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Transfer news and rumours today: Leon Goretzka's Aston Villa contract 'finalised', Newcastle miss target, West Ham winger

Aston Villa are closing in on a free transfer for Leon Goretzka, with reports suggesting a medical has been completed. Newcastle United have missed out on Christopher Nkunku, while West Ham are leading the chase for Brighton winger Amario Cozier-Duberry.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 23–25, 2026 Published 1h ago

Goretzka nears Villa switch

Aston Villa are set to complete the signing of Leon Goretzka on a free transfer, according to multiple reports. The former Bayern Munich midfielder, who has been a free agent since leaving the Bundesliga club at the end of last season, is expected to sign a contract lasting between two and three years, as reported by journalist Florian Plettenberg. The same reporter has claimed that Goretzka has completed his medical and will soon be announced as a Villa player, with Emery said to have phoned the 31-year-old to convince him to join.

Villa's urgency is underscored by a difficult start to the season, including a 4-0 defeat at Brighton. The Midlands club have lost key midfielder Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, while Amadou Onana is set to be a long-term absentee with a knee injury. Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa have also departed during the transfer window. Goretzka, who made 31 Bundesliga appearances and 48 in all competitions last season, brings a wealth of experience, having played 312 times for Bayern since joining from Schalke in 2018, scoring 51 goals and providing 53 assists. His trophy haul includes seven league titles and a Champions League.

Villa also target Mateta

In addition to Goretzka, Villa are reportedly keen on Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta before next week's transfer deadline. The club is said to have made an offer worth around £25 million, which was turned down by the Eagles. Palace are believed to want around £40 million for the forward, despite his contract being set to expire. Villa's interest in a striker comes amid talk of Ollie Watkins' potential move to Saudi Arabia.

Newcastle miss out on Nkunku

Newcastle United have missed out on AC Milan forward Christopher Nkunku, who is set to sign for RB Leipzig. Transfer expert Florian Plettenberg has claimed that Leipzig have reached a verbal agreement with Milan for the 28-year-old. The news adds to a challenging period for the Magpies, who have lost several key players in recent windows, including Anthony Gordon to Barcelona and Alexander Isak to Liverpool in 2025. Newcastle begin their Premier League campaign on Sunday against Liverpool at St James' Park.

West Ham lead chase for Cozier-Duberry

West Ham United are reported to be ahead of Rangers in the race for Brighton & Hove Albion winger Amario Cozier-Duberry. Football Insider claim that Brighton have placed a £10 million price tag on the 21-year-old, and West Ham are in a strong position to secure his signature. The Hammers have started the Championship season poorly, drawing 2-2 with Burnley before losing 2-1 to Charlton Athletic, and there are concerns about the attack, with Jarrod Bowen less influential than in previous seasons.

How each outlet told it

Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC

Framing: Presents a round-up of multiple transfer rumours, with Goretzka's contract 'finalised' as one item among several, emphasizing the breadth of transfer news. — measured and informative — using phrases like 'expected to sign' and 'reported' to convey uncertainty, and 'fans are fearful' to convey concern but not alarm.

Facts Included:

Leon Goretzka is expected to sign a contract lasting between two and three years at Aston Villa, the newest report has claimed.
The summer has been disruptive to Unai Emery's plans for the club given he has lost key players like Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa in the transfer window.
Midfielder Amadou Onana will also be absent for most of the season due to a serious knee injury.
A deal had been agreed with Goretzka, who is a free agent following his Bayern Munich contract expiry.
Journalist Florian Plettenberg has claimed that the 31-year-old will sign for Villa for either two or three years, while a medical is set to be finalised soon.
Newcastle United have missed out on AC Milan forward Christopher Nkunku, who is set to sign for RB Leipzig.
The Toon will begin their Premier League campaign on Sunday, when they welcome Liverpool to St James' Park.
Fans are fearful ahead of 2026-27 due to the club losing a number of stars this transfer window, including forward Anthony Gordon to Barcelona.
The Magpies also lost Alexander Isak to Liverpool in 2025.
Transfer expert Florian Plettenberg has claimed that Leipzig have reached a verbal agreement with Milan for the 28-year-old.
West Ham United are reported to be ahead of Rangers in the race for Brighton & Hove Albion winger Amario Cozier-Duberry.
The Championship season is underway, and Hammers fans will hope that their side can secure promotion back to the Premier League.
The Londoners have started 2026-27 in poor fashion, drawing 2-2 with Burnley on August 16 before losing 2-1 to Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
There are serious concerns about the level of the club's attack, particularly as Jarrod Bowen has struggled to be as impactful as he has aged.
Football Insider claim that West Ham are in a strong position to beat Rangers to the signing of Cozier-Duberry, with Brighton placing a £10m price tag on the 21-year-old winger.

