|
BBC
Chelsea are holding out for a £100m bid from Real Madrid for Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard, 28. (Independent on Sunday)
The Blues have made contact with the representatives of Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, 30. Chelsea are also interested in Borussia Dortmund and Sweden forward Alexander Isak, 19. (Sunday Mirror)
France midfielder Paul Pogba, 26, and Spain keeper David de Gea, 28, are part of seven Manchester United players thinking about leaving the club as they struggle to qualify for next season's Champions League. (Sunday Times - subscription required)
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford, 25, and Atletico Madrid stopper Jan Oblak, 26, are on Manchester United's shortlist if they lose De Gea, who is a target for PSG. England international Pickford could cost up to £60m, while Slovenian Oblak may cost a world record fee. (Sunday Express)
Manchester United have been scouting PSG and Belgium right-back Thomas Meunier, 27, since the start of the season. (Sun on Sunday)
Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele is a target for Manchester United, but they face a battle with PSG for the 22-year-old Frenchman. (L'Equipe - in French)
Liverpool could make a move for Lyon and Netherlands forward Memphis Depay, 25, if Senegal winger Sadio Mane, 26, leaves Anfield this summer. (L'Equipe, via Mail on Sunday)
Paris St-Germain forward Neymar, 27, regrets leaving Barcelona "more than most", says his former Barca and Brazil team-mate Adriano. (Cadena Ser)
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is considering replacing England right-back Kieran Trippier, 28, with Crystal Palace's Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 21. (Sunday Express)
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri wants France striker Olivier Giroud to stay at the club. The 32-year-old's Blues deal expires in June but the Stamford Bridge club have the option to extend it by 12 months. (Star on Sunday)
Leicester City have joined Everton, Southampton, Tottenham and West Ham in wanting to sign 24-year-old Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic from Fulham following the Craven Cottage club's relegation from the Premier League. (Sportski Zurnal, via Leicester Mercury)
Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande also want Mitrovic and are willing to meet Fulham's £50m asking price and pay the forward £300,000-a-week. (Sunday Express)
Fulham winger Ryan Sessegnon, 18, could see out the final year of his contract with the club in the Championship next season and then sign for German club Borussia Dortmund, who would just have to pay training compensation for the England Under-21 international. (Sun on Sunday)
Bayern Munich and Netherlands winger Arjen Robben, 35, could snub a move to Inter Milan in favour of a switch to the MLS. (Calciomercato)
Everton will earn £5m if their former striker Romelu Lukaku leaves Manchester United this summer. The 25-year-old Belgium international is wanted by Inter Milan. (Sunday Telegraph)
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez says he is "not too close" to resolving his future at St James' Park. (Sky Sports)
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe says Scotland winger Ryan Fraser may not be at the club next season. The 25-year-old is a target for Arsenal. (Sun on Sunday)
QPR have made contact with Rui Almeida, the manager of Portuguese Ligue 2 club Troyes, as their search for Steve McClaren's replacement continues. (Football.London)
The 14-year-old son of Brazil legend Ronaldinho has signed a five-year contract with Cruzeiro. Joao Mendes has been with the Brazilian club since last year. (Cruzeiro - in Portuguese)
Transfer Tavern
West Ham must give Nathan Holland a chance to shine in the first team
By Dan Briard
Does this team actually want to challenge for Europe? Whenever given the chance to push themselves nearer to seventh place, the team misfire and that infuriates the supporters. Everyone reading this will know that, but still, it’s certainly nice to vent.
Amazingly, on the whole, it’s been a fairly steady campaign for Manuel Pellegrini in his first in charge of the Hammers. Some results great, some shocking but that just screams typical West Ham.
Perhaps more positively, apart from varying results, something else the Irons are well-known for is their brilliant production of young players.
The Academy of Football is a system West Ham are incredibly proud of and it’s easy to understand why. With graduates ranging from Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, to most recently Declan Rice, the East London outfit clearly have a very good success rate at bringing through top quality youngsters.
It’s hard to put anyone on the same scale as those former players but if a youngster is given the platform, who knows where they could get to in the game?
That is why West Ham seriously need to consider giving Nathan Holland some game-time, now the winger is fully fit and back to his best.
Holland was one of many players under the watchful eye of Manuel Pellegrini when he first arrived at the London Stadium but after suffering a number of injuries, he hasn’t been able to grasp an opportunity in the first team.
Since the start of the season, the 20-year-old has managed seven appearances in Premier League 2 and his statistics show what an influence he’s had. One goal in seven certainly doesn’t capture the eye but add in six assists as well and it’s then easy to see why Nathan Holland is deserving of a first-team shot.
What’s the harm? Rice’s rapid into footballing superstardom should act as precedence here, not just a one-off.
With the season nearing its conclusion and with West Ham having little to play for, why not experiment with the likes of Nathan Holland? Perhaps the London Stadium could have its next big star.
...and some old tosh in The Sun about us wanting to buy £50m-rated Jordan Pickford.
|
