EVERTON are reportedly plotting an ambitious bid to sign Sergio Aguero, who is due to leave Manchester City.
Chelsea, Tottenham, Barcelona and Inter Milan are also interested in the Argentina star.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid appear to have moved to the front of the queue for Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
Agent Mino Raiola stated that the Spanish champions have the funds to sign the Norwegian this summer, despite the collapse of the European Super League.
Lionel Messi is close to signing a new ten-year deal with Barcelona, according to reports.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Follow ALL of the latest news and updates below…
POG OFF
Paul Pogba will be sold this summer if he refuses to commit to signing a new deal at Manchester United.
Yet United are still confident they can keep him at Old Trafford — even though it will cost a fortune to do so.
And that is likely to lead to an exit for David De Gea, as the money saved on the keeper’s wages would help cover the hefty pay hike Pogba would demand.
The French midfielder, 28, could leave on a free when his contract ends in just over a year, with ex-club Juventus leading the chase. United chiefs are getting twitchy and want talks with his agent Mino Raiola.
They lost him for nothing when he joined Juve as a teen in 2012 — and paid out £89million to re-sign him in 2016.
Old Trafford bosses are keen to keep him, despite the fact he will want at least £500,000 a week.
RIGHT VAN MAN
Man Utd will reject any approaches for Donny van de Beek this summer despite a flop first season.
SunSport understands his former club Ajax are keen on bringing the Dutch midfielder back on loan.
But Old Trafford chiefs will reject that and issue a hands-off warning to any other interested teams.
United have big plans for the 24-year-old — who cost £40million last summer and has played just 330 minutes in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have told him to sit tight and he will get his chance — even though he has struggled to break into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s starting 11.
Van de Beek and Solskjaer have held talks recently about his future and the United boss made his stance clear.
The Holland international has become a big fan favourite at the club despite his lack of first-team action.
VAN DE CHEEK
Manchester United star Jackie Groenen has teased Donny van de Beek over his lack of minutes this season.
Van de Beek hasn’t started a league game in 2021 and has only played more than 20 minutes on one occasion since the start of December.
However, his Dutch compatriot Groenen, who signed for United’s Women team in 2019, revealed the 24-year-old is enjoying himself in England.
But the midfielder, 26, couldn’t resist poking fun at Van de Beek after she made her debut at The Theatre of Dreams under Casey Stoney last month.
Groenen told ESPN: “I joked the other day by telling him that I’ve played Old Trafford more times than he has.
“I think he’s having a good time, so it must be fine. I talk to him regularly.”
HEAVY TOLL
Arsenal are among the clubs interested by the news that Bayern Munich are open to selling Corentin Tolisso.
According to Kicker, the German giants will consider bids ahead of his contract expiring in 2022.
The Gunners are set to rival Manchester United, Napoli, Juventus, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid.
CAN’T GO RON
Cristiano Ronaldo has become ‘nervous and irritable’ at Juventus – and has ‘given up’, according to reports.
The 36-year-old has not enjoyed the best season of his career this time around, despite still managing 25 goals in 29 Serie A outings.
And according to Gazzetta dello Sport, his entire demeanour around the club has changed.
Ronaldo has failed to reach a single Champions League semi-final during his three years in Turin, the competition he was signed to win.
ARE YOU SER?
Man City striker Sergio Aguero is reportedly wanted by Everton.
The Etihad legend is moving on in the summer, sparking a mass transfer pursuit with Barcelona believed to be leading the way.
According to Daily Star Sport, Everton have now become the latest name to enter the race along with Chelsea, Tottenham, Leeds.
Credit: 3 KNOCKED BACK
Manchester United have had a bid for Dejan Kulusevski rejected by Juventus, it’s been claimed.
The Red Devils are still in the market for a winger following their failed pursuit of England international Jadon Sancho last summer.
Sweden international Kulusevski is said to be one of the names on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s list of targets.
