Sports Mole rounds up the latest transfer news and rumours, including Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Brighton & Hove Albion and Michail Antonio to Nottingham Forest.
Brighton & Hove Albion are reportedly interested in signing Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
The Seagulls attempted to recruit the Foxes starlet in January, when Enzo Maresca‘s side were embroiled in a race for automatic promotion from the Championship.
Leicester eventually sealed the second-tier title and subsequent promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, with Dewsbury-Hall being a key player in the King Power Stadium engine room.
The 25-year-old appeared in 44 Championship matches – starting 41 of those – bagging an impressive tally of 12 goals and providing 14 assists for teammates.
Highlighting his significant contribution to Leicester during the 2023-24 term, Dewsbury-Hall was included in the Championship’s Team of the Season, as well as picking up his club’s Player of the Season award.
Although Premier League football is now guaranteed in the East Midlands, Dewsbury-Hall could still be on the move according to talkSPORT, who claim that a long-term admirer of the midfielder will continue their pursuit this summer.
It is believed that Brighton are considering whether to make a summer swoop for the former Luton Town loanee, whose contract with Leicester expires in 2027.
Following the departure of Italian Roberto De Zebri, the Seagulls will commence the 2024-25 campaign under the stewardship of Fabian Hurzeler, who is fresh off earning promotion to the Bundesliga with St Pauli.
© Reuters
Another player who could be switching across Premier League battle lines is West Ham United‘s Michail Antonio, with the former Tricky Tree potentially making a sensational return to Nottingham Forest this summer.
The 34-year-old left the City Ground after just a single campaign to join the East Londoners in September 2015 and has since made 308 appearances for the Hammers, bagging 82 goals.
Antonio’s goalscoring output halved during the 2023-24 season compared to the previous term, with the ex-Reading marksman only netting seven goals in 32 matches across all competitions.
After a baron spell in front of goal, The Sun are claiming that the Jamaica international is set to be on the move during the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the powerful attacker is now surplus to requirements at the London Stadium, with new head coach Julen Lopetegui planning a massive overhaul of his squad.
It is understood that Forest are lining up a deal that would bring Antonio back to the City Ground after nine years away, however the Tricky Trees face serious competition for the striker’s services.
Possibly offering a switch across the capital, Fulham are said to be keen on the 16-time international, who is currently away at the Copa America in the United States with Jamaica.
There is also said to be interest in Antonio from two sides in MLS and Bundesliga contenders RB Leipzig, however the attacker currently favours a transfer that would allow him to remain in the Premier League.
© Reuters
As speculation around the next destination of Antonio continues, the future of West Ham defender Ben Johnson is supposedly close to a solution, with the academy graduate said to be edging towards a move to newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
Since making his first-team debut for the Hammers in 2017, Johnson has failed to cemented himself as a starter on the right side of the team’s backline.
The 24-year-old only managed four starts and 538 minutes of football in the Premier League across the course of the 2023-24 term for David Moyes‘s troops, playing second fiddle to Czech Republic international Vladimir Coufal.
After four campaigns of being a squad player at the London Stadium, Johnson is on the verge of joining top-flight newcomers Ipswich Town, as reported by Football Insider.
The Tractor Boys are supposedly in advanced talks over the signing of the right-back, who is said to have rejected multiple contraction extension offers from West Ham.
Rangers and Leeds United are also credited with a fondness of Johnson, however the defender is keen to remain on the books of a Premier League outfit.
