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BBC
Tottenham are monitoring Athletic Bilbao's 21-year-old Spain forward Nico Williams, who has a £42.8m release clause in his contract. (Telegraph - subscription)
Williams could stay for another season at Athletic Bilbao before Barcelona try to sign him in 2025. (Sport - in Spanish)
Newcastle United's 27-year-old Brazil midfielder Joelinton is close to signing a new contract. (Telegraph)
France defender Raphael Varane, 30, and Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 32, are expected to head the list of players Manchester United offload in the summer. (Talksport)
Paris St-Germain and Barcelona are interested in Liverpool's 27-year-old Colombia forward Luis Diaz. (Telegraph - subscription)
Chelsea could sell 11 players this summer, including 24-year-old England midfielder Conor Gallagher and 22-year-old Armenia striker Armando Broja, who is on loan at Fulham. (Football London)
Manchester United's 22-year-old English striker Mason Greenwood, who is on loan at Getafe, is one of Juventus' transfer targets this summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian)
Manchester City are interested in Wolves' 24-year-old Portugal winger Pedro Neto but face competition from clubs in Saudi Arabia. (Teamtalk)
Crystal Palace and Fulham are looking into a move for Union Berlin's 25-year-old Dutch defender Danilho Doekhi. (Football Insider)
Real Madrid and Brazil forward Rodrygo, 23, says he turned down a move to Liverpool in 2017 after they had a 3m euro offer accepted by Santos. (90 Min)
Arsenal will compete with Manchester United to sign Wolves' Brazil midfielder Joao Gomes, 23, this summer. (O Dia - in Portuguese)
Liverpool are interested in Bayer Leverkusen's 23-year-old Netherlands defender Jeremie Frimpong, meaning Trent Alexander-Arnold could move into midfield. (Football Insider)
Manchester United have not agreed a compensation deal with Newcastle for Dan Ashworth and may have to wait months before they can appoint him as sporting director. (Guardian)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams is set to be at the centre of Premier League approaches this summer, with Tottenham keeping an eye on the Spain international's situation.
Newcastle United are close to finalising a new contract for Brazil international Joelinton after a series of positive meetings with the player and his representatives.
Liverpool and their winger Luis Diaz face a crossroads this summer with a decision on whether to extend the Colombian's contract or sell him, given interest from Paris Saint-Germain and others in the player.
Tyler Offiah, the son of rugby league great Martin, will join Bath on a three-year deal after rejecting interest from Leicester Tigers, Gloucester, Sale Sharks and Wigan Warriors.
Bill Sweeney, the Rugby Football Union chief executive, has brushed off concerns over England's talent drain to France, claiming players crossing the Channel are making "a lifestyle choice as much as anything else".
DAILY MAIL
A number of big-name Manchester United players could be sold this summer, according to reports.
THE TIMES
The agency that represents the Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been ordered to pay almost £4.5m in compensation to one of its former players by a Dutch court.
Jake White has criticised the South African Rugby Union for the chaos of his Vodacom Bulls squad needing to travel to England on eight different flights for Saturday's Investec Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton Saints.
The triathlon at this summer's Paris Olympics could become a duathlon - without the swimming leg - if adverse weather conditions affect the quality of Seine water.
DAILY MIRROR
Liverpool stars Diogo Jota, Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all back in training in a major boost to the Reds.
Manchester United's new part-owners INEOS has made its first big managerial decision since taking control of the club's football operations with a new contract offered to first-team women's manager Marc Skinner.
Gareth Southgate has been warned there will be a major crackdown on discipline at this summer's Euros.
Manchester United have reportedly reached out to a former Liverpool nutrition expert as part of the ongoing overhaul being undertaken by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Former Manchester United chief Ed Woodward is back involved in football after taking on his second role since leaving the Premier League giants.
THE SUN
Manchester United star Scott McTominay is set to be sidelined for three weeks with injury.
THE ATHLETIC
FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed MLS owners in person at the league's Board of Governors meeting today in Los Angeles, becoming the first FIFA president to attend the league's board meeting since MLS's founding in 1996.
THE GUARDIAN
FIFA says it will consider changes to its policy that blocks league matches from being played in other countries. The changes are part of an agreement with a promoter to dismiss the world governing body from a lawsuit challenging that policy.
THE SCOTTISH SUN
Hearts have issued a fresh rallying cry for their supporters to snap up tickets for next week's Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers.
Caught Offside
West Ham eyeing Leeds man as Lucas Paqueta replacement
According to latest reports, West Ham are pursuing a Leeds United player ahead of a Lucas Paqueta move to Manchester City.
The fact that West Ham will be selling Paqueta to Manchester City this summer is among the worst kept secrets in sport.
West Ham are set to lose Paqueta to Man City
It appears that a deal to bring the magnificent Brazilian player to the Etihad is inevitable.
Paqueta’s departure is imminent, thus West Ham will require replacements.
In the end, Mohammed Kudus is likely to replace Paqueta in a more central role for the Hammers.
Thus, the Premier League club would need to sign someone on the left. And it appears that’s where Leeds come in.
Speaking on HITC, Graeme Bailey asserts that after observing the highly skilled Leeds player Crysencio Summerville up close, West Ham have been impressed.
In spite of Leeds’ expectation that Summerville will sign a contract extension at Elland Road until 2026 SHOULD they get promoted back to the Premier League, Bailey reports that West Ham are among the teams interested in signing Summerville.
Summerwille will be ideal for West Ham
With seventeen goals and eight assists in thirty-seven league appearances this season, the 22-year-old electrifying winger for Leeds has been outstanding.
