Southampton have stolen a march on their Premier League rivals including Norwich City who were interested in the striker by having a bid accepted for Blackburn front man Adam Armstrong.

Armstrong, 24, is set to have a medical with the Saints on Tuesday after the bid, which could be worth more than £20m with add-ons, was accepted.

He scored 28 goals in 40 Championship games in 2020-21, the second-highest figure in the division last season.

Southampton are in need of a striker after selling 29-year-old England international Danny Ings to Aston Villa for £25m earlier this month.

Armstrong, who represented England at Under-21 level, began his career with Newcastle and had loan spells with Coventry, Barnsley, Bolton and Blackburn before moving to Rovers on a permanent deal in 2018.

Southampton had an offer rejected for Armstrong last week, but returned with an improved bid.

The Saints finished 15th in the Premier League in 2020-21 and begin their 2021-22 campaign away at Everton on Saturday, 14 August.

Fulham youngster Fabio Carvalho is wanted by all of Leeds United, Norwich City, West Ham and Porto, according to the Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail reports that the young Englishman has rejected a fresh contract offer from the London club amid interest from Leeds United, Norwich City and West Ham, with Portuguese giants Porto also claimed to be in the running.

Carvalho is a product of the Fulham youth academy. He made his debut in the Premier League last season bursting onto the professional scene with a debut goal v Southampton.

He’d go on to feature four times in the top flight as Scott Parker’s side were relegated but under new manager Marco Silva in their opening game of the new season yesterday, Carvalho was handed a start.

The midfielder started in the no.10 role and gave a good account of himself as Fulham drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough. But now Carvalho is at a contract ‘impasse’ as Daily Mail put it and with little under three weeks of the transfer window left, he could yet seal himself a return to the Premier League.

Contract rebel
Carvalho has rejected Fulham’s opening contract offer. It’s a brave move from the 18-year-old and it’s brought a lot of transfer attention unto himself – something which Fulham obviously won’t want to see.

Silva will be eager to tie Carvalho down to a new and improved deal as to avoid losing him for free next summer but this month could be a very nervy one for the Whites as the likes of Leeds, Norwich and West Ham all lurk.

Carvalho is a player with bags of potential and his contract situation could become a real source of pain for Fulham this season.

Premier League newbies Norwich City are reportedly closing in on a move for Werder Bremen striker Josh Sargent.

The Canaries won the Championship title last season with a staggering 97 points, achieving promotion to the Premier League after just a season away. Daniel Farke is preparing well his Norwich City team for survival this time around, with players such as Milot Rashica, Angus Gunn, Billy Gilmour and Pierre Lees-Melou having arrived at the Carrow Road so far in this transfer window.

According to CBS Sports, Werder Bremen’s USA international Josh Sargent has reached a deal with Norwich City, pending a medical. He was not there in Werder Bremen’s squad for their German Cup clash with VfL Osnabruck on Saturday, having not trained with Markus Anfang’s team on Friday.

Josh Sargent, 21, was one of the rare bright sparks in a wretched 2020/21 Bundesliga campaign for Bremen that ended in relegation. The U.S. international was the club’s top scorer last season with seven goals and begun the 2.Bundesliga campaign in spectacular style, scoring a brace in the 3-2 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf last week.

The 21-year-old striker was also a part of Gregg Berhalter’s U.S. squad that won the Concacaf Nations League earlier this summer. Following Bremen’s relegation from the Bundesliga, it had been long expected that Josh Sargent would move on from the German club, and now looks set to join Daniel Farke’s Norwich ahead of the Premier League campaign

Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has insisted the club are sticking to their £25m asking price for star attacker Adam Armstrong.

Over the course of the summer transfer window, Adam Armstrong has been heavily linked with a move away from Blackburn Rovers.

A host of Premier League sides have been said keen on the hotshot, with Crystal Palace and Norwich City most recently credited with interest.

However, Rovers are showing no interest in letting their star man leave on the cheap. A £25m asking price has been widely reported and now, manager Tony Mowbray has said the club have no plans on budging on their valuation.

Speaking with Lancs Live, the Blackburn boss insisted that any club looking to sign Armstrong this summer will need to pay the full asking price.

Here’s what he had to say:

“I think the club are right to have a valuation and it needs meeting.

