A relative unknown signing from Sheffield United ahead of the 2018-19 season, Brooks emerged as one of the Premier League's most exciting young players, scoring eight goals in 42 appearances in all competitions, and earning himself regular call-ups to the Wales national team.
Now, Manchester United are reportedly willing to part with £50 million to sign the 21-year-old, who was a fan of the Red Devils as a boy. The move would be another chapter in Brooks' rapid rise to the top.
United have already shown their willingness to invest in young players after signing 21-year-old winger Daniel James from Swansea City earlier this month for around £15m.
Barcelona, Juventus Manchester United and PSG have all at one time or another been considered the "leaders" for the Dutch defender, with PSG the trendy landing spot of the week. RMC Sports out of France now suggests a new club has entered the race for the 19-year-old Ajax captain: Real Madrid.
The race for the wildly-talented De Ligt goes on...
Reports in Turkey suggest the New Zealand-born winger could be bound for Besiktas in the coming days. Ortacizgi.com claims that Besiktas have made an official offer to Guimaraes and that Boyd will join the Turkish giants unless the Portuguese club receives an offer of over €2 million from someone else.
Boyd, who scored two goals on Tuesday for the U.S. in just his second cap, spent last season on loan in the Turkish Super Lig with Ankaragucu, scoring six goals and added four assists.
22.29 BST: The Northern Echo writes that Newcastle remain confident about getting the £20 million they want for striker Dwight Gayle.
According to the Echo, Stoke have joined the fray for the Championship goalscoring ace, joining Fulham and West Brom as potential suitors for the striker. Gayle scored 23 goals last season while on loan at the Hawthorns but doesn't really fit the mould of a Rafa Benitez striker.
With Benitez's future up in the air and Newcastle yet to make a decision regarding Salomon Rondon's £16.5m release clause, we'll see what's next for the 28-year-old Gayle.
A proven goalscorer at the Championship level, Gayle has scored 59 goals in 91 career games in the division and could be a major coup for a promotion-hopeful side like Fulham, Stoke or West Brom.
22.05 BST: Have Liverpool found an Alberto Moreno replacement?
Spanish publication Sport is reporting that Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have identified Real Betis left-back Junior Firpo as a potential target. The outlet adds that Firpo has a £50 million release clause in contract and that Barcelona have also enquired about the Spain Under-21 international.
Born in the Dominican Republic, the 22-year-old Firpo is also capable of playing on the wing or at centre-back and has managed five goals in 30 league games for Betis.
21.23 BST: Football Italia claims that PSG bad boy Adrien Rabiot has selected his next club.
The outlet joins Sky Sport Italia's earlier report in saying that Rabiot has chosen Juventus and will sign a five-year contract with the eight-time defending Italian champions.
Rabiot, who was banished by PSG back in December for clashes with the coaching staff, becomes a free agent on June 30th and will sign for €7 million per season plus bonuses and a €10m signing-on fee as commission for the agent.
20.58 BST: Is Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich a done deal?
In short, no but one Bayern Munich player seems quite confident of a deal getting done. Star Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski didn't mince words when speaking with Goal.
"Bayern's German players are now very much looking forward to Sane's signing, but we have to wait and see what is going on."
The 23-year-old Sane bagged 16 goals and added 18 assists last season and is under contract at Man City through 2021.
Not so fast Lewa!
West London Sport claims that QPR and new manager Mark Warburton are interested in throwing Villa's out-of-favour striker Scott Hogan a lifeline. Warburton, who managed Hogan at Brentford in 2014-15, is hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Hogan, who once scored 21 goals in a 32 game stretch for Brentford.
The Republic of Ireland international has scored just seven goals in 56 games since arriving at Villa Park in 2017 for £12 million.
19.48 BST: Sky Sports News reports that Tottenham have "cooled their interest" in Sporting Lisbon winger Bruno Fernandes.
Tottenham's brass met with Fernandes' representatives on Wednesday but the £65 million price tag is reportedly more than Spurs are willing to spend. Fernandes, 24, racked up 32 goals and 18 assists last season for Sporting.
19.16 BST: Giovani dos Santos to Club America?
Recent reports have linked the out-of-contract forward -- Dos Santos, 30, had his contract bought out by the Galaxy back on March 1 -- to the Liga MX giants, with America manager Miguel Herrera confirming interest in Dos Santos to reporters on Wednesday.
"Giovani is a possibility like any other player you mention," Herrera told reporters in Mexico City's international airport on Wednesday. "Any player of that level would be good, he's focused, but that doesn't mean he has to come to America.
"He's a free agent and he's Mexican, he'd fit in any team in Mexican football, not just America."