And according to reports, the Red Devils have had an approach for the 21-year-old knocked back by the Old Lady.
Italian outlet Calciomercato claim Juve said ‘no’ to the Premier League big boys as they’re eager to retain Kulusevski’s services.
DEMAND MAR
Pablo Mari has called for Arsenal to get right in the faces of Villarreal in next week’s second leg.
He told club media: “I think it’s not a really bad result thinking about that we’re 2-0 down with one player less, I think a really good reaction from the team.
“But for me I think for me we don’t have to wait to go into that situation to react. I think we have to learn about that and we have to put all the effort starting from minute zero next week to go to the final.
“I don’t know [why we made a sluggish start]. At the end you’re on the pitch and I try to help everybody, but we did some mistakes and I think this is key because they like to play football and they know when you do a mistake to go on that side and take the goals. So at the end we have to learn from that.
“We have to go full gas from minute zero and go with everything to win the game.”
PAUL-ING BACK
Paul Pogba reckons Manchester United are good enough to win the Premier League title again after closing the gap on rivals City.
The French midfielder told the BBC’s Football Focus: “We are getting closer and closer.
“We see that we were struggling a little bit, we know that, but we don’t have to look back. We have to look forward.
“What’s forward now is second [place], now we get closer to City, who were, before, to be honest way ahead of us.
“Now we show them that we can compete. We show that we are here and that we have a team to go and win the title.
“It’s just a few details. We can do it, for sure.
“Liverpool did it, City did it and now we’re there. We have to show that we can make it as well. That’s the next goal.”
TAM TO GO
Chelsea star Tammy Abraham is reportedly involved in a three-way tussle between Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham.
ESPN claims there is confidence among the Premier League sides that a deal could be done for less than the Blues’ £40million asking price.
The report adds that Abraham is desperate to get his career back on track having fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge.
The 23-year-old has started just four games since Thomas Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard at the end of January.
And the German’s reluctance to play Abraham has led to widespread speculation over his future at Chelsea.
West Ham are in the market for a new forward this summer following Sebastien Haller’s £20m switch to Ajax in January.
While a switch to Newcastle may spell the end for Joelinton who has managed just nine goals in 76 appearances on Tyneside.
Yet a return to Villa could appeal to Abraham after scored 26 goals in 40 games for Dean Smith’s side during his loan spell in the Championship.
SIGN EM UP
Mikel Arteta hinted Emile Smith Rowe has done enough to earn a bumper new contract at the Emirates.
The Croydon De Bruyne has broken into the first team this season and is currently contracted until 2023.
Arteta told Sky Sports: “We are going to have that discussion.
“I think Emile has earned the right to look at that situation because of the performances that he has produced.
“He’s very much engaged and wants to continue with us, that’s for sure.”
MART SLAMS ART
Arsenal icon Martin Keown has claimed that Mikel Arteta’s tactics during the 2-1 defeat to Villarreal could have got him sacked.
The Gunners were facing Europa League heartbreak after they went 2-0 down inside 30 minutes in the first leg of their semi-final this week.
And club legend Keown admitted that Arsenal’s comeback after their manager’s line-up gamble backfired may have saved the Spaniard’s job.
He wrote in his column for the Mail: “Mikel Arteta’s tactics and decision-making on Thursday should have sent Arsenal crashing out of Europe and possibly ended his managerial career at the club.
“However, remarkably and thanks to that late penalty won by Bukayo Saka, Arsenal find themselves still very much in this tie against Villarreal.
“Arteta is being afforded the rare commodity of time and now he’s the beneficiary of an even rarer occurrence: a second chance. And this is one he really has to take.
“Arteta experimented with a false nine on Thursday, lining up without a recognised centre forward.
“Playing with that new formation for the first time in the biggest game of the season was a big ask of the players and a huge gamble. It didn’t pay off.”
HAA HAA LAND
Mino Raiola has revealed the two things Erling Haaland is looking for in a potential transfer.
