Mikel Merino set to sign for Arsenal after Real Sociedad accept ...

Arsenal are believed to have agreed to pay £28m up front for the former Newcastle midfielder who had one year of his contract with Sociedad remaining, with another £4.2m in potential bonuses. Merino is expected to sign a four-year deal having been left out of Sociedad’s first game of the season, a 2-1 defeat at home against Real Vallecano on Sunday. He had made no secret of his desire to join Arsenal after rejecting the offer of a new contract.

“Merino was clear that he didn’t want to say he was renewing and then leave. It wasn’t a surprise to us,” said Aperribay. “Unfortunately, one of the teams we didn’t want to show up showed up.” Arsenal remain in talks with ­Nottingham Forest over Eddie ­Nketiah after a £25m offer was rejected last week. They are expected to increase their bid for the 25-year-old striker, who has agreed personal terms for a move to the City Ground, with ­Arsenal likely to accept £30m.

Wolves have also made an offer to take goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale on loan, with Espanyol’s Joan García mooted as his replacement should the England goalkeeper leave.

Fulham have announced the signing of Sander Berge from Burnley on a five-year contract

In other transfer news, Fulham have announced the signing of Sander Berge from Burnley on a five-year contract. The midfielder joins the Cottagers after the sale of Joao Palhinha, who left for Bayern Munich earlier in the transfer window. Berge could be in contention to make his debut for Marco Silva's side against Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday at Craven Cottage.

Burnley have completed a season-long loan signing of England Under-21 defender Bashir Humphreys from Chelsea, with an option to buy. The 21-year-old, who can play at both centre-back and left-back, made his Chelsea first-team debut in the FA Cup tie against Manchester City in January 2023. Humphreys also had a loan spell at Bundesliga 2 side SC Paderborn before spending last season in the Sky Bet Championship with Swansea.

Nottingham Forest have signed Alex Moreno on a season-long loan from Aston Villa. The Spanish left-back will spend the campaign at the City Ground, with Forest having the option to make the deal permanent. Moreno, 31, played 29 times for Villa last season as they qualified for the Champions League and reached the semi-final of the Conference League.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Southampton confirmed forward Sekou Mara had completed a permanent move to Ligue 1 side Strasbourg following a two-year spell at St Mary's Stadium.

Toney could be on his way to Saudi if the price is right

Brentford striker Ivan Toney continues to be linked with a lucrative move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli ahead of the window closing. The England international was left out of the Bees' opening Premier League game against Crystal Palace because of the "transfer interest".

Brentford boss Thomas Frank revealed nothing had yet been decided as the squad prepare for Sunday's trip to Liverpool.

"He is still here, training. He has a good attitude, no problem," Frank said on Sky Sports News. "We took the decision last week because obviously there is something going on, but Ivan is doing what he has to do and is training out here.

"He needs to feel what is right for him, with the clubs that are coming (in with a bid), then we all know if that is going to happen, then the clubs need to agree.

"He has been quite vocal about wanting to try something new. I also know he has been quite vocal about how happy he is here at Brentford, so let's see." Asked if Toney could yet play at Anfield on Sunday, Frank added: "You never know in the world of football."

Brighton confirmed striker Abdallah Sima has joined French club Brest on a season-long loan. The 23-year-old Senegalese striker, who joined Albion from Slavia Prague in 2021, spent last season at Rangers, which followed on from spells at Stoke and Angers.

Millwall have announced the signing of Reading midfielder Femi Azeez for a "substantial undisclosed fee", while Ipswich have allowed Cameron Humphreys to join Wycombe on a season-long loan.

Clark makes the switch to Germany to link up with former Liverpool assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders

Liverpool have sold Bobby Clark, one of the young stars of last season’s Carabao Cup final victory, to RB Salzburg in a £10m deal. The 19-year-old midfielder made 12 appearances for Jürgen Klopp’s team last season and was highly regarded by the former Liverpool manager and his assistant, Pepijn Lijnders. Lijnders is now head coach at Salzburg and, with first-team opportunities appearing limited for Clark under Arne Slot this season, pushed for a reunion with the England Under-20 international, who is the son of former Newcastle midfielder Lee. Liverpool will receive up to £10m for Clark plus 17.5% of any future sell-on fee. The club also has a matching rights agreement should they wish to bring the midfielder back to Anfield.

Clark is not the only young Liverpool player who could leave this week with Dutch defender Sepp van den Berg wanted by Brentford and Bayer Leverkusen. The 22-year-old is considering his options before a potential £25m exit. Liverpool are the only Premier League club not to have made a signing so far this summer and have also sold Fábio Carvalho to Brentford in a deal worth up to £27.5m.

Meanwhile, Burnley have sold Morocco forward Anass Zaroury to Ligue 1 side Lens for an undisclosed fee.

Jordan Ayew is set to join Leicester from Crystal Palace, the PA news agency understands. The Foxes have agreed a fee for the forward, who still needs to clear a medical before the move is finalised. The deal is worth approximately £8million, including £3m in add-ons for the 32-year-old, whose agreement at Selhurst Park was set to expire at the end of this season. The Ghana international has scored 23 goals in 212 appearances throughout his Palace career.

Stoke are closing in on the signing of Tottenham centre back Ashley Phillips on a season-long loan. Phillips spent the second half of the 2023-24 campaign at Plymouth and Spurs are happy to allow the 19-year-old defender to depart again temporarily to further his development.