BBC
Former Paris St-Germain and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has held talks with Chelsea about becoming their new manager. (Mirror)
Chelsea are planning a player clearout before 30 June in order to stay within Financial Fair Play rules. (Evening Standard)
Manchester United's Spain goalkeeper David de Gea, 32, is on the verge of agreeing a new contract. (Forbes)
United are leading the race to sign 20-year-old Atalanta and Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund. (Mirror)
Barcelona are finalising an offer to present to Paris St-Germain for the return of 35-year-old Argentina forward Lionel Messi. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)
Aston Villa have renewed their interest in Arsenal and England attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, 22. (Talksport)
Villarreal are set to offer Spain defender Pau Torres a new contract with Aston Villa plotting a move for the 26-year-old this summer. (Football Insider)
Manchester City are keen on signing Chelsea and Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic, 28, this summer despite also wanting to stay in the race for Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, 19. (Givemesport)
Manchester City's top players will earn more than £2m in bonuses if the club win the Treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup this season. (Mail)
Paris St-Germain are likely to sign either Nice and France midfielder Khephren Thuram, 22, or 27-year-old Lens and Ivory Coast midfielder Seko Fofana as an alternative to Bellingham. (CaughtOffside)
Crystal Palace, Wolves, Burnley and Sheffield United are all interested in signing Republic of Ireland defender Matt Doherty, 31, this summer after his unsuccessful spell at Atletico Madrid. (90min)
Newcastle are ready to cash in on 26-year-old French winger Allan Saint-Maximin to raise funds for summer signings. (Talksport)
Newcastle's majority owners are in talks over the purchase of Belgian club KV Oostende as a partner club. (Athletic - subscription required)
Manchester United, Newcastle, Wolves, Arsenal, West Ham and Crystal Palace are all keeping tabs on Bayern Munich's Morocco full-back Noussair Mazraoui, 25. (90min)
Mazraoui is open to leaving Bayern Munich if he does not get more first-team football at the German club. (Sky Sport Germany)
Former England defender Chris Smalling, 33, is in the final stage of negotiations with Roma to extend his stay until June 2025. (Fabrizio Romano)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MIRROR
Manchester United appear to have taken the lead to sign Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund this summer after Karim Benzema committed to a new Real Madrid contract.
Todd Boehly reportedly sacked Thomas Tuchel just days after he was denied the opportunity to take a group of guests into the dressing room.
DAILY MAIL
Tottenham are exploring an interest in Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim.
Ex-Aston Villa women's coach Jack Peel could face further disciplinary action from the FA for breaching the terms of his suspension by attending a match involving one of his alleged victims.
Atletico Madrid are growing increasingly concerned that Chelsea will not buy Joao Felix in the summer, according to reports.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Barry Hearn, the owner of World Snooker, is ready to fund legal action on behalf of the 400 fans who were affected by Just Stop Oil protester Edred Whittingham on Monday night.
Fans will be banned if the season run-in once again sparks celebratory pitch invasions, the Premier League and Football Association warned amid an ongoing zero-tolerance approach.
A damning Rugby Football Union review has concluded that England's squad lacked the requisite fitness levels to compete in the Six Nations Championship.
The Rugby Football Union will bolster Steve Borthwick's bid to rebuild the England scrum with additional coaching resources to support talented young forwards. Interviews for England men's vacant scrum coach position have concluded, but Telegraph Sport understands that two further pathway skills coaches will be brought in.
MCC have promised that the heritage and tradition of Lord's will be retained in the latest stage of the ground's redevelopment and expansion, after appointing architects to design new Tavern and Allen Stands.
THE TIMES
A former PGA Tour player who is now a leading orthopaedic surgeon has said he would be "amazed" if Tiger Woods ever wins another tournament after undergoing more surgery.
The RFU will try again on Friday night to push through plans to lower the legal tackle height in community rugby - this time to the base of the sternum - after its first attempt sparked a grassroots revolt and forced embarrassed Twickenham executives to issue an apology.
DAILY STAR
The use of VAR is actually improving according to data, despite a string of high-profile errors which have left fans fuming.
DAILY EXPRESS
A new study has found that even a brief session of heading a football can immediately alter brain function and the way the brain communicates with the muscles around it.
DAILY RECORD
Treble-chasing Celtic fear Cameron Carter-Vickers might not see out the season.
Hearts are leading the chase to land Livingston skipper Nicky Devlin in the summer.
SCOTTISH SUN
The administrators of a firm which was embroiled in a kit sales dispute with Rangers have decided to proceed with a multi-million pound legal claim against the club.
Benfica are reportedly interested in landing Celtic's Liel Abada this summer.
