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BBC
Tottenham expect Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, 27, to leave this summer, with Real Madrid among the clubs interested. (Mail)
Manchester City will be banned from signing players for two transfer windows by Fifa for breaching rules over the transfer of young players. (Sun)
Real Madrid will aim to bring 28-year-old Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard to La Liga with an initial starting bid of £70m. (Sun)
Liverpool defender Georginio Wijnaldum says he is yet to receive a contract extension offer from the Reds. The 28-year-old has more than two years remaining on his current deal. (Liverpool Echo)
Arsenal and Leicester are both interested in signing Celtic and Scotland defender Kieran Tierney, 21. Leicester want Tierney to replace defender Ben Chilwell as they anticipate bids for the Englishman. (Mirror)
Arsenal have held talks with Rennes over 21-year-old Senegal winger Ismaila Sarr. The Gunnersbeat the French club on Thursday to reach the Europa League quarter-finals. (Goal France - in French)
Burnley will look to sell Nick Pope, 26, for around £10m this summer, with Arsenal keen on the England goalkeeper. (Sun)
Juventus will do everything they can to sign France forward Kylian Mbappe, 20, from Paris St-Germain this summer. (Tuttosport - in Italian)
'Bale wants to stay at Real for the rest of his career'
Zinedine Zidane and Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale's agent provides insight into the Wales forward's career
Newcastle are interested in Lyon boss Bruno Genesio if Rafael Benitez does not extend his contract as manager at St James' Park. (L'Equipe - in French)
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane wants to sign France and Lyon forward Nabil Fekir, 25, in the summer. (Daily Record)
But Zidane is not interested in taking Paris St-Germain and Brazil forward Neymar, 27, to the Bernabeu. (AS)
After signing Brazil and Porto defender Eder Militao, Real Madrid already have their maximum of three non-EU players for next year, making it more likely Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez will not rejoin them once his two-year loan at Bayern Munich ends. (Marca)
Real Madrid want to raise 150m euros (£128m) in player sales this summer and will ask for 50m euros (£42.7m) each for Rodriguez and Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who is on loan at Chelsea. (El Confidencial - in Spanish)
The Spanish giants could put some of that money towards signing 19-year-old Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo. (AS)
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri says striker Olivier Giroud remains a "very important" player for his side. The 32-year-old scored a hat-trick in Thursday night's Europa League victory over Dynamo Kiev. (Sky Sports)
Manchester United have joined the race for Paris St-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot. The France international is out of contract this summer and has already held talks with Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. (Sun)
Rabiot, 23, has been suspended until the end of March following a nightclub visit after PSG were knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United. He has not played since December after failing to agree a new contract. (L'Equipe - in French)
Ex-Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic and Preston boss Alex Neil are the top targets for the vacant managerial role at West Brom. (Sky Sports)
Paris St-Germain will offer head coach Thomas Tuchel a one-year extension to his contract. The German signed a two-year deal in May 2018. (L'Equipe - in French)
Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he is not disappointed after Zinedine Zidane was reappointed at Real Madrid. Mourinho, who was linked with a return to the Spanish side, said Zidane is perfect for the job. (El Chiringuito TV via ESPN)
Huddersfield boss Jan Siewert says the Premier League strugglers are facing a squad overhaul this summer. (Sky Sports)
Tottenham were very close to signing Portugal and then-Porto midfielder Joao Moutinho in 2012, says former manager Andre Villas-Boas. Moutinho, 32, now plays for Wolves. (Talksport)
Former England captain David Beckham's MLS franchise Inter Miami have announced they plan to play in Fort Lauderdale for their first two seasons. (NBC Sports)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Paul Doyle
Not being a complete and utter bampot, Brendan Rodgers is unlikely to stop to take a selfie while mounting a raid at Celtic this summer. But mount a raid he will, and by “mount a raid” we of course mean “ask someone to negotiate a purchase”. The target of the Northern Irishman’s swoop on the club that the lovable ol’ romantic just can’t get out of his heart will be Kieran Tierney. The nifty left-back has reportedly been identified has an ideal replacement for Ben Chilwell, not least because he could cost around a fifth of the amount that Leicester may get from Manchester City for Chilwell.
