He was on the way to Liverpool last year and Manchester City are gunning for him now, reinforcements required after injuries to Josko Gvardiol and Rúben Dias. It’s only natural then that Arsenal feel a little bit left out. Yes, the league leaders are reportedly having a look at Crystal Palace’s in-demand captain, Marc Guéhi, whose contract runs out in the summer. Guéhi fighting it out with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães in central defence? That wall at the back could become impenetrable.

A re-jig in the Tottenham backline is also in the offing. They’re pushing hard for the Santos left-back Souza, 19 years young, after an £8m bid was rejected, while the former Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin – who recently returned from an ACL injury – is rumoured for a move back to Italy, Roma the proposed destination. Brentford’s Kevin Schade continues to be linked with Spurs, which would set up a reunion with his former coach Thomas Frank.

Evan Ferguson is over in Rome at the moment, on loan from Brighton, building some form with two goals in his last three league games. But the Premier League clearly wants him back; he finds himself attached with a possible switch to Nottingham Forest, who need a Big Man Up Top while Chris Wood recovers from surgery.

Jørgen Strand Larsen continues to circle around the Premier League’s relegation battlers. He is another one apparently on Forest’s list of targets, the Wolves forward having previously been under consideration by West Ham, who opted against splurging £40m on the 25-year-old. Wolves, despite their place in next season’s Championship already pencilled in, have managed to string three unbeaten games together, Mateus Mané contributing a couple of goals in that surprise run. The bottom side aren’t going to let anyone take away their bright spark, the Daily Mail reporting that the 18-year-old is not for sale.

The Everton right-back Nathan Patterson has the attention of Sevilla according to Sky Sports, while Antonio Rüdiger’s future is under spotlight as his deal at Real Madrid expires in the summer. Naturally, there’s some fanciful noise out there over a romantic return to Chelsea, where he first lifted the Champions League. Perhaps that’s just been spinned out by what Rüdiger wrote when he departed: “Chelsea will always be in my heart. London will always be my home.”