Friday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Chelsea are planning to hijack Newcastle's move for Brighton and Brazil forward Joao Pedro, 23. (Sun), external

Chelsea and England winger Noni Madueke, 23, is on the radar of a host of clubs this summer, including Arsenal. (Telegraph - subscription needed), external

Liverpool are yet to receive any bids for Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez, 25, who is the latest Premier League player to be linked with a move to Serie A champions Napoli. (Liverpool Echo), external

Liverpool are also keen on signing Crystal Palace's England defender Marc Guehi, 24. (Daily Mail), external

Manchester United need to significantly increase their offer for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo if they want to stand a chance to sign the 25-year-old Cameroon international. (The i Paper - subscription required), external

Nottingham Forest are close to completing a £30m deal for Botafogo's Brazilian pair Igor Jesus, a 24-year-old striker, and defender Jair Cunha, 20. (Telegraph - subscription needed), external

Sporting and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 27, is edging closing to joining Arsenal instead of Manchester United. (Talksport), external

Bayer Leverkusen and Germany forward Florian Wirtz, 22, is expected to complete his club record transfer to Liverpool on Friday. (ESPN)

Brighton have received a £25.6m offer from Napoli for Denmark midfielder Matt O'Riley, 24. (Sky Sports), external

Napoli and AC Milan are interested in Liverpool and Italy forward Federico Chiesa, 27. (Kiss Kiss Napoli - in Italian), external

Newly promoted Sunderland are keen on signing former Southampton defender Duje Caleta-Car from Lyon. The 28-year-old Croatia international played 13 times in the Premier League in the 2022-23 season. (Newcastle Chronicle), external

Everton have opened contract talks with England centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite. The 22-year-old has two more years left on his current deal but David Moyes wants to tie him down long term. (Liverpool Echo), external

Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, 32, is expected to leave Arsenal on 30 June as negotiations over a new deal are at standstill. (ESPN), external

Borussia Dortmund's English winger Jamie Gittens, 20, is intent on joining Chelsea this summer and remains their main target in that position. (Standard), external

Manchester United are waiting to discover whether it will be possible to sign Bayern Munich and Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha, 29, on loan after deciding not to spend big on Atalanta's Brazilian midfielder Ederson, 25. (Givemesport), external

Liverpool and England defender Joe Gomez, 28, is interesting Crystal Palace, Leeds United and West Ham and the club are open to letting him go. (TBR Football), external

Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, 22, wants a release clause in his contract if he is to join Arsenal from RB Leipzig this summer. (The Transfers Podcast), external

Napoli and Inter Milan are interested in signing 17-year-old Polish midfielder Antoni Burkiewicz from Rakow Czestochowa. (Teamtalk)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Liverpool are expected to make a significant offer for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, having moved swiftly to raise funds with the sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.

Chelsea winger Noni Madueke is on the radar of a host of clubs this summer, including Arsenal.

Nottingham Forest are close to completing a £30m deal for Botafogo's Brazilian pair Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha.

THE SUN

Ruben Amorim is set to axe Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho from Manchester United's pre-season tour of the USA.

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri faces a race against time to avoid any of his players walking out at Hillsborough.

DAILY MIRROR

Marcus Rashford wants to miss Manchester United's tour of the United States in favour of finding himself a new club.

THE ATHLETIC

Manchester City are set to bolster their youth ranks with the signing of Freddie Lawrie when his scholarship forms expire at Aston Villa.

Barcelona have reached a verbal agreement with Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams over personal terms and do not view the forward's €60m (£50m) release clause as an obstacle to a deal this summer.

Sunderland are close to appointing Florent Ghisolfi as the club's director of football.

USMNT international Caleb Wiley is on the verge of rejoining Watford from Chelsea on a season-long loan.

THE TIMES

All England Club chairwoman Debbie Jevans warns Wimbledon risks 'falling behind' other Grand Slam events if it does not expand the site as she prepares to attend a judicial review during the middle of the championships.

THE I

Manchester United remain frontrunners to sign Bryan Mbeumo but must significantly increase their offer to convince Brentford to sell.

Newcastle United's "imminent" decision over the future of St James' Park will push their valuation past the £1bn mark as a new report claims they're among the fastest growing clubs in world football.

GUARDIAN

The New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is closing in on a deal to buy John Textor's shares in Crystal Palace in a move that could help the FA Cup winners' chances of playing in next season's Europa League.

Thomas Partey is at an impasse with Arsenal in talks over a new contract as the midfielder weighs up whether to extend his stay.

DAILY RECORD

Kyogo could be set for a surprising move to Birmingham City this summer.




Guardian Rumour mill

Will Unwin

Marcus Rashford’s future is very much in the category of “up in the air”. The chances of him ever playing for Manchester United look slim-to-none as he will not be given a boarding pass for the club’s US tour, while a dream move to Barcelona is going up in smoke. A few Serie A clubs have had a sniff but his wages may be a stumbling block. What he really needs is a Champions League club with plenty of cash. Step in … Newcastle. The Magpies are back in the bigger time, will be eager to make a statement signing or two, and Rashford fits the bill. Liam Delap chose Chelsea over Newcastle and Eddie Howe likes to have the best English talent at his disposal, so Rashford would be an ideal candidate as an extra attacking option.

