Tuesday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Aston Villa and England forward Ollie Watkins, 29, is on Manchester United's list of potential striker recruits if Denmark international Rasmus Hojlund, 22, leaves Old Trafford this summer. (Athletic - subscription required), external

England international Marcus Rashford faces returning to Manchester United for pre-season training as Aston Villa, where the forward was on loan during the second half of last season, will not be taking up the option to sign the 27-year-old for £40m. (Mirror), external

Bayern Munich have added Liverpool and Colombia forward Luis Diaz, 28, to their shortlist as they continue to search for a top-class left winger. (Sky Germany), external

Arsenal have held talks with representatives of Crystal Palace and England midfielder Eberechi Eze, 27, who has a release clause of £67.5m. (Guardian), external

Fulham are plotting a summer move for Genk and Nigeria striker Tolu Arokodare, 24, who is also being watched by Manchester United and AC Milan. (Sun), external

Tottenham want to sign West Ham and Ghana forward Mohammed Kudus, 24, and are confident that they can strike a deal well below his £85m release clause. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

West Ham would be open to offers of around £60m for Kudus, who has also attracted interest from Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United. (Guardian)

Brazil forward Richarlison, 28, has been given approval to leave Tottenham and is expected to head to Turkey to join Galatasaray. (Sun), external

Chelsea hope to raise about £35m from the sale of France forward Christopher Nkunku, 27, this summer. (Metro), external

Crystal Palace are eyeing a £27m double swoop on Middlesbrough to sign English midfielder Hayden Hackney, 23, and Dutch defender Rav van den Berg, 20. (Sun), external

Manchester United are struggling to offload Tyrell Malacia, 25, after PSV Eindhoven rejected the chance to sign the Netherlands defender permanently after a spell on loan. (Mirror), external

England forward Tammy Abraham, 27, is close to making a 15m euro (£12.9m) move from Italian side Roma to Turkish club Besiktas. (ESPN), external

Sheffield United midfielder Vinicius Souza, 26, is set to sign a five-year deal with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg for £12.8m. (Sport Witness), external

Ipswich Town have registered interest in a potential loan deal for Chelsea striker Marc Guiu, 19, after selling Liam Delap to the Premier League side this summer. (The Athletic - subscription required), external

Aston Villa are set to offload English forward Louie Barry, 22, to Championship side Hull City. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Talks between Wrexham and Fulham captain Tom Cairney, 34, have cooled, with the midfielder reportedly keen on signing a new deal at Craven Cottage. (Wrexham Insider), external

Stoke City have entered advanced talks to sign Plymouth Argyle and Ukraine defender Maksym Taloverov, 25. (Football Insider), external

The Pilgrims are in advanced discussions of their own with Norwich City goalkeeper Archie Mair, 24, following the conclusion of his contract at Carrow Road. (Football Insider)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY MAIL

Manchester United are reportedly monitoring Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins as a potential target in case Rasmus Hojlund leaves this summer.

THE SUN

Richarilson is set to leave the Premier League as he looks to reset his career overseas.

Fulham are plotting a summer move for Genk's star striker Tolu Arokodare as they look to bolster their attacking options ahead of next season.

Crystal Palace are eyeing Middlesbrough's £15m-rated star Hayden Hackney.

Nelson Weiper is on the radar of Brentford, Tottenham and West Ham.

Sheffield United are ready to pay a stunning £6m for Spurs defender Ashley Phillips.

DAILY MIRROR

Marcus Rashford is facing an unwanted return to Manchester United after Aston Villa passed up the chance to sign him permanently.

THE ATHLETIC

Hull City are set to sign Louie Barry from Aston Villa in a deal worth £3.5m.

Aaron Ramsey was set to travel to Mexico on Monday night ahead of signing for Liga MX side Pumas UNAM.

THE GUARDIAN

The former Leicester and Everton women's manager Willie Kirk is closing in on a return to football after holding advanced talks with the Swedish top flight women's team Linkoping about becoming their head coach.

DAILY RECORD

Former Rangers player Issame Charai has warned Ibrox chiefs they haven't seen anything close to the peak of Hamza Igamane's potential yet.

Turkish giants Besiktas have reportedly launched a big money offer for Rangers midfielder Mohamed Diomande.




Guardian Rumour mill

Tom Davies

Manchester United’s search for a suitable striker continues to occupy the minds of the gossip-mongers, with Ollie Watkins now reported to be firmly on Ruben Amorim’s radar. As United toil to get a deal for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo over the line, amid rumours the Cameroon striker may be persuaded to remain in west London, Aston Villa’s Watkins has emerged as a strong target, the Athletic reports. However, a deal may be dependent on Rasmus Højlund being bundled out of the Old Trafford exit door.

United also continue to be dogged by the “How do you solve a problem like Marcus Rashford?” conundrum; the striker faces starting the season at Old Trafford because Aston Villa will not be taking up the £40m option to sign him.

