Transfer news: Chelsea to make final Romelu Lukaku offer, confusion over Manchester United's Paul Pogba deal

The biggest transfer news and speculation on Tuesday 02 August

Chelsea will make a final offer to Everton in their bid to sign Romelu Lukaku after informing their Premier League rivals that their reported £67m bid will be a take-it-or-leave-it deal.

The Blues are determined to re-sign Lukaku two years after allowing him to leave Stamford Bridge in a £28m move, but Everton are now holding out for more than double that fee as they refuse to sell for anything less than £75m.

Chelsea are confident they can talk Everton down from the fee, although in a bid to ensure they don’t go over the £67m they have allocated for the Belgium international, The Times reports that they have told Everton that another offer will not be made should they decide to reject the blues once more, having already turned down a £57m bid.

Manchester United’s drawn-out pursuit of Paul Pogba is yet to be completed, with suggestions that the Juventus midfielder in now heading to New York in order to undergo a medical, according to L’Equipe and French Football journalist Nabil Djellit. He wrote on Monday night: "After #Miami, #LA and #Vegas, #Pogba flies to #NY… known for its skyscrapers for medical visits…"

However, it is worth noting that Djellit was the man who reported last week that a deal was agreed between United and Juventus and that he was flying to Los Angeles to undergo a medical on the West Coast.

With Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, claiming last Friday that no deal was in place and little progress since the weekend, it appears that a potential world record transfer could yet be some time from being signed and sealed.

Arsenal have received another clear indication from Lyon that the French club will only sell striker Alexandre Lacazette if the Gunners up their offer beyond the £40m mark that they are demanding.

Arsene Wenger has spoken publicly over the last week of his desire to sign a new striker to help Olivier Giroud in Arsenal’s tilt at the title, but so far the Frenchman’s efforts have come up short. After missing out on Jamie Vardy and Gonzalo Higuain, Wenger has already seen a £29.3m offer for Lacazette rejected by the Ligue 1 outfit.

As quoted by The Mirror though, Lyon manager Bruno Genesio has admitted that the France international could still leave this summer if the right offer comes in.

Genesio said: “He can leave if Lyon want him to. There are some offers that you cannot refuse.”

United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger continues to be faced with an Old Trafford exit after he was forced to train with the Under-23s, according to the Manchester Evening News. Schweinsteiger was left out of United’s trip to Sweden to play Galatasaray at the weekend after failing to make Jose Mourinho’s 23-man squad, and the arrival of Pogba looks certain to end his short time in the Premier League.

Suggestions that Schweinsteiger is still on his honeymoon with his wife, the tennis player Ana Ivanovic, have been dismissed after he reported for training last Thursday with the rest of the squad, but with Morgan Schneiderlin, Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini ahead of the 32-year-old in Mourinho’s pecking order, the future at United looks bleak for the World Cup winner.

Swansea look set to say goodbye to their long-serving captain Ashley Williams with the Wales skipper on the verge of a £10m move to Everton, according to The Guardian. 31-year-old Williams was one of Wales’s star players at Euro 2016 as they reached the semi-final for the first time in their history, but it appears that his eight-year stay at the Liberty Stadium is finally coming to an end.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman is yet to sign an outfield player for the Toffees since replacing Roberto Martinez at Goodison Park, with goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg the only new arrival this summer so far. However, with John Stones expected to join Manchester City – who are also on the verge of signing Leroy Sane as revealed by The Independent yesterday – Koeman is keen to strengthen his defence, with concerns over Phil Jagielka’s hamstring injury.