Tottenham have registered their interest in USA and former Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic, 27, who is open to a return to England from AC Milan this summer. (Teamtalk), external
Spurs are attempting to find a short-term managerial appointment before seeking to reappoint USA boss Mauricio Pochettino following this summer's World Cup. (Sun), external
Paris St-Germain are prepared to rival Premier League clubs Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham with a £100m bid for Brighton's 22-year-old Cameroon midfielder Carlos Baleba. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Manchester United are increasingly confident England defender Harry Maguire, 32, will extend his Old Trafford contract beyond the end of this season. (Teamtalk), external
Newcastle United will prioritise the signing of a striker in the summer transfer window, with the club already looking to sell Germany 23-year-old Nick Woltemade following his club-record move in August. (Football Insider), external
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, 37, will wait to decide his future after the club's presidential elections in March, amid offers from AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Chicago Fire, Fenerbahce and Saudi Arabia. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external
Bologna have tied Argentine forward Santiago Castro, 21, to a new four-year-and-a-half year contract, with Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa among his suitors. (Football Italia), external
Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are among the Premier League clubs keeping a close eye on Club Brugge and Serbia midfielder Aleksandar Stankovic, 20. (Teamtalk), external
Manchester United are expected to send club representatives to watch Juventus' 25-year-old France defender Pierre Kalulu when his side face Inter Milan on Saturday. (Tuttosport - in Italian), external
Manchester United are tracking Gambia and Tromso defender Abubacarr Sedi Kinteh, 19, and Valencia's Spanish centre-back Hugo Fernandez, 18. (Mail - subscription required)
Sky Paper Talk
Premier League
Former Liverpool man Darwin Nunez's stint in Saudi Arabia has taken a turn for the worse after he was axed from Al Hilal's squad following the arrival of Karim Benzema - Daily Mail
Raheem Sterling's belief that he needed time away from the Premier League has seen him join Dutch club Feyenoord on a deal until the end of the season, despite talks with crisis club Tottenham Hotspur - Daily Mail
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's controversial comment about immigrants has caused alarm among a section of the Manchester United dressing room - Daily Mail
EFL
Dean Brennan, manager of League Two club Barnet, has received a nine-game touchline ban and a £2,000 fine after being found to have made sexist comments towards a female referee - Daily Mail
Queens Park Rangers and Crawley Town are being sued for more than £11m by a former player who is claiming they failed to protect him from alleged racist banter that he says destroyed his career - The Guardian
Michail Antonio has held talks with Championship side Charlton after 13 months out of football following a career-threatening car accident - The Sun
WORLD FOOTBALL
Carlo Ancelotti is set to sign a new four-year contract with the Brazilian Football Confederation, keeping him as head coach of the nation through to 2030 - The Athletic
Robert Lewandowski will wait to decide his future after the club's presidential elections in March, amid offers from AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Chicago Fire, Fenerbahce and Saudi Arabia - Mundo Deportivo
WINTER OLYMPICS
Finland ski jumping coach Igor Medved has been sent home from the Winter Olympics for an 'alcohol related issue' - and has now issued an apology - Daily Mail
The Ukrainian luge team emotionally protested the disqualification of their compatriot, skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych - Daily Mail
The Athletic
Leaving the Netherlands helped Crysencio Summerville, but a World Cup place is motivating his form
Summerville scored five goals in five games recently for West Ham Julian Finney/Getty Images
By Roshane Thomas
A mischievous smile from Crysencio Summerville prompted Dirk Kuyt to address a long-standing issue.
Kuyt, the FC Dordrecht manager and former Liverpool and Netherlands striker, was Summerville’s under-19s coach at Feyenoord. Kuyt coached the West Ham United winger from 2018 to 2020 at the Dutch club and played an important role in his development, but a prolonged problem required intervention.
“I tried to teach Cry what it took to reach that elite level,” Kuyt tells The Athletic. “He was a top talent, but it was difficult for him because sometimes he’d arrive late for training, or not be 100 per cent in matches. I often told him, ‘You can get away with it now, but later in your career it could become a big problem’. Even then, I believed he could make it in the Premier League.
“I had that much faith and confidence in him. I kept drumming into Cry that if you are late outside the pitch, you are also late on it. He would always have that naughty smile when it would happen. That’s why I worked hard with him to change that behaviour, because his skill set is very rare. It was about making him aware it would be a shame if he let his talent go to waste.”
