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BBC
Thomas Tuchel has targeted a return as Chelsea boss when he leaves Bayern Munich in the summer, but the German coach is also interested in Manchester United and Barcelona. (Sky Sports Germany)
Liverpool's owners met Michael Edwards on Sunday in their attempts to convince the club's former sporting director to shape the post-Jurgen Klopp era at Anfield. (Guardian)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his side's impressive form in front of goal will not change the club's transfer plans, with the Gunners still expected to sign a striker in the summer. (ESPN)
Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is a target for Newcastle United and Bayern Munich, with the Gunners wanting 38.5m euros (£32.9m) for the 27-year-old Ukraine international. (Football Transfers)
Chelsea are among several Premier League clubs monitoring Athletic Bilbao's 21-year-old Spain striker Nico Williams, who has a 50m euro (£42.7m) release clause in his contract. (Fabrizio Romano)
Barcelona want to extend Joao Cancelo's loan for next season but Manchester City would prefer a permanent transfer, with Premier League and Saudi Pro League sides interested in the 29-year-old Portugal full-back. (Sport - in Spanish)
The agent of Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia says the 23-year-old will leave Napoli if the Italian club receive an offer they cannot turn down. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian)
Manchester United bosses are expected to block Mason Greenwood from going on the club's pre-season tour of the United States after the English forward, 22, returns from his loan spell with Getafe. (Star)
Greenwood is on the list of possible signings for Barcelona, who have already made a move towards a low-cost deal this summer. (Sport - in Spanish)
Chelsea will be reliant on pure profit sales this summer to fund their transfer plans, with the Blues' board focused on offloading homegrown players such as England midfielder Conor Gallagher, 24, English defender Trevoh Chalobah, 24, and Albania striker Armando Broja, 22. (Teamtalk)
Chelsea have made a winger one of their priorities, with Leeds United's Dutch Under-21 international Crysencio Summerville, 22, one of their top targets. (Teamtalk)
Chelsea's owners are under pressure from a Strasbourg fan group to change their transfer strategy having had an underwhelming season since the BlueCo group acquired a majority stake in the French club last June. (90min)
Manchester United have held initial talks about extending English midfielder Kobbie Mainoo's contract following the 18-year-old's impressive form this season. (Manchester Evening News)
A host of Premier League and foreign clubs are tracking Birmingham City's under-16 striker Tobey Ugorji, who qualifies for England and Nigeria. (Football Insider)
Everton are in pole position to sign Irish forward Mason Melia, 16, from St Patrick's Athletic. (Football Insider)
Leicester are set to be charged for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules in 2022-23 and could start next season with a points deduction, whichever division they are in. (Sky Sports)
Sky Paper Talk
THE TIMES
Michael Edwards has held face-to-face talks with Liverpool's owners as they attempt to persuade him to return to the club and help oversee the post-Jurgen Klopp era.
Leicester City are at risk of being charged by the Premier League this month for breaching financial rules even though they are playing in the Championship - with any points deductions imposed for next season if they return to the top flight.
DAILY MIRROR
Liverpool top brass flew Michael Edwards out to Boston last week as they bid to entice him back to the club.
David Beckham was "almost brought to tears" when he received a 5am call from Lionel Messi's agent last year confirming that the football icon had agreed to join Inter Miami.
Amad Diallo has revealed Manchester United team-mate Lisandro Martinez is the toughest player he has ever faced in training and says he takes every session as seriously as he would a Champions League final.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Chelsea's owners can pass the chairmanship of the club between them every five years as part of an extraordinary written agreement
A Brighton supporter who was stabbed in Rome on Wednesday night was still able to attend his team's match against Roma - after leaving hospital on crutches hours before kick-off.
Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley has accused former manager, Steve Bruce, of not wanting to come into work after the takeover by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
Wolves are set to offer Gary O'Neil a new contract after an excellent season in which he has emerged as a contender for manager of the year.
The Nike 'super shoe' that was worn by the late Kelvin Kiptum to set the marathon world record has sold out within minutes of going on general sale, leaving runners facing hugely inflated prices on resale sites.
The biggest prize in snooker history will be offered in Saudi Arabia next year when organisers will double the money for a first 'golden ball' maximum 167 break to $1m.
DAILY MAIL
Manchester United have held talks with the brains trust behind Liverpool's successful transfer activity under Jurgen Klopp, the sports advisory and statistical analysis business Ludonautics, as they continue the process of improving their own recruitment.
Former Arsenal star Kristoffer Olsson has been diagnosed with brain clots after collapsing earlier this year.
