Thursday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester City look set to reignite their interest in Newcastle and Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, 27, as they prepare for the departure of Belgian Kevin de Bruyne, 33. (UOL esporte - in Portuguese), external

Chelsea are willing to pay 120m euros (£102m) to sign Real Madrid and Brazil winger Rodrygo, 24, as their star summer signing. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Manchester City are considering an offer of between 50-60m euros (£42-51m) for AC Milan and Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, despite him recently signing a new contract until 2030. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Everton are expecting to lose England centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, 22, this summer with Manchester United and Tottenham keen. (Sun)

Chelsea and Newcastle are interested in Benfica and Greece forward Vangelis Pavlidis, 26, for 100m euros (£85m), but face competition from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. (Record - in Portuguese), external

Arsenal and Liverpool are looking at alternatives to Alexander Isak with Newcastle adamant that they won't sell their 25-year-old Sweden striker. (i paper), external

Newcastle, Wolves and Brentford have watched Angers and Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahia Fofana, 24, ahead of a potential £15m summer move. (Football Insider), external

Chelsea are leading the race to sign Sunderland and England Under-21 midfielder Jobe Bellingham, 19, ahead of Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and Crystal Palace. (Caught Offside), external

Leeds will listen to offers for French goalkeeper Illan Meslier, 25, and use the funds to sign a first-choice replacement. (Football Insider), external

Juventus are willing to sell Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 26, in the summer, but want around 40m euros (£34m). (Tuttosport - in Italian)




Sky Paper Talk

THE SUN

Manchester United have been put on alert with Everton expecting to lose Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.

Ethan Nwaneri has been lined up for a huge pay rise after Arsenal opened talks over a new contract for the teen sensation.

Man Utd hero Gary Neville has stepped in to raise money for former players after boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe pulled the plug.

Luke Littler has not ruled out the prospect of insuring his golden darts arm at some point in his career.

Mo Salah is on the verge of signing a stunning new deal worth £42m that will see him complete a decade at ­Liverpool. He is understood to be ready to put pen to paper on a contract until 2027.

A Manchester United fan who is charged with assaulting Manchester City ace Jack Grealish at the end of Sunday's Manchester derby has been banned from Old Trafford.

DAILY MIRROR

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson appears to be heading for the exit door, with the Brazilian beginning talks with Galatasaray over a potential move.

One of Andrea Berta's first tasks as Arsenal sporting director is securing a new contract for Ethan Nwaneri. The teenager is due to be rewarded for a breakout season with an improved deal, with Berta set to open talks.

Arsenal have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals and have already banked £55.8m in prize money for their efforts in Europe this season.

DAILY MAIL

Thomas Tuchel has taken to personally letting English players know when he is attending their Premier League game in person out of courtesy.

Mohamed Salah is to skip Egypt's June international camp to fully focus on resting his body after a long and arduous campaign at Liverpool.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is on track with his recovery and is still hoping to play again this month, after the vice-captain limped off against Paris Saint-Germain with an ankle injury.

Nemanja Matic has aimed a dig at Manchester United and claimed winning was not a priority during his time at Old Trafford.

Kyle Walker faces a spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a fractured elbow.

The parachute stunt that delayed Toulouse's Champions Cup match against Sale is not expected to be repeated around the Premiership any time soon with one English club aborting plans for a similar pre-match performance after a paratrooper broke his ankle in the rehearsal.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Liverpool are confident that Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk will both commit to new two-year deals and the Egyptian is understood to have informed representatives of the Saudi Pro League that he would not be moving to any of their clubs in the event he left Liverpool.

THE TIMES

Harry Brook, England's new white-ball captain, has said that no amount of money from franchise cricket would persuade him to compromise his desire to continue playing in all formats for his country.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has withdrawn his challenge for the next America's Cup, blaming Sir Ben Ainslie for failing to reach a swift settlement over their acrimonious split and costing INEOS precious time in its preparation for the next event.

THE GUARDIAN

Rob Couhig is in advanced talks with Reading after resurrecting a deal to buy the troubled League One club and there is optimism he could be their owner by the end of April.

Sprint-distance swimming races and mixed-gender events in artistic gymnastics and golf are among the additions to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, after the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) approval of a record 351 medal events on Wednesday.

