BBC
Chelsea fear they will miss out on Napoli's Victor Osimhen in the summer, with Paris St-Germain and Arsenal nudging ahead in the race to sign the in-demand Nigeria striker, 25. (Teamtalk)
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, 26, is not expected to move to PSG this summer following reports the Englishman would replace France striker Kylian Mbappe, 25. (Sky Sports)
Juventus' Weston McKennie, 25, has emerged as a potential target for Manchester United with the USA midfielder identified as an alternative to Real Sociedad's Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi, 25. (Givemesport)
Getafe will be unable to keep Mason Greenwood beyond his loan spell as Manchester United have decided to sell the English forward, 22, to the highest bidder, placing his starting price at close to 50m euros (£42.7m). (Marca - in Spanish)
Manchester City have decided to postpone talks over a new contract for Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 32, who has just over a year remaining on his current deal. (Football Insider)
Chelsea are chasing Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez, 20, but face competition from Manchester United for the Hungary international. (Mirror)
Aston Villa are confident they will be able to keep Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz despite interest in the 25-year-old from Arsenal. (90min)
England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed he has told the Football Association to hold talks about his future until after Euro 2024. (Mirror)
Former Manchester City and current Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini has emerged as an option for Newcastle United should they decide to replace Eddie Howe this summer. (HITC)
Newcastle want to speed up Dan Ashworth's exit to Manchester United as Monaco's sporting director Paul Mitchell heads a shortlist of candidates to replace him. (Telegraph - subscription required)Club Bruges forward Antonio Nusa, 18, continues to attract the attention of Premier League clubs with Tottenham joining Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City in the race for the Norway international. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Chelsea are interested in a summer move for Lille's 18-year-old French centre-back Leny Yoro as they weigh up defensive options to replace Brazil defender Thiago Silva, 39. (Standard)
Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are all interested in Barcelona and Spain teenager Pau Cubarsi, 17. (Football Espana)
Newcastle United and Arsenal have been boosted in their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon's Ivory Coast centre-back Ousmane Diomande, 20, as Chelsea now need to sell players before confirming any new arrivals this summer. (Football Insider)
Manchester City are set to sign France-born teenager Timeo Whisker, 15, from Cardiff City for about £250,000. (Athletic - subscription required)
Santos believe it is "inevitable" Al-Hilal's Brazil forward Neymar, 32, will rejoin his first club before he ends his career. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)
PSV Eindhoven hope to sign full-back Sergino Dest, 23, and midfielder Malik Tillman, 21, on permanent deals this summer with the USA pair having impressed on loan deals from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, respectively. (ESPN)
Spain's football federation has informed the English Football Association they wish to select Leeds United's 20-year-old Spain-born striker Mateo Joseph, an England Under-20 international, for their under-21 team's upcoming games. (AS - in Spanish)
Former Everton and Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, 34, has joined Icelandic club Valur after spending just over six months with Danish side Lyngby. (Talksport)
The Football Association is set to press ahead with plans to scrap FA Cup replays from the third round next season. (Mail)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MIRROR
Paris Saint-Germain have rekindled their interest in Marcus Rashford, despite his struggles at Manchester United this season.
Manchester United's players must prove they want Erik ten Hag to stay - by knocking arch rivals Liverpool out of the FA Cup, according to Old Trafford legend Lou Macari.
Macari also reckons some modern-day players have no idea how fortunate they are and are in need of a reality check.
Premier League clubs will take a vote on the 'New Deal for Football' when there is clarity over what the new financial restrictions in English football's top tier will be.
A Manchester United fan channel has reportedly been the subject of death threats following an interview with Red Devils striker Rasmus Hojlund.
Jordan Henderson was loudly booed by Aston Villa fans as the Ajax midfielder endured a night to forget in the Europa Conference League.
Richard Arnold was handed a £5.5m payout by Manchester United after being let go by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
THE SUN
Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated a stunning day at Cheltenham as he celebrated two winners in a row. And the two triumphs of 25/1 shot Monmiral and 17/2 Protektorat have raked in £275,000 - which will be shared out between the co-owners including Fergie.
Wales are confident Liverpool rising star Lewis Koumas will not swap allegiances to England. Promising Koumas, son of Wales midfielder Jason, was born in Chester and qualifies for the Three Lions but has been called up to the Wales U21s for the first time.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been axed by Danish club Lyngby after just six months - but immediately joined a team with a ground capacity of just 1,500.
Gareth Southgate is dreaming of a Euro 2024 victory party at Trafalgar Square - after shelving talks on a new England deal.
Manchester United are ready to take a hit of close to £40m on Jadon Sancho.
Christian Horner's accuser says she 'feels let down' by the Red Bull team after the F1 chief was cleared by an independent investigation.
EVENING STANDARD
Chelsea are interested in a summer move for talented young Lille centre-back Leny Yoro as they weigh up defensive options to replace Thiago Silva.
THE TIMES
A group of 16 American women have launched a landmark legal case against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) over the participation of transgender athletes in their sports, with their lawyer stating that the organisation has "institutionalised cheating and discrimination" against them.
