Friday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Arsenal will have to make Spain winger Nico Williams, 22, one of club's top earners to sign him from Athletic Bilbao this summer. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Manchester United have made Udinese and Italy striker Lorenzo Lucca, 24, their top target going into the summer transfer window. (Sun - subscription required), external

Tottenham hope to avoid losing Sweden midfielder Dejan Kulusevski, 24, this summer amid interest from AC Milan and Napoli. (GiveMeSport), external

Bayer Leverkusen have made contact with representatives of German Stefan Ortega, 32, and could sign the Manchester City goalkeeper for around 8m euros (£6.7m). (Bild - in German, subscription required), external

Deportivo La Coruna winger Yeremay Hernandez, 22, is attracting interest from Arsenal and Chelsea. (Teamtalk), external

England forward Marcus Rashford, 27, will have to consider taking a wage drop if he is to seal a permanent move to Aston Villa from Manchester United this summer. (Football Insider), external

Up to 11 Arsenal players, including Ukraine left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, 28, and Poland defender Jakub Kiwior, 25, could depart this summer to bolster the club's spending power in the transfer window. (Mirror), external

Sheffield Wednesday's German boss Danny Rohl is a possible target for Leicester City next season if Dutch manager Ruud van Nistelrooy leaves the club in the summer. (Mail), external

Aston Villa have a clear path to pursue Real Madrid's 20-year-old winger Arda Guler after Liverpool ended their interest in the Turkey international. (Teamtalk), external

England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, 19, remains fully committed to Manchester United, despite interest from Real Madrid and Inter Milan. (GiveMeSport)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Arsenal will have to put Nico Williams in their highest bracket of earners if they are to sign the Spain winger this summer. The winger's representatives would expect him to be placed into the same bracket as top-earning stars such as Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who are believed to be earning in the region of £250,000 a week.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has axed Harry Winks from his Leicester City squad after the midfielder refused to compromise on his 100-mile commute.

Newcastle United are looking to build the largest possible stadium they can on land adjacent to St James' Park which could push the capacity close to 70,000.

Harry Brook is in line to become England's new T20 captain but remains in a two-horse race with Ben Stokes for the ODI job.

THE SUN

Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca is rising to the top of the Manchester United shortlist as the new Old Trafford regime seeks a substantial rebuild.

Manchester United will have to hand Sunday's derby rivals Manchester City a windfall of around £5m if they land Ipswich forward Liam Delap this summer.

Brandon Williams has opened up on his struggles at Manchester United - and admitted he couldn't be "100 per cent" honest about them at the time over fears about what might happen.

Kyle Walker admits he was almost in tears after his "sad" Manchester City exit.

Darts legend Phil Taylor has revealed he would consider buying League Two club Port Vale with pop icon Robbie Williams.

Newcastle's Carabao Cup glory has revved up their dreams of a huge new stadium.

Oxford United's chief executive Tim Williams has warned the club is in danger of being homeless after plans stalled for a new ground.

Ronnie O'Sullivan admits he has felt "scared" to go near a practice or match table during his enforced snooker break.

DAILY MAIL

Danny Rohl is a possible target for Leicester next season if Ruud van Nistelrooy leaves the club in the event of relegation.

Newcastle are in talks over a lucrative pre-season friendly against Tottenham at what would be a sold-out stadium in the South Korean capital of Seoul.

N'Golo Kante has entered talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over a potential move to Besiktas this summer, according to reports.

Newcastle's Town Moor on-stage party was in danger of being scrapped right up until 3pm on Saturday because of high winds.

DAILY STAR

Kevin De Bruyne looks set to leave Manchester City in the summer and link up with a Saudi Arabian second division side.

DAILY MIRROR

Steven Gerrard says he has every intention of returning to management after leaving his post with Al-Ettifaq earlier this year - even if the Liverpool legend has no plans to make a return to the dugout anytime soon as he enjoys some rare downtime.

Manchester City star Erling Haaland has been pictured free from his protective boot but still using a crutch as he attempts to recover from his ankle injury.

Phil Foden says this season has been the biggest lesson of his career.

EVENING STANDARD

Arsenal have issued a fresh ticket warning to fans ahead of their Champions League showdown with Real Madrid.