Dean Austin is reportedly considering taking legal action after photographs showing his private WhatsApp conversations with Coventry City boss Mark Robins were circulated online.
Chelsea's Premier League rivals are set to test their reputation of holding out for steep valuations on their players this summer amid reports the Blues will have to sell a significant percentage of their squad for financial reasons.
Premier League clubs are braced for another internal row when the Government introduces a bill to create the independent regulator as there is a dispute between the "Big Six" and others over who should foot the bill.
Huddersfield Town are in dispute with Kirklees Council over funding the running of the John Smith's Stadium because of financial difficulties. The council should be paying 40 per cent of operating costs.
Borussia Dortmund teen Cole Campbell has switched his international allegiance from the USA to start representing Iceland, where his mother was born.
Accrington Stanley chairman Andy Holt launched a 1,000-plus word rant defending his decision to sack long-time boss John Coleman, while also blaming him for the club's £1.6m losses.
THE SUN
Gareth Southgate wouldn't be deterred by the mammoth task at hand at Manchester United.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has a left-back dilemma with Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill having both been ruled out by injuries.
THE ATHLETIC
Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has suffered another injury setback and is going to see a specialist about a knee problem.
Real Madrid are looking to address a run of four draws in eight matches through an increased focus on physical preparation.
THE GUARDIAN
Female coaches are being left "exhausted" by a football culture that remains rife with sexism, a survey has found, with 60 per cent of those questioned saying they had considered quitting over their treatment.
DAILY RECORD
Everton are set to run the rule over Partick Thistle's youngster Ceiran Loney.
Aberdeen star Bojan Miovski has remained coy about his long-term future at Pittodrie, and admits "no one knows" what lies ahead for the North Macedonian striker.
Guardian
‘It’s a penalty’: Moyes fumes at spot-kick snub as West Ham go down to Freiburg
Jacob Steinberg at Europa-Park Stadium
The burning sense of injustice that coursed through West Ham after being denied the chance to wipe out Freiburg’s slender advantage should not make them look past the failings that left their hopes of salvaging a draw from the first leg of this last-16 tie dependent on the whims of a referee with a curious interpretation of the handball law.
Admittedly the fury that greeted Alejandro Hernández not awarding a penalty after Noah Weisshaupt blocked Tomas Soucek’s attempted shot with an outstretched arm deep into stoppage time was understandable. The home crowd roared, perhaps as much out of disbelief as jubilation, and David Moyes fumed. The initial check by the VAR had taken an age and it seemed inevitable that the decision would go against Freiburg when the Spanish official ran over to the pitchside monitor.
“I think it’s a penalty,” Moyes said. “Nowadays if you have two hands above your head, it is a penalty. If it was a free-kick for a push, he never restarted the game with that. If he kicked it on to the arm, it is a really poor clearance. With Uefa, if anything hits your arms they tend to give penalty kicks.”
Even so West Ham, who were guilty of too many bad choices throughout a disappointing 1-0 defeat, will only have themselves to blame if they exit the Europa League at the London Stadium next week. Nothing summed up the lethargy more than the only goal of a poor game coming when Edson Álvarez lost the ball with nine minutes left and the Freiburg substitute, Michael Gregoritsch, tapped into an empty net after eluding West Ham’s increasingly vulnerable centre-back, Kurt Zouma.
It was hard to tell that West Ham were favourites following their wins over Freiburg during the group stage. Moyes raged at their passing for much of a forgettable first half. They created little after Jarrod Bowen volleyed wide from Mohammed Kudus’s cross. Lucas Paquetá repeatedly losing possession was not a good sign.
There was no control in midfield. Kudus toiled on the right and James Ward-Prowse did nothing in open play. Yet Freiburg, who are ninth in the Bundesliga after a patchy run, lacked conviction. Roland Sallai spurned two chances and Lucas Höler shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham perked up at the start of the second half. Paquetá headed over and Konstantinos Mavropanos hit the woodwork after Noah Atubolu flapped at Ward-Prowse’s corner. Space appeared on the counterattack. A combination between Paquetá and Kudus released Bowen, who drew an excellent save from Atubolu. Yet the game remained bitty. West Ham had to make a change at left-back, Aaron Cresswell coming on when Emerson Palmieri went off with a groin injury, and Freiburg stirred after Ward-Prowse shot tamely. Gregoritsch headed straight at Fabianski after coming off the bench.
West Ham’s focus faded. They played themselves into trouble, Álvarez giving possession away. Freiburg pounced, Sallai shot from the left and Zouma failed to notice Gregoritsch lurking in the six-yard box.
