PHILIPPE COUTINHO will join Everton in a £35m deal this summer, SunSport can reveal.
The Toffees are so confident of landing the ex-Liverpool star that they’ve already begun already househunting for his move back to Merseyside.
Meanwhile Lionel Messi has reportedly decided to stay at Barcelona and is even considering taking a 50 per cent pay cut.
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CAV SOME OF THAT
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed he will do everything to keep Edinson Cavani at Man Utd next season.
The Uruguayan, who scored a brace, has been heavily linked with a move to Boca Juniors this summer.
But Solskjaer said: “He knows my feelings. He knows I would love to have him here.
“I promised him Old Trafford is a different place with fans. I am doing my best. Hopefully we will see him here for another year.”
EXCLUSIVE
Philippe Coutinho will join Everton in a £35m deal this summer, writes SunSport’s Ken Lawrence.
The Toffees are so confident of the playmaker returning to Merseyside, they are already house-hunting for him.
Carlo Ancelotti wants Barcelona’s former Liverpool star to form a South American dream team with Colombian James Rodriguez.
Everton want to be sure Coutinho has recovered from a knee injury before committing but the deal is thought to have already been agreed on paper.
The prognosis for the former Liverpool star is said to be excellent and plans are well underway to welcome Coutinho, his wife Aine and their three children.
FOX HUNT OFF
Exclusive by Charlie Wyett: Spurs have been frightened off by the potential £70million cost of landing Brendan Rodgers.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was confident of finally getting his man, despite the Leicester chief publicly dismissing the prospect of succeeding the sacked Jose Mourinho.
But the Londoners have been unable to come up with a package that would get Rodgers, 48, out of the King Power.
The Northern Irishman earns up to £10m a season with the Foxes.
And Tottenham would need to offer a four-year contract of £12.5m a year, plus Leicester’s expected compensation demands of £20m — a similar amount to what Bayern Munich are paying former Spurs target RB Leipzig for Julian Nagelsmann.
The Carabao Cup runners-up would also have to shell out for the ex-Liverpool manager’s backroom staff.
Rodgers — who was offered the Tottenham job by Levy in 2012 but instead went to Anfield — will now remain at the King Power.
TRIED TO DO WRIGHT
Ian Wright has revealed he gave cash to the dad who walked out on him when he was just 18 months old.
In a chat with The Sun columnist Troy Deeney, Ian recalled Herbert and his wife turning up at his house, having not seem him for years.
He said: “He needed money because she’s some good cook and he wants to open a restaurant.
“I remember my missus at the time asked the woman what she wanted to drink.
“So we’re talking like quarter past ten in the morning. She said, ‘Gimme a brandy’.
“So you know the kind of people we’re dealing with.
“I don’t know what it was but I gave him enough money.
“I feel really bad in myself because, if my mum knew, she would probably be vexed but I was scared to say no.”
FALL OF ROMA
Manchester United have more than one foot in the Europa League final after a scintillating Edinson Cavani-inspired 6-2 first leg win against Roma.
The Red Devils were 2-1 down at half-time, but whatever boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said in the dressing room worked a treat.
Edinson Cavani scored twice and Bruno Fernandes added to his first-half strike to make it 4-2.
Paul Pogba got the goal his industrious performance deserved and then sub Mason Greenwood rounded off the scoring as United completed a stunning turnaround at Old Trafford.
VAN HIBE
Ex-Manchester United star Matteo Darmian claims old boss Louis van Gaal was ‘obsessive about rules’.
He revealed: “Van Gaal was an obsessive about rules. He was the one who wanted me at United.
“One of the first days in Manchester he took me aside and said: ‘You are here thanks to me.
“’You have my confidence, you will compete with [Antonio] Valencia, know that the name doesn’t matter to me’. It was like that.”
MARIO PARTY
Mario Gotze has revealed he snubbed a move to Liverpool after writing off their Champions League chances.
He told 11 Freunde: “You have to imagine it like this: Where did I come from?
“From Munich, where I had reached the semis in the Champions League three times with Bayern. I wanted to do that again.
“Liverpool finished eighth in the league. In the situation at the time, the likelihood of winning the Champions League with Borussia seemed much greater.”