That, of course, assumes that Manchester City will not be neutered by a transfer embargo as a result of Uefa’s investigations into the club’s practices. There is speculation that Uefa may feel the need to hit City the way they have hit Chelsea. Ach, in a week in which English clubs have demonstrated awesome power in European competition, it just doesn’t seem cricket to broach accusations of systemic chicanery.
On an unrelated note, Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane has already begun his revamp at the Bernebéu by signing the defender Eder Militao from Porto but he is far from done. His in-no-way-carefully-leaked shopping list also includes Christian Eriksen and Eden Hazard but not Neymar, meaning the Brazilian could be stranded at Paris Saint-Germain. And the French league has no word for Ballon d’Or.
Real hope to raise funds for their rebuilding programme by flogging a slew of players, including Mateo Kovacic and James Rodríguez. The queue of would-be buyers is impressively discreet at the minute. Meanwhile, Gareth Bale is said to have no intention of leaving the Spanish club and will tell Real fans exactly that once he figures out which language they speak.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær has, we know, restored the happy vibe around Old Trafford. Now he is being linked with Adrien Rabiot, the midfielder currently on PSG’s naughty step for, amongst other things, liking a celebratory post released by Patrice Evra following Manchester United’s recent victory in Paris. “FFS”, to quote another popular post.
Having shooed Darren Moore out the door for not having qualified West Brom for next season’s Champions League yet, the people who set remarkably high standards at the Hawthorns have turned their attention to Slavisa Jokanovic, one of the managers sacked by Fulham this season, and Alex Neil, whom they may not realise hasn’t been in charge of table-topping Norwich for some time.
Finally, José Mourinho is being linked … actually, let’s ignore José Mourinho for a while. Feels better, doesn’t it?
Soccer Souls
Who’s this highly skilled teenager on West Ham and Leicester’s radar? A big talent?
West Ham opinion: Scout report on Hammers target Nuno Moreira
According to Portuguese publication Record, West Ham are set to beat Leicester to the signing of 19-year-old Sporting Lisbon sensation Nuno Moreira.
The report suggests that the Hammers have sent scouts to watch the young starlet who is yet to make a senior appearance at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Moreira is a highly talented versatile midfielder who has featured in multiple positions in his short career so far. The Portuguese’s best position is as a number 10 but he has played on both wings and as a second striker for the Sporting under-23 side this season.
The 19-year-old shows incredible quality on the ball at such a young age and has the ability to take a number of players out of the game with his cleaver dribbling skills.
Although not rapid, Moreira has a decent burst of acceleration and that combined with his tricks and skills makes him a very difficult customer to stop.
Moreira’s vision at such a young age is very impressive and his flair on the ball would remind you of West Ham’s Felipe Anderson in some ways. His recent rise to fame has been due to his performances for Sporting in the UEFA youth league this season where he has scored once and assisted twice in 7 appearances.
The 19-year-old’s awareness of players around him is phenomenal and is often seen pulling off no look flicks to find his teammates. When played on the wing, Moreira’s dribbling skills combined with trickery on the ball helps him outfox the opposition full-back.
His acceleration takes him beyond the defender with considerable ease and his precision in crossing is something that has caught the eye every time he has played.
His ability on indirect set-pieces is also commendable and looks quite a player considering his young age. Moreira is pretty strong with both feet and has the ability to shoot from outside the box.
However, his shooting is something that he has to improve as he gains more experience.
The youngster, despite having incredible composure in 1vs1 situations, often rushes his shots when under pressure. Such a thing is common at 19 years of age and he is sure to add goals to his game as he grows.
Moreira’s current contract at the Portuguese club expires at the end of the summer and the youngster will be available for free. Under Manuel Pellegrini, Moreira can hit heights that he would only have dreamt of and the English game will make him a lot tougher.
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