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BBC
Liverpool and Scotland left-back Andy Robertson, 29, is the top target for German champions Bayern Munich as they plan how to replace Canada international Alphonso Davies, 23, who looks set to join Real Madrid. (Mail)
Arsenal's concern over the injury record of Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus, 26, is a factor in their striker search, with Brentford's Ivan Toney, 27, Napoli's Victor Osimhen, 25, Bologna's Joshua Zirkzee, 22, and Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres, 25, among options considered. (Mail)
The Gunners are keen on 17-year-old Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, but the Dutch club are hoping the one-cap Netherlands international will sign a new contract. (Evening Standard)
As part of a deal to sign Kylian Mbappe, 25, Real Madrid have also agreed to sign the France forward's younger brother Ethan, 17, from Paris St-Germain. (OK Diario - in Spanish)
Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is top of Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's list to replace Erik ten Hag as Red Devils boss. (Foot Mercato - in French)
Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi is also a potential candidate to replace the Dutchman at Old Trafford. (MEN)
Bayern Munich are also interested in De Zerbi, with Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso and former Germany manager Hansi Flick other potential candidates to replace Thomas Tuchel in the summer. (Sky Germany)
Liverpool's Egypt winger Mohamed Salah, 31, and Manchester City's Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 32, are the Saudi Pro League's main targets this summer. (90min)
Vincent Kompany's job is not under threat at Burnley, despite his team looking set for an instant return to the Championship. (Athletic - subscription required)
Barcelona are considering a move for former Manchester United goal keeper David de Gea, 33, with the Spaniard currently a free agent. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)
Newcastle United and Tottenham are keen on 25-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt and Egypt striker Omar Marmoush, who has scored 10 goals in 18 Bundesliga games this season. (Bild, via Shields Gazette)
Liverpool are interested in signing Porto and Argentina midfielder Alan Varela, 22. (Mirror)
Barcelona are interested in replacing manager Xavi, who is leaving at the end of the season, with Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Erik ten Hag and Marcus Rashford are barely on speaking terms as the pressure mounts on the Manchester United boss.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly dreams of hiring Zinedine Zidane as the next manager of Manchester United.
Barcelona are weighing up a move for former Manchester United star David de Gea, according to reports.
Sergio Aguero says he will need to have many more tests if he is to come out of retirement and play for his boyhood club Independiente.
Gennady Golovkin appears to have confirmed his retirement from boxing after taking a prestigious job as the new president of Kazakhstan's National Olympic Committee.
THE GUARDIAN
A number of Manchester United players complained to coaching staff that they wanted Sunday off after Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Fulham despite Erik ten Hag's squad usually going in after a match day for warm-downs and video analysis.
DAILY MAIL
Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson has emerged as a target for Bayern Munich.
Manchester United could raise as much as £100m and slash the club's wage bill with an Old Trafford clear-out this summer.
West Ham are concerned that the FA's betting probe into Lucas Paqueta could affect their transfer plans for a second successive summer, with his £85m release clause to become active at the end of the season.
DAILY MIRROR
Amanda Staveley will bid to get a bankruptcy petition against her thrown out on Wednesday.
Liverpool are reportedly keen on bringing rising Porto star Alan Varela to Anfield.
Eric Ramsay made a pointed reference to his new club's "strong football culture" after trading Manchester United for Minnesota United.
THE ATHLETIC
Arsenal have reported a loss of £52.1m in their 2022-23 accounts.
Manchester United's incoming chief executive Omar Berrada has already started to meet a series of the club's leading executives even as he sees out his period of gardening leave at Manchester City.
A section of Blackburn Rovers fans temporarily paused their FA Cup fifth-round clash against Newcastle United with a protest over the club's ownership.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Nicolas Pepe's dramatic decline in value contributed to around £18m of Arsenal's losses last season, which stood at more than £52m overall.
Emma Raducanu's agent has said "people should not be malicious" in their judgment of her post-US Open career, which remains short on momentum two months into her post-surgery comeback.
THE INDEPENDENT
Everton are likely to use the argument that they should not be punished twice for the same set of accounts when they face their next Premier League charge for breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules after seeing their case bolstered by the written reasons an appeal board gave on Monday.
DAILY STAR
Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp, ex-Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt and former Southampton and Everton boss Ronald Koeman are all interested in joining forces to buy a team in either League One or League Two - and want to make Henrik Larsson their manager.
