BBC
Liverpool have joined Manchester United and Chelsea in the race to sign Benfica's 19-year-old Portugal midfielder Joao Neves, who has a 120m euro (£102.6m) release clause. (O Jogo, via Sport Witness)
Manchester United and Manchester City are interested in Bayer Leverkusen's 23-year-old Netherlands defender Jeremie Frimpong. (Sun)
Manchester City are set to rekindle a move for West Ham's 26-year-old Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta this summer. (Football Insider)
Leeds United hope to re-sign 28-year-old England midfielder Kalvin Phillips for about £30m from Manchester City this summer if they secure promotion back to the Premier League. (Sun)
Newcastle will speed up their search for a centre-back this summer and offer 32-year-old English defender Paul Dummett a new contract after captain Jamaal Lascelles was ruled out for up to nine months with a knee injury. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Former Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom leads Championship side Sunderland's list of potential candidates to be their next permanent manager. (Sun)
Barcelona are willing to listen to offers for Raphinha this summer to ease financial concerns, but the 27-year-old Brazil forward does not want to leave. (Sport - in Spanish)
Real Madrid bosses think Bayern Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso is the "perfect replacement" to take over from Carlo Ancelotti in 2026. (Matteo Moretto, via Football Espana)
Tottenham plan to loan Alejo Veliz, 20, to a different club next season as they feel the Argentina Under-20 striker has not played enough games during his current spell with Sevilla. (Fabrizio Romano)
Some members of the Chelsea squad have made it clear to the club's owners that they would prefer to see manager Mauricio Pochettino replaced at the end of the season. (HITC)
Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim would consider joining Liverpool if he was offered the job, but will only make a decision about his future at the end of the season. (Correio da Manha - in Portuguese)
Tottenham have joined the race to sign Leeds United's 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray, with Liverpool also interested in the England Under-21 international. (Football Insider)
Sky Paper Talk
I SPORT
Newcastle United will conduct a thorough review of injuries at the end of the season after a series of significant losses to their squad in recent weeks.
DAILY MAIL
The Premier League has written to clubs to warn them of the potential of a terror attack after the sickening assault on a Moscow concert hall that killed at least 137 people.
Manchester City supporters unveiled a banner complaining at further increases in season-ticket prices during Sunday's 0-0 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad.
A Brazilian magazine planning a documentary about Dani Alves has been revealed as having paid the €1m bail to get the disgraced former Barcelona defender out of prison while he appeals his conviction for rape.
Frank Leboeuf says Chelsea's current owners are "unprofessional" and accused them of destroying the club he represented with great success.
FC Seoul manager Gi-Dong Kim has offered a scathing review of Jesse Lingard's spell in South Korea so far and has accused him of not fighting and not working. He is also considering removing Lingard from his first-team plans.
Campbell Hatton, son of boxing legend Ricky, has parted company with his trainer - uncle Matthew Hatton - after suffering a shock defeat against James Finch last week.
THE SUN
Sunderland have put Paul Heckingbottom at the top of their wanted list to replace Michael Beale as manager if he will work under their conditions, which include making use of the club's younger players and retaining some of their current coaching staff.
England's footballs WAGs are planning to splash out more than £100,000 on private ex-military security for Euro 2024 instead of using the FA-appointed guards.
A match in Spain's third division was abandoned on Saturday after Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper Cheikh Kane Sarr stormed into the crowd behind his goal to confront a Sestao River fan who had allegedly racially abused him. Sarr's team-mates walked off the pitch in protest at his treatment.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Everton's finances were under the microscope again on Easter Sunday as they revealed a loss for the 2022-23 season which almost doubled from the previous year.
Manchester City have been accused of "exploiting the loyalty" of supporters as fans protested angrily against the latest season-ticket price hikes.
Last year's Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill will not run again this season after trainer Nicky Henderson revealed his star gelding is under supervision for colic in an equine hospital.
THE TIMES
Chelsea are preparing to sell homegrown stars Reece James and Conor Gallagher this summer to bring the club's Profit & Sustainability position into line.
Everton have announced a loss of £89.1m in their latest financial accounts despite making a profit from player trading of £47.5m.
DAILY EXPRESS
Sunday's Ukraine Premier League clash between Dynamo Kyiv and Vorskla had to be delayed following two air raid sirens in the area, which led to Kyiv branding Russia a "terrorist state" - they went on to win the match 5-3.
Manchester United defender Raphael Varane settled fears over the injury which forced him off at half-time against Brentford and says it is "not too bad".
SCOTTISH SUN
Former Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom is top of Sunderland's wanted list to be their next manager.
DAILY RECORD
Galatasaray are closing on a deal to sign Rangers outcast Ianis Hagi, according to reports in Turkey.