Instead, Villa are reportedly keen on a swoop for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, as Unai Emery pursues a reunion with a forward he worked with at Villarreal. The Senegal striker has had a mixed time of it at Stamford Bridge and may be a handy fit for Villa, who could free up some cash with their selling-the-women’s-team accountancy wheeze.

Monday’s Hugo Etikite rumour had Arsenal muscling their way towards the front of the queue to sign the Eintracht Frankfurt forward. But now Liverpool have been heavily linked with Etikite again, Bild reporting that the Premier League champions have contacted Frankfurt with strong expressions of interest. He’ll end up in the English top flight one way or other, the Mill feels sure.

Heading in the opposite direction could be Luis Díaz, to whom Bayern Munich have taken a fancy. For all the recent focus on the incoming Stuttgart wonderkid Nick Woltemade, the German champions are also keen on an experienced wide attacker and Díaz could fit the bill.

Fulham are preparing a bid for the highly regarded Genk forward Tolu Arokodare, scorer of 17 goals in the Belgian top flight last season. The 6ft 4in Nigerian striker has also attracted interest from Milan and Manchester United, but Fulham have taken their interest the furthest, with exploratory talks having already been held with Arokodare’s people, according to the Sun.

James McAtee’s success with England Under-21s has upped both his price tag and the number of clubs linked with him. Leeds, who tried to sign the Manchester City midfielder on loan in January, still want to lure him across the Pennines but face competition from the Bundesliga in the form of Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt and Leverkusen, say the Times. And City will want about £30m.

Elsewhere, Richarlison could be heading to Galatasaray after being given approval to do one from Tottenham. Also Turkey-bound, it seems, is Tammy Abraham, who is due to join Besiktas from Roma in a €15m deal.

In the Championship, Hull are close to finalising a deal for Aston Villa’s Louie Barry, who tore up League One in the first half of last season when on loan at Stockport before an injury-dogged loan spell at the MKM Stadium after Christmas. Jonjo Shelvey has also been training with the Tigers.

Elsewhere in the English second tier, West Brom have been linked with the QPR forward Charlie Kelman, League One’s top scorer last season while on loan at Leyton Orient, while TV’s Wrexham appear to have overreached themselves in a bid for Fulham’s Tom Cairney, but have been strongly linked with Sheffield Wednesday’s Barry Bannan and Reading’s Charlie Savage as Phil Parkinson seeks midfield reinforcements.





3 Added minutes

West Ham could sign next Bastian Schweinsteiger with bold summer transfer raid for £20m wonderkid gem

West Ham could do with getting some new signings through the door this summer. The Hammers have the opportunity to bring in reinforcements over the next couple of months. They also have the chance to let some players head out the exit door if needed as well.

Things haven’t gone to plan yet for Graham Potter but he has time on his side. The former Swansea City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea boss was picked as their replacement for Julen Lopetegui during last season. However, results haven’t quite gone their way yet and he has struggled for wins.

West Ham target Rocco Reitz deal

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham are interested in a move for Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Rocco Reitz. The report suggests the player has a release clause around £20 million and is under contract until June 2028. Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion have also been mentioned as potential suitors so there is competition for his signature.

Reitz, 23, has been compared to Bayern Munich icon Bastian Schweinsteiger on social media by reporter Carlos Xavier Arguello on X. He has been on the books at Gladbach for his whole career to date. He has risen up through their academy ranks and he was a regular for them at various different youth levels.

The Germany youth international, who helped his country reach the Under-21’s European Championships recently, was loaned out to Sint-Truidense V.V. in Belgium twice to get some experience under his belt. He made a combined 36 appearances in all competitions for his former club and chipped in with three goals.

Reitz broke into Gladbach’s first-team back in 2023 and hasn’t looked back since. He has played 86 matches for the Bundesliga outfit and has fired eight goals, two of which came in the last campaign. His current club may now face a battle to keep hold of him amid attention from England and will be desperate to keep hold of him for as long as they can do.

Why Rocco Reitz would suit West Ham

West Ham could see Reitz as someone to boost their midfield ranks and inject more energy and enthusiasm. If he joined, he would give them more competition and depth in the middle of the park. He would also give the London outfit something different to pick from.

He is still young and has potential to develop down the line. Potter needs robust players who are able to deal with the competitive nature of the top flight. Therefore, getting the right characters through the door over the next couple of months is crucial.

As with anyone from abroad, it may take Reitz a while to adapt to life in a new country. Therefore, patience would be required whilst he initially found his feet. Once a few months have passed though and he has settled there is no reason why he wouldn’t be able to become a key player.

Potter is an experienced manager and will want to put his own stamp on his West Ham team in this window. He will be under pressure to get results from the off next term. If not, the Hammers’ hierarchy may well have another managerial decision to make if they are competing at the lower end of the table.

Fulham and Brighton have also been linked with Reitz meaning they may have to get their skates on to get a deal over the line. The latter have a very impressive scouting network and the fact they have identified the Duisburg-born man suggests he is someone with potential. Time will tell where he ends up, if he is indeed to leave Germany for a new challenge somewhere else.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.