TRANSFER speculation is intensifying ahead of a massive summer window.
Erling Haaland is the man on most clubs’ lips but there’s also interesting news from the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona.
Meanwhile England could be line to host additional Euro 2020 matches with Dublin reportedly likely to pull out.
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Stay up to date with all the latest football news in our rolling blog…
SUAR NOTE
Atletico Madrid are sweating over the severity of Luis Suarez’s leg injury after he picked up the problem during training on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old has starred in his first season at the Wanda Metropolitano, with the striker chipping in with 19 goals and two assists in 26 LaLiga matches.
But Diego Simeone is now left fearing he may be set for an extended spell on the sidelines which could potentially cost his side winning their first LaLiga title since 2014.
The 1-0 defeat against Sevilla on Sunday saw Barcelona close the gap on Atletico to just one point at the the top of the table with just nine games left.
A club statement read: “The Uruguayan underwent tests on Wednesday that confirmed the injury.
“He’s pending response to treatment. Luis Suarez has suffered a muscle injury to the left leg.
“The striker underwent medical tests on Wednesday after feeling pain in training that confirmed the injury.”
PEP SQWAK
Pep Guardiola has called Erling Haaland a ‘b******’ for being ‘always perfect’.
The Borussia Dortmund striker, 20, set up Marco Reus for his side’s equaliser during Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg.
When asked if he was taken aback by Dortmund’s midfield press, Guardiola told DAZN: “No, not surprised.
“I faced them when I was at Bayern Munich and they played five at the back.
“The rest of them play that system and the quality of [Mahmoud] Dahoud, [Jude] Bellingham and, of course, the pace of the people up front – the quality is there. We know it was.
“But when you want to press they play long balls. They play long balls to Haaland – Haaland is a b******.
“His link-up [play] is always perfect and they have the pace so we knew it was not easy to control them.”
DOUBLE DEAL
Championship side Derby are on the verge of a takeover after Erik Alonso agreed to buy the club, subject to EFL approval.
Confirmed on Wednesday, the Rams were the second Football League club to change hands in just a few hours after Ipswich were sold to US investors.
Mel Morris has been attempting to sell Derby for some time but a deal with Bin Zayed Group collapsed earlier this season.
Talks with No Limits Sports lasted a number of weeks until a breakthrough with Spanish businessman Alonso, 29, who recently attempted to buy Sheffield Wednesday having worked at Hillsborough as an advisor.
The East Midlands club have confirmed the purchase will be completed when Alonso passes the EFL’s Owners and Directors Test.
CARR CRASH
Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards went at it as the controversy storm surrounding Jude Bellingham’s disallowed goal continues to rumble.
HARRY UP
Barcelona could turn to Harry Kane in their hunt for a new striker if Erling Haaland does not sign, according to reports in Spain.
Borussia Dortmund star Haaland has caught the eye of several clubs as his representatives hold talks with prospective bidders.
Agent Mino Raiola and father Alf-Inge Haaland have flown in for talks with both Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But Haaland’s club will seek a fee topping £150million if they are to sell him this summer, with the 20-year-old’s £68m release clause activating next year.
That could turn Barcelona to a Plan B, according to Spanish outlet Sport, who name Kane and Lautaro Martinez as such options.
SunSport revealed last week that Tottenham will refuse to sell their star striker to a Premier League rival.
A move abroad is considered slightly more palatable, although the fee of £175m would have to be negotiated down.
HOME COMFORTS
Jurgen Klopp admitted it was ‘difficult’ playing at Real Madrid’s training ground on Tuesday night.
Liverpool were well beaten 3-1 by Los Blancos in the Champions League at Real’s Alfredo di Stefano training pitch.
Jurgen Klopp was not a fan of Real Madrid’s training ground ‘stadium’Credit: Getty And after the game, Klopp said he was looking forward to getting back to a ‘proper stadium’ in Anfield.
He said: “It must be a really tricky task for Real Madrid at Anfield.
“This was strange tonight because it was really difficult with the stadium (at Madrid’s training ground) but Anfield is at least a proper stadium and it will be good for us.
“If you want to have some emotional memories you watch the Barcelona game back and 80 per cent of it is the atmosphere in the stadium.
“It’s not like I sit here and say ‘Comebacks are our thing’. We had supporters then and I don’t know if we can do it.”