DAILY MAIL
The FA are set to press ahead with plans to scrap FA Cup replays from the third round next season despite the collapse of the so-called 'New Deal for Football' in another blow for EFL clubs.
The referee who sent Jude Bellingham off for dissent will miss as many games as the England midfielder after he was not given a match for the second weekend running.
Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson has admitted he regrets moving to Saudi Arabia back in the summer.
Manchester United's appointment of Omar Berrada as chief executive appears set to lead to an improvement in their relationship with Manchester City following tensions under his two predecessors, Richard Arnold and Ed Woodward.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Reading supporters will stage a protest in a desperate attempt to prevent detested owner Dai Yongge from completing a £25m sale of the club's training ground to rivals Wycombe Wanderers.
Emma Hayes has branded romantic relationships between coaches and their players, and even between team-mates, as "inappropriate". Amid accusations relationships between coaches and their players were "rife" in women's football, Chelsea manager Hayes said they had no place in the sport.
Manu Tuilagi is in line to make a farewell international appearance after being included in England's matchday squad to face France in the final round of Six Nations matches.
More than 100,000 primary school children signed up to the England & Wales Cricket Board's youth programmes have been using balls and other equipment containing banned amounts of toxic chemicals.
DAILY EXPRESS
Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has hinted at the possibility of leaving the Red Devils, with ambitions of becoming a head coach elsewhere.
Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan thinks Lewis Hamilton already looks dejected in his final year at Mercedes.
Welsh snooker star Mark Williams took to social media to confirm that he had been caught up in a magnitude 5.4 earthquake in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday.
SCOTTISH SUN
IF Elfsborg boss Jimmy Thelin has emerged as a shock contender for the Aberdeen job.
DAILY RECORD
Scotland's top-10 UEFA coefficient place is hanging by a thread after Rangers' defeat to Benfica at Ibrox in the Europa League.
Guardian
West Ham roar past Freiburg with Kudus’s dazzling double the highlight
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
The debate over David Moyes’s future has its latest talking point. Those fans who want Moyes to go at the end of the season have something to ponder after seeing West Ham’s charge into the last eight of European competition for the third successive season end with Mohammed Kudus decorating an emphatic triumph with two special solo goals.
Entertaining enough? West Ham were outstanding as they swatted Freiburg aside, maintaining their interest in the Europa League by winning 5-1 on aggregate after a stirring comeback, and Moyes deserves much of the credit. Nobody could accuse the Scot of caution after he sent Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá out to torment Freiburg’s defenders.
A more attacking line-up would repair the damage caused by a choked 1-0 defeat in the first leg. Michail Antonio, in for James Ward-Prowse, offered a focal point up front. Bowen, back on the right, sniped at Freiburg. Tomas Soucek and Edson Álvarez allowed Paquetá, who has spent much of the season on the left, to dictate play in the middle.
“I’m hugely pleased with the goals and performance,” Moyes said. “We were really unhappy from the first game. We had to put it right. For West Ham to have three years in a row in the quarter-finals, I’m not sure it’s been done before in the club’s history. It’s a brilliant achievement. The club has moved on so much.”
West Ham made an aggressive start, Bowen’s snapshot testing Noah Atubolu, and Freiburg’s advantage disappeared after nine minutes. Aaron Cresswell delivered a corner, Soucek flicked it on and Paquetá scored after peeling off Vincenzo Grifo.
Such poor marking was not encouraging for Freiburg, even if they threatened an instant equaliser through Roland Sallai. West Ham, by far the more robust side, remained dominant. Antonio set up a chance for Kudus, who poked wide, and the second goal arrived in the 32nd minute. Christian Günter fell to the turf after trying to foul Bowen, who scored his 18th goal of the season with a shot that flashed in from 25 yards.
Behind for the first time in the tie, Freiburg stirred. The mood changed, Lukasz Fabianski denying Grifo and Maximilian Eggestein before half-time.
Those openings were reminders of why Moyes tends to favour a more solid approach. Freiburg found space too easily at times. West Ham would use their knowhow to judge when to sit and when to press.
Their fourth goal was a case in point, the ball breaking to Kudus after a spell of Freiburg possession. The winger set off from inside his own half, surged through the middle and calmly beat Atubolu after sashaying past the last defender.
So strong and skilful, Kudus is unstoppable in this mood. He moves at his own pace, his silky dribbling setting him apart, and there is range to his talent. His second goal was a venomous left-foot shot from 20 yards to make it 5-0.
West Ham had tightened their grip after 52 minutes, Bowen’s deflected cross falling to Cresswell. The veteran left-back, sent off twice during West Ham’s Europa League run two years ago, threaded a shot into the far corner.
The job done, Moyes removed Paquetá, who picked up a knock in the first half. West Ham’s Brazilian midfielder looked furious when he sat on the bench.
Yet Paquetá is just back from a long-term calf injury and it made sense for Moyes to protect him. West Ham, whose win boosts England’s hopes of beating Germany to an extra Champions League spot, will need Paquetá’s creativity if their season is to end on a high.
