Wednesday news (includes West ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester United are leading the race to sign Ipswich's English forward Liam Delap, 22, who would be happy to move to Old Trafford this summer. (Sky Sports), external

Nottingham Forest will make at least five signings this summer with Manchester City's 22-year-old English midfielder James McAtee and Ipswich striker Delap among those they have scouted. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Arsenal and Liverpool are vying to sign Bournemouth's 20-year-old Spain centre-back Dean Huijsen, who is also being tracked by Real Madrid. (Sky Germany), external

Huijsen dreams of joining Real Madrid, but Premier League trio Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are prepared to trigger the defender's £50m release clause to get the deal done this month. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Bayer Leverkusen's Netherlands right-back Jeremie Frimpong, 24, is closing in on a £29.5m move to Liverpool. (Mail), external

Real Madrid are close to announcing the signing of 26-year-old English right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool, who are demanding a compensation fee of £840,000 in order for him to play in the Club World Cup. (ESPN), external

Manchester United have held talks with Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo, 25, over a possible move from Bournemouth. (Talksport), external

Brighton are in talks with veteran English midfielder James Milner, 39, over a new deal with the club. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Brazil winger Rodrygo, 24, does not want to play for Real Madrid again as he targets a summer exit from the club. (Marca - in Spanish), external

Arsenal want to sign Sporting Lisbon's 26-year-old Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres, who has an agreement with the Portuguese side that he can leave if another club agrees to pay about £60m. (Mirror), external

As well as Gyokeres, Arsenal are also interested in RB Leipzig's Slovenia forward Benjamin Sesko, 21. (Sky Sports)




Sky Paper Talk

THE DAILY MAIL

Florian Wirtz's parents met Manchester City officials on Tuesday during a flying visit as the race to land the Bayer Leverkusen playmaker heats up.

Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong would be very keen on a move to Liverpool should the Premier League champions decide to step up their drive to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer.

THE SUN

Pep Guardiola has held talks with Florian Wirtz as Manchester City stepped up their bid to land the German star in a £126m deal.

  A Manchester United scout saw Cristiano Ronaldo Jr make his Portugal U15 debut as a raft of top clubs sent representatives to the match.

Chelsea are backing Nicolas Jackson following his red card at Newcastle.

Liverpool are ready to play hardball with Real Madrid over Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Chelsea's Champions League push is starting to cause anxiety for some of their academy graduates.

Middlesbrough have announced plans to change their badge ahead of the club's 150th anniversary next year.

Former Ipswich manager George Burley has received the all-clear following his cancer diagnosis.

DAILY MIRROR

Arsenal have been told Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres is all theirs for £60m.

Viktor Gyokeres would command a contract well in excess of £200,000-a-week at Arsenal and become one of their top earners if they sign him from Sporting this summer.

Arsenal are determined to sign a top-quality striker after bringing in just one over the last seven years - with Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak on their list.

Ruben Amorim has reached into his own pocket to counteract Sir Jim Ratcliffe's cost-cutting crusade at Manchester United by buying Europa League final tickets for his staff.

Manchester United have cancelled the club's end-of-season-awards dinner after the dismal performance of the men's team.

Liverpool have made early progress on a deal to sign Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong as a potential replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

THE TIMES

Manchester United have decided against holding an end-of-season awards dinner after the disappointing performance of the men's first team.

Sarina Wiegman is unsure whether Lauren James' fitness can be relied upon for Euro 2025 after the forward was not included in England's squad for their Nations League double-header.

Police in Bilbao have made a special trip to Wembley to meet their British counterparts and see how they secure the perimeter at the national stadium.

Goodison Park will become the permanent home of Everton Women after hosting its final Premier League game on Sunday.

THE GUARDIAN

Manchester United intend to retain Ruben Amorim as head coach next season even if they lose the Europa League final against Tottenham.

Blackburn's place in the Women's Super League 2 next season is in major doubt after their players were informed on Tuesday morning that the club is highly unlikely to provide the funding to meet the division's new minimum licence requirement.

Alex Morgan has re-entered the NSWL world less than a year after retiring as a player. The former USWNT star announced on Tuesday that she is now a part-owner of the San Diego Wave, the club where she finished her career.

Real Madrid are ramping up their efforts to sign Dean Huijsen and are confident of beating Chelsea to the Bournemouth centre-back.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Nottingham Forest are targeting at least five new signings this summer as they prepare for a return to European football, with Liam Delap and James McAtee among those scouted.

Dan Ashworth will be unveiled as the Football Association's new director of football operations this week, seven months after he was sacked from his role as sporting director at Manchester United.

THE ATHLETIC

Manchester City have contacted AC Milan to express an interest in signing Tijjani Reijnders.

