Sunday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, 24, is closer to agreeing a new contract which will make him their highest-paid player. (Marca - in Spanish)

Haaland's new deal is expected to contain a release clause which will be within reach for Real Madrid if they want to sign him in the future. (Mail)

Real Madrid are targeting a move for 23-year-old Arsenal and France central defender William Saliba. (Fichajes - in Spanish)

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is considering a move for Manchester United and Brazil winger Antony, 24, if a deal for Nottingham Forest's Sweden forward Anthony Elanga, 22, does not materialise. (Caught Offside)

Newcastle will try to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, 24, in a cut-price deal in January when he will have 18 months left on his contract, but the Eagles will hold out to get their valuation of the England international. (Football Insider)

Bayern Munich forward Jamal Musiala, who is admired by Manchester City, has not ruled out a move to the Premier League. The 21-year-old Germany winger's current deal runs out in June 2026. (Welt Am Sonntag, via Goal)

Germany defender Jonathan Tah, 28, says he will not extend his Bayer Leverkusen contract which runs until summer 2025, and confirms Bayern Munich were among the clubs who wanted to sign him in the summer. (90 Min)

Leverkusen might be forced to sell Tah at a reduced price during the winter transfer window to prevent the centre-back leaving for free when his contract ends next summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish)

France midfielder Adrien Rabiot is a free agent after leaving Juventus, but the 29-year-old does not intend on moving to a club in Turkey. (Fabrizio Romano)




Sky Paper Talk

THE SUN ON SUNDAY

Paul Mitchell's future as Newcastle sporting director is in doubt - just two months after arriving at St James' Park.

Todd Boehly is confident he has a £2.5billion fund to end Chelsea's civil war with a takeover bid.

Former Spurs and Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has said that belting out God Save The King is "a must" for the England job.

MIRROR

Pep Guardiola's legacy at Manchester City will include a £300million-plus transfer war chest if he decides to quit the Etihad next year.

John Textor has blasted the Premier League's financial fair play rules during takeover talks to buy out Farhad Moshiri at Everton.

THE SUNDAY TIMES

Lee Carsley's chances of becoming the new permanent England manager will not be affected by his refusal to sing God Save the King, with the FA remaining steadfast in their belief that it should be a personal choice.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Todd Boehly believes his working relationship with Chelsea co-owner Clearlake Capital is at breaking point and that a resolution must be found to avoid a civil war at Stamford Bridge.

England considered uprooting from Twickenham and relocating to Birmingham during talks about the redevelopment of the home of rugby.

MAIL ON SUNDAY

Erling Haaland is reportedly close to committing his future to Manchester City by signing a lucrative contract extension - but the deal is expected to contain a release clause.

Jack Draper vowed he will become a Grand Slam champion one day, believing that at his rate of improvement it is 'just a matter of time'.

THE OBSERVER

Todd Boehly has lost faith in his working relationship with Clearlake Capital, the US private equity firm that owns a majority shareholding in Chelsea, and wants to find a resolution that would prevent civil war breaking out at Stamford Bridge.

The League Managers Association (LMA) has called for an end to the "bias" in recruitment which it believes is fostering a lack of diversity among head coaches in the English football pyramid.

DAILY RECORD

Rangers have reportedly pinpointed their replacement for James Tavernier should the captain leave in the coming days.

SCOTTISH SUN

Ian Gordon admits Hibs will now look to buy British after too many transfer market mistakes.





TeamTalk

West Ham close to completing £34m signing of star whose transfer to Man Utd was 99 percent done

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed West Ham are on the cusp of completing the signing of a player who came within an eyelash of joining Manchester United earlier this year.

The summer window was a monumental one for West Ham, with no fewer than NINE first-team players arriving.

Signing up in permanent deals were Wes Foderingham, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez, Luis Guilherme, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug.

Joining those seven players in the English capital were loanees Jean-Clair Todibo and Carlos Soler.

Todibo, 24, had initially looked on course to sign with Man Utd. The French centre-back was earmarked as an ideal addition at the heart of defence and the fact French side Nice share the same INEOS ownership with Man Utd appeared to make the move simpler.

However, UEFA blocked Man Utd from completing a deal that Fabrizio Romano reported was 99 percent done.
Man Utd’s near miss for Todibo

“Jean-Clair Todibo was 99 percent a new Manchester United player,” declared Romano in mid-July. “Everything was done, also on the player’s side, then everything collapsed because of UEFA rules.

“UEFA denied the possibility for any player to join a club with the same ownership playing in the same European competition; so before the [FA Cup] final at Wembley, Manchester United prepared everything to have Jean-Clair Todibo as a new player.

“Now, there is nothing ongoing. We had some reports that Manchester United would go legal for this one, but they are not true.

“Manchester United have already left the conversation for Todibo, there is no chance. But he was really almost there, almost done, to join Manchester United.”

The reason behind UEFA blocking the move related to the fact Man Utd and Nice will compete in the same competition this season (the Europa League).

Clubs who share the same ownership can transfer players between themselves, though not if they’re in the same competition.

Juventus stepped in once Man Utd pulled the plug and turned their attention to Leny Yoro and Matthijs De Ligt. However, Hammers sporting director Tim Steidten pulled off a shock when hijacking Juve’s move.

The final outcome was Todibo signed with West Ham on a season-long loan that contained a conditional obligation to buy.

Conditional obligations are becoming increasingly common in the game over recent times.

Indeed, Jadon Sancho’s loan switch from Man Utd to Chelsea contains such a clause and will be triggered if Chelsea finish 14th or higher in the Premier League this season. Even Chelsea at their worst are highly unlikely to finish 15th or below.

And according to a fresh update from Romano, West Ham’s conditional obligation to buy for Todibo is just as easily achievable. What’s more, the reporter claimed it will be triggered “soon.”
West Ham to complete permanent Todibo deal “soon”

Taking to X, the trusted reporter stated: “The obligation to buy clause (€40m) into Jean-Clair Todibo deal at West Ham from OGC Nice is very easy to reach, almost guaranteed.

“It will be triggered soon as French centre back can already be considered 100 percent West Ham player, as always mentioned.”

As stated, Todibo’s clause is worth €40m (approx. £34m / $44m). It has not been specified what the criteria is that will trigger the clause, though it is close to being activated nonetheless.

Once the clause has been activated, Todibo will be signed to the terms he agreed upon joining the club on loan.

A five-year deal (after the 2024/25 season) that runs until 2030 is in place.

Todibo is one of just three senior centre-halves new manager Julen Lopetegui can choose from at present.

Despite signing Todibo and Max Kilman and retaining Konstantinos Mavropanos, the Hammers let four centre-halves leave (Angelo Ogbonna, Thilo Kehrer, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd).

As such, 19-year-old academy graduate Kaelan Casey was named on the bench last time out in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

But according to various reports, West Ham are sizing up a move for former Liverpool centre-back, Joel Matip.

The 33-year-old is fully recovered from surgery to repair an ACL injury suffered in December. He also remains a free agent having brought his eight-year stint at Anfield to a close on June 30.

Given Matip is available via free agency, he can be signed and registered outside of the transfer window.

 

[chim chim cha boo]

Cheers Alan.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[Mr Logic]

Thanks Alan