Sunday news (includes West Ham)

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Thanks Alan 2:27 Sun Aug 11

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"BBC Manchester United are weighing up a £50m move for Brighton's 19-year-old Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson amid concerns that Chelsea could try to sign him. (Daily Star on Sunday), external Manchester United could give English defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 26, a £5.6m pay-off to make up for the shortfall in his salary if he joins West Ham. (Manchester Evening News), external Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna says 25-year-old Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, who has been linked with Chelsea and Paris St-Germain, has asked to leave. (90 Min), external Chelsea have told Napoli they must pay £36m to sign 31-year-old Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku. (Gianluca Di Marzio), external Benfica and Barcelona are interested in Atletico Madrid's 24-year-old Portgual forward Joao Felix but are only likely to pursue a loan deal. (Sport - in Spanish), external Aston Villa and Real Betis are keen on 28-year-old Argentina midfielder Giovani lo Celso, who will be allowed to leave Tottenham. (Fabrizio Romano), external Wolves are prepared to consider offers of 20m euros (£17.1m) for 22-year-old Portugal forward Fabio Silva, who has also attracted interest from Espanyol, Genoa, Valencia and Wolfsburg. (Teamtalk), external Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 32, has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia but Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag does not expect him to leave this summer. (Metro), external Crystal Palace are in talks with Wolfsburg about signing 24-year-old French defender Maxence Lacroix. (Sky Sports Germany), external Palace and Aston Villa are interested in Chelsea's 25-year-old English defender Trevoh Chalobah, who has been barred from their first-team facilities (Telegraph - subscription), external Bournemouth are close to signing 22-year-old Mexico defender Julian Araujo from Barcelona in a deal worth 10m euros (£8.6m). (ESPN), external Chelsea are planning to sell or loan out at least six senior players to reduce their squad to a manageable level before the transfer window closes. (Telegraph - subscription), external Several Premier League clubs have held talks with Bayer Leverkusen over the availability of 22-year-old Czech Republic forward Adam Hlozek, who is valued at £15m. (Florian Plettenberg) Sky Paper Talk SUNDAY MIRROR Liverpool remain locked in negotiations with Real Sociedad over the signing of Martin Zubimendi, although they are determined to complete the deal. Manchester United will hand Aaron Wan-Bissaka a seven-figure payout to make sure of his move to West Ham. New Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has wiped his entire X account in a bid to show he does not harbour any loyalties towards bitter rivals Manchester City. THE ATHLETIC Chelsea defender Reece James has had a setback ahead of the new season after suffering a new hamstring injury. Barcelona defender Julian Araujo is close to completing a move to Bournemouth. Leicester are working on a deal to sign winger Wilfried Zaha from Galatasaray on a season-long loan. Arsenal are ready to sanction Eddie Nketiah's departure to Marseille on loan with an obligation to buy for a fee in the region of €30m (£25.7m). SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Emma Hayes paid tribute to her late father after the United States beat Brazil 1-0 to win their first Olympic title since 2012. MAIL ON SUNDAY Chelsea could be set to start the new Premier League season without a shirt sponsor for a second year in a row. Jordan Chiles has been stripped of the Olympic bronze medal she won in the women's floor final after a bombshell ruling from the Court of Arbitration of Sport. THE SUN ON SUNDAY Sheffield United are making an ambitious move to take Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on loan from Turkish side Besiktas. Trevoh Chalobah has been barred from using Chelsea's first-team facilities as he nears an emotional exit. Sheffield Wednesday have threatened to remove fans wearing fake football shirts from their stadium. SUNDAY MAIL Atalanta have tested Celtic's resolve for Matt O'Riley once again - but the two sides are still well apart in their valuation. Topskills Sports UK @topskillsportuk EXCL Chelsea are currently talking with West Ham to possibly loan their new signing Omorodion. #CFC Understand he’s expected to leave on loan alongside Marc Guiu. Chelsea want to do a fast deal with Napoli for Lukaku then Osimhen. As told you, expect anything from CFC. C&H West Ham Confirm Wan Bissaka Deal is Close Reports that Aaron Wan-Bissaka is on the verge of a West Ham move are 99% true a senior club source has confirmed to C&H’s Sean Whetstone this evening . The full back has been given permission to speak to West Ham and is scheduled to have a medical on Sunday. Local reports in Manchester suggest he has negotiated a £5.6m pay off from Manchester United after initially asking for £7m. West Ham are set to agree a deal for £15m with Manchester United who were holding out for £18m but all appears to be in place to make AWB West Ham’s eighth signing of the summer. Football agent Will Salthouse has fought hard to find a compromise which suits all parties. This follows on from yesterdays Jean Clair Todibo deal where agent Barry Silkman, club officials and Lawyers stayed up until 4:30am to finish the fine work of West Ham director of football Tim Steidten. As reported on several occasions, Hammers coach Julen Lopetegui was adamant that the bulk of his squad should be in place before the start of the Premier League season. Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s medical is 100% booked on Sunday morning, as West Ham will follow with formal steps. Wan-Bissaka is in London now for medical tests as new West Ham player — formal process has just started. He will sign five year contract later today. The Athletic Jean-Clair Todibo to West Ham: The Athletic 500 transfer ratings Jean-Clair Todibo has joined West Ham from Nice of France’s top-flight Ligue 1 on a season-long loan that includes an option to buy. Our writers — experts in transfers, tactics, data and football finance — have come together to rate this summer’s senior Premier League deals in five categories, with each aspect of them given a score out of 100, to reach a total score out of 500. Hence, The Athletic 500. Below is our rating for centre-back Todibo’s move to the London Stadium. Tactical fit — 78/100 A look at how the player fits into his new club tactically, using Sentient Sports’ bespoke tactical-fit model, explained by our tactical expert. Central defender Jean-Clair Todibo is a top passer of the ball, averaging 5.1 progressive passes per 90 minutes for Nice last season. This ranked him in the 85th percentile among positional peers in the top five European leagues, and was significantly better than the 3.08 figure West Ham’s other central defensive signing this summer, Maximilian Kilman, managed with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Here, in a Ligue 1 game from March this year, Todibo dispossesses Montpellier midfielder Jordan Ferri before dribbling forward and delivering a perfectly-weighted bending pass to Evann Guessand, who gets off a shot on goal. The 24-year-old France international is invariably involved in play — making 75.6 touches per 90, which puts him in the 94th percentile, significantly surpassing Nayef Aguerd’s 45.8 and Kurt Zouma’s 30.5 as West Ham centre-backs last season. As shown in the graph below, Todibo is a ball-playing centre-back, with high pass volumes and progressive distances, placing him among elite company such as Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos and Ruben Dias of Manchester City. Todibo’s close control and press resistance are excellent, allowing him to manoeuvre out of tight spaces and maintain possession under pressure. His mid-length passing, especially diagonal switches, is another strength. These passes can exploit high-pressing teams. However, he needs to be cautious with his ball distribution as he can sometimes give possession away in dangerous positions. He also sometimes struggles with defending cutbacks — a common goal type in the Premier League. Defensively, Todibo excels in one-vs-one situations. His rapid recovery pace and good footwork allow him to stay tight to attackers, using his 6ft 3in (192cm) frame and hip mobility to make short strides and slow down play. He averaged 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game last season, putting him in the 81st percentile and outperforming new team-mate Kilman’s 2.3. As shown here in a September league game against Monaco, Todibo reads Soungoutou Magassa’s pass to Folarin Balogun. His tackle is timed perfectly and he is subsequently able to move forward with the ball. His ball recovery rate of 7.2 per 90 places him at the very top of the game, the 99th percentile, illustrating his aggression and intention to win back possession. Conversely, while he is not exactly weak in the air, he is not dominant either. It’s an area he might need to work on. Tactically, Todibo fits well into a 4-3-3 formation as a right-sided centre-back. He likes to shift towards the right flank if his full-back inverts centrally during the build-up. He can also play as a right-back, and is good at defending in wider areas. In new coach Julen Lopetegui’s potential setup at West Ham, Todibo’s ball-playing abilities and defensive proactiveness are likely to be key. Lopetegui likes direct balls from deep and quick transitional play, which should suit Todibo’s ability to progress the ball forward. Off the ball, his speed and agility help him to regain the defensive shape. Todibo is also suited to Lopetegui’s high pressing and aggressive ball-recovery demands. Todibo fits West Ham’s attributes, including build-up play (60 per cent higher than the team average), chance creation (14 per cent higher) and defensive pressure (48 per cent higher). In terms of progressing the club under its new managerial regime, the Frenchman could prove to be a key signing. Season rating: 78/100 Rating the player over the course of last season, using statistics from The Athletic’s data team. Todibo enjoyed a solid individual campaign, building on an impressive 2022-23. He featured in 30 of the 34 Ligue 1 matches (all starts) and forged a solid centre-back pairing with seen-it-all veteran Dante, who turned 40 in October, as Nice conceded a league-low 29 goals on their way to a fifth-placed finish and Europa League qualification. The highlight of Todibo’s season came between September 22 and November 11 as Nice went seven games without conceding in the league, picking up five wins — he started and completed every one of those matches. Ten days before the start of that run he won his first senior cap, playing all 90 minutes in a 2-1 friendly defeat against Germany. The low point came on December 16, as he was sent off for violent conduct in the 81st minute of a 3-1 loss away to relegation candidates Le Havre after a scuffle broke out involving both sets of players, leading to a three-match ban. Upon his return after the Ligue 1 winter break, Todibo was part of a difficult period that saw Nice take just nine points from 10 league games — form that left them five points adrift of a top-four spot in early April, having been in second place, eight behind first-placed Paris Saint-Germain, at the start of that run. The same period also saw PSG eliminate them from the Coupe de France in the quarter-finals. Nice ended the season by winning three of their last six games and losing only once, with Todibo captaining them in their final league match, a 2-2 away draw against Lille, who finished fourth. However, this