JESPER’S HELL
Former Chelsea star Jesper Gronkjaer has opened up on his four-year battle with depression and stress.
The Denmark winger made 119 Blues appearances, scoring 11 goals, following a £7.8million move from Ajax in 2000.
Ex-Chelsea winger Jesper Gronkjaer has been battling depressionCredit: EPA He left in 2004 to spend a year with Birmingham City, and played for Atletico Madrid, Stuttgart and Copenhagen before retiring in 2011.
Gronkjaer has since worked as a pundit for Danish TV. However he was diagnosed with depression in 2017, and spent over nine months off sick but has now come off his medication.
The 43-year-old wrote: “Last pill taken 3 3/4 years after the first … hopefully!
“You were a good support, despite all your side effects, as the stress and depression rumbled away.
“Although it was never a goal to let you out of my life, I think it is the right time. #depression #stress #burnout.”
MARTIAL FLAW
Manchester United hitman Anthony Martial is set to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The France international injured his left knee in France’s World Cup qualifier with Kazakhstan late last month, which they won 2-0.
Anthony Martial may not be seen again this seasonCredit: Getty And Solskjaer reckons his latest setback could rule him out for the remainder of the campaign.
The Norwegian told MUTV: “Unfortunately, he sprained his knee with France.
“It’s always when they go away on internationals… you can keep your fingers crossed and hope they come back fit.
“Paul [Pogba] has played in all three games, 30, 60, 90 minutes, so that was a boost for us.
“Losing Anthony for what might be the rest of the season is very disappointing, especially when reports from there [France] was that it wasn’t anything serious but it looks a bad one.”
TIER-FUL
Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney has suffered ligament damage in his left knee but does NOT need surgery.
There were fears as he limped off after a collision with Liverpool’s James Milner on Saturday that he had done serious damage.
Kieran Tierney limped off against LiverpoolCredit: PA The Scot, 23, is expected to be out of action for at least a month.
But the Gunners hope to have the ex-Celtic defender back in full training in four to six weeks.
Tierney has made 33 appearances this season, chipping in with two goals and four assists.
He missed six matches earlier this year through another knee injury.
KEEP FIGHTING
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told David De Gea to rise to the challenge set by Dean Henderson.
De Gea, 30, was left on the bench for Sunday’s 2-1 win over Brighton as the Manchester United boss went for Henderson in the clearest indication yet of who will be his No1 for next season.
But with De Gea set to play in the Europa League quarter-final first leg against Granada Solskjaer says the chance is there to change this mind.
Solskjaer said: “When you are part of Manchester United you are always going to have players coming in.
“They have not come here to fill the bench or the squad. Everyone has got the ambition to fill your shirt.
“I was there as a striker when we signed Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham, Louis Saha, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“The aim for me then is to prove to the manager that you might have made a new signing but I am still going to give it everything I can to play. David has had ten years here and had challenges.”
ATTILA THE ONE
Leicester City are reportedly chasing Fenerbahce star Attila Szalai – and the Foxes would make the defender the most expensive Hungarian player of all time.
According to Blikk via Sport Witness, the Premier League side are keen to get a deal over the line when the transfer market reopens this summer.
Leicester could make Attila Szalai the most expensive Hungarian star everCredit: AFP However, it is thought the East Midlanders are yet to make a formal approach.
The report adds the Turkish outfit would demand £21.5million for the 23-year-old centre-back.
That would eclipse the £18m RB Leipzig paid Red Bull Salzburg for Dominik Szoboszlai in the winter window.
Szalai joined Fenerbahce on a four-and-a-half-year, £1.7m deal in January from Cypriot outfit Apollon Limassol.
The ten-cap senior Hungary international has four goals and three assists in 32 appearances this season.
TURKISH DELIGHT
Fenerbahce are in talks to sign Christian Benteke on a free transfer, according to reports.
The Crystal Palace striker is out of contract in the summer with no sign of a new deal on the horizon.
Benteke, 30, has spent five years at Selhurst Park but has struggled for goals with 28 goals in 139 games.
And Palace are prepared to take a big hit on the striker they paid £32million for in 2016.
According to Turkish publication Takvim, Fenerbahce have already held positive talks with Benteke’s agent.