Gio's brother Jonathan, a midfielder for the LA Galaxy, would also fully support a move to America for his brother.
"I don't know anything, but hopefully," said Jonathan after Mexico's 3-1 win over Canada in Denver. "I've always said that we are America fans from the cradle and hopefully [Giovani's move to America] happens.
"We are life-long America fans, for us it is the best team in the world and what is better than going there?"
Neither of the Dos Santos brothers have ever played in Liga MX but their father, Geraldo Francisco dos Santos or "Zizinho" played for a decade in Mexico in the 1980s, including two stints with America.
18.42 BST: Liverpool have reportedly made a decision on loan star Marko Grujic's future.
The Liverpool Echo understands that the club plan to loan out the 23-year-old again, as Jurgen Klopp still believes he has a future at Anfield. The 23-year-old starred last season while on loan at Hertha Berlin, who have shown interest in buying the player on a permanent basis.
Grujic has made 14 first-team appearances for the Reds in his career and has spent the last 18 months on loan, first at Cardiff City and then at Hertha.
18.07 BST: Man City to pip rivals United for Leicester centre-back Harry Maguire?
The Mirror writes that City are now ahead of United in the fight to sign Maguire due to the player's desire to play for Pep Guardiola and the fact that City can offer Champions League football next season. The 26-year-old centre-back has long been a target for Man United but Leicester have yet to budge on their valuation of the England man.
This recent report doesn't necessarily mean Maguire will be heading to the Etihad, as City remain reluctant to pay the £80 million that Leicester are asking for. The Maguire sweepstakes appear far from over.
17.38 BST: With Aaron Wan-Bissaka nearing a move to Manchester United, Palace will need to find a replacement for the 21-year-old right-back.
Former Eagle and current Liverpool right-back Nathaniel Clyne has been linked, and English bookmakers SkyBet have made Palace the favorites to sign the England international.
Clyne graduated from the Crystal Palace academy in 2008 and spent four seasons at Selhurst Park (2008-12) before signing for Southampton.
17.03 BST: English Championship side Wigan have reportedly made a bid for a United States international.
Football Insider understands that Wigan have tabled a bid of £1.9 million for Everton left-back Antonee Robinson. The 21-year-old Robinson, who helped Wigan avoid relegation last season while on loan from Merseyside, has yet to play a senior game for Everton and is behind both Lucas Digne and Leighton Baines in the Everton left-back pecking order.
16.21 BST: Everton have announced they have sold Croatian forward Nikola Vlasic to CSKA Moscow.
The 21-year-old spent last season on loan with Moscow, scoring eight times, and will now join the club on a permanent basis. Vlasic joined Everton from Hajduk Split in 2017 but only made 19 appearances for the Toffees.
The BBC reports that the Russian side will pay Everton £14 million for Vlasic.
15.37 BST: West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is set to spurn interest from Manchester United, according to the Independent.
Rice, 20, was an ever-present in the Premier League last season and impressed scouts of both Man United and City. But the report claims he's not prepared to move at this point as he doesn't feel it is the right time to leave.
14.56 BST: Martin Odegaard, remember him? Yes, he's still at Real Madrid and he's still being linked with loan moves.
Odegaard is 20 now and has been on loan pretty much ever since he landed at the Bernabeu in 2015 when not playing in their reserve team. Vitesse was his last loan spell and now TV2 claims he's off to Germany to join Bayer Leverkusen.
With the number of players arriving at Real Madrid this summer -- over €300m worth already -- he might be thinking about a permanent move rather than a loan. And who could blame him?
14.14 BST: Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes has been attracting attention from around Europe. Liverpool, Man United and Atletico Madrid are reported to be ready to make a €40m move for him, but now Tottenham are holding talks with his agent in a bid to jump to the front of the queue, say the Daily Telegraph.
With Christian Eriksen's future unclear, Fernandes or Real Betis and Argentina midfielder Giovani Lo Celso (perhaps both) are being lined up to replace him.
13.47 BST: Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro would welcome the return of James Rodriguez to the club but said he hopes Neymar doesn't play for Barcelona again.
The Brazil international is competing at the Copa America in his country and was asked about James, who will return to Madrid this summer following the end of his two-year loan deal at Bayern Munich but is a target of Napoli and could leave Los Blancos this summer.
Asked about James, Casemiro said as reported in AS: "It would be great for us if he returns to Real Madrid. He's already shown the whole world what a brilliant player he is. I've got a great deal of time for him as a player and as a person. I'm sure that if he doesn't come back to Real Madrid, he'll be welcomed back for all the qualities he possesses. But these things don't depend on me, you'd have to ask the president, the coach and James. He has earned all the merits to be where he is."
Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar, meanwhile, is reportedly keen to return to Barcelona. Asked about the possibility of facing Neymar in La Liga next season, Casemiro said: "Neymar is a great player. If he goes to Barcelona, it is complicated for us because they would land a very important player. We have signed high quality players as the ones that have arrived like Eden Hazard and Rodrygo, who had a great season in Brazil."
13.15 BST: At Juventus, Maurizio Sarri will find Gonzalo Higuain, whom he managed at both Napoli and Chelsea, but when asked about reports the Argentine is likely to leave this summer, the manager refused to commit to a decision either way.
"I have not spoken to Gonzalo since the Europa League victory," Sarri said at a news conference. "I needed to get an idea of what Juve and my new surroundings are about.
"When he returns, we will have the chance to talk. Gonzalo has the capability of playing with anybody and I can't see any problems with him. I really like Higuain, but it's only right that I listen to the management on the players they already have in the squad here and they know better than me.
"I am obliged to trust them on the players they know better and when we have a clearer idea of our main system of play, then we can start to talk."
12.54 BST: Ajax might be set to lose a number of players this summer after their run to the Champions League semifinals, but they have kept manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag has signed a contract until 2022 after winning the Dutch league and cup trophies. But his first job will be to find replacements for Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.
12.16 BST: AS report that Atletico Madrid plan to make five further signings after the arrival of Llorente, the first being Benfica winger Joao Felix.
"One right-back, one centre-back and two left-sided players" are also on the agenda, with Espanyol's Mario Hermoso and Napoli's Elseid Hysaj linked alongside Monterrey's Jesus Gallardo and Athletico Paranaense's Lodi.
12.08 BST: Now we're cooking with gas. Atletico Madrid have confirmed the signing of Marcos Llorente from Real Madrid on a five-year deal. He will join on July 1 with these guys.
12.02 BST: Who cares if you spend a fair bit of time on the bench, or playing as a backup left-back, when you're winning titles? Oleksandr Zinchenko is clearly happy.
Sources told ESPNFC in March that the Ukraine international was set be rewarded with a new deal after impressing as cover for Benjamin Mendy.
"It's difficult to express how happy I am to sign this deal," said the 22-year-old, who was close to joining Wolves in a £15m deal last summer.
Zinchenko's deal follows a new contract extension for teammate Kyle Walker, while City are looking at bringing in PSV defender Angelino as extra cover at left-back.
11.56 BST: Juventus have also been linked with Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, after Maurizio Sarri arrived as coach.
"Chelsea have a four-year contract with the lad. We'll wait a few days to figure out whether there is any truth in this interest mentioned in the papers," Jorginho's agent Joao Santos told Tuttomercatoweb.
"His past at Napoli won't be an issue, because Jorginho is a professional. Right now, Jorginho is happy at Chelsea. He found a great atmosphere and we can't really say that he'd like to go elsewhere, but anything can happen on the transfer market. We'll wait and see..."
11.38 BST: Diario AS report that Juventus have turned their attention to signing Real Madrid left-back Theo Hernandez.
Juve tried to lure veteran Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy.
According to AS, Juve have contacted Hernandez's entourage to discover what the player's intentions are. The player himself would reportedly welcome a move to Juventus that would see him play with Cristiano Ronaldo again, and compete in the Champions League.
11.12 BST: Sources have told ESPN that new Bundesliga side Union Berlin are set to sign attacker Anthony Ujah from FSV Mainz 05. The 28-year-old Nigeria international has experience of over 100 Bundesliga matches, as well as 39 in China with Liaoning Whowin, and should assist Union's fight to stay in the top flight next season.
10.51 BST: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been given just £100m to strengthen his Manchester United squad this summer, with further spending likely to be dependent on money raised by player sales, sources have told ESPN FC.
Further investment in the squad hinges on the futures of Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and David De Gea, who have all been linked with moves away from Old Trafford this summer.
Should any of the trio be sold, sources have told ESPN FC that Solskjaer would expect to be given the proceeds to reinvest in the squad.
10.37 BST: Boca Juniors have announced the signing of Brighton attacking midfielder Alexis Mac Allister on a season-long loan.
Mac Allister signed a four-and-a-half year contract with Brighton in January but was loaned back to his former side Argentina Juniors until the end of the season after he did not receive his work permit to play in England.
Several Argentinian clubs were keen to have Mac Allister on loan but the player's wish was to play at Boca. Brighton reportedly turned down a €20m offer from Spartak Moscow for the 20-year-old earlier this month.
10.04 BST: Diario AS report that Bayern Munich have now joined the race to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodri.
A reported target of Manchester City, Rodri has told Atletico he wants to leave this summer although the Spain international has yet to decide his next move. City are one of the clubs reportedly willing to pay the 22-year-old's €70m release clause but Bayern are also keen.
