|
BBC
Real Madrid are planning a £125m summer move for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, 26. (Sun)
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has £430m in transfer funds this summer and also wants to sign 20-year-old France striker Kylian Mbappe from Paris St-Germain and Belgium forward Eden Hazard, 28, from Chelsea. (L'Equipe, via AS)
Chelsea will consider giving Callum Hudson-Odoi a new contract worth £100,000 a week to convince the 18-year-old to stay at Stamford Bridge. (London Evening Standard)
Former France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, who was sacked by Monaco in January after just three months in charge, could return to his role as assistant to Belgium manager Roberto Martinez. (Mirror)
Can Man City win the quadruple?
Man City
Man City are 15 games from the quadruple - can they do it?
Wolves are on the brink of signing striker Raul Jimenez, the 27-year-old Mexico international on loan from Benfica, in a club record £25m deal. (Telegraph)
Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez, whose deal runs out at the end of the season, could be a target for Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande if their current coach Fabio Cannavaro quits to take over as the Chinese national team's boss. (Mirror)
Carlo Ancelotti insists that Napoli will not be forced to sell their £130m-rated defender Kalidou Kouliably, 27, a long-term target for Manchester United.(Mail)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed a large number of agents have been in contact with Manchester United to try and get their players a move to Old Trafford this summer. (Sky Sports)
Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, 19, and Real Madrid's Rafael Varane, 25, are thought to be top of the Manchester United shopping list. (Independent)
Juventus are considering whether to trigger a £25m buyout clause for Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld, 30, before the last two weeks of the summer transfer window. (Mirror)
Bayern Munich are planning the biggest investment in their history during the summer transfer window. (Marca)
Arsenal have reportedly made contact with Barcelona over the possibility of signing defender Samuel Umtiti, 25. (Gazetta dello Sport, via Mirror)
Bundesliga clubs have been told to forget about a loan move for Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden, 18, this summer. (Manchester Evening News)
Real Madrid are reportedly in pole position to sign out-of-favour Paris St-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 23. (AS, via Mirror)
Long-term Manchester United target Antoine Griezmann, 28, is willing to take £6m pay cut to join Barcelona, who are willing to trigger his £100m release clause from Atletico Madrid. (Mundo Deportivo, via Mail)
Liverpool's Dublin-born defender Conor Masterson, 20, who is available on a free transfer this summer, is a target for Norwich. (Sun)
Tottenham striker Harry Kane, 25, says winning the first game at the new stadium against Crystal Palace next week is more important than scoring the first goal. (London Evening Standard)
The agent of Ajax's 26-year-old Argentine left-back Nicolas Tagliafico, a target for Arsenal, has confirmed his client is prepared to "take a leap" at a new club. (Football.London)
Manager Brendan Rodgers says Leicester City will do their best to ensure their best players remain at the King Power Stadium this summer. (Leicester Mercury)
Bournemouth's wage bill rose by 42% to £101.8m last season according the annual accounts, contributing to the club making a financial loss for the first time since being promoted to the top flight. (Times - subscription required)
Leicester fans are being offered free beer and cupcakes before Saturday's game to toast the birthday of their late chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. (Leicester Mercury)
Everton centre-back Yerry Mina suffered a hamstring injury playing for Colombia against South Korea, despite the Goodison Park club warning his national team over the risk of overplaying the 24-year-old. (Times - subscription required)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's appointment as Manchester United manager on a permanent basis means Liverpool's Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, 27, will have to move out of the Cheshire home he rents from the Norwegian. (Guardian)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Jacob Steinberg
Now that Ole Gunnar Solskjær has the Manchester United job under lock and key, he can stop pretending that he cares about promoting youth. Give Ole the moolah! The Norwegian’s already drawn up an expensive shopping list, with Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho, Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, West Ham’s Declan Rice, Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane prominent in his thoughts. Ed Woodward had better have the chequebook ready.
However, United will have to be careful when they give Real Madrid a call about Varane, as the struggling Spaniards might respond by asking how much they want for Paul Pogba. Madrid are said to be planning a £125m bid for Pogba and have already made themselves more attractive to the Frenchman by not appointing José Mourinho as their new manager.
If Pogba proves out of reach, however, Zinedine Zidane will settle for nabbing Adrien Rabiot from Paris-Saint Germain for nothing. Zidane could also try to lure Kylian Mbappé away from PSG while he’s at it, even though any move for the striker would probably wipe out most of his €500m summer budget, and the Madrid manager is also interested in signing Eden Hazard from Chelsea.
Elsewhere in Spain Antoine Griezmann is mulling over taking a £6m pay cut to leave Atlético Madrid for Barcelona, who are prepared to trigger the striker’s £100m buyout clause. Barça could finance that deal by selling Samuel Umtiti to Arsenal. Meanwhile, they have been told to forget about taking Phil Foden off Manchester City.
Chelsea plan to convince Callum Hudson-Odoi to stay at Stamford Bridge by offering the winger a contract worth £100,000 a week. It would probably be cheaper just to give him a few games, you know.
Juventus are considering triggering Toby Alderweireld’s £25m buyout clause and Wolves are on the verge of completing a £30m deal for Raúl Jiménez, who will score two goals next season.
Northern Echo
West Ham set to step in if Newcastle do not sign Rondon
WEST HAM UNITED are ready to step into the breach if Newcastle United are unable to agree a permanent deal for Salomon Rondon this summer.
The Hammers are preparing for a major attacking overhaul once the transfer window reopens, and have identified Rondon as a leading potential target amid doubts over Newcastle’s desire to turn the striker’s current loan deal into a permanent transfer.
Rafael Benitez is keen to sign Rondon permanently, with the Venezuelan having established himself as Newcastle’s clear first-choice striker thanks to a tally of ten goals in all competitions this season.
However, Benitez is yet to make a decision over his own future beyond the end of the current campaign, and the prospects of Rondon joining Newcastle permanently would recede significantly if there was a managerial change at St James’ Park.
Even if Benitez signs a new deal, he faces a major battle to persuade Mike Ashley to shell out the funds that would be needed to sign Rondon on a long-term deal.
Last summer, Ashley refused to pay the £16m fee that would have triggered an automatic release clause in the striker’s contract at West Brom, and with the Baggies expected to demand a similar price this summer, it remains to be seen whether he is willing to shift his position.
Ashley is notoriously reluctant to offer long-term deals to players approaching their 30s, and Rondon turned 29 last September. He is likely to request at least a three-year deal if he leaves the Hawthorns permanently, and it is hard to see Ashley meeting his demands.
The West Ham board would be much more willing to offer a long-term deal, having previously recruited a number of players in a similar age bracket.
Manuel Pellegrini has been promised significant funds to strengthen his squad this summer, and the Hammers boss will make an attacking overhaul a key priority.
Andy Carroll is set to leave the London Stadium, and Lucas Perez could also be sold after suffering a succession of injury issues.
Given that Javier Hernandez will turn 31 in June, Pellegrini will be keen to sign at least one proven striker, and Rondon’s record over the last couple of seasons makes him an attractive option, with West Brom willing to sell.
Rondon will attempt to tie up his future at an early stage of the summer, and while he would he prefer to remain on Tyneside after enjoying his time in the North-East, he is aware of the issues that could prevent him joining the Magpies permanently.
He has returned to training with his Newcastle team-mates after a successful international break that saw him score the opening goal in Venezuela’s landmark 3-1 win over Argentina.
|