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The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC

Framing: Emphasizes the imminent completion of a high-profile free transfer (Leon Goretzka) and his Champions League winner status, while omitting the contract length detail. — excited and forward-looking — describing the transfer as 'stunning' and highlighting Goretzka's trophy-laden career.

Facts Included:

Aston Villa are set to complete the signing of Leon Goretzka on a free transfer.
Villa are also keen on recruiting Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta before next week’s transfer deadline.
Unai Emery’s side are desperate to add to their squad following Sunday’s 4-0 drubbing at Brighton.
According to reporter Florian Plettenberg, the German international has completed his medical and will soon be announced as a Villa player.
Emery is said to have phoned Goretzka in a bid to convince him to join.
The former Bayern Munich star, 31, is expected to pen a multi-year contract.
Goretzka had been a free agent since leaving Bayern at the end of last season.
Goretzka made 31 Bundesliga appearances and 48 in all competitions last season.
Goretzka signed for Bayern from Schalke in 2018 and played 312 times for the Bavarian giants, scoring 51 goals and laying on 53 assists.
He contributed to several trophy wins, including seven league titles and a Champions League.
Villa lost key midfielder Youri Tielemans to Manchester United last month, while Amadou Onana is set to be a long-term absentee with a knee injury.
Emery started Sunday’s thrashing at Brighton with Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley and Joao Gomes in midfield, the latter being sent off.
Villa have made an offer to sign Crystal Palace striker Mateta.
The bid is said to have been worth around £25million and was turned down by the Eagles.
Palace are claimed to want around £40m, despite Mateta’s contract being set to expire.

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimAston Villa are set to complete the signing of Leon Goretzka on a free transfer.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC, Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimLeon Goretzka is expected to sign a contract lasting between two and three years at Aston Villa.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimLeon Goretzka completed his medical and will soon be announced as an Aston Villa player, according to reporter Florian Plettenberg.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimAston Villa are also keen on recruiting Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta before next week's transfer deadline.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimVilla have made an offer to sign Crystal Palace striker Mateta, worth around £25 million, which was turned down by Palace.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimCrystal Palace are claimed to want around £40 million for Mateta, despite his contract being set to expire.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimUnai Emery's side are desperate to add to their squad following Sunday's 4-0 drubbing at Brighton.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimEmery is said to have phoned Goretzka in a bid to convince him to join.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimGoretzka had been a free agent since leaving Bayern at the end of last season.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC, Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimGoretzka made 31 Bundesliga appearances and 48 in all competitions last season.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimGoretzka signed for Bayern from Schalke in 2018 and played 312 times for the Bavarian giants, scoring 51 goals and laying on 53 assists.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimGoretzka contributed to several trophy wins, including seven league titles and a Champions League.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimVilla lost key midfielder Youri Tielemans to Manchester United last month, while Amadou Onana is set to be a long-term absentee with a knee injury.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC, Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimEmery started Sunday's thrashing at Brighton with Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley and Joao Gomes in midfield, the latter being sent off.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Irish Sun as of Aug 25, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimVilla have also lost Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa in the transfer window.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimNewcastle United have missed out on AC Milan forward Christopher Nkunku, who is set to sign for RB Leipzig.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimWest Ham United are reported to be ahead of Rangers in the race for Brighton winger Amario Cozier-Duberry, with Brighton placing a £10m price tag.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimWest Ham started 2026-27 with a draw against Burnley and a loss to Charlton Athletic.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC
ClaimNewcastle lost Anthony Gordon to Barcelona and Alexander Isak to Liverpool in 2025.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Sports Mole as of Aug 23, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Sports Mole, The Irish Sun 19 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-25