Kuyt always knew Summerville, 24, would fulfil his potential. This season, the attacker, who joined West Ham in August 2024 for £25million ($34m) from Leeds United, has registered five goals and four assists across 22 appearances. But recently, his form has hit new heights — against Burnley at the weekend, he became the first West Ham player to score in five consecutive games since Jesse Lingard in 2021.
The Athletic has spoken to sources, who, unless otherwise noted, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships. One person with knowledge of the situation said that a motivating factor for Summerville’s form is to earn a place in the Netherlands’ World Cup squad. They indicated that Summerville had been told he was on Ronald Koeman’s radar ahead of March’s friendlies against Norway and Ecuador. Summerville earned a combined total of 37 caps from under-16 to under-21 level, but has yet to feature for the national team.
It has been a long journey for the attacker to reach this point in his career. Summerville, who has a Surinamese background and is the second-youngest of eight siblings, started his football career at local team RVVV Noorderkwartier aged four. Two years later, he joined Feyenoord’s academy. But besides his love for football, Summerville, who grew up in Rotterdam South, had to navigate his way around a challenging neighbourhood.
Summerville playing for Netherlands Under-17sNathan Stirk/Getty Images
“Cry is from a tough area in Holland,” says Erwin van de Looi, Summerville’s former Netherlands Under-21 manager. “It’s survival of the fittest, where you either sink or swim. That built character for Cry, and you could see it in his determination to prove people wrong.”
Kuyt saw the benefits in Summerville leaving his hometown.
“I coached Cry for two years, but my best memory of him was a tournament in Croatia in my first year,” he says. “We won the tournament and beat Real Madrid in the final. Cry was named the best player, and that moment confirmed to me he was something special. I was disappointed when he left Feyenoord, but he needed to step away from Rotterdam.
“The area Cry is from, it’s so easy to go down the wrong path. I’m sure he knows people who have been affected by that, and I didn’t want that to be Cry. So going abroad and being away from his comfort zone helped him.”
Although Summerville was considered one of the bright hopes of Feyenoord’s academy, he failed to make a first-team appearance. His spell featured loans at FC Dordrecht and ADO Den Haag. He joined Leeds United in 2020 and scored 25 goals across 89 appearances between 2020 and 2024. After scoring 19 goals in 43 league appearances in the 2023-24 campaign, Summerville was named PFA Championship Player of the Year. Van de Looi always knew Summerville would make Feyenoord rue their decision to sell him.
“Physically, he wasn’t strong, so there was some doubt about whether he could do it at a higher level,” he recalls. “When he joined Leeds, there were doubts again about whether he made that switch too early in his career. He was determined to succeed, and it doesn’t surprise me to see how well he’s doing. Feyenoord shouldn’t have sold him.
“When I first worked with him, I could tell he was talented, but you always want to see how others react. The others loved Cry, respected him, and we, as a coaching staff, wanted to help him reach the next level. I know it’s impossible for Cry to score in every game, but his form (this season) has been so impressive. West Ham are struggling, but he has brought excitement to the fans this year. He needs to continue like this.”
After his loan spells at Dordrecht and Den Haag, Summerville’s ambition was to play for his boyhood club, but an altercation prevented him from doing so, as ex-team-mate Robin Polly recalls.
“I was in an older age group, but everyone knew Cry was talented,” he says. “We crossed paths again when he joined ADO Den Haag on loan, and I was his driver at one point because he didn’t have a license.
“He was sent to FC Dordrecht on loan. It would have been a culture shock for Cry because their facilities weren’t as good as Feyenoord’s, so it would have been tough to settle. We had the same personal trainer, and I saw Cry before he officially joined. He was upset, and I told him, ‘This whole experience will be great for you in the long-term. You will learn a lot about yourself’.
“Cry was going to play first-team football at 18. The loan was going to put him ahead of his peers in Feyenoord’s academy. He was amazing at FC Dordrecht, and it was a perfect response from Cry. But I will never forget what happened when we played together at Den Haag. This player asked me, ‘Who’s this kid? We need experienced players. Why have we signed him?’. I told him, ‘You will see’.
“(Den Haag manager) Alan Pardew and Chris Powell (his assistant and ex-England first-team coach) loved Cry. They called him ‘Summers’. At this point of the season, Cry had settled, and one day after training, I told him, ‘You will play in the Premier League one day’.”
