Cole Palmer (left) and Arne Slot’s Liverpool headline the gossip

Chelsea’s Cole Palmer has emerged as the most coveted name on the summer transfer carousel, with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich all monitoring the England attacker after growing indications that the 22-year-old has become “disillusioned” at Stamford Bridge. Sources tell The Sun that any deal would require a British-record outlay of £150 million, a valuation that has not deterred Europe’s heavyweight trio from keeping constant tabs on his situation.

Palmer’s potential exit has already forced Chelsea to sound out contingency plans. The club approached Como’s Argentine playmaker Nico Paz to fill the creative void, only for the 19-year-old to rebuff the overtures and commit his future to parent club Real Madrid, according to CaughtOffside.

Across Merseyside, Liverpool are weighing up a rare direct raid on neighbours Everton for midfielder James Garner. Fichajes reports that Arne Slot’s side are ready to formalise interest in the 23-year-old, who is also attracting admiring glances from Manchester United and Real Madrid. Garner, a former United academy graduate, has rebuilt his reputation at Goodison Park and now faces a career-defining decision should the Reds firm up their approach.

Elsewhere, Arsenal have signalled their willingness to cash in on Brazilian pair Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, with Atlético Madrid poised to test the Gunners’ resolve, TEAMtalk understands. Mikel Arteta’s side are simultaneously pressing ahead with efforts to secure Club Brugge’s 21-year-old German striker Nicolò Tresoldi, with Christian Falk claiming negotiations are already at an advanced stage.

Manchester United continue to explore attacking reinforcements, lodging a £52 million bid for Benfica’s Norwegian forward Andreas Schjelderup as they hedge against Barcelona’s reluctance to turn Marcus Rashford’s loan into a permanent arrangement. Off the pitch, captain Bruno Fernandes has endorsed the pursuit of Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali, while Scott McTominay, linked with a return to Old Trafford or a lucrative Saudi switch, is determined to remain at Napoli.

In the MLS market, LAFC have joined Inter Miami in the free-agent chase for Manchester City skipper Bernardo Silva, and Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt is attracting a three-way Premier League fight after Aston Villa, West Ham and Arsenal all registered interest in the Germany midfielder, who will be out of contract in June.

Defensively, Liverpool are mulling a move for Crystal Palace centre-back Maxence Lacroix, though Chelsea and Aston Villa are poised to provide stiff competition. Any hopes of prising Nico Schlotterbeck away from Dortmund were extinguished after the German defender agreed fresh terms, while Barcelona’s negotiations with Inter over Alessandro Bastoni’s salary structure continue without a formal fee proposal.

Real Madrid remain confident Vinicius Junior will put pen to paper on an extension, and João Cancelo is lobbying Barcelona to extend his stay beyond the current loan expiry. Finally, Benfica have asked Real Madrid about taking teenage prospect Franco Mastantuono on a season-long loan.