Transfer news live: Barcelona want Rashford on loan as Arsenal given Gyokeres boost

Marcus Rashford’s future is almost certain to lie away from Manchester United, with Barcelona among those strongly linked this summer. The Times and Guardian report that the Catalan club have expressed interest in a loan move for the forward – though Manchester United are said to be keener on a permanent switch and a fee of around £40m.

The transfer window’s incessant march continues as clubs around the world bid to get deals done to bolster their squads ahead of the new season. We’ll have all the latest across the day as the rumour mill churns.

PSG have reportedly had a £55m bid rejected for Bournemouth’s Illya Zabarnyi.

The Champions League winners are keen to bolster their backline and have supposedly agreed personal terms with the 22-year-old Ukrainian but the Cherries don’t want to sell.

The English side have already lost one of their key defensive options after Dean Huijsen departed for Real Madrid in a deal worth £50m, while left-back Milos Kerkez is on the verge of joining Liverpool for £40m.

Tottenham are set to bolster their defensive options with the signature of Japan international Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale. The 20-year-old is highly rated and could yet develop into a first-teamer for Thomas Frank.

Arsenal and RB Leipzig remain a little bit apart on their valuations of Benjamin Sesko, Miguel Delaney reports, which has left Mikel Arteta looking at alternative options.

We start with the news that Arsenal are hesitating over Benjamin Sesko, not only because of RB Leipzig’s lofty price tag, but because of the striker’s wage demands.

The Mirror reports that Sesko would expect to become the club’s highest earner – currently thought to be Kai Havertz – and that Arsenal are strongly considering Viktor Gyokeres as a back-up option.

The Gunners are already in pole position for Gyokeres, having had a first bid rejected, and the Swedish striker is reported to told friends and family that he prefers the Emirates to Old Trafford as a destination.

John Stones has insisted he wants to stay at Manchester City and hopes to “shut down” any suggestions he will leave this summer.

Manager Pep Guardiola said he wants to trim his squad, which he described as “too long”, and now has seven centre-backs after the January signings of Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov. And Stones, 31, is about to enter the last year of his contract, having only started six Premier League games in an injury-hit campaign.

But the England international, who has not played since February, is adamant he has no intention of leaving the Etihad Stadium.

“I want to stay here,” Stones said. “I love it. I’m here to help the team. I don’t know if there’s been any speculation [about going], but I hope that this kind of shuts it down.”

Tottenham had been keen to reunite new manager Thomas Frank with Mbeumo, making Manchester United’s improved offer something of a setback. Talksport believe that Spurs will now switch their attentions to Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace as they consider parting with club captain Son Heung Min.

Juventus striker Randal Kolo Muani is determined to stay in Turin once his loan spell ends after the Club World Cup.

The French striker has scored eight times in 16 Serie A games since temporarily leaving PSG in January and has now been linked with a move to Chelsea.

“I don’t know anything about Chelsea, I’m trying to focus on the Club World Cup. We’ll see what happens on the market at the end of the competition,” Kolo Muani said.

“If it were only up to me, I’d stay here as I’m really happy at Juventus.”

Swap deals that don’t make much footballing sense are becoming part and parcel of the Premier League when summer rolls around.

This isn’t an exposé on the dodgy activities of Premier League clubs, because everyone knows what’s going on at this point. It was bound to happen once financial regulations – namely the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) – were tightened. Balancing the books has become an increasingly integral motivation to transfer business, and if there’s a way to work the system via a loophole while abiding by the letter of the law, teams will take advantage.