Elliot Anderson's imminent £116m transfer to Manchester City from Nottingham Forest is expected to have a knock-on effect for other deals for midfielders in the transfer window.
As Your Site News told you in March, this summer was always going to be dominated by central midfielders, with a number of elite Premier League players expected to come onto the market.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham are still planning to make at least one addition in that position this summer, while Man City could yet sign another central midfielder after Anderson.
Currently Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Mateus Fernandes and Alex Scott are being pursued by top Premier League clubs - and everyone involved has been keeping an eye on developments with Anderson.
The fee for the England star will help set the benchmark by which the valuations of other players are decided.
Last week Spurs made an offer of almost £80m for Tonali that was knocked back immediately by Newcastle, who sold Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35m two years ago.
Tonali is believed to be ready to sign for the North London club if the clubs can agree a deal, but Newcastle can point to the fact the Italian has three years to run on his contract and to the current £36m disparity in price with Anderson.
Your Site News has been told Tonali is keen to play for De Zerbi and a contract worth more than £275,000 per week would be ready and waiting for him to sign. City are also monitoring Tonali, who has also been on the lists at Arsenal and United.
City have been weighing up rivalling Spurs for Tonali alongside their move for Anderson. It remains to be seen if they will go for Tonali now the Anderson deal is wrapped up, with other factors - including departures - to consider.
Arsenal have a long-term interest in Tonali but so far have not followed that up this summer and are exploring the conditions of a deal for his Newcastle team-mate, Guimaraes.
Contact has been made through intermediaries, and it is thought an informal proposal was rejected. Newcastle have not had any contact from Arsenal directly so far and do want to sell their captain, who has two years remaining on his contract.
Although Guimaraes, who turns 29 in November, is considered by many to be among the very best midfielders in the Premier League, his age means buying clubs may not be as willing to pay as much for him as some of the other players on the market this summer.
Your Site News understands Spurs are willing to go as high as £85m for West Ham's Fernandes despite their relegation from the Premier League last season.
However, they could still face competition from Manchester United as they consider making an offer. It was understood that United previously valued Fernandes at £60m, but they may be prepared to go higher as they watch developments with other clubs closely.
United have already secured a deal for Ederson with Atalanta worth up to £39m, which is expected to be finalised after Brazil's World Cup campaign is over, but want to add at least one more and could sign a third if Manuel Ugarte is sold.
Alex Scott at Bournemouth is another of their targets, and United – along with Arsenal – are considered the frontrunners as things stand.
Scott is perhaps not valued as highly as some of the previously mentioned players, but Bournemouth's stance that he is not for sale means it is likely that they would hold out for a big fee if one of the top clubs come calling.
Talks have already been held about a new deal, as Bournemouth hope Scott, who just missed out on the England World Cup squad, will continue under new boss Marco Rose. They also want to reward him financially after impressive performances last season.
Anderson's move will also see Forest target potentially two new midfielders, with interest in Spurs' Lucas Bergvall – who has told Spurs he wants to look for a new challenge – David Frattesi, Arne Engels and Hayden Hackney.
Chelsea and Liverpool are also on the lookout for new central midfielders along with Everton, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Brighton, Leeds, Sunderland and the three promoted sides. Newcastle may also need a replacement for Tonali if he leaves this summer.
Everton have had an approach knocked back by Middlesbrough for Hackney, while Leeds have had a bid rejected by Southampton for the promising Shea Charles as talks continue between the two clubs.
Abroad, big clubs like Real Madrid - who want to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea - Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan are also likely to have an impact on the midfield market.
If Real Madrid manage to sign Fernandez from Chelsea, who value the midfielder at more than £100m, it remains to be seen what that could mean for Aurelien Tchouameni – on the list at Man Utd and others – or Eduardo Camavinga.
Atletico have agreed the terms of a deal for Joao Gomes at Wolves but have not yet followed through. They are also interested in Tijjani Reijnders at City, which may have a bearing on what City do next after signing Anderson. Mateo Kovacic also finds his future uncertain at the Etihad, while there could be interest, too, in Nico Gonzalez.
Other top midfield players potentially on the market in the Premier League are Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Matt O'Riley. From the French league there are Lamine Kamara, Mamadou Sangare and Ayyoub Bouaddi, while in Italy there is Mandela Keita and Manu Kone as well as Frattesi.
