Paper Talk
Hugo Lloris will be Manchester United's No.1 transfer target if they lose David De Gea.
Burton manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink admits that he could lead the Brewers to the League Two title and quit if a big club comes in for him.
Tottenham will listen to offers for their £30million record singing Erik Lamela.
Petr Cech is edging closer to a decision on his future with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain now locked in a straight fight to sign the Chelsea keeper.
Premier League new boys Bournemouth are bracing themselves for a battle to hang on to £12million Callum Wilson - with half of the top flight chasing the striker.
Patrick Vieira is in the frame for the manager's job at Marseille next season.
Watford will offer boss Slavisa Jokanovic a new deal once the season is over.
Neil Harris has been named permanent manager of Millwall.
Nei Redfearn could be on the move from Leeds.
Promoted Bournemouth aim to make Birmingham starlet Demarai Gray their first signing for the top flight in a £5.5million deal.
Michael Essien is eyeing a Premier League return after being released by AC Milan.
Blackburn hero David Dunn wants to end his career at neighbours Accrington Stanley.
West Brom are on the trail of Michail Antonio.
Cardiff are ready to accept cut-price offers for Adam Le Fondre.
Newcastle are weighing up a move for highly rated Rayo Vallecano coach Paco Jemez.
Robin van Persie has four games to convince Louis van Gaal he can still be a force for Manchester United next season.
Millwall have appointed Neil Harris as their permanent manager just a day after they were relegated to League One.
Burton manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink admits he would struggle to reject an approach from Leeds.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are involved in an amazing battle for a Luton Town midfielder - aged just 11.
Barnet want Martin Allen to lead them to promotion from League Two, despite an offer from Portsmouth and interest from Leeds.
Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira is ready to reject Paris Saint-Germain and sign a new contract with the club.
Crystal Palace are ready to open contract talks with Yannick Bolasie as interest from top clubs in the Barlcays Premier League intensifies.
Manchester United's hopes of keeping David De Gea could be significantly boosted after reports that Real Madrid face the prospect of a 12-month transfer ban over alleged irregularities concerning the recruitment of young players.
Glen Johnson has admitted that Liverpool are in need of a summer overhaul - even though he is one of the players heading for the exit after the Merseyside club threw away any realistic chance of a top-four finish this season.
Arsenal have banned the mother of one of their most promising young players from the club after she appeared to hit Arsene Wenger's chief negotiator, Dick Law, and allegedly threatened to drag her son off the pitch during an under-21 game.
Real Madrid are considering the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Inter Milan's Samir Handanovic as alternatives to David de Gea amid concerns that Manchester United will reject all offers for the Spaniard this summer.
Manchester City are facing an increasing battle to persuade Patrick Vieira to remain at the club, with Marseille shortlisting the former Arsenal captain as a potential successor to Marcelo Bielsa at the Stade Velodrome.
Carles Gil is poised to hold talks with Tim Sherwood over his future as his move to Aston Villa threatens to turn into a nightmare.
Glen Johnson has claimed that Liverpool must embark on a squad overhaul this summer to challenge for the Premier League title, but admits that he expects to be a high-profile victim of any Anfield cull.
Tottenham are confident they will win the race to sign the Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin this summer and are prepared to offer Andros Townsend or Benjamin Stambouli to help secure the deal.
Agent Pierre van Hoojidonk insists Nadir Ciftci could stay at Dundee United as Celtic boss Ronny Deila refuses to be drawn on speculation linking him with the striker.
Celtic flop Amido Balde will soon be on his way back to Parkhead after angering Hapoel Tel Aviv by failing to turn up for a game in Israel.
