Manchester United are considering a summer move for Crystal Palace's French forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, 27. (Sun - subscription required), external
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Tottenham are all interested in Bournemouth's Spain Under-21 defender Dean Huijsen, 19, who would cost £50m. (Mail - subscription required), external
West Ham and Crystal Palace are among the clubs looking to sign Southampton's England defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, 23, this summer. (Football Insider), external
Atletico Madrid are expected to bid about 60m euros (£50m) to sign Marseille and England forward Mason Greenwood, 23, at the end of the season. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich, 30, looks set to stay at Bayern Munich this summer despite interest from Arsenal and Paris St-Germain. (Sky Germany)
Chelsea are interested in Real Betis' Spain Under-19 winger Jesus Rodriguez, 19, who has a £42m release clause, with Liverpool also monitoring his progress. (Mail), external
Manchester United and Liverpool have asked about the availability of Atalanta's Brazil midfielder Ederson, although Manchester City also have a strong interest in the £50m-rated 25-year-old. (Caught Offside), external
Manchester United hope to make summer sales before activating the 80m euro (£67m) release clause in the contract of RB Leipzig and Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, 21. (Caught Offside), external
Liverpool also want to make Sesko part of their planned summer overhaul. (Give Me Sport), external
Liverpool could send England Under-21 midfielder Harvey Elliott, 21, out on loan next season in order to play more first-team minutes. (Football Insider), external
Barcelona are prioritising agreeing a new contract with Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 27, after interest in him from Arsenal. (Sport - in Spanish)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Manchester United are monitoring Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta ahead of the summer window.
Mason Greenwood has officially asked to switch allegiances from England to Jamaica.
Manuel Neuer has been ruled out for the "foreseeable future" - after injuring his calf celebrating a goal.
Ruben Amorim admits the pressure is on next Thursday after Manchester United suffered more penalty woe against Real Sociedad.
An FA chief wants Premier League refs to wear body cams and the footage to be shown on TV.
DAILY MAIL
Arsenal teenager Ethan Nwaneri is being considered for an England promotion following his brilliant form for Mikel Arteta's side.
Newcastle are still scouring the market for big-ticket strikers this summer, despite their determination to keep Alexander Isak.
Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen will be the subject of major interest from Europe's top sides this summer, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid both interested in signing the 19-year-old.
Crystal Palace skipper Marc Guehi and Chelsea forward Cole Palmer have landed lead roles in a forthcoming documentary around England's Euro 2024 campaign.
Manchester City are trying to seal a move for Leicester City's highly rated Jeremy Monga, who has already been named on the Foxes bench this season despite being just 15.
Arsenal are still to make a final decision on the identity of their next sporting director, though the process is drawing to a close.
Paul Pogba has collaborated with humanitarian charity Pious Projects of America to provide aid to victims of the Gaza crisis.
The FA has been alerted to the blistering form of striker Mika Biereth, who has scored 10 goals in seven games since joining Monaco. Biereth has played for Denmark at the U19 and U21 levels but was born in England.
Newcastle will not take any risks with Sven Botman during the remainder of this season, and only after knee surgery will the extent of his absence be known.
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario clashed with supporters after the club slipped to a lacklustre 1-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in their Europa League last-16 tie.
Paul Scholes has slammed Alejandro Garnacho for 'sulking' again after being substituted in Man United's draw with Real Sociedad - just a week after doing the same thing against Ipswich.
Bernie Ecclestone has completed the sale of his £500m private car collection - as Red Bull billionaire Mark Mateschitz becomes 'most worthy owner' of 69 Grand Prix cars
DAILY MIRROR
Manchester United could miss out on Viktor Gyokeres this summer with the striker pushing for a move to a club that can offer him Champions League football.
Thomas Tuchel has drawn up a 55-man "long list" ahead of naming his first England squad.
Jose Mourinho ripped into his Fenerbahce players after Rangers 'punishment' in Europa League.
THE ATHLETIC
Manchester United's wholesale changes at executive level have ramped up further, with the club's head of human resources Annie Hale, the club's commercial director Florence Lafaye and the club's chief commercial development officer James Holroyd all to leave the club.
Everton have decided not to activate the option to extend Abdoulaye Doucoure's contract by a further season.
LaLiga has reported a number of individuals who allegedly targeted Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior with racial abuse during February's fixture at Real Sociedad to local police.
A Cardiff City supporter was taken to hospital following their side's FA Cup match at Villa Park on February 28.
