BBC
Manchester United are targeting Brentford manager Thomas Frank to take over from Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford in the summer, not England boss Gareth Southgate. (Football Transfers)
However, according to other reports co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are planning for Ten Hag to be in charge at United next season, but are developing a strategy to be able to move quickly should they decide to replace him. (inews)
United will prioritise a deal for Crystal Palace's French winger Michael Olise, 22, this summer over PSV attacker Johan Bakayoko - with Liverpool and Manchester City set to battle it out for the 20-year-old Belgium winger. (Team Talk)
Tottenham are interested in completing a permanent deal for RB Leipzig and Germany forward Timo Werner, 28, but are in no rush to trigger a £14.5m option to buy. (Four Four Two)
Arsenal have matched the £51m plus bonuses offer Chelsea have made for Sporting Lisbon and Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, 20. (Record via Sun)
Aston Villa midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo wants to return to his native Italy from Turkish side Galatasaray when his loan spell finishes at the Premier League club. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian)
Norway striker Erling Haaland, 23, is viewing Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid as an opportunity to prove his credentials for a future move to the Spanish giants. (AS - in Spanish)
West Ham expect 28-year-old Algeria winger Said Benrahma to seal a permanent move to Ligue 1 club Lyon this summer. (Football Insider)
Aston Villa and Everton are interested in Barcelona and Spain midfielder Fermin Lopez, 20, with the Toffees seeing a move fail to materialise in January. (Sport)
Bayer Leverkusen are among the top European clubs interested in signing Everton's England Under-17s goalkeeper Douglas Lukjanciks, 16, this summer. (Mail)
Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi is "flattered" by interest from Bayern Munich - but the Italian coach is in no rush to make a decision over his long-term future. (Mirror)
Chelsea face penalties including a points deduction or expulsion from the Premier League if they are found guilty of breaching spending rules under Roman Abramovich's ownership. (Guardian)
Liverpool will rival Manchester United for Juventus' Italy forward Federico Chiesa, 26. (Team Talk)
Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group and new football chief Michael Edwards are exploring a deal to purchase Ligue 1 club Toulouse. (Football Insider)
Manchester United have decided against making Morocco midfielder Sofyan Amrabat's move from Fiorentina permanent for £17m, and AC Milan are monitoring the 27-year-old. (Calciomercato - in Italian)
Barcelona will seek to extend the loan of Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo, 29, from Manchester City for another year. (Marca - in Spanish)
Barcelona are also interested in signing former Manchester City midfielder Aleix Garcia, 26, from Girona, after failing to agree a deal for the Spaniard in January. (Sport - in Spanish)
England forward Raheem Sterling, 29, has played a key role in setting up a trial at Chelsea for promising 18-year-old Nigerian striker Hafiz Umar Ibrahim. (Evening Standard)
Everton are interested in signing Arsenal's highly rated 18-year-old Welsh forward Omari Benjamin. (Football Insider)
Los Angeles FC have reportedly sent AC Milan and France striker Olivier Giroud, 37, a formal contract proposal to join the Major Soccer League club as a free agent. (Fabrizio Romano)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Arsenal are set for a bidding war over Sporting Lisbon star Ousmane Diomande after matching Chelsea's offer ahead of the summer transfer window.
Neymar is unable to fly his £10m helicopter as it has been grounded by authorities in Brazil.
Luke Littler is cashing in on his double-tops skills by selling signed replica shirts.
Angel Di Maria's family have reportedly been threatened if the player returns to Rosario in Argentina.
West Ham have signed Dean Bonjasky, the son of former kickboxing world champion Remy Bonjasky.
Brazil international Gabriel "Gabigol" Barbosa has been suspended for two years after a doping fraud investigation.
Luke Littler is cashing in on his double-tops skills by selling signed replica shirts.
More than 1,600 football hooligans will be banned from leaving Britain during the Euros this summer.
DAILY STAR
Manchester United are mulling over plans to make Old Trafford a 100,000-capacity stadium.
DAILY MAIL
Liverpool are prepared to go to war with Bayern Munich to get Xabi Alonso.
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has revealed his regret at leaving the club and says he wishes he could 'turn the clock back'.
Didier Deschamps has insisted William Saliba continues to struggle to break into France's starting line-up because his shaky international displays haven't 'gone well'.
Real Madrid are reportedly lining up a move for 18-year-old wonderkid Leny Yoro as they look to beat a number of Europe's top clubs to his signature.
Kylian Mbappe earns more than twice as much as any other player in Europe, according to a new report.
Football's lawmakers have no plans to place a time limit on VAR checks, despite West Ham fans complaining about the five minutes and 37 seconds they were left in limbo at the London Stadium before the international break.
Declan Rice says he will speak to Ben White upon his return to Arsenal, with England's newest captain hopeful that his club team-mate will eventually agree to end his exile.
Erik ten Hag is set to earn a stay of execution at Manchester United with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS planning for him to remain in charge next season, according to reports.
DAILY MIRROR
Roberto De Zerbi is 'flattered' by interest from Bayern Munich - but the sought-after Italian coach is in no rush to make a decision over his long-term future.
