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BBC
Real Madrid have made contact with former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas about succeeding Zinedine Zidane as manager. (RMC Sport - in French)
Having secured Mauricio Pochettino and Harry Kane on long-term contracts, Tottenham are set to agree a new deal with England international Dele Alli, 22, worth £100,000 a week. (London Evening Standard)
Liverpool are unlikely to make an approach to sign Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson, 25, from Roma. (Sky Sports)
Alisson wants his future resolved before Brazil begin their World Cup campaign against Switzerland on Sunday. (ESPN)
Italy midfielder Jorginho, 26, is happy to remain at Napoli but a move to Manchester City is an "opportunity of a lifetime" for the player, according to his agent. (TuttoMercatoWeb via Four Four Two)
Arsenal are in talks to sign Sampdoria's £22m defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira, 22, who is playing for Uruguay at the World Cup. (Mail)
Fiorentina have increased the asking price of Italy international midfielder Federico Chiesa, 20, to £62m - amid interest from Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United. (Gazzetta dello Sport, via Talksport)
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho wants one more signing before the World Cup and could revive a move for Tottenham's £50m-rated Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld. (Sun)
However, Manchester United scouts are not convinced about Alderweireld and are considering alternatives, according to a high-level source at the club. (Manchester Evening News)
England Under-21 international goalkeeper Dean Henderson, 21, thought to be a target for Arsenal and Chelsea, is set to sign a new contract at Manchester United. (Mail)
Manchester United's new right-back Diogo Dalot has been spotted on crutches at an event in Manchester. (Express)
Manchester United have no plans to sign Juventus' Brazil defender Alex Sandro, 27, this summer but are in the market for a new left-back if the right option becomes available. (Manchester Evening News)
Liverpool will step up their efforts to land Switzerland's Stoke midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, 26, when he returns from the World Cup. (Mirror)
Tottenham have emerged as contenders in the race for Barcelona midfielder Rafinha. The 25-year-old spent last season on loan at Inter Milan but the Italian club are not expected to pay the £30.8m needed to sign the Brazil international permanently by 30 June. (Talksport)
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce could leave the club - and the 57-year-old could be sacked in any case by owner Tony Xia. (Star)
CSKA Moscow are willing to sell Arsenal target Aleksandr Golovin this summer but are likely to want at least 25m euros for the 22-year-old Russia international. (Calciomercato)
West Ham must pay nearly £7m to sign Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, 33, having had an opening bid rejected last week as part of a double offer that included defender Alfie Mawson, 24. (Sun)
Wolves are closing in on the signing of Benfica's Mexican forward Raul Jimenez, 27, on a season-long loan. (Sky Sports)
Everton are expected to make the opening offer in the race to sign Norwich midfielder James Maddison. Norwich are expected to ask at least £20m for the 21-year-old, having turned down a £12m bid from West Ham in January. (Guardian)
Sunderland are demanding £7m for Northern Ireland international Paddy McNair after Premier League newcomers Wolves expressed an interest in the 23-year-old, the subject of a £3.5m bid from Brighton. (Northern Echo)
GUARDIAN RUMOUR MILL
Several Premier League clubs are circling like vultures over central Portugal, ready to feast upon the carcass of Sporting. The Iberian giants have been thrown into chaos as half their team attempt to terminate their contracts having being attacked at their training ground by what the Mirror refers to as “masked thugs”, enraged by their team’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, and if the players get their way a lot of totally free talent will suddenly become available. The goalkeeper Rui Patricio, who had previously been close to a £15.8m transfer to Wolves, might now conclude a free transfer to Wolves, while Arsenal are said to be interested in Gelson Martins, Bruno Fernandes has been watched by Liverpool, William Carvalho has been linked with West Ham and Everton in the past and Bas Dost is entertainingly tall. Also on his way from Portugal is Raúl Jiménez, Benfica’s Mexican striker, who is about to join Wolves on a season-long loan.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, plus Napoli and Internazionale, are all ready to battle for the 20-year-old Fiorentina ace Federico “son of Enrico” Chiesa, who has been priced at £62m by his club after a season of superlative wingplay that would probably have earned him a place in his country’s World Cup squad if only they had one. Inter are unwilling to meet that price but are hoping to tempt La Viola with a crafty player swap arrangement, with the Brazilian left-back Dalbert, the teenage forward Yann Karamoh and the 19-year-old Italian defender Federico Valietti all on the table, making this very much the moment for a cash-rich English team to swoop.
Arsenal aren’t as cash-rich as most, which is why they are currently locked in talks over Sampdoria’s midfielder Lucas Torreira rather than already back home with the Uruguayan’s signature. “Lucas has a release clause, everybody knows it,” said the Italian club’s president, Massimo Ferrero. “Whoever wants to take him will have to work with that release clause, €25m.” Arsenal have worked quite hard with that release clause, have chopped it into several chunks and are now offering to pay it in instalments, so as to leave themselves with a bit more cash to go bargain-hunting in the summer sales.