It takes a brave man to move from Liverpool to Everton (and vice versa). Nick Barmby, Abel Xavier and Gary Ablett did the Merseyside double in their time and the next potential candidate is Ben Doak. The Scottish teenager impressed on loan in the Championship last season at Middlesbrough and is ready to step up to the Premier League but there is no obvious role he can play under Arne Slot. It means Doak might need to find an alternative and at least this one would mean he didn’t have to move house.

Another potential Liverpool exitee is Jarell Quansah. He is playing for England at the European Under-21 Championship but that is not stopping talking going on in the background with Bayer Leverkusen over a summer move. The Germans are not short of cash having sold Jeremie Frimpong and – imminently – Florian Wirtz to Anfield.

Said cash splashing is not coming to an end for Slot, who also wants Marc Guéhi to bolster his centre-back options. A year ago the Crystal Palace captain was subject to bids from Newcastle but £65m was deemed insufficient and the Eagles are unlikely to have dropped their price.

Burnley are seeking some extra quality now they are back in the promised land. One potential incoming is the Lazio winger Loum Tchaouna, who could head from Rome to Turf Moor in a deal worth in the vicinity of £12m.

Igor Thiago has endured a difficult time at Brentford through a mixture of injury and the form of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. Despite the fact at least one of those forwards will depart this summer, the Brazilian could also be allowed to leave, with Besiktas contemplating a move for the former Club Brugge man.

Speaking of those who could swap London for Istanbul, José Mourinho is eager to bring Thomas Partey to Fenerbahce for absolutely nothing. The midfielder’s contract is days away from expiring and Arsenal and the player have failed to agree a new one, leaving him free to leave.

Napoli are eager to add to Kevin De Bruyne in midfield and are targeting Brighton’s Matt O’Riley. The Danish international has been the subject of a £26m bid from the Italian champions.





Sport Witness

West Ham on the sidelines in race for player – Wish for permanent transfer can suit club

Over the past few weeks, West Ham have emerged as candidates to land Bournemouth’s Hamed Junior Traore.

The versatile attacker spent the 2024/25 season on loan at Auxerre and impressed enough to attract the attention of multiple clubs, scoring ten times and adding two assists.

TuttoAtalanta have looked at the Ivorian’s situation and they claim West Ham are currently on the sidelines to land the 25-year-old.

There is major interest from Atalanta, who have held an exploratory meeting for the player, and Traore is among the multiple names on their shortlist.

Bologna are also intrigued by the idea of signing Traore and Fiorentina are monitoring his situation.

The indication is that all the Italian clubs are considering initial loan deals and this can benefit West Ham, who are exploring a permanent transfer.

As things stand, Bournemouth are looking for exactly that and demand a fee of €20m or an loan with an obligation clause inserted. The Cherries are looking for guarantees in the move and the likelihood is that the Hammers could provide just that.




C&H

West Ham shareholders will need to inject cash

PSR limits direct club losses to up to £15 million over three years, with the remaining £90 million to be covered by shareholders.

Club insiders claim that last season’s losses totalled £95m. When added to the £57m profit from the previous season and the £18m loss from the season before that, the total loss over the last three years is £ 56m, meaning shareholders will need to inject £41m of cash minimum to balance the books by our calculations.

This cash injection could be shared equally with each shareholder paying a percentage, or there could be a rights issue where one or more shareholders inject the cash and the others dilute their shareholding in West Ham. A West Ham insider exclusively told Claret and Hugh “We’ll inject funds if needed/allowed and solve a problem”

Spread equally, David Sullivan would need to stump up £15.9m, Daniel Kretinsky  £11.07m, Vanessa Gold £10.3m, Tripp Smith £3.28m and others £451,000.

If Daniel Kretinsky were to inject the £41m himself, he could expect to increase his shareholding by around 8% to 35%.

In that scenario, it would see Sullivan shareholding reduced to around 34%, Gold family reduced to around 22%, Smith down to around 7% and others down to 1%

If we lose £100m this coming season as is currently being forecast, the three-year losses will amount to £138m, so shareholders would need to inject another £49m next year, and the club will need to make £33m in savings from wages or player sales or find additional revenue to balance the books.

Finally, if we lose £80m next season (2026/2027), which is also being forecast, then the three-year losses could reach a massive £275m, so the club would need to do something rather drastic.

One hope is that Premier League clubs get rid of PSR in advance of the 2026/27 season and just rely on SCR & TBA, but that requires 14 clubs to agree to that at a Premier League board meeting during the coming season.

Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rules, similar to UEFA’s financial sustainability rules, would restrict clubs to spending a maximum of 85% of their total revenue on squad-related costs.

West Ham’s revenue last season, without Europe for the first time in three years, is estimated to be around £216m, so 85% of that is £183.6m

The Hammers’ wage bill is more than £165m per annum, the majority of which goes to players, with over £65m in amortisation transfer fees per year in the accounts, plus agent fees of £19m last year.

It does NOT compute!!! Either way, we have some tough financial decisions to make.

[Heavi995]

Cheers Alan

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[chim chim cha boo]

Thanks Alan.

As usual I am no more interested in the club accounts as I am rummaging through a drawer at your house trying to find your gas bill.

I've (very reluctantly) renewed which is all a bod should really have to do. If they can't service the debt and give the promised funds to Potter rendering the last half of  season's 'give him time, judge him by next season when he's got "his team" in place less of a joke, they should fuck off and sell the club to someone who can.

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.