If Paqueta stays at the London Stadium, West Ham will not be going after the Leeds player. However, if the Brazilian leaves, Leeds will have to fight hard to hold on to their player.
Leeds will very likely have to sell Summerville if they don’t get promoted.
From now on, West Ham supporters could be closely watching the Championship promotion battle in the hopes of finding a deal.
The Athletic
Michail Antonio at 300 for West Ham: Makeshift forward, fan favourite – and still vital
By Roshane Thomas
Michail Antonio is West Ham United’s all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League, David Moyes’ first-choice forward and a fan favourite.
A lot can happen in nine years. Back in 2015, there were reservations about signing Antonio because other clubs had not taken the plunge.
The London-born Jamaica international was a winger when he joined for £7million ($8.9m) from Nottingham Forest. Antonio had scored 16 goals across 50 appearances for the then-Championship side, but he was considered too raw for the Premier League, with West Ham the only club willing to take the risk.
“When we signed him, Tony Henry (the former head of player recruitment) told me what type of player he is,” says ex-West Ham manager Slaven Bilic.
“You couldn’t ignore his pace, energy and strength, but the only question was he was 25 and none of the other Premier League clubs made a move. We were a bit sceptical but the price for him was good and we all saw something in him.
“In his first couple of months, he was a bit shy and finding his way; he was unable to influence the sessions. Then we had a few injuries, he got his chance and he hasn’t looked back.”
Antonio, now 34, started his career at non-League Tooting & Mitcham, before spells at Reading, Cheltenham Town (loan), Southampton (loan), Colchester United (loan), Sheffield Wednesday and Forest.
His career has culminated in the evolution of a player who had bounced around EFL clubs, before developing into a club legend at West Ham. Antonio made his 300th appearance in Saturday’s 2-1 win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The forward has made the third-most Premier League appearances for the club (248), only behind Aaron Cresswell (290) and former captain, now sporting director, Mark Noble (414).
“He’s been at this club for so many years, playing different positions under different managers, different things expected from him,” says his team-mate Lukasz Fabianski.
“He’s always been up for it, always delivered. And also, because he’s such a strong, powerful player, the amount of injuries he’s had to face to reach 300, it’s great. His attitude, his work ethic — that speaks a lot about the way he is for this football club.”
Antonio has overcome many hurdles, such as being labelled injury-prone due to numerous hamstring injuries. Changes to his diet helped solve the long-standing issue and, as a result, his performances improved. In 2021-22, he had 13 goals and 11 assists in 47 games. A season later, he scored 14 times across 48 appearances — his highest total in a season for West Ham.
Antonio has seen the club linked with numerous forwards, plus the arrivals of Sebastien Haller (£45m) and Gianluca Scamacca (£35m) — yet it is the Jamaican who remains focal to Moyes’ attack.
With Jarrod Bowen sidelined with a hip injury, Antonio will be entrusted to lead the line in the Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie against Bayer Leverkusen. Since returning from a knee injury in February, Antonio has shown his importance. It was his impact from the bench against Wolves on Saturday that led to West Ham markedly improving in the second half and winning the three points to maintain their push for another European place next season.
“He’s shown loyalty to West Ham over a long time,” says his manager Moyes. “He’s ageing like we all are but he’s doing the job well.
“Every time I’ve sat in this seat, most people have asked, ‘When are you buying a striker?’ But the problem is over the last three, four years there’s been a lack of strikers, availability and trying to get players at the right value. So we decided to give Mich a chance to play up front and he’s done brilliantly well for us.”
It was Moyes who converted Antonio into a centre-forward in a game against Norwich City late in the Covid-delayed 2019-20 season. Antonio scored all four goals in a 4-0 win — the first hat-trick of his professional career and the first West Ham player to net four times in a league match since David Cross against Tottenham Hotspur in 1981.
When Antonio equalled Paolo Di Canio’s record of 47 Premier League goals in the 4-2 win against Newcastle United in August 2021, he joked: “Not bad for a right-back.”
It was under Bilic that the forward was played out of position, although the former West Ham manager was pleased with Antonio’s reaction.
“He signed for us as a winger and we had a few issues at right-back with Carl Jenkinson and Sam Byram injured,” says Bilic.
“Michail didn’t like playing at right-back but he knew sometimes he had to because it was necessary for the team. He was so versatile so it worked for us and he scored a few goals in that position but he was always destined to become a striker.
“He had all the attributes you need as a forward. No defender in the world is going to have an easy 90 minutes against Michail. It is impossible. They know they are going to have problems the whole game. His pace, strength, quality of runs, his determination and his hold-up play. I could go on — I’ve seen him give top defenders a hard time.”
Antonio has scored 79 goals in all competitions. He has earned the trust of three managers across four eras (Bilic, Moyes, Manuel Pellegrini and now Moyes again). This campaign, knee injuries have limited his availability, and he is on four goals and two assists from 24 appearances. But he is set to play a key role for Moyes during the latter stages of this season.
“If three different managers rate him, then he must be a good player,” says Bilic. “He’s a good guy and funny off the pitch. Some strikers are happy to be second choice, third choice, or fourth choice — but not Michail.
“Look at all the strikers that have come and gone (at West Ham), and he’s still there doing well. Even when he has spells when he doesn’t score, he is still able to impact games. He is the catalyst for the whole team. When he presses, it sets the tone for the whole team.”
In an interview with West Ham’s in-house media team, Antonio was asked how he would like his career to be remembered.
“I always thought a celebration would be something good to be remembered for,” was his response. This Thursday, the BayArena is the fitting venue for Antonio to put those words into action.
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