Manchester United are weighing up a move for Ipswich Town's £40m-rated England Under-21s striker Liam Delap, 22. Delap, who came through Manchester City's academy, has 10 Premier League goals this season and is also interesting Chelsea. (i Paper), external
Liverpool are prepared to offer Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez, 25, plus cash in exchange for Newcastle's £100m-plus rated Sweden forward Alexander Isak, 25. Isak has scored 17 Premier League goals this season. (Football Insider), external
However, Newcastle will not allow their best players to leave if they miss out on qualifying for next season's Champions League. (Daily Mail), external
Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in Eintracht Frankfurt's French striker Hugo Ekitike, 22, as an alternative to Isak. (CaughtOffside)
Liverpool are set for a busy summer of transfer activity, with Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 27, on a list of players the Reds might bid for. (Teamtalk), external
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, who has got Cherries fans dreaming of Europe, is top of Tottenham's list if they decide to replace Ange Postecoglou, who has been in charge since June 2023 but is under pressure following a poor run of results. (Talksport), external
Manchester City's Argentine midfielder Maximo Perrone, 22, wants to turn his loan in Italy with Como - managed by former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas - into a permanent move. (Calcioline - in Italian), external
Brighton might reluctantly sell Japan forward Kaoru Mitoma, 27, this summer for about £66m as he enters the final two years of his contract, with Chelsea one of the clubs interested. (CaughtOffside), external
AC Milan's Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, will sign a new deal with the Italian club until 2030. (Fabrizio Romano on X)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MIRROR
Luis Duiz is keen to see Mohamed Salah extend his Liverpool contract but says Arne Slot has his dressing room fully focused on the task at hand.
Carlo Ancelotti has squashed Pep Guardiola's claim that Manchester City only have a 'one per cent' chance of progressing past Real Madrid in the Champions League play-offs.
Manchester United star Casemiro was asked to pick who the better player is between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and appears to have admitted that Messi is better.
THE SUN
Antony stunned Manchester United fans with his backflip celebration after scoring for Real Betis at the weekend.
Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly is moving closer to landing a shock England debut despite having made just eight Premier League starts.
THE TIMES
Burnley have conceded only nine goals in the Championship, claimed 11 straight clean sheets and are set to break Liverpool's Football League record from 1978-79.
Despite being dismissed as manager last month, Sean Dyche stands to receive a payment worth hundreds of thousands of pounds when Everton's Premier League status is mathematically secured this season.
DAILY MAIL
The Spanish referee who controversially sent off Jude Bellingham is "under investigation" and could face a five-year ban if found guilty.
DAILY EXPRESS
Manchester United reportedly plan to offload up to 200 more employees, which would increase the total number of redundancies on Sir Jim Ratcliffe's watch to 450.
EVENING STANDARD
Lucas Paqueta has suffered a fresh ankle injury during West Ham training. The midfielder appeared devastated after being forced to withdraw from training.
THE GUARDIAN
Pep Guardiola admitted he lied after Manchester City lost the first leg of their Champions League playoff against Real Madrid and that their chances of going through are better than the one per cent he gave them that night.
DAILY EXPRESS
Manchester United reportedly plan to offload up to 200 more employees, which would increase the total number of redundancies on Sir Jim Ratcliffe's watch to 450.
EVENING STANDARD
Lucas Paqueta has suffered a fresh ankle injury during West Ham training. The midfielder appeared devastated after being forced to withdraw from training.
THE GUARDIAN
Pep Guardiola admitted he lied after Manchester City lost the first leg of their Champions League playoff against Real Madrid and that their chances of going through are better than the one per cent he gave them that night.
DAILY RECORD
New Motherwell boss Michael Wimmer admits he was shocked by the power and passion Scottish football has to offer as he took a sneak peak at some of the rivals he'll be taking on with Motherwell.
Celtic will reportedly make the trip over to Ireland to take on Cork City in a pre-season encounter this summer.
SCOTTISH SUN
Dumbarton have banned all U16s from attending matches at their stadium for the rest of the season and blamed a specific group of young supporters for engaging in "behaviour detrimental to the reputation of the club."
The Athletic
Mohammed Kudus’ West Ham form has dropped off – what’s going wrong?
By Roshane Thomas
After every game, Mohammed Kudus will ask for feedback from those in his inner circle. His desire for advice on how to improve also extended to a departed West Ham United backroom staff member.
In May, John Heitinga left his role as first-team coach following the expiry of then-manager David Moyes’ contract. Two months later, Heitinga accepted the opportunity to work under Liverpool manager Arne Slot as assistant coach. But at West Ham, Heitinga would rigorously analyse Kudus’ performances, according to sources close to the player, who like all of those spoken to for this article asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships.