The Athletic
Mohammed Kudus’ magic moment was a sign of West Ham’s exciting attacking potential
By Roshane Thomas
It says a lot about Mohammed Kudus that he even thought about scoring when collecting the ball deep in his own half, with five Freiburg defenders blocking his route to goal.
The celebration that followed after he did it — picking up a pitchside steward’s plastic stool before sitting on it and pondering what he had just done, surrounded by delighted team-mates — might just live as long in the memory as the move itself.
The goal was a reminder of his talent, the confidence he has in possession, and that the 23-year-old Ghanaian is a throwback winger who loves to dribble past defenders. Kudus scored the magnificent fourth and then the final goal of West Ham United’s 5-0 second-leg thrashing of Freiburg.
Having suffered a 1-0 loss away to the German side in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie a week earlier, West Ham were confident, free-scoring and driven in last night’s decider. They have now reached the quarter-finals of a European competition for three seasons in a row.
Kudus started the solo run for that 77th-minute fourth as close to his penalty area as to the centre circle. He surged past one Freiburg player, then another, then finally skipped past defender Lukas Kubler to score a goal-of-the-season contender. When he took a seat on that steward’s stool, his team-mates rushed to join him, with captain Kurt Zouma and Vladimir Coufal polishing his boots.
“If anybody can remember dribbling wingers who used to run and take people on, with snaky hips, that was a little bit of that tonight,” said their manager David Moyes. “It was a brilliant individual goal — a Roy of the Rovers-type of goal.”
Since joining from Dutch club Ajax for €41.5million (£35.5m/$45.2m at the current exchange rate) last summer, Kudus has 11 goals and four assists in 33 appearances. The Ghana international has a penchant for strikes from outside the box and his second goal last night was no different.
There have been assists in Premier League wins against Brentford and Everton, but these were Kudus’ first goals since returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty in early February. Big players deliver in big moments and this was one of his best performances in a West Ham shirt.
He also impressed defensively, regularly retrieving possession and tracking back to repel Freiburg’s threat on goal. The Athletic previously highlighted the role Tim Steidten, the technical director, played in convincing Kudus to turn down fellow London side Chelsea in favour of West Ham. The forward has since formed close bonds with Moyes and backup goalkeeper Joseph Anang, who was born in Ghana.
“It’s good (my relationship with Moyes),” said Kudus. “I’m still trying to learn every day to be the player I see myself being. I have learned a lot from the coaching staff and the players as well. Credit to the team and the coaches here for the fast start I made, as they helped me settle very well and improve every day. We are still learning and there’s still a long way to go.”
Besides Kudus’ individual brilliance, Jarrod Bowen scored his 18th goal of the season to make it 2-0 on the night, equalling his previous best tally for West Ham — achieved in 2021-22 – while Zouma and Konstantinos Mavropanos continued their promising defensive partnership and Aaron Cresswell, deputising for the injured Emerson Palmieri, scored his first goal since April 2022, West Ham’s third.
Up front, Michail Antonio made his second start since returning last month from a November knee injury.
As with Lucas Paqueta in midfield, Antonio can be key in helping to get the best out of Kudus and Bowen. With Antonio playing as a lone striker, Bowen could play in his preferred position on the right. It is no surprise Antonio received a standing ovation when he was brought off for Ben Johnson on 79 minutes and his performance vindicated Moyes’ decision to play an attack-minded 4-2-3-1, with the quartet of Antonio, Kudus, Bowen and Paqueta starting together for the first time all season.
“I put out on Twitter last week saying it’s (the tie) far from over,” said Antonio. “I said the same thing last year (when West Ham won the third-tier Europa Conference League) and we managed to turn it around this year. One thing with us in Europe, we definitely know how to play, we definitely know how to go far. So hopefully we can do what we did last year. You can see the quality Mo has, especially with the first goal he scored. The boy is special and hopefully we can keep on.
“Jarrod can cut in, whip it in with his left foot. Mo plays on the left, plays on the right, has the power to run through players. Lucas has got the skills and the pass to put anyone through. With all that it is magic and hopefully it can keep working for us.”
As Antonio says, this was the latest in a series of West Ham comebacks in Europe, with Sevilla and Lyon also able to attest to their ability to rally in a two-legged tie. Antonio and Coufal spoke afterwards about the belief in the squad and their aspirations of winning this competition.
With Kudus, Bowen, Antonio and Paqueta all on top form, they could go all the way.
Florian Plettenberg
@Plettigoal
🔴⚪️ News #Chris Führich: West Ham have also started to scout him and will continue to closely monitor the 26 y/o winger from @VfB
Confirmed again: The interest from Leverkusen, Leipzig, and Dortmund is currently more concrete than that of Bayern. Bayern, informed about all details and payment issues but they have not yet declared Führich as a transfer target for the summer!
And: In the event of qualification for the Champions League, he would cost around €20m (release clause)