Atletico, meanwhile are closing in on the signing of Real Madrid midfielder as Rodri's replacement. According to AS, the deal could be made official on Thursday as Atletico have already agreed personal terms with Llorente and the two clubs appear to have reached an agreement for his transfer.
09.42 BST: Neymar, Neymar, Neymar... Sources have told ESPN that PSG are open to sale this summer and now Mundo Deportivo report that Real Madrid have offered €130m plus James Rodriguez or Gareth Bale for the Brazilian.
Le Parisien say that PSG want €300m, though it's a bit hard to understand how his value has increased from the €222m they paid Barcelona given all that has happened in the two years since.
PSG might not get a better deal and as long as they can keep hold of Kylian Mbappe, they should be able to persuade a high profile replacement to join.
09.05 BST: Apparently it's now super normal for all English players to be linked with a move abroad...
Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan reportedly want Ryan Bertrand from Southampton, according to the Daily Mail. The club want to sell for £15m, but realistically a £10m bid would probably see things sorted.
08.29 BST: West Ham will hold talks with centre-back Issa Diop's representatives next week amid interest from Manchester United, Sky Sports reports.
Diop has recently emerged as a target for United just a year after joining the Hammers from French club Toulouse in a £22m deal.
The 22-year-old started 33 Premier League games last season, and Old Trafford chiefs are reportedly willing to spend £45m and include a player in a deal to sign him.
Sky also report, however, that Diop's West Ham teammate Declan Rice is not for sale amid links with United and Premier League champions Manchester City.
08.00 BST: Maurizio Sarri will be officially presented as Juventus' new coach in a couple of hours' time at 10.00 BST, and the Italian may not be the last to make the trip from west London to Turin this summer.
Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, who came to Stamford Bridge with Sarri from Napoli last summer, wants to reunite with his boss at Juve, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Brazil-born Italy international helped the Blues to a top-three finish in the Premier League (in which he started all but one game) and victory in the Europa League final. However, like Sarri, Jorginho has had plenty of critics among the club's supporters despite that success.
Just a few months after selling Cesc Fabregas to Monaco, Chelsea will not want to lose another central midfielder this summer without a quality replacement lined up.
PAPER TALK (by Stephen Wright)
Lukaku one step closer to Inter
Romelu Lukaku's Manchester United exit is looking more likely, after the Belgian agreed a £180,000-per-week deal to join Inter Milan, according to The Sun.
Lukaku will reportedly be allowed to leave the club for £75m, and all that's left to do is for the two clubs to settle on the fee.
That may not happen in the immediate future though, as Inter are still hopeful of offloading Mauro Icardi before bringing Lukaku in. That chain of events is expected to start with Antoine Griezmann heading to Barcelona and being replaced by Paulo Dybala at Atletico Madrid, allowing Icardi to move to Juventus.
Arsenal target plays hard to get
Arsenal may have found a replacement for the departing Aaron Ramsey by way of Dominik Szoboszlai, according to Football.London.
A dynamic midfielder for RB Salzburg, Szoboszlai has been identified as a target for the Gunners, who will reportedly have to compete with the likes of Juventus, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Lazio for his signature.
Despite the speculation, Szoboszlai's agent, Matyas Esterhazy, insisted the player remains fully focused on playing for Salzburg, but the Austrian club would consider bids in the region of £15 million for him.
Ramsey will leave Arsenal for Juventus on July 1 upon the expiration of his contract at the club.
Ndombele nearing North London
Tottenham Hotspur are edging closer to completing the signing of Tanguy Ndombele, Football.London reports.
Speculation has surrounded the Frenchman's future for weeks, but now the prospect of him becoming a Spurs player is looking more likely after Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy met with Lyon.
Ndombele is at the top of Mauricio Pochettino's transfer shortlist, and Spurs are expected to break the bank with a record deal for the 22-year-old.
Earlier this week, Ndombele said: "Tottenham are a big club, they finished in four place in their league, they were Champions League finalists -- which player would not be interested in a big club?"
Tap-ins
- A homecoming could be on the cards for Neymar, as Spanish outlet Sport reported that the Brazilian is looking to buy his old house back in Barcelona. Luis Suarez had his say: "Neymar? Who wouldn't enjoy playing with a player like him."
- Tom Heaton has rejected a new contract at Burnley, spiking interest in a move to AFC Bournemouth, The Sun reports. Inconsistent performances from both Asmir Begovic and Artur Boruc have meant the Cherries struggled to find a regular number one shot-stopper last season, and it's thought that Eddie Howe may deem Heaton to be that man. Aston Villa are also interested.