THE ATHLETIC
Sheffield United will set up a scheme to compensate Chelsea supporters after the kick-off time for the Premier League clash between the clubs at Bramall Lane on April 7 was moved twice in the space of three days.
The cost of renovating the Santiago Bernabeu now stands at £1.51bn, Real Madrid's interim accounts for the 2023-24 season have shown.
Arsenal midfielder Lia Walti will be out for several weeks with a knee injury.
Koke has signed a new one-year contract at Atletico Madrid.
Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley has been ordered to pay £3.4million ($4.3m) to a Greek shipping magnate by April 22 - or he can petition the court for a bankruptcy order.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Chelsea's Fan Advisory Board has hit back at the "attacks and campaigns" against owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, and urged supporters to pull in the same direction.
Harry Brook will make his return to cricket with Yorkshire in the County Championship next week having withdrawn from the Indian Premier League after the death of his grandmother.
The Association of Tennis Professionals has thrown open the bidding process for a tenth Masters 1000 event, probably staged in the first week of the season, so that the Saudi billions will have competition from other oil-rich states.
EVENING STANDARD
Chelsea have taken 18-year-old Nigerian striker Hafiz Umar Ibrahim on trial, with Raheem Sterling playing a key role in the move.
THE GUARDIAN
The former chief executive of Chelsea, Marina Granovskaia, once described as "the most powerful woman in football", is facing questions about what she knew of secret payments made under the club's former owner Roman Abramovich, amid a continuing investigation into alleged breaches of football spending rules.
The female employee who made a complaint of inappropriate behaviour against Christian Horner will take her case to an employment tribunal if an appeal against the dismissal of her grievance is unsuccessful.
THE TIMES
More than 1,600 English and Welsh football hooligans will be forced to surrender their passports to the police for the duration of this summer's European Championship, under tough new measures to tackle violence at major tournaments.
DAILY RECORD
Lewis MacLeod is back at Rangers nine years after leaving as he continues his coaching journey - the 29-year-old was forced into an early retirement in 2022 after a succession of serious injuries left him unable to continue.
The Athletic
David Moyes makes subs later than any other PL manager – is this holding West Ham back?
By Roshane Thomas
Ben Johnson stood on the edge of the technical area, waiting eagerly and receiving instructions from David Moyes before his introduction in place of Maxwel Cornet.
It was approaching the 70th minute and West Ham United were drawing 1-1 with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on January 21.
The travelling supporters were not pleased Johnson was the first player to be summoned, with Moyes’ bench including attacking options in the form of youngsters Callum Marshall and Divin Mubama, both 19.
Boos and chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” were heard.
Johnson played as a midfielder and impressed. James Ward-Prowse scored a penalty nine minutes after Johnson entered the field, but West Ham conceded a last-minute equaliser in an Oliver McBurnie penalty.
It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that Moyes will be scrutinised for his in-game management.
History tells us Moyes is known for being cautious when making substitutions. The Scot has always ranked low overall at making in-game changes compared to other managers in the top flight.
The table below lists managers who have taken charge of at least 50 per cent of Premier League games in a season (the number in the final column is how many managers took charge of 19+ games with a single side).
This season, Moyes has made the second-lowest number of substitutions per game. Which manager makes the fewest? Pep Guardiola. (More about him later…)
In 2022-23, Moyes made his highest number of subs (132) during a season, which could be attributed to West Ham being in a relegation fight and needing to rest key players as they approached the latter stages of the Europa Conference League.
On average in the Premier League this season, Moyes makes his first substitution (66 mins) later than any other manager. He is followed by Sean Dyche at Everton (63 mins).
For context, in West Ham’s 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa earlier this month, Moyes brought on Johnson for Michail Antonio in the 66th minute. But by that point, Unai Emery, the Aston Villa head coach, had already made four changes.
Moyes’ bench is weaker after the departures of Thilo Kehrer, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals in January to Monaco (loan), Lyon (loan) and Real Betis respectively. West Ham have also had, on average, the oldest substitutes’ bench (28 years, 251 days) in the Premier League this season. The second-oldest, by comparison, is Fulham’s, which at 27 years and 163 days is more than a year younger. (The youngest bench this season, at 22 years and 99 days has, perhaps unsurprisingly, been Chelsea’s).
Earlier this month, West Ham beat Freiburg 5-0 in the second leg of their Europa League tie to reach the quarter-finals. But in the first leg, it was the forward-thinking approach from Freiburg manager Christian Streich that enabled the German side to seal a 1-0 victory. Streich made two changes in the 70th minute, and within 11 minutes of being on the field, Michael Gregoritsch scored.
By contrast, discounting the injury-enforced change in the 68th minute of that tie — with Cresswell replacing Emerson Palmieri — it was not until the 82nd minute that Moyes brought on Kalvin Phillips to replace Ward-Prowse. And it was not until added time that forward Antonio was brought on.
Moyes, on occasions though, has thrown caution to the wind — for example, in the league match against Burnley which followed the defeat to Freiburg. And it worked.
