Transfer news and rumours: Michael Carrick's new Manchester United deal, Arsenal miss out on Lars Bender, Man City want Saints defender

The biggest transfer news and rumours on Friday 20 February

Michael Carrick, Toby Alderweireld, Casemiro and Lars Bender (Getty Images)

Southampton’s on-loan defender Toby Alderweireld is reported to be attracting attention from reigning Premier League champions Manchester City, though Saints currently hold the upper hand in the race to land the Belgian as they have a £6.8m option to buy him in the summer from Atletico Madrid.

The Daily Mail reports that City will look to make a move for the 25-year-old at the end of the season, but the amount of playing time he has received at St Mary’s plus Southampton’s strong form this season could persuade him to remain on the south coast.

Former Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that Chelsea's Belgian duo Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois had agreed to join Tottenham during his time at White Hart Lane, only to sign with the Blues instead. Redknapp was speaking on TalkSport on Thursday in which he claimed he spent “four hours” with Hazard in France yet was unable to get the deal across the line.

Redknapp also explained how he nearly signed Courtois when he was just 17 years old, but the “deal dragged on forever and we didn’t get it over the line”.

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick could be rewarded for his return to the first team with a one-year contract extension, reports the Daily Mail. Carrick is currently on a £130,000-a-week and had expressed a desire to remain at Old Trafford, and the report goes on to say that he has impressed manager Louis van Gaal enough to earn a new contract offer with the option of a further year.

Michael Carrick will be offered a new contract

Everton

are considering a bid for Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro in the summer when he returns from a loan spell at Porto. The 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder has made 13 La Liga appearances for Real having joined the European champions from Sao Paulo, but according to the Daily Mirror he will be allowed to leave the club on another loan deal next season with Goodison Park rumoured to be a potential destination.

Arsenal could be about to miss out on Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender after the Daily Mirror claimed Spanish giants Barcelona had entered the race to sign the 25-year-old Germany international. Bender has been linked with the Gunners for the past two seasons as they continue to seek a long-term solution to the troublesome defensive midfield role, but Barcelona are believed to have moved ahead in the pecking order to land the former 1860 Munich player. However, the Catalans would need to wait until their transfer embargo is lifted in January 2016.

Everton will seek to sign Casemiro on loan (Getty Images)

Finally, West Brom won’t be signing a new striker before the transfer window reopens with Tony Pulis ruling out a move for a “free agent” to provide cover for Saido Berahino and the in-form Brown Ideye. As reported by the Birmingham Mail, Pulis explained he had weighed up the option, but decided against bringing in anyone else this season. “We’ve done that,” he said. “We’ve looked through all that stuff. It’s no good bringing people in who are not going to improve it.”