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BBC
Manchester United are keen to sign Juventus and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey, 29, as part of a swap deal for France midfielder Paul Pogba, 27. (Express)
Sporting Lisbon have been reported to Fifa by Sampdoria, who claim they are owed a £4m sell-on fee following the sale of Bruno Fernandes, 25, to Manchester United in January. The Portuguese midfielder left Italy for Sporting in 2017. (Mirror)
Arsenal may be forced to sell six players to fund the remainder of 24-year-old Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe’s £72m fee for his move from Lille last summer. (Sun)
Chelsea winger Willian, 31, is expected to stay in London when his contract at Stamford Bridge expires in June, with the Brazilian opting to reunite with his former Blues manager Jose Mourinho at Tottenham. (Mail)
Manchester City are interested in River Plate's Lucas Martinez Quarta, 23, and want to bring the Argentine to Etihad Stadium, with his compatriot and fellow central defender Nicolas Otamendi, 32, going the other way. (Sports Witness via TNT Sports - in Spanish)
Juventus will step up their pursuit of Fiorentina's Italy winger Federico Chiesa, with his club willing to sell “for the right price," while Chelsea, Manchester United and Inter Milan are also interested in the 22-year-old. (Goal)
Manchester United need to make a decision on the future of England Under-21 goalkeeper Dean Henderson, 23, who has starred during his time on loan at Sheffield United, with his Old Trafford contract expiring at the end of June. (Sun)
Everton’s hopes of signing Napoli’s Allan, 29, are fading with the Serie A club’s owner saying the Brazilian midfielder’s £65m price tag will not drop because of Covid-19 - which is also the case for Liverpool target, Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly, 28, who is valued at £95m. (Il Napolista - in Italian)
Arsenal are interested in Bayern Munich defensive midfielder Angelo Stiller, 19. (Bild - in German)
Paris St-Germain and France forward Kylian Mbappe, 21, has asked for a clause in his contract renewal to allow him to leave the Ligue 1 champions for Real Madrid or another European club in the future. (AS - in Spanish)
Juventus and Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain has not decided whether to travel back to Italy from his homeland, with his boyhood club River Plate interested in signing the 32-year-old. (TuttoSport - in Italian)
Lyon want to keep on-loan Villarreal and Cameroon forward Karl Toko-Ekambi, 27. (Goal)
DC United are still interested in signing a defender when the MLS transfer market reopens, after their plans were interrupted when the league was suspended two games into the season. (MLSsoccer.com)
The video assistant referee will continue to be used in the Premier League if and when the season restarts. (Telegraph - subscription required)
C&H
Bottom six clubs hold Premier League to ransom
Under the Premier League’s constitution, 14 of the 20 member teams must approve any plan, and without assurances of the necessary margin, there is nothing to be done but continue to talk and agree on compromises which will get the necessary votes.
There have already been hours and hours of Premier League conference calls, but insiders claim these are largely going around in circles as divisions form on what is best for each individual club.
Norwich City, Aston Villa, Watford, Bournemouth, Brighton and West Ham all face the risk of relegation to the Championship while Newcastle and Southampton are not completely safe either and could be sucked back into a relegation dog fight.
Those most at risk have led a challenge about whether the integrity of the competition would be undermined if it was not completed in conditions similar to the three-quarters of the season already played. Those games, before football was suspended, took place at packed stadiums, which are unlikely to be seen again until next year. The bottom six clubs believe the risk of relegation should be removed this season.
The Premier league’s struggle to reach a consensus highlights the absence of its longtime executive chairman Richard Scudamore, a towering figure known, until his retirement in 2018, for his ability to force through changes in a league often beset by divisions. His replacement, Richard Masters, a longtime league employee, confirmed in the role only a few months ago, has yet to stamp his own authority on the divided club chairmen.
The failure to reach a consensus has stoked fear among some to believe that time to complete the season will evaporate before there is an agreement believing some clubs are playing for time. Officials believe the current season needs to be completed by 2nd August at the latest to meet UEFA deadlines.
On Monday night Paul Barber, the chief executive of Brighton & Hove Albion acknowledged his club’s attitude in the talks was born out of “self-interest.”
Brighton opposes a proposal to play the remainder of the season at neutral venues, to avoid clusters of fans gathering outside stadiums.
“Neutral venues just simply changes the nature of the competition and what we would consider to be unfair and not the right way to go,” Barber told BBC Radio. “My job is to represent Brighton & Hove Albion, and our interests are staying in the Premier League.”
Manuel Lanzini wants to see River Plate full-back Gonzalo Montiel playing alongside him at the London Stadium next season. He admits to talking to the 23-year-old about joining the Hammers this summer after a bid was reportedly rejected in the January transfer window.
Lanzini is quoted as saying to Diario Olé in his native Argentina “I think Montiel would fit in well at West Ham. I know they looked for him and couldn’t bring him in, he asked me and I spoke to him. The coach (Moyes) likes him. He likes to play with three or five defenders.”
Although Montiel is primarily a right-back he is also capable of filling in at centre back too if so required. He is often deployed as a right winger for River plate who often play him in an attacking formation but he is said to posses excellent defensive skills as well as the ability to push forward.
In March 2019, Montiel was named in Argentina’s squad for friendlies against Venezuela and Morocco by manager and former Hammer Lionel Scaloni. On 22 March, Montiel made his debut against Venezuela. He has made 64 appearances since 2016 for Lanzini’s former team River Plate.
Star
West Ham lead Chelsea and Tottenham in race to sign £15m striker Serhou Guirassy
Despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the potential return of the Premier League season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, London rivals West Ham, Chelsea and Tottenham are active in considering possible transfers
By Rhys Daly
West Ham look set to win the race to sign Serhou Guirassy.
The 24-year-old has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs having scored nine goals in 23 Ligue 1 games for the struggling Amiens so far this season having joined from Koln in 2019.
The former France youth international is rated at around £15m and has previously been scouted by Leicester and Brighton.
However, the Hammers have had to topple interest from Champions League chasing Chelsea and Tottenham to get ahead in their pursuit of the player who is out of contract in 2022.
French outlet Le 10 Sport have reported that discussions between West Ham and Amiens have already begun despite the enforced break from football, with his current club under financial pressure after their relegation to Ligue 2.
Guirassy said of his own style in an interview earlier this season: ”I don't like to list my qualities, I know that I have points to work on.
“But I am a player who likes to score! More seriously, when you are an attacker, you must know how to do everything, be able to adapt to all types of situations. You must be able to store, go deep and know how to vary your game to the fullest."
Before adding: "Football is all about confidence. Right now, I'm at a good club and I feel great.
“I have everything I need to work well. That helps a lot. And the coach has some really good ideas. We're all on board.”
West Ham would likely have to put their interest on hold should they be relegated from the Premier League, and they currently sit just three goals above the bottom three with nine games to go.
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