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BBC:
Newcastle are interested in Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old Sweden forward Anthony Elanga. (Teamtalk), external
Arsenal have moved ahead of Juventus in the pursuit of 22-year-old Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori, who impressed for Italy at Euro 2024. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
Matthijs de Ligt is interested in a move to Manchester United, with Bayern Munich valuing the 24-year-old Netherlands defender at 50m euros (£42.4m). (Sky Sports), external
Paris St-Germain have enquired about Leeds United's 22-year-old Dutch forward Crysencio Summerville. (De Telegraaf - in Dutch), external
Brighton are interested in Feyenoord's 24-year-old Netherlands midfielder Mats Wieffer and Rayo Vallecano's Romania full-back Andrei Ratiu, 26. (Athletic - subscription required), external
Manchester United have made a move to sign Bologna forward Joshua Zirzkee, though AC Milan have already agreed personal terms with the 23-year-old Netherlands international (Calciomercato - in Italian), external
Manchester City are set to sign 20-year-old Brazil winger Savio from fellow City Football Group side Troyes. (Athletic - subscription required), external
Chelsea have agreed a £14m fee with Boca Juniors for 19-year-old Argentine defender Aaron Anselmino. (Football.London), external
West Ham have had a 35m euro (£26.9m) bid rejected by Nice for France defender Jean-Clair Todibo, 24. (L'Equipe - in French), external
Borussia Dortmund will make a move for Tottenham's 28-year-old Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg if they fail in their attempts to sign Germany midfielder Pascal Gross, 33, from Brighton. (Sky Sports Germany), external
Manchester United are willing to listen to offers for Harry Maguire this summer, with clubs in Italy interested in the 31-year-old England international. (Talksport), external
Swansea defender Nathan Wood is to have a medical at Southampton after the clubs agreed a £5m fee for the 22-year-old former England Under-21 international. (Football Insider), external
Aston Villa midfielder Philippe Coutinho is set to leave Villa this week, with the 32-year-old Brazilian keen on sealing a move back to his boyhood club Vasco da Gama. (Birmingham Live), external
Manchester United have not ruled out the possibility of allowing 26-year-old English forward Marcus Rashford to leave this summer. (Manchester Evening News), external
Burnley are set to appoint former Fulham boss Scott Parker as the club's new manager. (Football Insider), external
Wolves are monitoring Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo before a potential move for the 27-year-old Brazilian. (Birmingham Live), external
West Ham are interested in signing Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka with the 26-year-old Englishman having less than 12 months left on his current contract. (Metro)
WEST HAM LAUNCH £25m JEAN-CLAIR TODIBO BID
West Ham have seen an initial €30million (£25.4m) bid for centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo rejected by Nice.
New Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui is looking to revamp his backline this summer, with at least one and possibly two high-profile additions at centre-back.
Todibo, who was the subject of interest from Tottenham in January, has emerged as a leading target and the club are now weighing up whether to return with an improved offer, having also seen an opening bid for Wolves captain Max Kilman rejected last month.
West Ham conceded more goals than any other Premier League side to avoid relegation last season and have already seen veteran defender Angelo Ogbonna depart at the end of his contract, while there is also uncertainty over the futures of Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma.
Todibo, who joined Nice from Barcelona in 2021, has made over 125 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit, who are thought to be willing to sell this summer.
The 24-year-old is also liked by Manchester United and at one stage appeared on course for a move to Old Trafford as a replacement for Raphael Varane.
That, however, now looks unlikely because of Uefa’s rules around multi-club ownership, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose petrochemical company Ineos owns Nice, having bought a 27.7 per cent share in United last year.
“They (UEFA) have said we can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can't sell to Manchester United,” Ratcliffe told Bloomberg last month. “But that's not fair on the player and I don’t see what that achieves.”
- THE STANDARD
WEST HAM EYEING £21m PAQUETA REPLACEMENT
West Ham United supporters will understandably sit on the fence at this maiden stage of Julen Lopetegui's tenure, and the different aspects of the forthcoming weeks will determine which side the lion's share decides to jump off.
Last season's ninth-place Premier League finish has left the Hammers looking ahead to domestic contests next season, which, in some ways, provides Lopetegui with a calm and solid foundation from which to build upwards.
There are several pressing concerns. Despite signing 18-year-old winger Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras for £25.5m, more depth could be required as Ghanaian, Mohammed Kudus considers pushing for an exit after just one year.
Perhaps more concerningly, Lucas Paqueta's FA betting charge could see him banished from professional football, swiping West Ham of an elite-level playmaker. It would be pertinent for Lopetegui to prudently approach the situation and seek a successAccording to Get French Football News, West Ham are set to rival Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain for the signing of Lyon attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki.
Cherki, who is entering the final year of his contract at the Groupama Stadium, is expected to be sold this summer as the Ligue 1 outfit push to raise €100m (£85m) in player sales to combat financial concerns.or, and indeed,recent reports suggest that that might be the case.
Aged 20, Cherki is a highly talented player with a sharp creative sense and could prove to be a bargain for the London Stadium side given his reported price tag of just €25m (£21m).
Silky and artful, Cherki provided an influential and creative 2023/24 campaign despite Lyon's shocking start to the season, with talent scout Jacek Kulig even describing him as the "pure difference-maker" back in March.
Indeed, as per Sofascore, he scored just one goal across his 19 starts in the French top flight but also contributed with six assists, a product of his constant flow of creativity, averaging 1.3 key passes per game and keeping it crisp with an 81% pass success rate.
More impressive, perhaps, is his combative disposition on the field and his unceasing desire to drive the ball forward, completing 2.5 dribbles per game and averaging 4.8 successful duels to boot.
He was noted as a "player with exceptional qualities" by his former manager, Rudi Garcia, and after some polish and refinement, could prove to be a tailor-made Premier League star.
West Ham may well be the perfect club to lift him toward his full potential, especially given that he could be the second coming of an iconic former Hammer.
- FOOTBALL FANCAST
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