GRAB NAB
Arsenal target Nabil Fekir has boosted his Premier League admirers by confirming his Real Betis future is uncertain.
He told AS: “For now I am happy at Betis.
“We are going to do everything possible to go to Europe. It’s what I think about now.
“In football we can never know the future. We must look at season after season.
“It is always important to play in Europe. I was playing the Champions League and Europa League and I want to play there again.”
PUSH AND GAAL
Gerard Pique claims ex-Barcelona and Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal “destroyed” him as a kid – shoving him to the ground and telling him: “You’re not strong enough”.
Marca report the Spaniard as saying: “My grandfather was a manager and he brings Van Gaal to eat. I was 11 or 12 years old.
“I dressed in my shirt, lest I continue six years later and I continue at Barca.
“Before saying hello, he gives me a push and he throws me to the ground… ‘you are not strong to be a defender’.
“I thought that I should have been stronger.”
WHEN IN ROME
Bruno Fernandes had given United the dream start but a quick-fire double from the visitors has turned the tie on its head.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have had a horror start to their semi-final with Villarreal two goals to the good in the first-half.
WHITE HOT BEN
Exclusive by Charlie Wyett: Borussia Dortmund have joined the race for Brighton defender Ben White.
Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Arsenal remain interested in one of the Premier League’s most talented young central defenders.
Brighton will demand about £35million for White, having turned down three bids from Leeds last summer – with the final offer totalling £25m.
White spent a successful season on loan in the Championship with Leeds last term and has gone from strength to strength on the south coast this year.
HE BLUE IT
Fikayo Tomori has nearly blown his chance of making his loan to AC Milan permanent, according to reports.
SunSport revealed the centre-back was set to sign for the San Siro outfit for £25million at the end of the season, but after a string of costly errors Milan are said to be having second thoughts.
Club officials believe he has ‘crumbled’ and made ‘too many errors of late’, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
In the last fortnight, Tomori handed Genoa’s Mattia Destro the equaliser in Milan’s 2-1 win.
He was also at fault during Sassuolo’s 2-1 victory at the San Siro last week, as well as in the recent 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Lazio.
Blame is being spread among the Milan squad but Tomori is reportedly considered ‘much more responsible than others’.
COMEBACK KINGS
Chelsea are desperate to sign a new striker this summer – and are now looking to the past to solve their problems.
The Blues are believed to be lining up a £90m swoop to bring Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku failed to score in 15 games with the Blues in his first spell as a youngster, but did enjoy impressive loan spells at Everton and West Brom.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at TEN players who’ve quit clubs with legendary status, only to return later in their careers.
But how did they all get on in their second stints? Click HERE to find out…
PAT SHAMER
Patrice Evra poked fun at old Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo with a topless photo on Instagram.
The Frenchman showed off his impressive abs in the snap and told Ronnie: “Don’t be jealous.”
TRUST HAS GONE
Richard Scudamore reckons English football has changed forever after the disastrous plans for a European Super League.
He said: “I don’t believe life will ever be the same after last Sunday.
“I think the actions of the six have altered the dynamic forever. There has to be some consequences. Things have to change.
“There is no switch you can turn that suddenly builds back trust with these people and the fanbase.
“It is a long and difficult road back. After a period of some healing, we have to rebuild this thing.
“I cannot explain why any of them thought it was a good idea. I am the person who had been telling them for years it was a crazy idea and could not happen.”
MAKING A MESS
Lionel Messi has reportedly dealt Manchester City a blow by telling Barcelona he will STAY this summer.
But the superstar forward, 33, has demanded that new president Joan Laporta embark on a spending spree – with Erling Haaland a target.
TVE claims Messi will not look to leave the Nou Camp at the end of the season despite his contract running out.
SOLSK SCULPTURE
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be honoured with a statue in his hometown.
And the bust is being funded by locals who have already raised £53,000.
As reported by Tidens Krav, the Solskjaer statue is set to be erected in Kristiansund on Norway’s west coast.
It will be created by artist Tore Bjorn Skjolsvik with Ole Tonder agreeing to pay a whopping £76,000.
The city’s population – which totals around 24,000 – have agreed to cover the costs and gift the sculpture to the buyer.
