Transfer rumours: Lokonga to Brighton, Ndombele to reject Nottingham Forest

The Seagulls are on the hunt for a successor to Moises Caicedo following his British-record move to Chelsea and were believed to be advancing in talks over a £25.6m move for Lille's Baleba.

However, according to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, a deal to bring Baleba to the Amex has stalled, and Brighton have turned their attention to Arsenal and Belgium lynchpin Lokonga as a result.

The 23-year-old arrived at the Emirates from Anderlecht in 2021 and was tipped to become a success at the Emirates, but he has failed to live up to his potential under Mikel Arteta.

Lokonga is without a goal or assist in 39 matches for Arsenal and was loaned out to Crystal Palace for the second half of the 2022-23 season, playing nine times for the Eagles under Roy Hodgson and Patrick Vieira.

The midfielder is yet to play for the Gunners this term due to a muscle injury and is out of contract in 2026, and Brighton would apparently be hoping to sign him on an initial loan deal.

Speaking of out-of-favour midfielders based in North London, Tottenham Hotspur outcast Tanguy Ndombele will supposedly turn down the chance to reignite his career with Nottingham Forest.

The Frenchman's £53m move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019 remains the Lilywhites' most expensive transfer of all time, but he has endured an underwhelming four years in North London.

Ndombele made 40 appearances during a loan spell with Napoli last season - winning the Serie A title with the Partenopei - but he is yet to play a competitive fixture for Spurs this term.

The Lilywhites are looking to offload the 26-year-old before September's transfer deadline, and according to RMC Sport, Forest offered him the chance to join on loan with an obligation to buy in 2024.

However, Ndombele will turn down the Tricky Trees' approach, while he also has no interest in a move to Fenerbahce, and interest from Rennes is unlikely to lead anywhere due to their financial concerns.

Instead, Galatasaray are now considered the favourites for the £17m-rated Ndombele, who is out of contract in the summer of 2025.

Over at Old Trafford, Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri is reportedly in talks over a loan move to Sheffield United.

The Uruguay international only made his debut for Man United in January, more than two years after his arrival from Penarol, while he has come off the bench in their opening two Premier League fixtures in 2023-24.

Pellistri has one assist to show from 12 games in a Red Devils jersey, but he is behind Antony and Jadon Sancho in the pecking order, while Marcus Rashford will also be expected to revert to a wide role once Rasmus Hojlund recovers from injury.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Erik ten Hag is pleased with how the youngster is developing, but the club feel that it is important for Pellistri to be playing regular football at this stage of his career.

Negotiations are ongoing with the Blades, but it may take some time to complete a deal, as they only have two loan spots available and will likely want to finalise the rest of their plans for the summer window before committing to the 21-year-old.

Pellistri's Old Trafford contract runs until the summer of 2025, and it is unclear whether the Red Devils would sanction an extension for the youngster before any loan move away.

Finally, Bundesliga surprise package Union Berlin are reportedly making considerable progress in talks to sign veteran Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci.

The 36-year-old now has fewer than 12 months left to run on his deal with the Old Lady and has previously confirmed that he plans to retire at the end of the 2023-24 season.

However, Bonucci has been cast asunder in Turin, failing to make the squad for either of their opening Serie A fixtures with Atalanta BC or Udinese earlier this month.

The Euro 2020 winner could therefore spend the last year of his career away from his homeland, and according to Fabrizio Romano, he is in advanced talks over a switch to Union Berlin.

Romano claims that the German side are simply waiting for the "final green light" to make their move, and the remainder of this week will be "crucial" for his proposed transfer.

Bonucci could leave Juventus with 37 goals and 10 assists to show from 502 games in two separate spells, and Union Berlin could offer him the chance to return to the Champions League thanks to their fourth-placed Bundesliga finish last term.