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BBC
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants to sign Aston Villa and England midfielder Jack Grealish, 25, this summer. (ESPN)
Tottenham Hotspur want at least £150m in a cash-only deal for England striker Harry Kane if chairman Daniel Levy lets the 27-year-old leave the club. (Sun)
Manchester United have edged closer to agreeing a deal to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund after the asking price for the 21-year-old England winger fell to £80m plus add-ons. (Times, subscription required)
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 36, is exploring his options elsewhere despite being in talks with Juventus over his future at the club. (ESPN)
If Ronaldo does leave Juve, Manchester City's 24-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Jesus is the top of their list of replacements alongside Fiorentina and Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 21, and Paris St-Germain's 28-year-old Argentine Mauro Icardi. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian)
Chelsea have opened talks with Borussia Dortmund over a possible £170m move for Norway striker Erling Braut Haaland, 20, and England forward Tammy Abraham, 23, could be part of the deal. (Mail)
Everton have interviewed former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, 47, about succeeding Carlo Ancelotti as manager after the Italian left to re-join Real Madrid. (Football Insider)
Brighton will hope to hold off interest in England defender Ben White from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool by putting a £50m valuation on the 23-year-old. (Mail)
Leicester have agreed a £15m transfer in principle with Celtic for French forward Odsonne Edouard, 23. (Sun)
Atalanta have set a £52m asking price for Argentina defender Cristian Romero. The 23-year-old centre-back has been linked with a move to Manchester United. (Tuttosport - in Italian)
Paris St-Germain are closing in on the signing of AC Milan and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 22, on a free transfer. (Sky Italia)
Juventus want to make 28-year-old Spanish striker Alvaro Morata's loan deal from Atletico Madrid permanent. (Calciomercato - in Italian)
Newcastle want to beat Southampton to the signing of Leicester's English midfielder Hamza Choudhury, 23. (Football Insider)
Fulham boss Scott Parker would be tempted to quit the club to become manager at Bournemouth. (Talksport)
West Ham and Aston Villa are keen to sign Burnley striker Chris Wood, while Everton are monitoring the 29-year-old New Zealand international while they await the appointment of a new manager. (Mirror)
Meanwhile, West Ham have reached an agreement to sign 19-year-old French midfielder Pierre Ekwah from Chelsea. (Sky Sports)
Aston Villa are favourites to sign 16-year-old central defender Josh Feeney from Fleetwood in the summer, but they face competition from Manchester United for the England Under-16 captain. (Mail)
FLW
Lee Johnson’s plans for Sunderland player outlined as Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham and Ipswich Town circle
Sunderland manager Lee Johnson is keen to give the chance for Josh Hawkes to impress in pre-season amid interest from elsewhere, according to the Sunderland Echo.
Hawkes has been overlooked somewhat surprisingly so far by Johnson since he took over at Sunderland, and that comes despite the 22-year-old impressing on a regular basis with the club’s under-23s this season.
It has been reported by teamTALK that the likes of Leeds United, Newcastle United, West Ham and Crystal Palace are all interested in making a potential move for Hawkes this summer. It was believed that West Ham and Palace were both leading the chase for the 22-year-old.
However, there have since been reports from the East Anglian Daily Times that Ipswich are considering making a move for Hawkes as well this summer. It is understood that he could be keen to move away from the Stadium of Light for first-team football.
The latest update from the Sunderland Echo reveals that Johnson is now wanting to give Hawkes the chance to show what he can do in pre-season and look to potentially hand him a more involved role within the first-team squad.
Johnson, speaking to the #SAFCUnfiltered Podcast, via Sunderland Echo, outlined his plans for Hawkes and other young talents at Sunderland.
He said: “I think, just to give Josh Hawkes and Dan Neil as an example, one of the big focuses is their summer. How can we bridge the gap physicality-wise from under-23 football to first-team football?
“Part of that journey will be that they will sit down with myself on a football front, then they will sit down with the sport science team and we’ll actually build them a really itemised plan, if you like.”
The verdict
This is a very sensible approach from Johnson and he needs to be careful that Sunderland do not lose a player with the talent and potential of Hawkes this summer. The 22-year-old is someone that has a lot of quality that he has been displaying regularly for the Black Cats’ under-23s and he will be itching to get a taste of first-team action now.
The longer that Johnson ignores him for in terms of handing him some first-team chances, the more likely it will be that the likes of Ipswich, Newcastle, West Ham or Crystal Palace swoop in and sign him from them.
Losing a talent like Hawkes would be a major blow because he could have a major impact next term if he is given the chance to do so.
It seems Johnson is now going to be much more receptive to giving Hawkes a chance to get into his side next season. If that is the case then the 22-year-old might yet be convinced to remain at the Stadium of Light. That would be a major positive for Sunderland because he should only continue to grow as an asset for them in the coming years.
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