PSG are reportedly ready to move for Jadon Sancho if a new contract cannot be agreed for Kylian Mbappe.
Meanwhile Chelsea have received a big boost in their pursuit of AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on a free transfer.
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- Joe Brophy
CAM AND GET ME
Eduardo Camavinga will not sign a new contract at Rennes, according to reports.
And that is set to put Manchester United and Real Madrid on red alert over a summer transfer.
The European heavyweights are long-term admirers of the defensive midfielder.
So reports from The Athletic that he is not going to put pen to paper on an extension will be music to the ears of the top brass at Bernabeu and Old Trafford.
The 18-year-old’s current deal at Rennes expires at the end of the 2021-22 season.
- Joe Brophy
BLUE WAVE
Thomas Tuchel warns that he has no intention of hanging about for trophies because he expects to win something this season.
He says: “Chelsea is a club that provides any coach with the culture, the mentality, the quality and the history to win titles.
“That is what I demand of myself and I was very clear about my intentions when I arrived here.
“I have nothing to hide about that so why should I now say anything different?
“We are not here to win trophies in five years or three years or two years. Now is the time."
- Joe Brophy
NOU HIGHS
Barcelona are the most valuable football club in the world for the first time – worth a whopping £3.46billion.
The Nou Camp giants pipped arch-rivals Real Madrid (£3.45bn) into top spot after five successive second-place finishes.
- Joe Brophy
SUMMER SPACTACULAR
A remarkable calendar of British sport is taking shape in what promises to be a summer to remember.
After the coronavirus pandemic put sport on its knees 12 months ago, events such as the European Championships and Wimbledon were postponed and cancelled as fans were left with little entertainment.
- Joe Brophy
ROCK THE BOAT
Tottenham are set to swoop for Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng, according to reports.
The 32-year-old German, whose contract expires in the summer, has been linked with moves to Spurs' London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
But Sky Germany now believe the Lilywhites are the frontrunners among the English sides to land Boateng at the end of the season.
- Joe Brophy
GREEN WITH ENVY
Mason Greenwood emulated Cristiano Ronaldo during his impressive cameo on Sunday.
- Joe Brophy
FORWARD MARCH
Roy Keane believes Tottenham star Harry Kane ‘fancies’ joining Manchester United this summer.
He told Sky Sports: “For Kane, he’d be looking at this United team and must be thinking: ‘I could be the top man at Man Utd up front’.
“With the service he’d be getting, Kane must fancy United. [Trophies?] If kane is in the United team, as night follows day, yeah.
“United have closed the gap on City and Kane would be another hug step. Maybe Kane doesn’t want to go abroad, United are still a huge, huge pull.
“United want to get back to winning titles so they’ll certainly need another striker. Kane, Haaland, I’d take either.
“Probably Haaland [over Kane] because of his age and the investment, but I wouldn’t say no to Kane either.”
- Joe Brophy
BRAZILIAN PEL-TER
Sylvester Stallone has revealed football icon Pele broke his finger with a penalty during the filming of Escape to Victory.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: "That was one of the low points of my life.
"What a butt-kicking I got! I still have a broken finger from trying to block a penalty by Pele.
"He put on a pair of World War II shoes, which were steel-tipped, and the ball was like a cannonball – it was twice as thick and heavy as footballs are today.
"He was telling me he was going to take a shot and I thought 'It's soccer, what's the big deal? It's easy.'
"He came to take one penalty shot and he told me exactly where he was going to put it, so I stood there but the ball still flew past me before I could move.
"He put it literally right where he had said. He did it again, and it ripped through the back of the net and broke a window in the barracks where we were filming. I went 'Are you kidding me?' I found a new kind of respect."
- Joe Brophy
FIK OF IT
Chelsea are set for a £24million windfall with AC Milan reportedly keen to sign Fikayo Tomori on a permanent deal.
Corriere dello Sport claim the Italian giants ‘will do everything to redeem’ the England defender and keep him at San Siro.
The report adds that Milan ‘intend to exercise the option as the whole club is satisfied with how Tomori has integrated’ with the team.