The Athletic
West Ham United: Massive in Europe. Again.
By Roshane Thomas
The magic eight minutes.
From the 55th to the 63rd minute against Gent, West Ham United scored three goals via Lucas Paqueta, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio. It was a spell of free-scoring, free-flowing, offensive flair that their Belgian opponents were unable to withstand as David Moyes’ side stormed into the Europa Conference League semi-finals, running out 4-1 winners.
This was Moyes’ team at their best: ruthless in attack, exciting to watch, and a throwback to the side that impressed in Europe last season en route to reaching the same stage of the Europa League. On an evening like this, when supporters are all smiles and bonhomie, West Ham showed why they are favourites to win the competition. Dutch side AZ Alkmaar await in the semi-finals.
West Ham’s performances this season have felt like a tale of two interchangeable football teams: one, in Europe, that dispatches sides with the confidence of a formidable heavyweight boxer while in the league, they have looked timid and vulnerable. They have consistently shown their attacking verve in Europe. They have scored 30 goals in 12 Conference League games. However, they have scored just 29 in 30 games in the Premier League.
But of all the goals scored, none have been as memorable as Delcan Rice’s terrific solo effort to put West Ham 3-1 up on the night at the London Stadium on Thursday. The midfielder received the ball inside his own half, charged forward, and left Gent defenders in his wake to score a goal-of-the-season contender.
“It was a fabulous goal,” Moyes said. “An individual Roy of the Rovers goal. He is some player, with great ability, and that just summed him up. That’s why we value him so highly. If anyone doubted whether he could do that, then I would say you are naive. He has so many parts to his game.”
For those who may think Rice’s goal last night was a one-off, they are mistaken. He scored a similar one in a 3-0 win against Southampton in May 2021. The England international was recently criticised by pundits Roy Keane and Graeme Souness for his lack of goals, but whenever Rice scores, it tends to leave a lasting impression.
It is worth remembering that in the group-stage fixture against Dinamo Zagreb in 2021-22, the midfielder intercepted a pass from the halfway line and advanced forward to score. A player of Rice’s quality could be capable of scoring near to double figures each season. The 24-year-old has registered three goals and four assists in 40 appearances. Last term, he amassed five goals.
“When I pick the ball up in those positions and have space to drive into, I feel good,” he said. “That’s when I feel I’m at my best. It doesn’t happen all the time. It definitely goes down as one of my best goals for West Ham. I didn’t even know how to celebrate. I was just so happy to score, let alone it be like that. It was special.”
Rice, who is on Arsenal and Newcastle United’s radar, will likely leave West Ham this summer but in the short term, he is focused on helping his current side avoid relegation and being the third club captain to win silverware after Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds. The midfielder has been studying videos of Yaya Toure and Patrick Vieira, and it has had the desired effect.
“Rice can score goals like that and sometimes, he does it in training,” said Tomas Soucek. “It’s great how much he’s improved since I joined the club (in January 2020). He’s so young but continues to show what he can do week in, week out. Hopefully he can keep doing well for the team. I’m just happy I get to play next to him.”
Aside from aiming to help West Ham win their first major trophy since the FA Cup in 1980, there is the extra incentive of wanting to reach the final for Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, the club’s two Czech Republic internationals, with the final taking place in Prague’s Fortuna Arena on June 7. Ahead of the first leg 1-1 draw against Gent, Coufal spoke about what it would mean for him and his family if West Ham were to win in his country. After the game, Flynn Downes passionately explained how that was one of the contributing motivations for him and his team-mates.
The disappointment of being knocked out by eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt in last season’s Europa League still lingers and as well as Coufal and Soucek, others have personal motivations. Moyes aspires to win his first silverware as manager and repay the faith shown to him by the board. Rice wants to end his West Ham career on a high and Aaron Cresswell will set out to redeem himself following his sending-off in the second leg against Frankfurt.
The London Stadium will host another European night in the coming weeks. The atmosphere against Gent mirrored that special night in the last-16 of the Europa League against Sevilla last term. The dual objectives of avoiding Premier League relegation and winning the Conference League remain strong possibilities. The culmination of both would still represent a good season.
If there were a panel on how to reach the semi-finals of a European competition last campaign, West Ham would have been considered the inexperienced guest speaker. But having achieved this feat for a successive season, they are now the main attraction.
Guardian
Antonio double and Rice run lead West Ham past Gent and into semi-finals
Conference League quarter-final: West Ham 4-1 Gent (5-2 on agg)
Antonio 37 63, Paquetá 55pen, Rice 58; Cuypers 26
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
There have not been many times when David Moyes has been able to stand back and admire his team’s play from a position of comfort this season.
