40m for the 25-year-old and that will be enough to see off competition from Felix’s old club Benfica. He is ready to join his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr, and Felix could be the first of a queue out of Stamford Bridge, which may include the likes of Christopher Nkunku and Raheem Sterling.
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