- Joe Brophy
PAUL OVER
Andrea Pirlo has warned Manchester United off Paulo Dybala by claiming the superstar WILL be at Juventus next season.
Dybala, 27, has been linked with a big-money move this summer as he approaches the final year of his Bianconeri deal.
Pirlo declared: “I’ve always said Dybala is an important player and unfortunately I haven’t had him at my disposal very much this season.
“Let’s look at the present, because that is more important than the future.
“He still has a year left on his contract, so we will have him here next season.
“Dybala is a player who makes the difference. I hope hope to be able to use Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata and Dybala together at some point.
“With Dybala, it’s the club who are in charge of making the decisions. I’m fortunate to coach winners like him. The final decisions are made by the directors.”
- Joe Brophy
GUNNAR SAY IT AGAIN
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's rant about Son Heung-min on Sunday bizarrely mirrored a statement he made in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
In a strange rant, he said: “If my son stays down for three minutes and he needs his 10 mates to help him up, he won’t get any food.”
But this is not the first time Solskjaer has used this sort of analogy when reacting to what he feels is diving from Spurs players.
Back in October during Tottenham's 6-1 win over United at Old Trafford, Solskjaer gave a similar response following an altercation between Erik Lamela and Anthony Martial.
Lamela appeared to thrust an elbow into Martial, before the Frenchman responded by slapping the Spurs forward, a spat which lead to the United man being sent off as Solskjaer's men proceeded to suffer a heavy defeat.
After that incident, the Norwegian said: “If that was my son he would live on water and bread for two weeks, that’s not how I want my players to react.”
- Josh Graham
MATCH CHANGES
Wolves’ hosting of Sheffield United on Saturday has been pushed back to 8.15pm to avoid clashing with the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
All EFL 3pm kick-offs that day have also been moved as well out of respect for the passing of HRH Prince Philip, with Watford’s trip to Luton brought forward to 12.30pm.
Wolves were due to kick off at 3pm but the switch means there is now an almost eight-hour gap between the two Premier League fixtures that day.
Newcastle host West Ham at 12.30pm in Saturday’s only other top-flight game.
A Premier League statement read: “As a mark of respect for His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Premier League has rescheduled the match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United due to be played on Saturday 17 April at 15:00 BST.
“The fixture will now kick off later in the day at 20:15 BST to avoid a clash with the Ceremonial Royal Funeral. Newcastle United’s home match against West Ham United will remain as scheduled at 12:30 BST. Both matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.”
All EFL 3pm kick-offs have been moved to either 12.30pm or 5.30pm, while National League fixtures have been brought forward to 12.30pm.
- Josh Graham
IBIZA ROCKS
PSG offered Neymar a private jet, hotel chain shares and to put his name on the Eiffel Tower in an unsuccessful attempt to sign him in 2016.
The French club's owner Nasser Al Khelaifi was desperate to bring in the Barcelona star and reportedly launched the cash at him during a meeting in Ibiza.
But despite the stunning bonuses included in the transfer, Neymar turned down the chance to join PSG and instead signed a new contract with Barcelona.
Wagner Ribeiro, Neymar's former agent told L'Equipe: "In the summer of 2016 we met in Ibiza, Neymar, his father, Nasser Al Khelaifi and Olivier Letang, the sports director of the PSG.
"It was on the top floor of a hotel, nobody saw us. Neymar earned €11 million and Nasser offered us €26m.
"We asked him €40m and he told us that he would study it, that he would give him shares in a hotel chain, a private jet and that he would put his name on the Eiffel Tower. A madness."
Ribeiro states that Financial Fair Play coupled with the fact that the player did not want to join PSG at that time scuppered the deal.
But of course just one year later the Brazilian did move to the French capital for £198m – and the Eiffel Tower was lit up in the club's red and blue with 'Welcome Neymar Jr' written alongside.
- Josh Graham
SILVA LINING
Here’s how Chelsea could line up for the crunch Champions League quarter-final second leg against Porto on Tuesday night.
The Blues have a 2-0 lead from the first leg with two ‘away’ goals.