THE I

Newcastle United's hard stance on star man Alexander Isak is having the desired effect of pushing potential suitors into looking at other striker options.

THE ATHLETIC

Mikel Arteta has issued an update on Gabriel's hamstring injury, saying that Arsenal have "lost probably our best defender for four months".

Jamaal Lascelles has another 12 months to run on his contract beyond the end of the season, with the Newcastle United club captain given an unannounced extension last year.

DAILY RECORD

Ally McCoist reckons Greg Taylor would thrive if he crossed the Old Firm divide and joined Rangers.

Martin Dubravka is back on Celtic's transfer radar, according to reports.

Jim Goodwin will open talks with his out-of-contract Dundee United stars next week.

SCOTTISH SUN

Greg Taylor's future remains up in the air, with his Celtic contract set to expire in the summer.

Dundee have turned to a homegrown Hollywood superstar to sell their ambitious new £95m stadium and hotel bid at Camperdown.





C&H

Hammers Look to Break Transfer Record With Striker Bid

West Ham have made a sensational bid for a striker that would break the club’s transfer record.

Lucas Paquetá currently holds the record as West Ham’s most expensive signing, following his £50m move from Lyon. The deal was structured as £37m up front with add-ons based on appearances and the Hammers’ Europa Conference League triumph in Prague.

But now, West Ham have attempted to smash that figure with an ambitious offer for Porto striker Samuel Omorodion Aghehowa.

Yesterday,ExWHUEmployee reported that West Ham had sent scouts to watch several players in the Benfica v Porto match. One of the players named was Omorodion — and Claret & Hugh can now reveal that an approach has been made for the in-form forward.

Omorodion has had an exceptional debut season following his move from Atlético Madrid, and West Ham’s interest is no surprise.

Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. The Hammers are well short of Porto’s asking price, having already rejected bids of €60m for the striker.

C&H understands that Porto want closer to €80m (£68m), and Omorodion is believed to be seeking wages of around £180k per week — numbers West Ham simply cannot match.

New Irons boss Graham Potter and recruitment chief Kyle Macaulay are understood to have instructed the club to try to secure the 19-year-old striker, but the move is now considered out of reach.

It will no doubt be a huge source of frustration for everyone at West Ham. Omorodion was available for under £20m just last summer, and the club were seriously interested — but ultimately opted to sign Niclas Füllkrug instead.




Football talk

West Ham to beat Tottenham in race to sign Walker-Peters

West Ham United have reportedly stepped up their efforts to beat Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign Southampton star Kyle Walker-Peters, as per transfer journalist Graeme Bailey.

The Hammers decided to reinforce the right-back position by signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United ahead of this season.

However, with Vladimir Coufal’s contract set to expire at the end of this season, Graham Potter is seemingly planning to hire a new defender to support the Englishman. Coufal will turn 34 next year, therefore, replacing him would be the right decision.

Now, on TBR Football, Bailey says that Walker-Peters is set to become available as a free agent at the end of this season as he doesn’t want to extend his deal with Southampton following their relegation.

Several Premier League clubs have started lining up to secure his service with Fulham, Chelsea and Crystal Palace among those. Additionally, Spurs are willing to bring him back and have even held talks with the player’s representatives over this deal.

However, West Ham have stepped up their efforts by offering a contract proposal to persuade him to move to London Stadium.

Battle

Walker-Peters is a versatile fullback as he is comfortable on both sides. He is quick, strong, comfortable playing out from the back and is also efficient in defensive contributions.

Spurs have faced a challenging campaign this season, and it is believed that their issues stem from fitness problems in defence. Consequently, they are rumoured to be planning to hire new defenders this summer.

However, the Lilywhites already have Pedro Porro and Djed Spence for the right-back position. Therefore, they don’t need to add more depth in this position.

So, Walker-Peters would be better off joining the East London club over his former club. Although Southampton have endured a dire campaign this season, the 27-year-old has displayed glimpses of his qualities in the Premier League at times. He was even excellent against Tottenham last weekend, making five tackles and winning 11 out of 13 duels.

Therefore, he would be a shrewd acquisition for West Ham if they eventually manage to secure his service ahead of next season.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.