The Athletic
West Ham have been here before. Is another European comeback on the cards?
By Roshane Thomas
After the hurt and disappointment lifts, West Ham United will remember their last loss in the first leg of a European knockout tie fuelled a historic comeback on home soil.
Two years ago this week, David Moyes’ side were beaten 1-0 away to Sevilla, also in the last-16 of the Europa League. A week later, they sealed a 2-0 victory after extra time, with Andriy Yarmolenko the hero, and went on to reach the semi-finals. Having beaten Freiburg twice this season in the group phase, West Ham are capable of overturning their 1-0 loss in Germany last night in next Thursday’s decider.
Their defeat was compounded by the referee denying their appeals for a late penalty for handball, with Moyes and his players in disbelief at the decision.
“I think it’s a penalty,” said a frustrated Moyes. “Nowadays, if you have two hands above your head, it is a penalty. If it was a free kick for a push, he never restarted the game with that. If he kicked it onto the arm, it is a really poor clearance. With UEFA, if anything hits your arms, they tend to give penalty kicks.”
But the sense of injustice is no different to the controversy of their 2021-22 Europa League quarter-final first leg at home against Lyon. That finished 1-1, with visiting forward Moussa Dembele memorably winking to the bench following Aaron Cresswell’s first-half red card for a challenge on him. But, similar to Sevilla in the previous round, it inspired West Ham to seal a victory, 3-0, in the return leg.
“This is a two-legged European tie, so we have to turn it around in the second leg,” said Moyes. “We’ll do everything we can to do that. I hope we’ll use the penalty decision as motivation next week.
“Hopefully we’ll get a good atmosphere at the London Stadium, with the crowd behind us. It was always going to be a tight tie, I don’t think either side would have had the tie tied up (after the first leg). We hope the home advantage will help us and the night against Sevilla is probably one of the best nights we’ve had at the stadium. Let’s hope we can build another night like that next Thursday.”
This was only Freiburg’s third win in 11 matches since the turn of the year, and they have just one victory in nine in the Bundesliga. But their persistence and game plan yielded rewards. West Ham failed to turn pressure into end product, with Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta wasteful in front of goal.
Freiburg grew stronger later in the game, with the players and a raucous crowd having a point to prove. Victory belonged to a team brimming with motivation. Michael Gregoritsch’s solitary goal on 81 minutes stemmed from Edson Alvarez giving away possession and Kurt Zouma, the captain, then losing sight of the eventual matchwinner.
“I was disappointed with our first-half performance, but we improved in the second,” said Moyes. “We didn’t have our shooting boots on tonight. The giveaway for Freiburg’s goal was terrible from our point of view. It was way too easy and we turned over the ball a lot tonight.
“I was really surprised we didn’t reach the standards and some of the players were below where we would expect them to be.”
There were some positives, with Konstantinos Mavropanos’ energy and threat on set pieces compensating for the absence of fellow centre-back Nayef Aguerd. Vladimir Coufal, the right-back, made an important block in the opening minute to deny Roland Sallai.
But Freiburg nullified Bowen, who had the fourth-fewest touches (41) of any outfield player to start the game, and Paqueta kept turning over possession, James Ward-Prowse (who had the third-fewest touches among the outfield starters, 39) was ineffective as a No 10 and Mohammed Kudus had no joy getting past Christian Gunter. Kalvin Phillips’ introduction for Ward-Prowse immediately after the goal brought more control in midfield but it was too little too late.
Moyes will see it as a bad day at the office but the attacking trio of Bowen, Paqueta and Kudus will be key if West Ham are to overturn this deficit.
“I’m not sure what was missing,” said Zouma. “We knew they were a dangerous team because we played them twice at the group stage, but sometimes you just have days like this. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we were looking for, but there’s still everything to play for at 1-0 so we have to digest this one and try to come back stronger. We have to accept the result and look at what we did wrong, and we’ll be confident ahead of the next game next week.”
There was an injury blow, with Emerson Palmieri sustaining a knock. The left-back, who was replaced by Cresswell on 68 minutes, is now a doubt for Sunday’s home Premier League game against Burnley.
West Ham beat Burnley 2-1 in November, courtesy of a late Dara O’Shea own goal and a Tomas Soucek winner in added time. But it would not be a surprise if the players’ full focus is on redeeming themselves against Freiburg next Thursday night. Those games against Sevilla and Lyon two years ago are examples that they are capable of channelling disappointment into comebacks.
Once the sting of defeat eases, West Ham will remember they are Europa Conference League champions for a reason. Now they need to show why in that second leg.
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