They added that Heitinga recommended Kudus to Moyes before his £38.2million ($48m) arrival from Ajax in August 2023. The 41-year-old, who also coached Kudus during his brief managerial stint at Ajax, formed a good relationship with the attacker. Many players take time to adjust to the pace and intensity of the Premier League, but Kudus was one of those rare imports who looked at home straight away.
Heitinga was demanding when it came to unlocking Kudus’ potential, the source said. However, it enabled the Ghana international to register 15 goals and six assists across 45 appearances in his debut season. He became a fan favourite, with noticeable standout moments against Freiburg and Manchester City. In an interview with Voetbal Primeur, Kudus hailed Heitinga’s impact.
“I felt very good under him,” Kudus said. “He is the best coach I had at Ajax. Apart from the training aspect, I also hold him in high regard in terms of standards and values. I would have liked to have worked with him longer. He is a top trainer and I really appreciated his efforts to make the players better at the time. When we met again (at West Ham), there were immediate things that connected us. He tried to make me and all the other players better. I am very grateful to him for our time at West Ham.”
The loss of Heitinga could be a factor behind Kudus’ lack of consistency this season. Sources close to the player say he is fine behind the scenes but has a paltry return of three goals in 20 league appearances. At this stage last term, he had registered six goals in the top flight. The winger has not had a goal involvement since the draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on December 21 — encompassing a run of nine games in all competitions.
It has been a difficult campaign for 24-year-old Kudus. He is known for being affable but clashed with ex-manager Julen Lopetegui at half-time in the 1-1 draw against Brentford in September. He received a five-match suspension after admitting violent conduct following his dismissal against Tottenham Hotspur in October. Off the field, as reported by The Standard, he recently received six points on his licence after being caught by police for using his phone while driving from West Ham’s training ground.
This has not affected Kudus’ ability to drive to training. In time, he will hope for an upturn in performances. Kudus, whose £85m release clause becomes active this summer, is blessed with elegant touch, strength and pace. It is why a video showcasing his skill set has amassed over 80,000 views.
Despite the offensive additions of Crysencio Summerville, Luis Guilherme, Evan Ferguson and Niclas Fullkrug, the composition of West Ham’s strongest attack often features Kudus, captain Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta. Kudus has started every game under newly-appointed head coach Graham Potter. But when Bowen was sidelined with a fractured foot in late December, Kudus failed to fill the attacking void. It was Paqueta who excelled and looked revived under Potter.
Kudus has operated on the left and right flanks, while occasionally deputising in a false nine role. He has openly stated he favours playing as a No 10 but Potter has alternated between 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-2-1 formations. The graphic below shows that Kudus has averaged fewer touches this season. He has not been able to consistently show his strengths as much running inside from the right onto his stronger foot.
If you compare and contrast his touch maps from 2023-24 and this season, Kudus played across eight positions but had more joy playing as a right-sided attacking midfielder last season. This is the position Bowen occupies this campaign, having vacated that role once he transitioned into a centre-forward under Moyes.
In September, Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol, who plays on the left, revealed that Kudus was the toughest opponent he has faced in the league. Months prior, manager Pep Guardiola eulogised Kudus’ attributes.
It is not as though the chances have not come for Kudus. He has had goalscoring opportunities in recent games against Chelsea and Brentford. He did not convert either. Kudus is knocking on the door, although he remains in search of a belated response.
Kudus has endured the loss of Heitinga and the difficulty of navigating a manager upheaval. He has had to switch positions constantly this season in a struggling team. Potter’s man-management skills have been key in transforming Paqueta’s recent performances.
The challenge now is to get Kudus firing in a similar fashion and back to his menacing best.
Sport Witness
‘Player who can make a difference’ – Signing from West Ham is changing his outlook and impressing people
Maxwel Cornet’s short stint at Southampton ended in January and after returning to West Ham he joined Genoa on a loan deal.
The winger, who hasn’t managed to gain prominence at the London club since his arrival, has had a very good start to life in Italy.
He’s played three games in Serie A and after assisting on his debut against Monza, he scored against Venezia at the weekend.
Alfredo Pedulla has now hailed the arrival from West Ham, describing him as a ‘player who can make a difference’, despite his failure to make a mark at his parent club and at Southampton.
The report praises Cornet’s versatility as he can play on the left and on the right, describing him as a ‘jack of all trades’ on the pitch.
There are also positive words for the deal that Genoa have executed, with the Rossoblu praised for their ‘far-sighted vision’ in the winter transfer window. There’s a belief that Cornet can help the Italian side push for a higher finish this season.
Things are off to a good start for the Frenchman but it remains to be seen how things pan out later in the season, with West Ham almost certainly hoping for a permanent transfer at the end of it all.