was not enough to earn a call-up to France’s squads for either the European Championship or Olympic Games. Gaming rating: 76/100 Rating the player according to Football Manager 2024’s data across both current and potential ability. Football Manager’s extensive scouting database suggests Todibo is a Premier League-level centre-back with plenty of room to improve, given he is only 24. Among centre-backs in West Ham’s squad, his ability rating of 147 on FM24 is notably higher than fellow new signing Kilman (136) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (140), and only marginally behind Zouma (150). On that basis, Todibo could easily slot into the starting line-up, having proven himself in Ligue 1 over the past two seasons. What makes this a potentially shrewd signing is his potential ability rating of 156 as per FM24’s estimations, which is the highest among central defenders in the West Ham squad. His score is also marginally higher than that of Manchester United’s Argentina international centre-back Lisandro Martinez (155), which suggests Todibo, who also attracted interest from Old Trafford this summer, could potentially reach the same level. Financial value rating: 71/100 A four-category summary of the player’s transfer in financial terms — and whether it makes sense for his new club. Market value — 21/25 Given Todibo’s experience and pedigree, West Ham signing him on an initial season’s loan with an option to buy appears an excellent bit of business. While Todibo did not make France’s squad for the Euros, he won his first two caps for their senior team last season. His selection by Didier Deschamps in four squads during 2023 is a strong signifier of his quality, given the plethora of top-level centre-backs at the coach’s disposal. To sign any France international on loan for the season is good business, but at 24 — with an option to make the move permanent in the future — this appears to be a terrific deal. If Todibo underperforms expectations, West Ham will not be burdened financially in the long term, but if he excels, they can complete his signing next summer. Squad cost — 21/25 Again, given that Todibo is on loan, this signing appears incredibly shrewd from a squad-cost perspective. Zouma is in the process of a move to Shabab Al-Ahli of Dubai, and Lopetegui needed to sign a starting-quality centre-back to replace him. There are also questions about Aguerd’s future at West Ham, so reinforcements in the heart of defence were a priority. Todibo addresses those immediate concerns in a manner that saves West Ham from needing to invest heavily in the short term. However, it only delays the potential permanent signing until next summer, which will significantly impact the transfer budget. Contract sensibility — 15/25 While a loan deal protects West Ham in case Todibo fails to live up to his obvious quality in the Premier League, it also offers no guarantee over his future. Todibo has also been courted by Manchester United and Italy’s Juventus this summer, and while there is no suggestion that he is not mentally invested in West Ham, indications suggest the London club were not his initial priority. If Todibo has a strong debut season in the Premier League, the loan with option to buy arrangement opens up the potential that he chooses against signing for West Ham permanently in favour of holding out for a transfer to one of the bigger European clubs. The current arrangement does offer West Ham a season to convince Todibo that this is the best situation for his long-term future and vice versa, but it leaves them in a potentially awkward position next summer should a side of greater stature resume their interest before he signs for them permanently. Resale value — 14/25 As it is a loan deal initially, resale value is only relevant if West Ham and Todibo agree to pursue a permanent transfer next summer. While it could leave Lopetegui’s side having helped Todibo adjust to Premier League football before seeing him leave the London Stadium for one of the competition’s heavy hitters this time next year without any financial benefit for West Ham, there is no suggestion at this stage that he will not choose to continue in east London. If the permanent deal is completed, and the player has a good 2024-25 season, Todibo will join West Ham with his prime years ahead. If he then continues developing and becomes one of the league’s best central defenders, they could expect to demand two or three times whatever next summer’s fee ends up being when they sell him in future windows. Risk or reward? 67/100 Is there a history of injury or other problems that could crop up and make this deal a bad one in retrospect? Or does the player come with a clean bill of health? Our expert takes a look. With Manchester United and Juventus linked with his signature, Todibo signing for West Ham has to be considered a coup. Todibo was starting for France as recently as November, a testament to his quality and form for Nice since signing for them permanently from Barcelona in summer 2021, after spending the second half of the previous season with them on loan. He fills the void that will be left by Zouma’s departure and then some, adding pace and aerial quality to a back line that suffered last season as Zouma’s physicality declined. Other than historical questions over his attitude when playing for Barcelona or his lack of Premier League experience, there would have been very few questions about Todibo had he joined permanently instead of on loan. But without knowing the intricacies of the deal, the risk of him departing next summer having spent a year coming to terms with English football is a concern. And while he has largely put his injury woes behind him since joining Nice, much of his time contracted to Barcelona was spent on the physio’s table. Still, should he sign permanently for West Ham next summer after a strong debut season, this will go down as great business. Overall rating: 370/500"