- Josh Graham
SAN THE MAN
Paris Saint-Germain will reportedly move to sign Jadon Sancho if star striker Kylian Mbappe fails to pen a new contract.
Mbappe's current deal with the French champions – who he joined in August 2017 – is set to expire next summer.
The France international has flirted with a move away from the Parc des Princes and has shown little sign of committing his long-term future to the Parisians.
And with Mbappe not making his intentions for the future clear, The Athletic claims PSG have identified England international Sancho as a replacement for the World Cup winner.
PSG's reported interest in signing Sancho will be a blow to Premier League big boys Manchester United.
The Red Devils are long-term admirers of the 21-year-old, who they tried to sign last summer, and are said to still be interested in acquiring his services.
Credit: Getty
- Josh Graham
'ABHORRENT RACIAL ABUSE'
Tottenham are discussing what to do about social media after Son Heung-min became their latest star to suffer racist abuse online.
The South Korean star was abused following Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League home defeat by Manchester United.
It came a week after his team-mate Davinson Sanchez was subjected to racist posts following a 2-2 draw at Newcastle.
Spurs said in a statement: "Another matchday and more abhorrent racial abuse suffered by one of our players.
"This has again been reported to the platforms and we shall now undertake a full review alongside the Premier League to determine the most effective action moving forward."
Son scored to put Tottenham ahead in Sunday's defeat after he was involved in an incident with United midfielder Scott McTominay which led to the visitors having a goal disallowed.
- Josh Graham
CRIS CROSS
Cristiano Ronaldo endured a difficult day at the office despite Juventus' win over Genoa.
The Bianconeri maintained third position in the Serie A table with the 3-1 victory, in which Ronaldo failed to score.
That disappointment was used to explain his somewhat controversial reaction at the final whistle.
Pictures of the winger, 36, tossing his Juve shirt to the ground were noticed by a number of fans, who reacted angrily.
But, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, it was clear to those present that he had heard a ball boy call out for the shirt.
And Ronaldo dropped it to the ground before the youngster gleefully gathered it up.
The Portuguese star nevertheless let his frustration show in the dressing room, where he reportedly punched a wall.
Credit: Getty - Josh Graham
TUCH LOVE
Chelsea have been handed a huge transfer boost after Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele named Thomas Tuchel as his favourite coach.
The French winger has failed to light up LaLiga as many expected following a £97million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
It has led to rumour that the cash-strapped Spaniards may look to flog the 23-year-old, with Chelsea previously linked.
And it appears Dembele would be keen to link up once again with his former Dortmund boss Tuchel.
Speaking to BeIn Sports, the 23-cap France international said: “Thomas Tuchel is my favourite coach.
“Under him I played more on the right side before I was moved to ten or in the middle.
“If he had stayed, it would have been very difficult to leave Dortmund. I would probably not have done it.”
- Josh Graham
ERLI CALL
Manchester United will reportedly make a quick decision on whether or not they'll sign Erling Haaland in order to avoid a repeat of the Jadon Sancho saga of last summer.
The Red Devils still hold an interest in landing the prolific Borussia Dortmund hitman, despite being snubbed by the Norwegian and his agent – Mino Raiola – in December 2019.
But unlike their ill-fated pursuit of Sancho in 2020, the United brass will be 'urged to assess whether Haaland is a viable option' as soon as possible.
That's according to The Athletic, who claim Old Trafford chiefs want to know if the 20-year-old will be out of their price range in order to identify alternative targets.
United were left scrambling to sign a winger last summer after Dortmund refused to budge on their £104million valuation of England international Sancho.
The Red Devils ended up signing 18-year-old Amad Diallo on transfer deadline day after it became apparent they wouldn't be able to land Sancho.
Haaland is United's top priority this summer, although they're also thought to be interested in signing Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
Credit: Rex - Josh Graham
CITY BOY
Manchester City are set to sign Brazilian wonderkid Kayky from Fluminense, according to reports.
The Premier League leaders have been linked with the forward since the start of the year.
And according to Fabrizio Romano, City are now pushing ahead for a deal worth £8.7million plus £14.75m in potential add-ons.