Liverpool’s young midfielder Marko Grujic could meanwhile be heading to one of Enrico Chiesa’s old clubs (there are quite a few) in the shape of Lazio, who would like to play him alongside his hotly-tipped occasional Serbia team-mate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, while Liverpool’s young striker Harry Wilson is wanted by Fulham and Huddersfield, both of whom would pay up to £7m for his services.
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In further Liverpool-related news, the club has “received initial encouragement” from Xherdan Shaqiri’s representatives and will press ahead with a £12m transfer once Switzerland are eliminated from the World Cup, according to the Mirror. Meanwhile the Roma goalkeeper Alisson says his future “will be resolved before the start of the World Cup, or at least that is what I hope”. At least one of Roma’s big players is leaving – Tuesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport leads with Radja Nainggolan, shown with mocked-up blue-and-black Mohican, agreeing to join Internazionale. Tuttosport meanwhile lead with news of Aleksandr Golovin, who is wanted by Juventus for £17.5m, and declare that Carlos Bacca has delivered the 23-year-old Villarreal winger Samu Castillejo to Milan, who he will join in a player exchange deal, with Bacca heading to Spain.
Marco Silva has told Wayne Rooney that the former England ace is no longer needed at Everton and intends to replace him with the much-coveted £25m-rated Norwich midfielder James Maddison, who is also wanted by Leicester and Fulham. West Ham meanwhile have been told they can have Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski, but only if they nearly double their opening bid to £7m.
Finally an Aston Villa armageddon update, and it looks like Steve Bruce is on his way: the Star exclusively reveal that “the club’s Chinese owner, Dr Tony Xia, may decide to sack Steve Bruce. But if he doesn’t, the 57-year-old could walk out anyway”. The Express goes a stage further, saying that not only will Bruce depart, he “could end up at Leeds”.
FOREVER WEST HAM
West Ham have agreed to pay a “top wage” to Mario Husillos as they prepare to unveil him as the club’s new director of football, according to Claret and Hugh.
The Hammers blog, which has the inside track on behind-the-scenes events at the club, claim Husillos’ arrival is “exactly” what new Manuel Pellegrini wants as they prepare for summer transfer business
Claret and Hugh report a source claiming the Argentine will be the “top man” on a “top wage” after Ex-WHU Employee reported that he will be unveiled by West Ham imminently.
Opinion
There are clearly mixed reports on the role and level of authority given to Husillos, but Claret and Hugh and Ex-WHU Employee are frequently more reliable than the mainstream press when it comes to West Ham news. Husillos has been cherry-picked by Pellegrini for the senior recruitment role after they had such success together at Malaga at the start of the decade. The 59-year-old Argentine’s second spell at the Spanish club did not go as well and they were relegated to the second tier at the end of the recent season. Can the duo combine effectively at West Ham for what will be a crucial few months that will shape how the team performs next season? Much will depend upon the budget available and how much leeway they are given by co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold. Many former West Ham managers have complained that Sullivan always ends up running the show, whatever the circumstances. Fans will hope that’s not the case this summer.
HITC
Sam Allardyce has told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast Show, which was broadcast on TalkSPORT on 12th June, that he doesn’t think West Ham United’s board knew what Manuel Pellegrini was like in the transfer market, prior to him taking the job.
Pellegrini has already been knocked back in his attempts to sign some of his targets for West Ham.
And although David Gold and David Sullivan have both confirmed that the Hammers will spend big this summer, Allardyce has suggested that they may not have realised the calibre of players Pellegrini would target.
Allardyce said: “I’m not so sure that David Sullivan and David Gold realise what a manager like him would do. He will find the best players and want the best players to come to the club, which will cost them money.”
West Ham are currently linked with Lazio winger Felipe Anderson, who would be an impressive addition at the London Stadium.
The Hammers only other signing so far this summer has been to bring in Ryan Fredericks on a free transfer, after his contract at Fulham expired.
Pellegrini is expected to make major changes at West Ham this summer, to ensure they improve on last season’s finish.
The Hammers spent most of last term battling against relegation, but have expressed ambitions to be challenging for a spot in Europe next term.
GUARDIAN
West Ham are poised to revive their interest in Norwich City midfielder James Maddison, according to reports.
The Hammers are said to have had a £12m bid rejected for the midfielder in January and could now be set to revive their interest in the England U21 international following Manuel Lanzini’s injury on international duty.
Lanzini ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in training last week, ruling him out of the World Cup, and the Argentina international could be set for a substantial period on the side-lines.
West Ham are now reportedly keen on bringing in Maddison to fill the void left by Lanzini, however, they will have competition for the midfielder’s signature, with Everton, Leicester and newly promoted Fulham also said to be interested.
Maddison, who has also been watched by Liverpool and Manchester City reportedly, enjoyed an impressive season with Norwich in the Championship, scoring 15 goals in 49 appearances in all competitions last campaign.
That form saw him named as the Canaries’ Player-of-the-Season and Norwich could now face a fight to keep their star midfielder.
(Alan is away)
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