BBC
Arsenal have banned the mother of promising midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles, 17, from the club's training ground following suggestions that she hit a member of staff. (Daily Telegraph)
Paris St-Germain are prepared to pay £45m for Manchester United's Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria, 27, who cost £59.7m when he moved from Real Madrid last summer. (Daily Mirror)
Marseille are considering Manchester City youth-team boss Patrick Vieira, 38, for their manager's job next season. (Sun - subscription required)
Tottenham are trying to sign Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, 25. The Saints want £20m and Spurs may offer midfielders Andros Townsend, 23, or Benjamin Stambouli, 24, as part of a deal for the France international. (London Evening Standard)
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are all trying to sign Luton midfielder Charlie Patino, who is only 11 years old. (Daily Mail)
The 20 teams in the Premier League in 2013-14 have made a collective profit of £198m . (Guardian)
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has revealed that owner Roman Abramovich will have the final say on 37-year-old striker Didier Drogba's Stamford Bridge future. (Daily Express)
A detailed scientific investigation has cast doubts on how the fire, which killed 56 people at Bradford City's Valley Parade Stadium in 1985, started. (Independent)
Newcastle United want to sign England Under-21 striker Patrick Bamford in the summer. The 21-year-old has scored 19 goals during a successful spell at Middlesbrough on loan from Chelsea. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Manchester United will try to sign Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, 28, if 24-year-old David De Gea joins Real Madrid in the summer. (Daily Mirror)
However, United's hopes of keeping De Gea have been enhanced by a possible transfer ban imposed on Real Madrid. (Times - subscription required)
Former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton says Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is under "enormous pressure" and questioned whether the club are still progressing with the 42-year-old in charge. (Talksport)
Forward Theo Walcott, 26, has claimed that Arsenal have been the "best team in Europe in 2015". (London Evening Standard)
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe says his side will not change their passing, attacking philosophy in the Premier League next season. The Cherries are already all but promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history. (Bournemouth Echo)
Ten of the sides currently in the Premier League want to sign Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, 23. (Daily Mirror)
Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis wants manager Rafael Benitez to stay with the club and not return to the Premier League when his contract runs out in the summer. (Sun - subscription required)
Torino say they may sell 25-year-old defender Matteo Darmian, if they "receive a crazy offer". Arsenal and Manchester United are among those linked with a move for the Italy international. (Daily Star)
Bolton striker Emile Heskey, 37, is set to sign a new deal at the club as the Championship side target promotion to the Premier League next season. (Talksport)
Chelsea captain John Terry says midfielder Eden Hazard, 24, the PFA Player of the Year, is "up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo". (Daily Express)
Blackpool are accused of 'stamping' on the memories of their club legends after a statue remembering the club's greatest striker, Stan Mortensen, disappeared without explanation . (Daily Mail)
Louis van Gaal's Manchester United side have suffered more injuries than any other team in the Premier League this season . (Telegraph)
Newcastle United striker Adam Campbell, 21, is having a trial with Premier League rivals West Bromwich Albion. (Newcastle Chronicle)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Stoke's injured forward Bojan Krkic discusses his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in January that ended his season. He writes on Twitter: "It's improving a lot every day. Working hard to start next season at 100%."
QPR defender Rio Ferdinand tells his Twitter followers the gameplan needed to beat Chelsea. He says: "If you can get any of the Chelsea centre-backs and or (Nemanja) Matic out of the centre and down the sides you will get chances. The trick is actually making that happen. The discipline Jose puts in his teams is the difference - added to that the odd touch of stardust (Hazard/Cristiano/Sneijder/Lampard)."
Southampton and England striker Jay Rodriguez, 25, who has missed the whole season because of a serious knee injury he suffered in April 2014, posts a picture on Twitter of him in training. He writes: "I'm back! Thanks for all of the support on Twitter. #muchlove."
AND FINALLY
The junior club where England forward Jermain Defoe, 32, began his career believe they, under Fifa regulations, are entitled to "tens of thousands of pounds" from Defoe's transfers throughout his career. (Times - subscription required)
Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj has formed an unlikely friendship with snooker player Shaun Murphy after watching the 'Magician' beat Anthony McGill at the Crucible. (Daily Star)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Barry Glendenning
In the wake of Nigel Pearson’s strange post-match press conference, during which one young journalist in the bowels of the King Power Stadium was rudely and aggressively compared to an ostrich, the Rumour Mill feels compelled to point out that while it is technically true that these flightless African birds occasionally stick their heads in the sand, it is not out of stupidity or a general reluctance to accept reality, as the Leicester City manager seems to believe.
Contrary to popular myth, the reason these members of the genus Struthio occasionally burrow their heads into the earth is actually quite sensible – they do so to locate the sand and pebbles they are required to swallow in order to help digest their food. The notion that they do so for any other reason is complete nonsense, much like Pearson’s assertion that Leicester’s players have had to face a huge “amount of criticism and negativity” over the course of the football season.