Celtic are waiting to find out if they will secure a lucrative sell-on fee as Manchester United and Manchester City could potentially battle to sign Bayer Leverkusen's former Bhoy Jeremie Frimpong this summer.
Sam Lammers says he struggled during his time at Rangers because he was not played in his preferred role as an out-and-out striker, the position he is now impressing in on loan at Utrecht.
The Athletic
Kalvin Phillips’ West Ham career is in danger of stalling before it has really begun
By Roshane Thomas
After a game in which Kalvin Phillips endured more struggles on the field, off it he struggled to contain his emotions.
Before the midfielder took his seat on West Ham United’s coach, he put his middle finger up at a supporter who shouted, “Useless!”. It had already been an afternoon to forget for the midfielder, who gave away a penalty.
This would spark Newcastle United’s 4-3 comeback victory.
Phillips, who joined on loan from Manchester City in January, glanced forlornly at West Ham’s bench after Alexander Isak converted the penalty. Phillips had been on the field for only eight minutes when he was adjudged to have fouled Anthony Gordon.
With his team leading 3-1, the midfielder replaced forward Michail Antonio, with manager David Moyes wanting extra protection in midfield. Instead of adding defensive solidity, it was a substitution that contributed to their loss. Phillips lacked confidence and was off the pace — see how Harvey Barnes easily surged past him in the build-up to his winner.
“Before we went 3-1 up, I thought Newcastle were the better team and still were,” said Moyes. “I thought an extra midfielder would give us more control but obviously it didn’t work. We needed a defensive structure to see the game out. We tried to find it with the change to give us more organisation.
“Newcastle missed two big chances before their penalty and that was the reason for the change. I know folks would’ve been thinking, ‘Why are you making that change? You’re winning 3-1’. But I was trying to make sure we weren’t going to lose. I wanted to make the change in a positive fashion but, like I said, it didn’t work out. I’m not going to say anything about any player (Phillips), that would be wrong.”
It has been a week to forget for Phillips. Even though Edson Alvarez was missing at St James’ Park through suspension, Moyes overlooked Phillips and opted instead for Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse as his preferred midfield duo. The move to West Ham, remember, was supposed to be a catalyst for Phillips to kickstart his career and make England’s Euros squad. Instead, he was not selected for the recent friendlies against Brazil and Belgium and, on this evidence, is not likely to get back in any time soon.
In January, Newcastle United were interested in signing Phillips but could not afford his wages of £140,000 ($177,000) a week. Missing out on his signature has proven to be a blessing in disguise. The midfielder is yet to impress in eight appearances under Moyes. He has made errors against Bournemouth and Manchester United and was sent off against Nottingham Forest as West Ham chased an equaliser in a game they eventually lost 2-0. Against Burnley, he was substituted at half-time with West Ham 2-0 down.
When West Ham were 3-1 up at St James’ Park, their average team position leading up to the 69th minute had Antonio (9), Jarrod Bowen (20) and Lucas Paqueta (10) in Newcastle’s half.
Leading up to that juncture, Newcastle United’s average team position had seven players in West Ham’s half, but there was a change in structure once Phillips was introduced.
From the 69th minute to the final whistle, the front three of second-half substitute Barnes (15), Isak (14) and Gordon (10) were further forward. The instruction from Eddie Howe was to be more attacking — and it worked spectacularly.
For West Ham, however, only Bowen is further forward than he had previously been. Emerson (33) and Mohammed Kudus (14) are no longer effective down the left flank, with the Ghana international playing a central role to help Paqueta.
Moyes’ side were more defensive following the substitution, which limited their ability to carve out more opportunities.
On Friday at West Ham’s training ground, Phillips was deep in thought as he sat in his car. Later that day, Moyes once again came to his defence, stressing the importance of looking forward rather than back.
“Confidence is a really difficult thing and I don’t think there’s any way in particular to overcome it,” Moyes said. “But the best manager in the world (Pep Guardiola) paid a lot of money for Phillips. He gets picked for England most years and I chased him for three years, so there must be something in that which will give you confidence to say you’re a really good player.
“Now it’s time for Kalvin to show it and show us the belief we all have in him. He’s great to work with and I hope we get the opportunity to give him more minutes and more chances. Bits he hasn’t got right — like being sent off or being caught on the ball — we need to get over that. Somewhere down the line, someone is going to have a really good player in Kalvin Phillips.”
There are eight league games left for Phillips to show any semblance of that player. He was signed to complement West Ham’s midfield and impress alongside Alvarez. The Mexican’s importance to the team is undeniable. West Ham have failed to win five league games they have played this season without him.
Phillips ought to have been the man to step up in his absence but the wait for an impressive outing continues.
