Saturday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Liverpool are expected to make an improved £130m offer for Newcastle's Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, with add-ons and bonuses making it a British transfer record. (Telegraph - subscription required, external)

Manchester United have agreed a deal to send Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund, 22, on a season-long loan to Napoli, with a conditional obligation to buy at £38m. (Athletic - subscription required, external)

Brentford have had an offer of about £45m for 22-year-old Germany forward Maximilian Beier rejected by Borussia Dortmund. (Athletic - subscription required, external)

RB Leipzig's Austria attacking midfielder Christoph Baumgartner, 26, is a leading target for Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports, external)

Crystal Palace have also made an £8m bid for 28-year-old Bournemouth winger David Brooks, but the Cherries do not want to sell the Wales international. (Sun, external)

Roma have made an offer to sign Chelsea's Tyrique George, but Fulham, Crystal Palace and German champions Bayern Munich are also monitoring the 19-year-old English winger. (Sky Sports, external)

AC Milan are pushing to sign Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji, with Crystal Palace also interested in the 30-year-old Switzerland international. (Sky Sports, external)

Chelsea defender Axel Disasi is wanted by his former club Monaco, who hope to sign the 27-year-old France centre-back on loan, but Bournemouth and Aston Villa are also keen. (Footmercato - in French, external)

Liverpool and Roma are working on the final details of a deal that will see Greece left-back Kostas Tsimikas, 29, move to the Serie A club on loan. (Gianluca di Marzio - in Italian, external)

Marseille are interested in signing Arsenal and Ukraine full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, but the 28-year-old's wages could prove a stumbling block. (Athletic - subscription required, external)

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is still eyeing a move away from Paris St-Germain before the deadline and an unnamed Premier League club has joined Manchester City among those interested in the 26-year-old. (Sky Sports, external)

AC Milan have turned down Bournemouth's loan offer, with an option to buy for about £17m, for their Spanish full-back Alex Jimenez, 20. (La Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian, external)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY MIRROR

Liverpool are preparing a fresh offer of £130m as they look to land Alexander Isak from Newcastle in the final days of the transfer window.

Kobbie Mainoo is at the centre of a bizarre £50m tug of war between Italian champions Napoli and Manchester United.

Jorgen Strand Larsen was not at the team hotel on Friday ahead of Wolves' game with Everton.

THE TELEGRAPH

Alexander Isak’s proposed move to Liverpool has moved closer in the past 24 hours, according to sources who expect a Premier League record £130m transfer bid over the weekend.

DAILY MAIL

Kobbie Mainoo will reiterate his desire to leave Manchester United on loan despite the club saying he must stay and fight for his place.

West Ham turned down the chance to sign Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana because they felt he was no better than their current crop – despite the club still wanting to sign another one before the transfer window closes.

THE SUN

Tottenham are interested in signing Manuel Akanji before Monday’s deadline.

THE TIMES

RB Leipzig are looking to line up a replacement for new Spurs signing Xavi Simons and have made direct contact with Liverpool over Harvey Elliott, though no bid has been submitted for the 22-year-old as yet.

THE ATHLETIC

Leicester City are interested in signing Hammarby striker Jusef Erabi.

THE GUARDIAN

UEFA will decide in September whether to approve a request by the Spanish football federation for Villarreal and Barcelona to contest a La Liga game in Miami in December.

THE SCOTTISH SUN

Nico Raskin has been bombed out of the Rangers squad for Sunday's Old Firm with Celtic – and the shock decision by boss Russell Martin has been backed by senior players.

DAILY RECORD

Celtic have tabled a new improved £4m bid for Sebastian Tounekti.

Arne Engels admits he's been gutted by his limited game time this season.

Furious James Tavernier led crisis talks in the Rangers dressing-room after their battering in Brugge.




Football Talk

West Ham join race to sign Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin

by Max Akpan
 
West Ham United are plotting a late swoop to sign Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin this summer, according to TEAMtalk.

The 24-year-old moved to the Ibrox Stadium from Jupiler Pro League side Standard Liège in January 2023. Despite the managerial changes, the midfielder has remained a consistent first-choice option, featuring 48 times across all competitions last season and providing 16 goal contributions.

However, Raskin was left out of Rangers’ starting XI in their second-leg Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge. He has also completed 90 minutes in just one of their opening three games this season, leading to speculation he could be on the move.

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham are now showing a keen interest in making a swoop for Raskin before the window closes on Monday evening.

The report adds that the East London club are looking to add depth to their midfield ranks, and the four-cap Belgium international has been earmarked as a viable target.

While Rangers are hesitant about sanctioning his departure this summer, their stance could soften as the transfer deadline nears, with offers worth up to £20m likely to be considered, according to the report.

However, West Ham will need to act swiftly to poach the Belgian midfielder as TEAMtalk reports that several clubs are also keen on his signature, including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Aston Villa, Brighton and Fiorentina.
Depth

Raskin operates primarily as a deep-lying playmaker. He rarely ventures into either penalty area, instead preferring to remain in the central third of the pitch, where his outstanding passing range allows him to distribute the ball effectively to teammates across the field.

He moves vertically from one flank to the other, relying on his strong 1v1 qualities to regain possession for his side.

One of Raskin’s standout traits in this role is his exceptional range of passing options. Whether it’s a long diagonal to switch play, a perfectly weighted through ball to release a teammate into open space, or a short, simple pass to retain possession, he consistently demonstrates mastery in every type of distribution.

His attributes have drawn comparisons with former Chelsea and Arsenal star Jorginho.

Considering West Ham’s struggle to retain possession and also regain possession, Raskin would be a good fit to bring the much-needed efficiency on the ball and relentlessness off the ball to Graham Potter’s side.



C&H

Aguerd upgrade already in West Ham’s sights | Chaotic weekend ahead

Still business to be done before deadline day: Most West Ham fans will be keeping everything crossed that the seemingly permanently – dissatisfied Nayef Aguerd will soon be put out of his West Ham misery and dispatched to -anywhere, frankly. Following his reluctance to return from a season-long loan, and his reported desire to head off to Marseille – it would be fitting if the Hammers sent him off to Sunderland to realise too late just how fortunate he was to have been living down south!

However it does beg the question of a reinforcement to the back line should Aguerd depart and bbc.co.uk amongst others were reporting yesterday that West Ham were in discussions with one of the brightest rising stars from England’s u21 Euro Championship-winning squad:

“Toulouse centre-back Charlie Cresswell is among the targets West Ham are looking to sign before Monday’s transfer deadline.

The 23-year-old was an important part of the England Under-21 side that won the European Championship in the summer and was named in the Uefa Team of the Tournament.

Cresswell’s performances have attracted interest from clubs in Serie A and the Premier League, and West Ham are the latest to plot a move.”

Whether it is feasible before deadline day on Monday is another matter: Toulouse are already in discussions over a sale of another defender so it may yet prove too big a mountain to climb before the window closes.

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