THE GUARDIAN
FIFA is to consider a proposal to expand the 2030 men's World Cup to 64 teams, an adjustment that would mean more than a quarter of its 211 member associations would take part.
Harvey Elliott said a starring role as Liverpool's "chosen one" against Paris Saint-Germain compensated for the anger and frustration he has felt at his limited game time under Arne Slot.
THE TIMES
Everton will save more than £50m a year in interest repayments after agreeing a long-term financing deal for the club's new stadium.
FIFA considers 64-team World Cup, increasing the number of teams from 48 as a one-off to mark the tournament's centenary.
Ange Postecoglou questioned his Tottenham team's mindset as they lost the first leg of their Europa League tie against AZ 1-0.
England will consider making Ben Stokes their next white ball cricket captain after Rob Key refused to rule out asking the Test skipper to lead in all formats.
DAILY RECORD
Jose Mourinho told Rangers to "calm down" as his Fenerbahce are far from out of their Europa League tie - as temperatures boiled over on the touchline in Istanbul.
Rangers' intense training session before their Fenerbahce win saw Barry Ferguson 'go through' players to produce a level that made their sports scientists panic.
Kyogo Furuhashi has been told that his persistent shoulder injury that has lingered on from his time at Celtic is a factor in his Stade Rennes nightmare.
Former Rangers captain Lee Wallace's son has put pen to paper on a contract at Ibrox.
David Gray insists he won't have his head turned by speculation linking him to the Swansea job.
THE TELEGRAPH
Diogo Dalot's 'criminal' error against Real Sociedad sums up goal-shy Manchester United.
Dire Tottenham were outshone by a striker they sold for £7m in their damning defeat by AZ.
The Athletic
West Ham should embrace Cresswell while they can – he might not be at the club much longer
By Roshane Thomas
It was an act of kindness that Aaron Cresswell did not want to be credited for but nonetheless was a prime example of why the West Ham United defender is greatly appreciated behind the scenes by the club’s staff.
Ahead of the 2023 UEFA Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague, West Ham had two aeroplanes booked for staff and families but the club then decided to only take one of them — making it harder for staff to get to the Czech capital.
Cresswell, who had assisted with the initial travel arrangements, was informed of the change and pushed hard for the initial plan of taking two planes. So much so that he arranged for the cost to be taken out of the players’ wages to ensure the non-coaching staff could travel.
His generosity ensured they were able to witness West Ham winning their first major trophy since 1980 and served as a reminder that the 35-year-old means far more to West Ham than just his on-pitch performances.
The left-back is entering the final months of his contract and it is undecided whether he will be offered an extension. Although the three-time England international does not turn 36 until December, it is common for ageing players to be let go. Last season, Angelo Ogbonna was released at the age of 36 — the same fate that befell James Collins, then 34, in May 2018, David Martin, then 36, in May 2022 and Pablo Zabaleta, then 35, in 2020.
There are some occasions, however, when reaching a certain age does not necessarily determine the end of a player’s career at West Ham. For example, Teddy Sheringham scored 20 goals in the Championship in the 2004-05 season, helping the London club seal promotion to the Premier League. He turned 39 in the April of that campaign.
Given the uncertainty over Cresswell’s long-term future, there will be a greater appreciation for him in the forthcoming months. Off the field, the defender prefers to be out of the limelight but repelling the adulation he will receive will not be as easy.
Cresswell has performed well under head coach Graham Potter. His experience and tactical awareness have been key in West Ham’s improvement in a 5-3-2 formation and the 2-0 win over Leicester City on February 27 meant they kept back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since November.
Cresswell has played as a left-sided centre-back of late and this has coincided with Ollie Scarles’ growing confidence at left-back. No young prodigy ever comes with a guarantee that they will make the grade, but Scarles has the credentials. He is a fearless operator and Cresswell is protective of the 19-year-old. Emerson Palmieri was signed in 2022 from Chelsea as Cresswell’s long-term replacement, but the likelihood of that happening is diminishing with every game due to Scarles’ increasingly assured performances.
“I think it helps having such a senior player in Aaron (Cresswell) behind me as the left centre-back, and he talks me through the game all the time,” said Scarles after the victory against Leicester. “Having a player like that, who has played 300 Premier League games, you can’t ask for much more. You see what he (Cresswell) has done for the club and you want to be the next one to achieve that. He’s the example, and he’s someone you look up to. That’s what I’m working towards and hopefully I can follow in his footsteps.”