The complaints over West Ham’s football have been relentless and, given how much criticism has been thrown in his direction, it was easy to understand why Moyes was celebrating so passionately when Declan Rice put this Europa Conference League quarter-final out of Gent’s reach once and for all.
The sceptics, of course, will argue that smashing the fourth-best team in Belgium 5-2 on aggregate is par for the course. After all West Ham had two £30m players in central defence, an England regular dominating midfield and a £50m Brazil international having the time of his life in the No 10 position. There never really should have been any prospect of them losing to Gent, who had briefly hinted at an upset by shocking the London Stadium with an early goal from Hugo Cuypers.
Even so this was still a night when West Ham were entitled to forget about their relegation concerns and dream of winning their first piece of silverware since 1980. “I’m smiling,” Moyes said. “I don’t know if West Ham have had back-to-back European semi-finals. Great credit to the players. They’ve done a great job.”
Quietly, almost out of nowhere, the pressure on Moyes is subsiding. Defiance helped West Ham draw with Arsenal last Sunday, but this was stylish. Michail Antonio was in bulldozing form up front, scoring twice, and Lucas Paquetá oozed class. But Rice stole the show.
The 24-year-old never had the look of a man who was going to end up on the losing side and West Ham will fancy their chances of winning their semi-final against Alkmaar if their captain, who capped off a towering performance by running from his own half to score the best goal of his career, maintains this level.
“A Roy of the Rovers type goal,” came the verdict from Moyes, who will wonder if staying up and winning this competition will keep him in a job. “He’s some player. That goal just summed him up tonight.”
Rice had set the early tone, snapping into challenges, but Moyes admitted the victory was not entirely comfortable. The tie was in the balance after a 1-1 draw in the first leg and West Ham had to overcome a difficult start.
Gent played the slicker football during the first half. They moved the ball at speed and they created the first chance, Sven Kums crossing and Gift Orban taking his eye off the ball when he should have headed it past Alphonse Areola.
West Ham soon trailed. Paquetá squandered possession in the 26th minute, Orban drove down the left and Emerson Palmieri failed to read the danger. The left-back was too lacking in basic defensive instincts and was nowhere to be seen when Orban’s cross exposed West Ham’s loss of shape. Matisse Samoise had time to tee up Cuypers, who bundled the ball in from close range.
Gent were not ahead for long. West Ham levelled with a simple goal. Jarrod Bowen whipped in a free-kick from the right eight minutes before half-time and Antonio, who was too strong for his markers, headed in at the near post.
Antonio’s awkward, unpredictable hold-up play was confusing Gent. The game became chaotic, which suited West Ham. They began the second half in a frenzy, Soucek blasting against the bar, Davy Roef denying Bowen, and it all proved too much for Gent. Joseph Okumu’s inexplicable handball from Vladimir Coufal’s cross summed up their loss of composure. Paquetá, with a nonchalant run-up, duly punished the Gent defender with a cool penalty.
West Ham were liberated. Paquetá, on a mission to make up for his earlier error, showed the other side of his game when he won the ball in midfield and set up another attack. Now it was over to Rice. Free from his defensive responsibilities, the midfielder silenced those who claim he lacks quality in the final third by powering away, deceiving Okumu and slipping a lovely low finish past Roef.
Gent had collapsed. Paquetá soon stirred again, dropping deep to find Antonio, who cut inside and finished powerfully. West Ham had well and truly lifted the handbrake.
Sport Witness
Arsenal and West Ham ‘going crazy’ to sign exciting player – 23-year-old aiming for summer transfer
By Naveen Ullal
Arsenal and West Ham United have set their sights on Villarreal star Samuel Chukwueze, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The winger has been one of the outstanding players for the La Liga side this season, scoring 13 goals and registering 11 assists from 41 games. This includes a brace against Real Madrid as he ‘dazzled’ in his side’s 3-2 league win at the Bernabéu.
It’s not surprising to see the 23-year-old’s fine displays have caught the attention of Arsenal, West Ham and other clubs.
The Nigeria international’s contract situation is another reason why these sides are looking at him.
His deal runs down in 2024 and the Yellow Submarine have an intention to tie him down to a new contract. Chukwueze hasn’t accepted the Spanish club’s renewal offer so far.
He seems to be aiming to make a switch elsewhere as the newspaper explains he ‘could be thinking of changing’ clubs in the summer.
This has alerted other clubs, especially from the Premier League, where Mikel Arteta’s side and the Hammers are in the picture.
It’s explained both Arsenal and West Ham are ‘going crazy’ to take Chukwueze away from Villarreal after this season.
There’s no mention of the fee needed to carry out his signing or who between Arsenal and West Ham are ahead in the transfer race.