DAILY RECORD

Celtic have been handed encouragement in their pursuit of David Strelec, with one Slovan Bratislava chief admitting the frontman could be available for a reduced transfer fee in the summer.

Lewis Ferguson has responded to rumours linking him with a move to Napoli in the summer.

Blackburn winger Tyrhys Dolan is reportedly interesting both Celtic and Rangers.

Scottish teen Aidan Borland has signed a new long-term contract with Aston Villa - just days after captaining the club's U18 side to glory in the FA Youth Cup.

SCOTTISH SUN

Andy Murray is set to return to Wimbledon as a pundit rather than a coach after ending his six-month partnership with Novak Djokovic.




Sport Witness

Solidarity payment drama results in West Ham paying lower fee over four years

The drama over solidarity payments for West Ham United striker Niklas Füllkrug appears to have finally been resolved.

That’s at least according to SportBILD, who report that TuS Ricklingen are still waiting for €30,000 from West Ham as part of FIFA’s Solidarity Mechanism.

The newspaper explains that the dispute surrounding the striker’s move is now nearing an end, and it’s disappointment for the German district league club.

They had been hoping to receive €67,000 as part of Füllkrug’s move to West Ham but will now get just €30,000 instead.

FIFA’s Clearing House (FCH) in Paris, which is responsible for international transfers, has calculated the solidarity contribution and passed this to the DFB, who passed it the Lower Saxony Football Association (NFV), who forwarded it to Ricklingen on 27th January.

They, though, claimed that they never received it, leading to the previous reports and them appointing sports lawyer Gregor Reiter to look into the matter.

Following that report on the matter, the DFB have now clarified that the sum of just under €30,000 will be paid by West Ham to Ricklingen in four annual instalments of £7,461,47 each.

The various authorities have had to do some complicated math as Ricklingen were due 5% of his West Ham transfer fee but were only due it from his 12th birthday. Füllkrug was born on February 9th, 1993, and left Ricklingen, his youth club, at the end of 2005. Therefore, he only spent five eligible months at the club.

Thus, that is what they are receiving and not the original sum they had hoped for. However, the first instalment is yet to be paid as further documents need to be submitted to FIFA for that to happen.

There is, though, a finish line in sight and Ricklingen will be receiving something, which at this point is better than nothing at all.




C&H

West Ham Takeover Tied to London Stadium Future

Claret & Hugh understands that two potential investors have held discussions with West Ham shareholder Albert Tripp Smith over acquiring the 25% stake previously owned by the late David Gold.

Last week, ExWHUEmployee revealed that a US-based investor had begun instructing lawyers with a view to purchasing the Gold family’s shares. Initially, just 12.5% of the holding was expected to be sold, but as we exclusively revealed yesterday, financial issues at Ann Summers—reportedly involving £13m in losses and a £5m bailout—have forced the family to sell their entire West Ham stake.

It has now emerged that Tripp Smith, who already owns 8% of the club, is in active talks with two US-based investment groups. The founder of CSO Capital Partners and former Blackstone managing director, Smith is well-versed in handling distressed assets and high-level finance. Frankly, it’s no surprise he’s at the centre of this.

Sources have confirmed that the delay has been partly due to the Gold shares being tied up in probate, along with other London investment opportunities being explored.

There’s growing belief that David Sullivan lacks the financial firepower to push the club forward, and although no immediate change is expected, any investment is likely to be tied to the future ownership of the London Stadium.

One thing is clear: Tripp Smith didn’t buy into West Ham to sit quietly in the background. A completed deal for the Gold shares could be the first domino to fall in a wider play for control of both club and stadium.



Sport Witness

West Ham, Tottenham and Brighton in contact to sign €30m-rated player

West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion are in the picture to sign Napoli’s Mathías Olivera in the summer window.

That’s according to Wednesday’s edition of AS, and they mention West Ham, Tottenham and Brighton in a report that focuses on Atlético Madrid’s interest in the left-back.

Los Rojiblancos are looking to improve their defence for next season and the 27-year-old is on their list.

The Uruguay international played 31 games this season and ‘exploded into stardom’. His preferred position is on the left side of the defence but can also operate as a centre-back. Atlético and the Premier League trio are all looking at him.

Two months ago, the Serie A club rewarded the defender with a new contract until 2030. Despite this, the report states Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis is willing to listen to offers and is asking around €30m.

AS say this is a high amount for Diego Simeone’s side but cheaper than other options like Benfica’s Álvaro Carreras and Girona’s Miguel Gutiérrez.

Apart from Atlético, there are other clubs looking at the South American, especially from the Premier League. AS name West Ham, Brighton and Tottenham are name as the ‘most interested clubs’ and the trio have asked about Olivera.

There’s no clarity on Olivera’s preference if he were to leave Napoli or who among the three English clubs are ahead.

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.

[Texas Iron]

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