9 huge transfers where David Ornstein beat Fabrizio Romano to the scoop

David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano have established themselves as football’s undisputed transfer kings.

Once the season ends and the transfer window opens, the two reporters are must-follows on social media for anyone with an insatiable appetite for breaking news. They get more scoops than anyone else in the business – but which of them has the more impressive track record?

We’ve highlighted nine notable transfers whereby Ornstein beat Romano to the punch.

Jurrien Timber — Ajax to Arsenal

Late in the evening of June 19th, 2023, Ornstein exclusively broke the news that Arsenal were working on a deal to sign Netherlands international Timber from Ajax.

“#AFC have made an opening offer worth ~£30m. #Ajax want ~£50m but optimism a compromise will be reached. Personal terms with Netherlands int’l thought to be in place,” the reporter tweeted at 10:46pm.

Just 13 minutes later, Romano posted the same news while crediting Ornstein for getting there first.

Sure enough, the deal eventually went through. Both Ornstein and Romano tweeted updates on the transfer saga, which was officially concluded about a month later, but it was Ornstein with the original scoop.

Declan Rice — West Ham to Arsenal

Football obsessives come in all kinds of varieties.

For some, they’ll never forget where they were when their club secured a much-coveted trophy. Others have their exact vantage point of an iconic goal burned into their retinas.

But for a particularly modern type of football fan, they’ll always remember refreshing their Twitter feed and getting an ‘Orstein bomba’ of a particularly juicy piece of transfer gossip.

Football in the 2020s is a bit weird, isn’t it?

Rice to Arsenal is one of those moments, and it was Ornstein (naturally) who broke the news.

At exactly 11:00pm on June 27th, 2023, The Athletic’s top transfer sleuth announced the Gunners had made a British transfer record bid to West Ham for the midfielder.

Romano followed suit sixteen minutes later.

Bryan Mbeumo — Brentford to Manchester United*

*TBC

Of course, this one is yet to go through at the time of writing. We’ll see if a deal between the clubs can be struck, although negotiations are thought to be ongoing.

On June 2nd, Ornstein broke the exclusive news that the Brentford forward favoured a move to Manchester United over the likes of Newcastle United, Tottenham and Arsenal (all of whom showed interest).

Romano tweeted out the same story exactly 20 minutes later.

READ: Premier League transfers: Every confirmed signing, sale & released player in 2025-26

Scott McTominay — Manchester United to Napoli

The writing had been on the wall for McTominay’s Old Trafford exit throughout the summer 2024 transfer window, but it was Ornstein who exclusively revealed that Manchester United and Napoli had come to an agreement for the midfielder late in August.

Romano tweeted out the same news just two minutes later that same afternoon.

The Gazza against Germany of transfer stories. Agonisingly close.

Georginio Rutter — Leeds United to Brighton

Fresh from a chastening home defeat to Middlesbrough in 2024, Ornstein rubbed salt into Leeds fans’ wounds by announcing that Brighton had met the release clause for the club’s fan favourite forward.

Minutes before midnight, it was revealed that Leeds were powerless to stop Rutter from leaving if he decided to take up the Seagulls’ offer.

Sure enough, the transfer went through in the following days.

Romano waited until the following afternoon before corroborating the story. Maybe he does get some sleep during the transfer window.

Mason Greenwood — Manchester United to Marseille

Sir Jim Ratcliffe appeared to leave the door open for Greenwood to be reintegrated at his parent club following his loan away to Getafe in 2023-24.

But it soon transpired that the academy graduate would be sold, and it was Ornstein who first broke the story of his eventual destination – Marseille.

In late June, he exclusively revealed that the Ligue 1 outfit were “exploring a deal” to sign Greenwood and that the player “favoured them over other options”.

Romano had posted frequently about Greenwood, but he was behind his colleague on this particular scoop.

Approximately three weeks later, the deal went through.

Joachim Andersen — Crystal Palace to Fulham

Not long after Ornstein revealed the defender was making the switch from one London club to another, Romano followed and once again credited his fellow reporter.

He’s well known for being particularly well connected with stories involving Arsenal and Manchester United, but this story demonstrated he’s got his ear to the ground when it comes to clubs across the country.

Matthijs De Ligt & Noussair Mazraoui — Bayern Munich to Manchester United 

In early August 2024, Ornstein broke the story that Manchester United had submitted a double bid to bolster Erik ten Hag’s defence.

With the wheels in motion, a deal was soon struck to sign both De Ligt and Mazraoui from the Bundesliga giants.

Romano gave regular updates on negotiations between the two clubs, but he credited Ornstein’s exclusive story.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall — Leicester City to Chelsea

“Chelsea contact Leicester City to express interest in signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. No formal bid yet but 25yo midfielder keen to join only #CFC if leaves #LCFC,” Ornstein tweeted on June 27th, 2024.

“Seen as a perfect fit for style of play under head coach Enzo Maresca.”

The following day, he exclusively revealed that Chelsea had actually bid for Dewsbury-Hall.

A few days later, the transfer went through.

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