“These clubs that have bids in for him, for me, the Premier League you see some of the money, we’re arguing over a few quid here and there.

“Pay the asking price, get the job done and let’s get on with it. That’s how I see it.

“He’s our player, I think he’s an amazing player, and if he had three years left no-one would be getting him for less than £25m, those sort of numbers, yet he hasn’t. But you have to pay the price.”

Mowbray went on to add that he trusts Armstrong to give his all as long as he’s at the club, even if he stays beyond the end of the month.

The Blackburn boss heaped praise on the former Newcastle United youngster, labelling him as a “fantastic kid” amid a disrupted pre-season.

Given just how important Armstrong has been for Blackburn Rovers in recent seasons, irreplaceable would be a fair tag.

He netted 29 goals and provided five assists last season and has been the club’s primary goal threat in recent campaigns. Bringing in a player to do what Armstrong has done at Ewood Park will cost a pretty penny, so it will be interesting to see who is lined up as a potential replacement.

Norwich City have made a ‘major’ offer for Adam Armstrong as they look to win the race for the Blackburn Rovers forward.

The 24-year-old is a man in-demand after an outstanding season for Tony Mowbray’s men last time out, where Armstrong scored a fantastic 28 goals from 40 games.

Such form, combined with his contract at Ewood Park entering the final year, meant a summer move has always seemed on the cards.

Sun reporter Alan Nixon has revealed that the Canaries have made a real play to bring the ex-Newcastle United man to Carrow Road, with Adam Idah understoof to be involved in the deal.

“Major offer for Adam Armstrong. Good money plus extras. Also willing to let young Idah go in deal. However want a large fee for him. Offer higher than Southampton or Watford for the striker. And close to Venkys valuation.”

The prospect of bringing in Idah may appeal to Rovers who will be short on numbers up top if Armstrong departs.

This is going to be a very interesting transfer battle for Armstrong and this latest update shows that Norwich are very serious about doing a deal.

However, Southampton will have funds from Danny Ings’ sale, so Blackburn will hope it plays out into an auction between the two.

Realistically, they know keeping him beyond the current window is going to be tough, so it’s about getting a significant fee and then putting some money back into the team as a lot of work needs doing.

Norwich City have slapped in a third offer for PAOK Salonika winger Christos Tzolis, according to Greek outlet Sportime.

The Carrow Road outfit are keen to make significant additions to their squad ahead of their return to the Premier League and have already signed a host of players.

Norwich have brought in Milot Rashica from German outfit Werder Bremen to strengthen their attack, but want to add to their options with the addition of PAOK star Tzolis.

Daniel Farke’s side have been locked in talks with PAOK over a deal for the 19-year-old winger and have already seen two bids rejected by the Greek top flight club.

However, the Premier League outfit are keen to add the Greece international to their ranks and have slapped in an improved bid for him involving €10m in fees with an additional €2m in add-on payments.

Norwich’s initial offer for the teenager was said to be €9m, while their second bid stood at €11m including add-ons.

And the Carrow Road outfit will be hoping to get a deal over the line this time around having tabled another offer for him.

Aston Villa are expected to pursue their interest in Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell, should Jack Grealish's transfer to Manchester City be finalised according to Sky Sports News reports.

There has yet to be official contact made between Villa and last season's Championship winners, but Norwich are aware of the interest.

With less than two weeks to go until the start of the Premier League season, Norwich do not want to lose Cantwell and it would take a significant bid for them to consider letting him go.

Norwich have a good relationship with Villa after they negotiated the sale of Emiliano Buendia in June.

Cantwell has entered the final year of his contract, although Norwich do have the option to extend the 23-year-old's deal for a further year.

Norwich City midfielder Todd Cantwell has spoken about wanting to to play in the Champions League.

The Canaries have reportedly put a £40m price tag on Cantwell, who is being targeted by Aston Villa as a replacement for Manchester City target Jack Grealish.

And locally born and bred Cantwell has admitted he still has lofty ambitions for his football career.

"I've always thought that if you set your ambitions to the very top, then if you fall off you are in a good place," Cantwell said, speaking to the Beyond the Ball YouTube channel.

"I would love to play in the Champions League and anyone would love to play for their country at senior level.

"For me, I really want to try and get to the best level possible and if I can't get there then hopefully I will be in a good place."