THE ATHLETIC

Real Madrid's latest Champions League triumph earned the Spanish club £116.4m in prize money last season, according to new figures published by UEFA.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has dismissed a proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams as a "bad idea", saying it would damage both the tournament itself and Europe's qualifying competition.

US Soccer is forging new relationships with the Trump administration to ensure preparations for the 2026 World Cup run smoothly, its chief executive has said.

Crystal Palace's Caleb Kporha has signed a new four-year contract with the club.

Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Reynolds may soon be touching down in Australia, with his football club Wrexham AFC reportedly set to face off against Melbourne Victory in a blockbuster friendly later this year.

THE TIMES

World Rugby is open to taking the World Cup to the Middle East but could favour a Spanish bid for 2035 with matches at Barcelona's Nou Camp and Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium.

The deadline for finalising the £500million deal for stakes in the eight Hundred teams has been delayed after pushback from two of the private investors.

DAILY RECORD

The Queen's Park academy that helped establish the likes of Scotland stars Andy Robertson and Lawrence Shankland is set to be cruelly axed.

Rangers have warned fans that they may scrap the singing section at Ibrox over "issues of concern".

SCOTTISH SUN

Rangers are in court facing a lawsuit of around £2m from a firm which produces payment cards for football fans.

Clyde FC have revealed they are in a legal battle with Hamilton Accies to continue playing their home matches at New Douglas Park beyond this season.



Football Talk

Tottenham eye move to sign West Ham target Evan Ndicka

The 25-year-old enjoyed a successful time with Eintracht Frankfurt, winning the Europa League, before leaving as a free agent to join the Giallorossi ahead of last season.

The African helped his side qualify for the Europa League last term. This season, he has made one assist and kept 12 clean sheets in 30 Serie A appearances.

Roma endured a difficult start to this season but have been in stellar form under Claudio Ranieri in recent times, winning seven consecutive league games. They haven’t lost in the Italian top flight since December.

As a result, they have now forced themselves into the conversation to qualify for the Champions League by finishing in the top four, sitting four points off fourth-placed Bologna.

Battle

Now, reporting on TBR Football, Bailey says that Spurs have been keeping a close eye on Ndicka’s performances this season and could make a concrete approach to secure his service.

Although the African, valued at around 21m by Transfermarkt, still has three years left in his current contract with Roma, he would be open to leaving to test himself in the Premier League.

However, purchasing him won’t be straightforward for the North London club as West Ham are also interested in him. Additionally, AFC Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion are plotting a swoop for him.

The Cherries’ football operation president Tiago Pinto hired Ndicka at Roma and he could play a key role in luring the defender to Vitality Stadium by defeating rivals in this race.

Ndicka, standing at 6ft 3in tall, is a left-footed centre-back. Spurs have struggled with injury problems at the back so they are seemingly willing to add depth in this area.

On the other hand, West Ham bolstered the backline by signing Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo last summer. But, their new manager Graham Potter is now seemingly planning to sign a new defender ahead of next season.

Ndicka is a talented player and possesses the physicality to play in the Premier League. Therefore, he could be a shrewd acquisition for Tottenham or West Ham should either club purchase him.




Sport Witness

West Ham player’s agent in contact over big move to Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have rekindled their interest in West Ham United’s Edson Álvarez, according to WAZ in Germany.

The Mexico international joined West Ham from Ajax in August 2023, after BVB rejected an opportunity to sign him.

In September 2023, the midfielder said Dortmund were a concrete option before moving to West Ham.

WAZ points out there was a disagreement between then Dortmund manager Edin Terzić and sporting director Sebastian Kehl over signing the 27-year-old in 2023.

Terzić has left Signal Iduna Park, meaning the Bundesliga club no longer have the obstacle to sign Álvarez. They are considering making a ‘second attempt’ for the West Ham player in the summer window.

The report states it’s ‘no secret’ the former Ajax man would have loved to join Dortmund in 2023. WAZ indicate it ‘could happen’ now and add that the contacts between his agent and the German side have continued.

At this point in time, Kehl hasn’t made the final decision on whether to go ahead with this operation. This would depend on multiple factors, including Dortmund’s qualification for the Champions League. BVB are 10th, seven points behind fourth place 1. FSV Mainz 05.

Álvarez’s contract lasts until 2028, and it’s not mentioned whether the Hammers would be open to negotiating his sale.

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