BBC
Everton want to pursue the signing of Wolves and England centre-back Conor Coady, 28. (Football Insider)
Chelsea want to build a positive relationship with Borussia Dortmund as they hope to sign two of their brightest talents in the form of Norway striker Erling Braut Haaland, 20, and 17-year-old England midfielder Jude Bellingham. (Star)
Manchester United have made an opening bid of £50m for Real Madrid and France defender Raphael Varane, but Real want £80m for the 28-year-old. (Manchester Evening News)
However, Sergio Ramos' Real departure could scupper United's plans to sign Varane after the Spanish giants opened new contract talks with the centre-back. (Times)
Inter Milan's 22-year-old Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi has "verbally agreed" to join Chelsea. The Italian champions, who have already rejected bids from the Blues and Paris St-Germain, are reported to want £43m and Chelsea's Spanish left-back Marcos Alonso, 30. (Ekram Konur via Sun)
PSG are preparing to table a second bid for Hakimi of 70m euros (£60m). (Footmercato - in Italian)
Roma will try to sign Aston Villa and Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 23, if they fail to land Arsenal and Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, 28. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian)
Wolves are evaluating the possibility of signing former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, with the 32-year-old Spain forward available on a free transfer. (UOL - in Portuguese)
Brazil midfielder Fernandinho, 36, has agreed a new one-year deal at stay at Manchester City. (Mail)
Crystal Palace have made contact with the representative of former Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre as they continue their search for a new manager. (Guardian)
Anderlecht's Albert Lokonga, 21, and Sheffield United and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, 23, are among Arsenal's targets as Mikel Arteta looks to overhaul his squad. Belgian midfielder Lokonga is said to be worth around £17.5m. (Goal)
Leicester City are hoping Youri Tielemans, 24, will sign a new contract with the club amid speculation over his future. The Belgian midfielder has been linked with both Manchester United and Liverpool. (Leicester Mercury)
Leicester City have stepped up their interest in RB Salzburg and Zambia striker Patson Daka, 22. (Telegraph)
On-loan West Ham midfielder Jesse Lingard, 28, is due to hold talks with Manchester United over his future when he returns for pre-season training next month, meaning the Hammers must wait to find out if they can sign the England international permanently. (Star)
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is monitoring the situation of Real Sociedad and Sweden striker Alexander Isak. The 21-year-old scored 17 goals in La Liga last season and helped La Real win the Copa del Rey. (Express)
Brighton have fallen at the last hurdle in the race to sign Stuttgart forward Nicolas Gonzalez. The Seagulls had agreed a club-record fee of around £25m plus bonuses for the 23-year-old but the Argentine looks to have decided to sign for Italian side Fiorentina instead. (Sky Germany, via Team Talk)
OS
West Ham United to take on Scottish Premiership club Dundee in pre-season
West Ham United will face Scottish Premiership club Dundee in a pre-season match at Dens Park on Friday 9 July at 1pm.
The Hammers will open their preparations for what promises to be a thrilling 2021/22 season with a first-ever meeting with the Dees.
In line with current Scottish Government COVID regulations, the game will be played without away supporters present and the home club will be permitted to admit invited guests due to the restrictions in place.
David Moyes will take his West Ham squad back to his homeland for the second pre-season in succession, with a five-day training camp in St Andrews concluding with a short trip north across the River Tay to take on James McPake’s Dundee.
Like their visitors, the Dees enjoyed a positive 2020/21 season, finishing second in the Scottish Championship before defeating Raith Rovers and Kilmarnock in the play-offs to secure promotion back to the Premiership after a two-year absence.
Captained by former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam, Dundee were crowned champions of Scotland once, in 1962 and reached the European Cup semi-finals the following season. The Dark Blues have also won the Scottish Cup once and the Scottish League Cup on three occasions.
West Ham have visited the city previously, but only to face Dundee’s local rivals Dundee United, taking them on in pre-season matches in 1980, 1982 and 1983.
A small number of players have turned out for both the Irons and the Dees, including 2012 Championship Play-Off final winner Guy Demel, 1950s winger Jimmy Andrews, 1980s defender Tommy McQueen and winger Mark Ward, 1900s full-back Archie Taylor and outside-right Bob Allan, who joined Thames Ironworks FC in 1899 and remained with the Club after its reformation the following year.
The Hammers will return to England following the Dundee fixture to contest pre-season matches with Leyton Orient and Northampton Town on Tuesday 13 July and Reading on Wednesday 21 July before returning to Scotland to face Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday 24 July.
Academy Quickfire Questions: Conor Coventry
Each week, we'll be firing some of football's true 'need-to-know' questions towards promising products of the Academy of Football.
This week, it's the turn of 21-year-old midfielder Conor Coventry...
Quick Fact: Although typically a deep-lying playmaker, Coventry – a lifelong West Ham supporter born and raised in Waltham Forest, who has been at the Academy since he was ten-years-old – scored on just his second Premier League 2 appearance against Fulham in February 2017.
He then went over three-and-a-half years without scoring for the development squad… but finished 2020/21 as second-highest scorer, with seven goals in 20 games!
On the Field
Who got you into football?
My Dad and my Grandad
Favourite player growing up?
Andrea Pirlo, Roy Keane and Andres Iniesta - not bad!
Strongest attribute?
My mindset
Want to get better at?
One-on-one defending
Goal celebration of choice?
'The Lizard' or 'The Scaffolder'!
Favourite training drill?
Possession drills
Off the Field
Favourite other sport?
Golf
Favourite account to follow on Instagram?
@thenotoriousmma - that's Conor McGregor, by the way!
You’re watching at the moment…
Most recently: The Fall on Netflix
If you weren’t a footballer you’d be…
A kitman or a groundsman
Karaoke song of choice?
Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran
If you had one last meal?
Lamb chops
Around the Academy
Best skills?
Nathan Holland
Funniest?
Ben Johnson
Future manager?
Gonçalo Cardoso
Three teammates you’d be stuck on a desert island with?
I'm gonna say Ben Johnson, Nathan Trott and Sam Caiger - Caiger for the entertainment!
Best dressed?
Slim pickings! Aside from myself, Nathan Trott
Quickfire Questions
PlayStation or Xbox?
PlayStation
Winter or summer?
Summer
Theme park or beach day?
Theme park
Messi or Ronaldo?
Lionel Messi
Win the Champions League or World Cup?
World Cup
Classic 40-yarder or dribble past everyone to score?
Dribble past everyone and score
Walid Elmechri @Walid_Elmechri (Tunisian football journalist) Tweet:-
FC Koln management have rejected Olympique Lyonnais' offer (8 M € ) for Tunisian midfielder Ellyes Skhiri (26).
Ellyes is very close to joining one of these two clubs: Sevilla FC or West Ham which have started negotiations with the German club.