The Turkish giants want to bolster their frontline as they look set to be pipped by Besiktas to the league title.
Fenerbahce are also eyeing Porto’s Moussa Marega on a free transfer in a double deal of strikers.
BRU LOW
Bruno Fernandes moaned Manchester United are not good enough to win trophies in a damning assessment of their season.
He appeared on talkSPORT on Wednesday morning and said: “The improvement you have to see game by game not season by season. For us, it is improving as a team.
Bruno Fernandes is desperate for silverwareCredit: Getty “Of course we want to win trophies, we want to win everything we are included in. At the moment, we are not at that level this season.
“We have lost a lot of games. We have lost games we don’t expect to lose and have lost a lot of points at home and away our form is really, really different.
“I don’t remember if we have lost one game away. We are improving and this season is not finished and we have a lot to do until the end of the season.”
EUR IN LUCK
Manchester United youngster Anthony Elanga is in contention to face Granada on Thursday after being added to the club’s Europa League squad.
The 18-year-old winger – who has chipped in with eight goals and three assists for the U23s this season – will fly out with the squad to Spain on Wednesday.
Anthony Elanga could make his first team debut on Thursday United issued a statement on their website where they announced the Sweden youth international has been added to their ‘B’ list for the Uefa competition.
Under Uefa rules, homegrown players are allowed to be added to a club’s Europa League squad, and Elanga has been included after recovering from a collarbone injury.
Elanga – who has been at United since the age of 12 – penned a new contract at Old Trafford last month after rising through the yanks.
He was awarded the prestigious Jimmy Murphy Youth Team Player of the Year award in September after banging in seven goals in nine U18 Premier League matches.
He got a taste of first-team football under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last summer when he came on as a substitute in the pre-season clash against Aston Villa.
NORTHERN SOUL
Gareth Southgate is taking England to former club Middlesbrough for the final Euro 2020 tune-ups.
The Three Lions will play two friendlies at the Riverside Stadium in June ahead of the summer showpiece.
England take on Austria on Wednesday 2 June and that will be followed by a clash with Romania on Sunday 6 June.
England have usually travelled across the country in the build-up to tournaments over recent years.
But SunSport understands that Southgate and his squad will be staying at Rockcliffe Hall, owned by Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson, throughout their stint on Teesside instead.
And that will allow them to use Boro’s state-of-the-art Hurworth training ground, which is based next door to the luxury hotel and golf complex.
England last played at the Riverside back in 2003 with Southgate starring in defence for his country.
NO ROOM FOR RACISM
Liverpool have released a damning statement after Trent Alexander-Arnold and Naby Keita received sickening racist abuse online after last night’s 3-1 Champions League defeat away to Real Madrid.
It read: “Once again we are sadly discussing abhorrent racial abuse the morning after a football game. It is utterly unacceptable and it has to stop.
“LFC condemns all forms of discrimination and we continue to work with our inclusion partners through our Red Together initiative to campaign against it.
“As a club we will offer our players any and all support they may require. We will also work with the relevant authorities to identify and, if possible, prosecute those responsible.
“We know that this will not be enough until strongest possible preventative measures are taken by social media platforms and the regulatory bodies which govern them.
“The current situation cannot be allowed to continue and it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that it does not.”
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Kevin De Bruyne is proud to have signed an extension at Man City where he hopes to play until he gets ‘really old’.
PET PEEVE
Arsenal must focus on shedding HALF of the dressing room after a woefully disappointing season, Emmanuel Petit has claimed.
The Frenchman, 50, won the Premier League in his first of three years at the club and is dismayed by their current situation with the Gunners in TENTH.
Emmanuel Petit urged old side Arsenal to axe half the squadCredit: Getty – Contributor He told Ladbrokes at the launch of its 5-A-Side Bet: “When I look at the older players in the team, it’s like they think it’s a retreat football club, somewhere you just go for a vacation.
“They have ambition, but I don’t really expect them to win big games anymore. If you took away the name ‘Arsenal’ and looked at that group of players… average.
“At the end of the season, if I’m Arsenal, if I’m Arteta, if I’m on the board, to be honest with you, I think my main concern is getting half of the dressing room out. Honestly.
“I like the young players, but they need to be surrounded by the likes of Lee Dixon and Tony Adams, those personalities.
