Sunderland
Wolfsburg interest and Sunderland stance leave Trai Hume transfer uncertain
Wolfsburg interest in Trai Hume split reports on fees, Sunderland resistant to a sale. No deal yet..
VfL Wolfsburg have been linked with a move for 23-year-old Northern Ireland full-back Trai Hume, but reports offer a sharply divided picture over whether a formal bid exists and what valuation is acceptable.
GiveMeSport journalist Ben Jacobs reported on Monday that Wolfsburg sent an offer in the region of €11.5 million some time within the last week. That account positions Wolfsburg as having made a concrete financial approach to acquire a player who featured prominently in Sunderland’s promotion season.
Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has presented a different version. Downie wrote that an offer has not been made yet and that Wolfsburg are willing to pay around €8.7 million. According to his information, Sunderland seem uninterested in letting go of one of their key defenders and instead want to tie him down to a new deal. Downie adds that if Sunderland were to enter negotiations, they would seek a significantly higher fee, believing the player’s market value exceeds Wolfsburg’s current valuation.
The disagreement between the two reports centres on both the existence of a formal offer and on the size of any bid. The contrasting figures quoted in the coverage underline a gap between Wolfsburg’s reported valuation and Sunderland’s negotiating expectations.
Hume’s recent form helps explain Sunderland’s reluctance to part with him. During a successful EFL Championship campaign that ended with promotion to the Premier League after eight years away, he tallied three goals and added six assists over forty-seven matches. Internationally, he was involved in eight matches for Northern Ireland in qualifying for the 2024 UEFA European Championship, failing to score or register an assist in any of them.
At present the situation remains unresolved: one outlet reports an offer of about €11.5 million, another says no formal bid exists and places Wolfsburg’s interest nearer €8.7 million. Sunderland’s stated preference appears to be to retain Hume and pursue a new contract rather than conclude a sale at the lower valuation.
Arsenal
Premier League valuations ranked: a financial snapshot of every club
Valuations reveal the Premier League’s financial pecking order, from richest giants to modest clubs.
The Premier League’s financial hierarchy is on clear display in a new set of valuations that ranks every club by estimated worth. As Giorgio Chiellini observed: “The real Super League is the Premier League now.” That sentiment underpins the scale and disparity these figures expose.
At the top end the big five values are striking. Manchester City are estimated at £4–4.4 billion, Liverpool at £3.9–4.3 billion, Arsenal at £3.2–3.5 billion and Tottenham at £2.9–3.2 billion. Chelsea’s valuation stands at £2.5–2.7 billion following BlueCo’s purchase three-and-a-half years earlier, a period during which owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have invested heavily. “You keep digging, digging, digging and you have to be digging because one day the gold is going to be there,” Mikel Arteta warned ahead of the 2025–26 campaign.
Just below that tier are clubs with significant financial clout: West Ham at £710–780 million, Newcastle at £700–770 million and Aston Villa at £660–730 million. Brighton are estimated at £610–670 million.
The middle of the table features Fulham (£560–620 million), Everton and Leeds (both £500–550 million), Crystal Palace (£440–480 million) and a shared bracket for Brentford and Nottingham Forest (£340–380 million).
At the lower end, Sunderland sit at £320–350 million after a heavy summer spend has propelled them above their modest valuation. Wolves are valued at £280–310 million, Bournemouth at £270–300 million and Burnley at £200–220 million. Jeff Shi’s comment—“We don’t gamble, we never gamble and we know our limitations”—was made shortly before he stepped down as Wolves’ executive chairman.
The valuations underline contrasts between market weight and on-field performance. As Thomas Frank put it: “Yes, we are a Champions League club, but are we a Champions League club?” He added context: “We only qualified because we won the Europa League. We didn’t qualify because we were one of the four or five best clubs in the Premier League last season. We finished 17th.”
Across the list the message is consistent: size of valuation does not guarantee results, and ownership strategies, recruitment and recent spending continue to define where clubs sit in the Premier League pecking order.
Arsenal
FPL Gameweek 18: Goalkeepers, Bargains and Must-Haves for the Deadline
FPL GW18 picks and deadline details: goalkeeper sleeper plays, budget forwards and premium options..
The Boxing Day sequence leaves Fantasy Premier League managers choosing carefully ahead of Gameweek 18. Several goalkeeper and outfield options stand out given the fixtures and recent form.
Alisson Becker (£5.4m) remains a contender despite Liverpool not keeping many clean sheets this season; Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored only nine times in 19 games. Caoimhín Kelleher (£4.5m) is an alternative after Bournemouth were held by Everton and Chelsea earlier this month, and Burnley conceded just once in their most recent match. Bernd Leno (£4.9m) is an attractive differential for Fulham at home against West Ham United.
Joško Gvardiol (£6.0m) is recommended as Manchester City aim to extend a run of successive clean sheets against Nottingham Forest, and his attacking output offers additional upside. James Tarkowski (£5.5m) could provide value for Everton against Burnley, who are among the lowest scorers in the division. Piero Hincapié (£5.5m) has been collecting points in Gabriel’s absence and should feature this week.
On the attacking side, Morgan Rogers (£7.2m) is under-selected by FPL managers and could offer an edge given his role in a high-performing team. Mason Mount (£5.9m) is a budget midfield option to consider while Bruno Fernandes will miss out on Boxing Day through injury, placing creative responsibility elsewhere. Anthony Gordon (£7.3m) arrives off recent double-figure hauls for Newcastle United and poses a direct threat to Manchester United.
Erling Haaland (£15.1m) remains the premium forward for many squads, having scored almost half of his team’s goals and ranking behind only Phil Foden for current form; 74.1% of FPL players own him. Hugo Ekitiké (£8.9m) has been scoring regularly and benefits from Alexander Isak being out injured. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) is the budget forward option after 22 points across the last two gameweeks and a favourable match-up with Sunderland.
The GW18 deadline for FPL is at 6:30 p.m. GMT (1:30 p.m. ET, 1.:30 a.m. PT) on Friday, Dec. 26.
Premier League
Every Premier League player selected for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Complete list of Premier League players called to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Details
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco will feature 24 nations across a month-long tournament. Several Premier League clubs will lose players during the congested winter schedule; others will be unaffected.
Six clubs avoid any absences: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Leeds United and Newcastle United have no players called to AFCON. Sunderland are the most affected Premier League side, sending six players to Morocco, twice the number of the next-most impacted clubs.
Manchester United, Fulham and Burnley each have three players away for the tournament. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City will each be without two players. Liverpool have a single absentee: Mohamed Salah of Egypt.
Full list by club:
Arsenal: none
Aston Villa: none
Bournemouth: none
Brentford: Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)
Brighton & Hove Albion: Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)
Burnley: Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)
Chelsea: none
Crystal Palace: Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal)
Everton: Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal)
Fulham: Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)
Leeds United: none
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Manchester City: Rayan Aït-Nouri (Algeria), Omar Marmoush (Egypt)
Manchester United: Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)
Newcastle United: none
Nottingham Forest: Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast)
Sunderland: Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaka (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal)
Tottenham Hotspur: Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
West Ham United: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo), El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal)
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe)
Additional squad notes from the Premier League: a long-term injury to Yoane Wissa has ruled him out of DR Congo selection and he will instead train with Newcastle over the winter. Simon Adingra was omitted from the Ivory Coast squad. Nigeria did not select Nottingham Forest right back Ola Aina and Wolverhampton striker Tolu Arokodare, the former due to injury. Ghana’s failure to qualify means Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus will not be competing.