Kayky is on course to receive a five-year contract but would not arrive at the Etihad until the summer of 2022.
The 17-year-old is a product of the Fluminense academy, which has produced the likes of Real Madrid legend Marcelo and Liverpool's Fabinho.
Dubbed the 'next Neymar' in his homeland, the winger is blessed with pace and close-control.
Manchester City are keen on Brazilian Kayky - Josh Graham
CZECH OUT
Arsenal are facing a huge injury crisis ahead of their Europa League return trip to Slavia Prague.
The Gunners easily swept aside Championship-bound Sheffield United 3-0 on Sunday – but it came at a cost.
Rising star Bukayo Saka came off injured, and he could join a packed treatment room at the Emirates.
Speaking after the game Gunners boss Mikel Arteta confirmed left-back Kieran Tierney is ‘probably out for the season’ while David Luiz will also miss the Slavia game.
He added: “Emile [Smith Rowe] and Martin [Odegaard], we don’t know yet.
“Bukayo [Saka], we’ll see how he develops in the next few days. He had discomfort in his thigh and it’s the last thing we need because we are missing some big players at the moment.”
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also missed the game at Bramall Lane with a cold, but is expected to return to face Slavia Prague.
- Josh Graham
MOUR TO DO
Jose Mourinho needs to 'take responsibility' for Tottenham's troubles, according to Sky Sports pundit and former Spurs star Jamie Redknapp.
The Londoners surrendered a 1-0 lead on Sunday to meekly lose 3-1 at home to Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho copped some flak from Jamie RedknappCredit: Getty Speaking after the game, the 47-year-old said: "What Jose has also done in this period is he's made them a really tough watch.
"You can say what you like about Spurs but they always been a good football team, they've always had a style. If Spurs fans were here right now watching that, they wouldn't enjoy it one bit.
"Too often I watch this side and there's no flair or excitement. I don't think this is a bad squad of players, I've said it before and I stand by it.
"Jose is looking at it and trying to blame everybody else, he has to take responsibility.
"When you're a good manager, you organise your team to get that result whatever it takes. A great manager would find a way to get them organised."
- Josh Graham
NOT DONN YET
AC Milan are reportedly struggling to make progress on Gianluigi Donnarumma’s contract situation – opening the door for Chelsea.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper’s deal expires in the summer and negotiations are said to be moving slowly.
A pay increase from his net salary of £100,000-a-week to a £133,000-a-week wage is on the table but no deal has been signed.
And while Milan have spoken calmly about the situation in previous months, technical director Paolo Maldini was described as frustrated when referring to the situation in the week.
He said: “These are choices everyone has to make.
“I am not here to judge, I am here to do what is best for the club. I also know that you need two parties to be happy in order to strike a deal.”
La Gazzetta dello Sport note that little progress has been made over a renewal with the club and player far apart in their ideal terms.
- Josh Graham
CZECH IN
Mikel Arteta was upbeat about Arsenal’s Europa League chances after Sunday’s victory over Sheffield United.
The Gunners head to Slavia Prague on Thursday with the quarter-final tie level at 1-1, although the Czech team hold a key away goal.
Prague have already beaten Leicester, Bayer Leverkusen and Rangers this season but Arteta was determined to be positive going into the clash.
The 39-year-old told MOTD: “Overall we had a really good performance – 3-0 away from home is never easy.
“We had to be fully focused on the league, there is a lot to play for.
“The best way to prepare for Prague was by winning today.
“We are going to to win the game at Prague. That’s it, that is our mindset.”
- sstreet
CAM-ETH THE HOUR
Eduardo Camavinga is set to reject any new contract offer Rennes make him this summer, according to The Athletic.
The 18-year-old wonderkid has long been on the radar of Real Madrid and is expected to move to one of Europe's top clubs.
However, the big question is whether he will depart at the end of this season or run down his contract until 2022 in order to broaden his options.
Agent Jonathan Barnett, who also represents Mason Mount, Jack Grealish, Saul Niguez and Gareth Bale has stated his view that Camavinga is ready to play in the Premier League next season.
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