The Rumour Mill knows all this because we paid attention at school, in the process incurring the wrath of bully-boys not entirely dissimilar in appearance, tone and attitude to the Leicester City manager, who were too busy flushing the heads of their intellectual superiors down the toilet to learn that the world’s largest, heaviest bird has an eye that’s bigger than its brain, can kill predators with a single kick, boasts an excellent immune system, can grow up to nine feet tall and live for 70 years, never needs to drink water and can run at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.
Segueing seamlessly into today’s transfer speculation, Petr Cech is unable to run at 40 miles per hour, but can kick quite hard and doesn’t need to eat pebbles to help digest his pre-match meals. These revelations could prompt Arsenal and PSG to duke it out for his services when he leaves Stamford Bridge this summer. In other goalkeeping news, Real Madrid have denied they are facing a transfer embargo that could scupper their chances of signing David De Gea from Manchester United, but are entertaining the notion of bringing Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris or Inter’s Samir Handanovic should their main target decide to stay at Old Trafford. Should De Gea end up at the Bernabéu, United will turn their beady eye towards Tottenham’s French No1. While Spurs fans would be sorry to see the back of the much sought-after Lloris, one suspects they will be less upset to learn that their record signing Érik Lamela and the hapless Roberto Soldado will also be ushered towards the exit door in order to free up funds for this summer’s trolley dash.
Having cost more than Lamela and Soldado combined, Ángel Di María is another big money signing that failed to impress in the Premier League and it is being reported that Paris Saint-Germain will give Manchester United £45m for the Argentinian winger who was imported from Spain for just shy of £60m last summer. PSG are also interested in signing Brazilian whelp Andreas Pereira from United, but the 19-year-old is reported to be on the verge of inking a new deal at Old Trafford.
The good news for Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson is that 10 different Premier League clubs are interested in signing him up, but the bad news is they’re mostly mid- to bottom-end sides so he might as well stay where he is for a season, just for the hell of it. Following his excellent season twisting the blood of opposition defenders at Selhurst Park and beyond, Yannick Bolasie will be offered a new and improved deal by Crystal Palace.
And finally, in managerial news, Rayo Vallecano manager Paco Jémez is the latest gaffer to be linked with a sip from the poisoned chalice that is the manager’s job at Newcastle, while Patrick Vieira is being mentioned as a potential successor to Marcelo Bielsa at Marseille.
OS
From the Boardroom - David Sullivan
We are now firmly in the final stretch of the 2014/15 season and it is important that we put our recent run of results behind us to end the campaign on as good a note as possible.
We welcome Burnley to the Boleyn Ground this Saturday and just as when we took on Queens Park Rangers last weekend, and Aston Villa next, we will be facing a team who are fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the table.
For us, we are well out of the scrap but that is not to say there is nothing to play for in these last four games. We built up a hugely positive momentum at the start of this season, and if we finish strongly, we can take some of that into the summer too.
It is nearly time, as we do at the end of every season, to sit down and plan how we can improve for the next one. That means identifying the right players to come in and take us forward once again and we will be doing our utmost to land our top targets.
The next season, of course, is going to be a memorable one for us as we bid an emotional farewell to the Boleyn Ground – and it is our job to make all aspects of the campaign memorable, not least on the pitch.
To that end, I’m thrilled that so many of you have chosen to be a part of the campaign by renewing your Season Tickets in record numbers. Our ticket office are now working through the waiting list for Season Tickets and we fully expect to hit our cap before the start of the new season so if you are on the waiting list please do make sure you are available when the ticket office try to contact you.
On another note, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of our greatest nights this year. I am, of course, talking about our European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over 1860 Munich at Wembley.
To mark the occasion, it has been my great pleasure to invite several members of that legendary team back to the Boleyn Ground for this Saturday’s game and I am looking forward to seeing them, just as no doubt they are looking forward to seeing all the fans again.
Their triumph came in the middle of a glorious era for the Club, and those are the kind of days we are hoping to experience once again in the near future.
Come on you Irons
David Sullivan
Sport Witness
West Ham set for battle with Sevilla to sign defender ace
There are reports coming out of Italy that Sevilla have joined the race to sign Palermo defender Achraf Lazaar. A number of clubs are looking to take advantage of his current contract situation with the Serie A side, including West Ham United who have been linked with the Morocco international in the past few weeks.
TMW have revealed that Sevilla are the latest club to show an interest in Lazaar as they look to strengthen their squad for next season. The Spanish side have a good chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, and therefore need to bring in reinforcements in the summer transfer window in order to compete on all fronts. Palermo in the past few months have been trying to get the player to commit to the club by holding talks over his renewal but as yet no agreement has been made.