“It’s a simple science but if there’s one thing I’ve learnt as a footballer, it’s that you become a better player when you play with better players!”
BRUING UP A STORM
Bruno Fernandes has claimed one trophy is not enough for a club like Manchester United.
The Portuguese midfielder has been a revelation since arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.
On talkSPORT, Trevor Sinclair asked the ace whether second place in the Prem and winning the Europa League would count as a successful season.
And Fernandes replied: “It is never successful when you win just one trophy with this club.
“You always have to improve.”
CITY SLICKER
Hear from Kevin De Bruyne after he committed his future to the Citizens.
The Belgian maestro, 29, said: “Pep and I see football in the same way. Having that relationship with a manager is so important to me because our objectives are totally aligned, and we want the same things.
“This football club is geared for success. It offers me everything I need to maximise my performance, so signing this contract was a straightforward decision.
“I am playing the best football of my career and I honestly feel there is more to come.
“I could not be happier. Since joining City in 2015, I have felt at home. I love the fans; my family are settled here in Manchester and my own game has developed really well.
“My focus now is on ensuring we have a successful end to the current campaign.
“Our results and performances so far have been excellent, but we need to make sure we end the season with the silverware we deserve.”
GOOD BRUY
Kevin De Bruyne has finally confirmed he is staying at Man City with the midfielder now set to cash in more than the £300,000 a week he is currently on.
The Belgian has agreed to extend his stay by four years with the Premier League leaders until 2025 – meaning he will have spent a decade with the club.
Kevin De Bruyne has signed a four-year extension at the Etihad SunSport reported on March 10 that an agreement was edging closer after KdB knocked back the first offer – and they shook hands on the agreement earlier this week.
He was previously on around £300,000 a week at City and is believed to have agreed a small increase.
But crucially the former Chelsea man was given the assurances on the football side that the club’s ambitions matched his own.
De Bruyne is on the brink of a third Premier League title but is desperate to win the Champions League – the one club trophy missing from his CV.
HAKAN PLAN
Arsenal and Chelsea are in the transfer race for Hakan Calhanoglu, according to reports.
The AC Milan midfielder, 27, is out of contract at the end of the season so will become a free agent this summer.
Arsenal and Chelsea are battling it out for AC Milan ace Hakan CalhanogluCredit: Getty Images – Getty And according to Sky Sport Italia, the Premier League pair are battling it out to land the Turkish international with both making offers.
But they face competition from Serie A giants Juventus.
The Old Lady are in pole position to secure Calhanoglu and will table a better deal as soon as they are officially allowed.
AC Milan tried to get Calhanoglu to extend his four-year stay at the San Siro.
But while they offered a new deal worth £66,000 per week, the former Bayer Leverkusen man wants in excess of £82,500 per week.
KON THEY GET HIM?
Manchester United are reportedly set to lock horns with Liverpool for RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate.
Jurgen Klopp has had well-documented issues at centre-half, with first choices Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip out for the season.
JUR FUMING
Jurgen Klopp blasted referee Felix Brych’s performance in the Champions League quarter-final and accused him of making ‘personal’ decisions against Sadio Mane.
The Liverpool boss, 53, saw his side slump to a 3-1 defeat away at Real Madrid in the first leg on Tuesday night.
One particular incident saw Mane brought down by last-man Lucas Vazquez – and 27 seconds later Marco Asensio scored before Mane was booked for tripping Vazquez.
Klopp fumed: “The situation with Sadio – what the ref did tonight I don’t understand.
“For me that was something personal because he dealt with the situation with Sadio, which was a clear foul, like he was a diver or whatever.
“From that moment on whenever Sadio went down he didn’t get anything. That is not right.
“That is what I told him after the game, that I thought he was unfair with Sadio.”
ZIN TO TURIN
Zinedine Zidane has dropped a huge hint he wants to manage Juventus.
The Real Madrid boss confessed the Italian giants will ‘always be important to me’.
Zidane, 48, spent five seasons as a player with the Old Lady between 1996 and 2001.
And asked whether he missed Italy and would return there as a manager, he certainly did not rule it out.
The Frenchman said: “Italy is always in the heart. Juve has always been important to me.
“I don’t know (laughs). For now I’m here. Let’s see.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