THE TIMES
The Premier League will hold face-to-face talks with 777 Partners as part of the final decision-making process in Everton's proposed takeover.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's ambitious plans for a "Wembley of the North" have been welcomed by local council leaders, but they warned that it will take them 15 to 20 years to redevelop the area surrounding Old Trafford.
Ollie Hassell-Collins has said that he would consider switching allegiance to Wales if he does not win any more caps for England in the next two years.
One of the world's leading anti-doping figures, professor Yannis Pitsiladishas, said drug cheats could be driven from sport with the appropriate level of funding in scientific research - which he puts at tens of millions of pounds.
DAILY EXPRESS
Lionel Messi's chances of competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics are looking slim.
DAILY RECORD
Neil Warnock fired back at those claiming he is only at Aberdeen for a holiday - saying he'd have picked somewhere warmer if that was the case.
Mikey Johnston believes Brendan Rodgers didn't want to move him on in January - and would have kept him if it was up to him.
The Hard Tackle
West Ham United battle Manchester United for Serhou Guirassy
West Ham United will reportedly compete with Manchester United for 27-year-old VfB Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy.
According to a report by German outlet BILD, Serhou Guirassy is the subject of interest from West Ham United. Manchester United are also interested in the 27-year-old VfB Stuttgart striker. Meanwhile, the player has a release clause worth €20 million in his contract with West Ham United.
The Rise and Rise of Serhou Guirassy
Serhou Guirassy has established himself as one of the most productive attackers in the Bundesliga since joining VfB Stuttgart. The Guinea international represented France at the youth level but has chosen the African country as his national side. Meanwhile, Stuttgart initially signed him on loan in September 2022 before completing a permanent move last summer.
The 27-year-old has been exceptional this season, particularly making his mark in the first half of the 2023/24 campaign. He has amassed 20 goals and two assists in 19 appearances across all competitions thus far. Meanwhile, Guirassy’s progress has not gone unnoticed, and his exploits have piqued the interest of several high-profile clubs, including Manchester United and West Ham United.
Premier League Calling?
Manchester United’s interest in Guirassy is understandable. The Red Devils will likely part ways with Anthony Martial in the summer transfer window when his contract expires. So, it behoves Manchester United to invest in a striker ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Serhou Guirassy has thus emerged as a viable target for Manchester United. Meanwhile, the Premier League heavyweights can afford the VfB Stuttgart striker due to a meagre release clause worth €20 million in his contract with the Bundesliga club. But Manchester United face stiff competition from West Ham United for his signature.
West Ham United need to invest in a striker in the summer transfer window. Michail Antonio and Danny Ings are on the wrong side of 30 and nowhere near their best. Guirassy is thus an option worth considering for West Ham United. And they will appreciate his availability at just €20 million.
Guirassy’s productivity means West Ham and Manchester United can do with him for various reasons. It will be interesting to see if he lands in England by joining either Premier League club this summer.
FLW
Newcastle United and West Ham eye Ipswich Town summer raid
West Ham and Newcastle United have both set their sights on a Championship star ahead of the summer market
By Declan Harte
Premier League duo Newcastle United and West Ham United are circling around Ipswich Town star Leif Davis ahead of the summer transfer window.
According to Talksport, the defender is attracting transfer interest following his impressive displays in the Championship this year.
The full-back has been a key figure in Kieran McKenna’s side this year, with the club chasing automatic promotion to the top flight.
Davis joined the Tractor Boys from Leeds United in a deal worth £1.2 million in the summer of 2021 and was crucial in their promotion from League One last year.
The 24-year-old has contributed 12 assists to Ipswich’s league campaign, as they fight for a top two spot in the table (all stats from Fbref).
The Hammers are seeking a long-term replacement to Aaron Cresswell, whose performance levels have dropped over the last year or so.
The 34-year-old is coming to the latter stages of his playing career, and the London club have identified Davis as a potential player that could take his place in the team.
Newcastle have also had issues on the left flank this campaign, with Dan Burn’s performance levels dropping compared to the last two seasons.
While the Magpies also have Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento to choose from, Eddie Howe is keen to strengthen in that area and have taken a look at Davis as a potential option.
The Athletic
‘Perfect’, ‘unplayable’ Jarrod Bowen drags West Ham back into form
By Roshane Thomas
On a day it was expected that either Lucas Paqueta or David Moyes would make the headlines, it was Jarrod Bowen who made the biggest impact.