Last month we covered claims from Italy that West Ham were monitoring the situation with Lazaar and his contract renewal talks. The Premier League side are already looking to bring in potential signings for next season and it seems the versatile player is an option. The 23 year old can play either left back or left wing so therefore would be a good addition to the West Ham squad. Since the turn of the year Palermo have been locked in talks to get Lazaar to commit to the club beyond June 2017 but like his teammate Paulo Dybala they have failed to get the Moroccan to sign.
Mirror
Liverpool? West Ham? Where next for Marcelo Bielsa - one of football's great minds?
by JonathanWilson
The Argentine has turned another club round down in Marseille, but with his contract expiring we look at where he could be headed
So the familiar pattern repeats for Marcelo Bielsa. When the Argentinian arrived at Marseille last summer, players spoke in awe of how tough and how unusual his training session were. Marseille began the season well. Their football was thrilling. Fans loved him. There was a disagreement with the board over transfer policy that was swiftly forgotten because results were so good. And then fatigue set in.
Players found they couldn’t keep going. Marseille have lost four in a row. Champions League qualification looks beyond them. And now the talk is that Bielsa will leave in the summer.
This is how it always is with Bielsa, and why history will almost certainly judge him a greater theorist than a coach. “If players weren’t human, I’d never lose,” he said while manager of Velez Sarsfield in 1997, but the problem is that they are. They’re not Duracell bunnies who will run all day so that a manager’s only job is to point them in the right direction. They get tired.
“It’s a method that provokes a certain level of tiredness,” said the midfielder Juan Manuel Llop, who played under Bielsa at Newell's Old Boys when they won the Argentinian championship and reached the final of the Copa Libertadores.
“Not just physical tiredness, but also mental and emotional tiredness because the competition level is so high that it’s difficult to keep up with it after a period of time. Not all human beings are the same, or think the same, or react in the same way. And the style of Bielsa, his training sessions, demand continuity and it’s difficult.”
In 25 years as a manager, Bielsa has won only two league titles, although he did also lead Argentina to Olympic gold. But he is a visionary, a coach who revolutionised South American football, and his idealism means that if he were ever to win another trophy, it would be a victory above other victories, one born out of a romantic attachment to attacking football.
His privileging of process over outcome, means Bielsa probably isn’t the right fit for a club demanding a constant trickle of silverware.
What he needs is a club where he can be in control - his initial spat with the Marseille board came because they’d bought him a player he didn’t want - and that, at least in the short term, is prepared to back his project rather than demanding instant achievement.
Bielsa’s eccentricities would guarantee publicity, while the other feature that might make him attractive is the other feature of his classic arc: for a couple of weeks there is confusion, then there is clarity and in that period, results soar. Nobody seriously expected Marseille to challenge for the title this season, just as nobody expected Athletic of Bilbao to challenge for the Europa League; at both Bielsa has over-achieved before exhaustion set in.
So if he does leave Marseille, where next for the former Argentina and Chile coach? There have been rumours linking him to Liverpool which, in tactical terms, makes sense. They’re a squad used to pressing, a Bielsa fundamental, and to playing with a back three, which Bielsa often favours. He would need control over transfers, though, which the club may be unwilling to grant him.
Bielsa is also on West Ham’s short list. The tactical fit is not so clear, but his football is direct (“vertical” is the term he prefers) and there is pace in the squad for him to work with. With fewer expectations, less pressure, the club itself seems a good fit for him, and a coach of his profile would be a useful step up as they near the move to the Olympic Stadium.
There is an obvious question, though, of whether Bielsa’s style could work in the Premier League. Its reputation for physicality isn’t just a cliché. Part of Bielsa’s methodology is for his team to be fitter than its rivals, to wear them down; given the effort needed to achieve that in Spain and France has caused his squad to collapse, it’s far from clear he would be able to achieve that in England.
In that regard, a move to Italy may make more sense. Pressing is still far from universal in Serie A, and the success the likes of Gian Piero Gasperini and Antonio Conte have had with a pressing game suggests the impact Bielsa could have. If Rafa Benitez is set on a return to the Premier League, Bielsa’s best option may be another industrial port with a team that has never quite achieved what it probably ought to have: Napoli.