RED ALERT
Xabi Alonso opened up on Liverpool’s ‘painful’ and ’embarrassing’ first-half in the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan in Istanbul.
He told team-mate on the night Jamie Carragher’s Greatest Game podcast: “I was angry at myself, thinking ‘we can’t throw it away so easily, this is a beautiful chance’.
“I was kind of embarrassed with what we were doing.
“More than thinking about the others it was painful, that was first (how I felt). Later, Rafa (Benitez) changed. I thought ‘let’s see how this works’.
“To hear the boos from the fans was important because they didn’t want to kill us but we thought ‘let’s try and give them something to believe’, try to have some hope.”
SILVA-PLATED
Real Madrid could be about to move ahead of Manchester United in the race for Andre Silva.
Reports in Germany indicate the LaLiga giants are willing to allow Luka Jovic to sign for Eintracht Frankfurt permanently in a player-plus-cash deal.
Silva, 25, has smashed 26 goals for the Bundesliga club this season after signing from AC Milan.
United are said to be among them along with Borussia Dortmund, who could become particularly keen if Erling Haaland leaves.
But Madrid have entered the race with a unique offer, according to Bild, and are the preferred destination for Silva.
TIEM TO DECIDE
Chelsea flop Tiemoue Bakayoko is stuck in limbo as he doesn’t know if his loan at Napoli will be made permanent.
His brother and agent Abdoulaye told CalcioNapoli24: “It’s a good moment, Tiemoue scored in his last game with Napoli and the team are back in the top four.
“He is happy to play at Napoli, one of the best Serie A clubs.
“I respect [Napoli boss] Gennaro Gattuso, it was important to join him again after their experience at Milan.
“It’s been a nice season, Tiemoue feels at ease in the city and the team.
“However, I don’t know if he will remain at Napoli. If they qualify for the Champions League things could change.
“He wants to play in the Champions League, but it also depends on Napoli and Chelsea.
“Napoli don’t have an option to sign him permanently, Tiémoué is happy, but he is aware his destiny depends on what Chelsea and Napoli want to do.”
WHAT THE EK
Daniel Ek’s Arsenal takeover is in doubt following reports that the Spotify co-founder will need to stump up way more than he’s currently offering.
Matt Slater told the Athletic: “The number getting to Daniel Ek has been suggested that he thinks Arsenal is worth £1.8b.
“I’m sorry – that’s not going to get Kroenke out of bed. If he came at him with £2.5b, there’s a starting point for a conversation.
“Ek, I’ve learnt, has been thinking about football for a while. Could Ek, or other guys afford Arsenal, afford the type of offer Kroenke would take seriously? Yes. Is it going to happen soon? No.”
LO SIENTO
Marcelo Bielsa has apologised to the Leeds players and fans for not learning English.
The Argentine still speaks almost exclusively through a translator after nearly three years as Whites boss.
Bielsa, 65, has been heard shouting instructions to his side in English on matchdays.
But he said: “One of my big deficits during my time in English football is not being able to communicate in the language everyone speaks.
“In one way, it debilitates me. I understand this completely.”
SERIE-OUS MONEY
Romelu Lukaku is Inter Milan’s top-earning star with Alexis Sanchez earning more than DOUBLE Ashley Young’s pay.
CROWN JULES
Real Madrid are reportedly looking to fend off competition from Manchester United and Chelsea in the race to sign Sevilla star Jules Kounde.
The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a move in the summer after two impressive years in Spain since joining from Bordeaux in 2019.
SunSport exclusively revealed last month that United were weighing up a move for Kounde to pair him alongside Harry Maguire.
But according to AS, Madrid are looking to keep Kounde in Spain as Zinedine Zidane eyes up a summer swoop.
THE RON FOR ME
Cristiano Ronaldo’s super-agent Jorge Mendes reportedly offered the five-time Ballon d’Or winner back to Manchester United.
Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb claim that CR7 is considering his options this summer if Juventus fail to qualify for the Champions League.
And the report adds that Mendes offered Ronaldo to the three clubs capable of affording both the forward’s transfer fee and salary.
Real Madrid were said to have declined while Paris Saint-Germain were not interested but United were the only club to respond.
The Red Devils reportedly demanded that Ronaldo would have to take a 50% pay cut if there would be any chance of a deal.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