The 27-year-old forward scored his first career hat-trick in West Ham United’s 4-2 win over Brentford. He had not scored in the league since December but produced a performance which showed why he merits a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for next summer’s European Championship. It is no surprise Thomas Frank, the Brentford manager, described Bowen as “unplayable”.
Since joining from Hull City for £20million ($25.3m) in January 2020, Bowen has scored 57 goals across 190 appearances. In October, he signed a seven-year contract extension until summer 2030 and he is on track to have his best goalscoring campaign for West Ham. His previous highest was 18 goals in 2021-22.
“He’s not had that many chances in the last few games and he’s maybe not been at his best,” said manager David Moyes. “He had an ankle injury last month and I think that hindered him, but he’s beginning to find his way again now. He’s always going to love it when Lucas (Paqueta) and Mo (Kudus) are playing either side of him because he’s always going to get opportunities to score.”
Bowen’s belated return to form was a welcome boost for Moyes. West Ham arrived on home soil on an eight-game winless streak with a porous defence and a struggling attack. Heading into the Brentford game, it seemed like it could be one of those nights where there would be further conjecture over Moyes’ long-term position. His contract expires at the end of the season and last Friday, he said he has been offered a new contract but will wait until the current campaign is over to decide on his future.
But for the first time since mid-December, West Ham were able to enjoy a performance where the post-match introspection centred on their players and not the manager.
Bowen is on a career-best 14 Premier League goals for the season, Konstantinos Mavropanos justified his selection ahead of Nayef Aguerd, Emerson Palmieri channelled his inner Julian Dicks to score spectacularly from outside the box, the midfield partnership of Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek impressed, Kudus provided his first assist since November, Vladimir Coufal registered his sixth assist of the season and the return of Paqueta was long overdue.
Paqueta made his first appearance since aggravating a calf injury against Bristol City in January. He was the missing piece of West Ham’s creativity, with Bowen failing to score in 530 minutes without the Brazilian on the field. Bowen, Kudus and Paqueta’s synergy was noticeable during wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United in December, but Paqueta’s injury saw opponents nullify Bowen and Kudus’ impact, with West Ham failing to score in three consecutive games in February against Manchester United (in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford), Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.
But Paqueta returned and Moyes’ side played with zip and confidence again. Their Brentford triumph was the first time this season they have scored four goals and the margin of victory could have been higher had Soucek not been profligate in front of goal.
They were 2-0 up inside seven minutes, Bowen following up a thumping finish that whistled past Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken early on by side-footing home Coufal’s low cross. He completed his hat-trick midway through the second half when he drifted into space in the Brentford area and headed home Kudus’ teasing delivery.
Moyes has transitioned Bowen into a centre-forward and the best part about his development has been the aerial aspect of his game. The former Hull City man failed to score a header in 2022-23, but this season he has headed home against Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Luton Town. It is impressive considering he is West Ham’s smallest forward at 5ft 9in (175cm). Divin Mubama is 6ft, Michail Antonio is 5ft 11in, and Danny Ings is 5ft 10in.
“I don’t score many headers, but they all count,” Bowen told Sky Sports. “It’s a really proud moment for me. You’re always waiting for that third one and it never comes. I got the little glance on the header and it went in.
“I’m always learning. With my energy, I’m always trying to press. It’s difficult. I’m 5ft 9in and up against big centre-halves. I’ve got to know what I’m good at and what I’m not good at. I’m trying to learn a new position in one of the best leagues.”
Bowen, who has earned five caps since making his debut in 2022, will likely feature in Southgate’s England squad for upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium. The attacker is the joint-top English goalscorer in the league along with Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth and Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins.
“Jarrod’s been perfect since joining West Ham and I’m so happy for him,” said Soucek. “His contributions today were perfect for the team and hopefully he’ll continue his goalscoring form. He brings quality on the ball, he can score with his head, score on the counter-attack, make assists, and he can score from outside the box. He has many key attributes.”
Palmieri and Edson Alvarez also eulogised Bowen’s performance but stressed the importance of West Ham maintaining this level of performance.
This Saturday, they face Everton, which will be a difficult encounter as Sean Dyche’s side aim to secure their Premier League status after having their 10-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) reduced to six points.
The trio of Kudus, Paqueta and Bowen provide a tough test for any team and Moyes will hope their insatiable appetite for goals and assists regularly leave a sour taste for opposition defences.
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