With Burnley leading 2-0 at half-time, Moyes brought on Edson Alvarez and Antonio. It had the desired effect, with Alvarez bringing defensive discipline to midfield and Antonio joining attacking options in Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta.
The latter scored within a minute of the restart and striker Danny Ings, introduced eight minutes from time, scored the equaliser in added time. All of Moyes’ substitutes had an impact.
Similar to Moyes, Pep Guardiola prefers to leave things as they are on the pitch rather than try to affect the game with changes. This season, Manchester City (55 per cent) and West Ham (55.9 per cent) have used the lowest proportion of subs available.
“Pep does it a lot, doesn’t he?” Moyes said in December after a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur (in which the only West Ham change came in the 88th minute).
“I don’t know if you’ve mentioned it to Pep, but we just felt we had players on the pitch who were doing it. Sometimes making changes (and) freshness helps, but I didn’t want to bring people into the game who were not up to the speed of it.
“It was so quick with the intensity and the jobs players were doing. Our injury record this year has been incredible. We’re probably one of the clubs with the least injuries, but we understand there will be a period where it comes. I will need to find ways of getting others on (the pitch) but they need to play themselves into the team and into form as well. They need to show that I can put them in.”
West Ham are now in a crucial part of the season in which they remain in the hunt for a European spot.
Moyes’ use of his substitutes will be key in upcoming league games against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers — even more so with Alvarez suspended for the next two matches having received his 10th yellow card of the season in the game against Aston Villa.
The adage that old habits die hard applies to Moyes and his lack of substitutions. But it would not go amiss to see his adventurous side every once in a while.
Daily Record
Inside Andy Irving's post Hearts odyssey as inbound West Ham United star does his interviews in fluent German
Irving is thriving in Austria and is hoping to make his mark at West Ham when he makes the switch this summer.
By Robbie Copeland
Andy Irving scores for SK Austria Klagenfurt
Andy Irving is doing interviews in fluent German these days - but hopes he won't have to for long as he targets a spot in the West Ham first team.
The former Hearts star is one of a burgeoning number of young Scots who have thrived since heading abroad to try their luck. The 23-year-old left Gorgie in an eyebrow-raising move to the German lower leagues with Turguku Munchen in 2021, and despite some ups and downs since – including a financial meltdown at the Munich club that ended his German adventure after a year – there's no doubt it's worked out for the better.
He swapped Germany for Austria in 2022 and his stunning form in his first season with Klagenfurt earned him a scarcely believable transfer to West Ham - who he'll join up with in the summer for the first time after being loaned back to Austria for the season. And he wants to make his mark on David Moyes' team – and play his way into Steve Clarke's long-term plans.
He said via the Edinburgh Evening News: " I've definitely developed a lot over the past two years here, in all aspects. The style here in Austria has allowed me to play as a more attacking midfielder, which has changed my game quite a bit. Since I’ve been here we’ve been pretty successful in reaching the top six both years, which is big for the club. Obviously, being one point off Europe last year was close and we would love to change that this time around.
"It’s not all been rosy since I came abroad but I’ve loved every minute of being abroad with its ups and downs. I have grown massively as a person and as a footballer. The life experience away from the pitch has been amazing, in terms of where I’ve lived, the friends I’ve met and having learnt a new language. When you add in the football side of things, that only adds to the enjoyment I’ve had.
"I spend a lot of my time with my team-mates here. There is a group of us that are alone here so we tend to do a lot of things together. We’re often drinking coffee together, eating together and normally having some sort of debate! There is a mix of culture so it’s quite an interesting group to be a part of. They have become great friends and have made my time here very enjoyable.
"The nature here is class and I enjoy a swim in the lake and playing some padel tennis with the boys. My girlfriend doesn’t live here but, with her being a teacher, there are plenty opportunities for her to come out which is always great. My family have all been out to Klagenfurt as have my friends and they’ve all loved it - and Klagenfurt definitely enjoyed having them.
"I’ve been doing interviews in German for a fair bit now and I am comfortable speaking German. The Austrian dialect is much different to what I learned in Germany but I’ve picked it up. Everyone seems to understand me better in German than they do in my Scottish accent."
Irving was left pinching himself when interest from Moyes first emerged and his move to London was turbulent - literally. "I heard about the possibility from my agents about 10 days before the summer window shut," he said. "It was a lot to take in having games to focus on too, but of course it’s something every kid dreams about. I was buzzing, as were my family.
"Travelling to London was a bit chaotic. It was during the time when UK control towers were down so flying to Brussels and then driving with my agent to London wasn’t exactly the easiest - but it was definitely worth it, absolutely. I believe that I can go to West Ham and show my quality. It’s a challenge I’m very excited for. I understand the level that I’m going to and it’s up to me to show that I can play at that level."
A Scotland cap one day is the dream as he added: "It was always an honour to play for Scotland throughout the youth and I would love to represent Scotland at senior level. If I keep working hard to improve and perform well, then hopefully I can make that a reality."