This is why you cannot dismiss how valuable Cresswell remains. Since joining from Ipswich Town for £3.75million ($4.83m) in July 2014, the defender has played 306 Premier League games for West Ham. Only Mark Noble (414), the club’s ex-captain and now sporting director, has appeared more times for the club in the competition.
Cresswell can sometimes slip out of sight because he does not have match-winning attributes like Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek or Lucas Paqueta. But it takes performances against Arsenal and Leicester City to remind us that this is the player Potter turned to when needing to address the team’s poor defensive record.
Cresswell has also played under Sam Allardyce, Slaven Bilic, David Moyes (twice), Manuel Pellegrini and Julen Lopetegui at West Ham — all of whom spoke glowingly about the defender.
“Cressy came to my office when it was announced I was leaving,” Moyes told The Athletic in July. “We had a good chat and he pretty much just thanked me for everything. It was nice of him to do that. I got wind that he was staying and I congratulated him.”
Cresswell is loved by his team-mates. This was evident during a pre-season friendly against German club Karlsruhe in July 2016. Cresswell was on the receiving end of a two-footed tackle by Grischa Promel and scuffle ensued after Noble and Winston Reid’s pursuit of Promel. Cresswell was set to be sidelined for four months with a knee injury but returned to action ahead of schedule.
He then scored the winner in a league fixture against Crystal Palace in October 2016 and the following month the late-blooming defender made his England debut against Spain. Prior to Cresswell’s fulfillment of a childhood dream, then England manager Gareth Southgate phoned the left-back to inform him he had been monitoring his performances. He won the last of his three England caps against Lithuania in 2017.
The West Ham highlights include his goal in the 1-0 win over Chelsea in November 2019 and his remarkable free kick against Manchester United earlier that year.
The nadir of Cresswell’s spell in east London is his red card in the semi-final of the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt in May 2022. West Ham lost 2-1 at home in the first leg and 1-0 in the return fixture (with Cresswell sent off in the second leg). It was his second dismissal of the competition, although he believes his sending off in the quarter-final against Lyon was harsh. In an interview with the Iron Cast podcast, he detailed how it affected him.
“The Lyon one really p***** me off because I didn’t think it was a red card,” he said. “But the one against Frankfurt was really hard to take and was the lowest point I’ve had. We were up against it going into the second leg. I was devastated. But we played Norwich City on the Sunday and I thought the gaffer was going to be so p***** off, but he played me. I remember going into the game thinking, ‘This is horrendous’. But at the start of the game, the West Ham fans sang my name and that was the turning point for me inside. It meant a lot.”
He was an unused substitute in the Conference League final against Fiorentina the following year but tweeted his gratitude days after.
West Ham’s hierarchy will continue to deliberate over Cresswell’s future. Until an announcement is made, every match, every tackle, every offensive contribution will be greeted with appreciation.
It may that the adage ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone’ will best describe Cresswell’s years of service to West Ham.
(Top photo: Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Maxifoot.fr
Lille: West Ham wants Angel Gomes
After Tottenham, it is West Ham's turn to launch into the signing of Angel Gomes (24 years old, 14 games and 1 goal in L1 this season). According to The Guardian, the 15th in the Premier League has entered into negotiations with the Lille attacking midfielder. The England international is under contract with LOSC until next June and is heading towards a free departure at the end of the season.
C&H
West Ham Must Rethink Angel Gomes Offer After Poor First Impression
West Ham target Angel Gomes has not yet decided which club to join when his Lille contract ends in the summer.
The England midfielder can sign a pre-contract agreement with a club outside of France now, but it is understood the player is waiting to see if one club in particular shows interest.
At present, Gomes has five offers on the table from West Ham, Fulham, and three other unnamed clubs. However, the player is in no rush to decide, and his representatives (consisting of family and close friends) are expected to ramp up discussions next week.
West Ham did make contact with the player via a third party during the transfer window, but Claret & Hugh has been told directly that the offer was nowhere near acceptable.
Gomes’ main representative is his brother, while his father, Gil, was a professional footballer who played at under-21 level for Portugal and spent the final part of his career at Salford. C&H has been informed that the family will seek an intermediary to help finalise contract details with the chosen club.
However, if the Hammers are to make any headway in signing the skilful midfielder, they will need to completely rethink their negotiating strategy. To say West Ham made a bad first impression with their opening bid in January would be something of an understatement.
That initial offer, however, came before Graham Potter was appointed as the new Hammers manager. Hopefully, any further approaches will reflect the gaffer’s eagerness to sign Gomes