That opportunity came on September 17, 2021, when Summerville made his top-flight debut for Leeds against Newcastle United. He came on as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw and made his first start 13 months later against Leicester City. During the 2022-23 campaign, the winger registered four goals and three assists in 28 league appearances, which included a standout moment.
Polly says: “When he had that big moment for Leeds against Liverpool, I thought, ‘What the hell has Cry done?’. I was so happy for him, and the Cry you’re seeing now is what most of us saw back in the day. He’s figured it all out and is in the best form of his career. When he joined West Ham, he invited me to a game, but then he suffered the (hamstring) injury. Now I need to come see him because he’s shining.”
A few months after joining West Ham, in January 2025, Summerville suffered a hamstring injury that would ultimately rule him out for seven months. His first official game back was the 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in August. He was introduced in the 82nd minute and provided an assist for club captain Jarrod Bowen two minutes later.
This has been a redemption season for the attacker. After the third round FA Cup tie against London rivals Queens Park Rangers, he outlined his intention of wanting to make up for lost time in a post-match interview with The Athletic. In the following weeks, he scored goals against Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Chelsea, and Burnley. Sources with knowledge of the situation say clubs enquired about Summerville’s availability during the January transfer window, but the attacker informed his representatives he had no intention of leaving midway through the season.
Van de Looi adds: “The next step for him is to earn a call-up to the national team. We have a lack of attackers and Cry is the fresh, young, exciting talent we need. We used to be a country that produced great strikers, but now that’s changed to producing great defenders.
“We need creativity and Cry is the right fit. He deserves to be in the World Cup squad (this summer). When I worked there, we had roughly 35 players on our radar who we monitored closely. I’ll be shocked if Cry isn’t already on that list. He’s performing at the highest level in the Premier League. I’m proud of him.”
Kuyt is still in touch with Summerville and regularly watches West Ham games to monitor his progress. Similar to Van de Looi, Kuyt believes Summerville is closing in on an all-important milestone.
“Considering what he went through with his hamstring injury, it’s great to see him playing well,” says Kuyt. “The Cry I’m seeing now is the Cry I saw when I coached him. Now it’s about him being consistent for the rest of the season and earning a call-up to the national team.
“If I were in Ronald Koeman’s shoes, I wouldn’t hesitate to call up Cry.”
Sport Witness
Midfielder says West Ham interest “flattering” – Wants move to Premier League
By Naveen Ullal
West Ham United showed serious interest in FC Metz’s Alpha Touré in the winter market.
Sport Witness initially covered a claim from Senegal about West Ham’s total commitment to secure his services.
On January 12th, Sport Witness then relayed news from France of a €7m bid from Nuno Espírito Santo’s side. However, this wasn’t enough to please Metz, and West Ham were aiming to return with an improved bid.
The Premier League side eventually weren’t able to secure his services in January. The Senegalese joined the Ligue 1 side from Génération Foot in July 2024 and initially started with their youth team.
Touré thrilled with West Ham interest
Africa Foot have published an interview with the 20-year-old, who talks about his growth in France and the Hammers interest.
The defensive midfielder has played 44 matches in all competitions for Metz and 24 are from this season. He is pleased with the progress made in France so far.
“I think it’s been a learning season. I’ve improved a lot tactically and mentally. I work every day to earn the coach’s trust. I know I can still do better. It’s gratifying, but I’m staying focused. The most important thing is hard work and consistency. Talent alone isn’t enough. I want to help the team above all else,” he said.
Midfielder dreams of Premier League
The outlet points out the Premier League side and Beşiktas have made approaches to sign him. West Ham can have an edge over the Black Eagles as the player favours a move to England.
“It’s always flattering when clubs like West Ham or Beşiktaş show interest in me. It shows that I still have to work hard. But I’m under contract with Metz and I’m very focused on my season. I leave that to my representatives [my family] and the club,” Touré explained.
“I’m concentrating on the pitch. As long as I’m wearing the Metz shirt, I give 100%… The Premier League is a very intense championship, with a lot of pace and impact. It’s a dream for many players. But one thing at a time.”
West Ham are now in the relegation zone and may have to stay in the Premier League to stand a chance to sign him.
The Senegalese has a contract until 2028. When asked about his future, he added: “My future? To continue progressing here, to help the club achieve its goals, and perhaps even make history like some of the great Senegalese players before me. After that, football evolves quickly; we’ll see what the future holds, God willing.”