Manchester United are believed to have earmarked the Norwegian hotshot as their No1 summer transfer target.
And his agent told AS: “Haaland is interested in two things: scoring goals – because he is like a Cristiano or a Zlatan, he has that positive obsession – and winning titles.
“He will choose, surely, where those two things together happen more. It is very difficult to lie.
“When a club like Barcelona or Madrid arrives, with so much history and so great, it is difficult to say no. PSG is entering this group of greats, City is trying to get there, Juve has always been there.
“The championship they play also matters. PSG plays the worst league of the greats. Bayern are already in an attractive league, but we know that they always win it. In Spain there are three with options.”
Credit: Getty MAD WORLD
Lucas Torreira reportedly faces an uncertain future with Atletico Madrid unwilling to turn his loan spell into a permanent stay.
The Arsenal midfielder has failed to make an impression at the Wanda Metropolitano after joining the Spanish side on deadline day in October.
Despite making 19 LaLiga appearances for Diego Simeone’s men, the 25-year-old has started just three top-flight games.
And according to Mundo Deportivo, Atletico are not looking to keep the player at the club.
They state that the LaLiga leaders have no intention of signing Torreira on another loan deal or a permanent move.
It has been claimed that the Gunners are willing to accept a cut-price fee of £15million for the player – £11m less than what they paid for him from Sampdoria in 2018.
A stunning first season in North London saw Torreira appear in 50 matches, but his form tailed off last year where he had to settle for a bit-part role under Mikel Arteta.
Torreira has made no secret of his desire to return to South America to play for his boyhood club Boca Juniors.
AD ENOUGH
Chelsea are reportedly battling Barcelona for the signing of Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot in the summer.
The 26-year-old has played 41 times this season, but it is understood that boss Andrea Pirlo has deemed him surplus to requirements.
And with the France international having two years left to run on his contract in Turin, Juve are willing to cash in on the player.
According to Calciomercato, the Serie A giants would listen to offers in the region of £17million for Rabiot – who they signed on a free transfer in 2019.
They claim that both the Blues and the Blaugrana are eyeing up a swoop at the end of the season.
It has been stated that Barcelona are leading the race to secure Rabiot’s services with his agent and mother Veronique already making contact with the Spanish side.
Should Rabiot decide to make the move to Stamford Bridge, he would link up with former gaffer Thomas Tuchel who managed him at Paris Saint-Germain.
OUT OF LUC
Real Madrid have reportedly offered Lucas Vazquez a bumper new deal to ward off interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.
The winger, 29, is out of contract at the end of the season and negotiations have been slowed by the club’s financial trouble.
The coronavirus pandemic and expensive Bernabeu revamp initially led to talk of his existing £60,000-a-week contract being offered again, only with a ten per cent pay cut due to the circumstances.
However, Spanish outlet AS now report of a fresh proposal worth £84,000-a-week.
It is said Vazquez wants to stay in Madrid having come through the club’s famed La Fabrica academy to make his debut in 2015.
Since then, he has become a vital option on the right side of midfield and defence for Zinedine Zidane, playing 34 times this season.
Interest was reportedly strong from both United and Chelsea as they look to formulate a Premier League title bid next campaign.
Credit: PA LION’S PRIDE
Lionel Messi will accept reduced terms on his new contract to help Barcelona sign Erling Haaland, according to reports.
Negotiations on the Argentine’s £2.4million-a-week deal are set to begin soon after a financial review by new club president Joan Laporta.
Earlier this month, the player’s dad and agent Jorge Messi landed in Spain in preparation for the talks.
And it has been mooted that Barcelona’s ambition in the transfer market will be a big factor in securing his commitment.
According to Eurosport, Messi will even accept a hefty wage cut if the savings are funnelled into improving the squad.
Borussia Dortmund star Haaland is known to be a top target of the LaLiga giants but could cost £154m.
Credit: Getty IN A MIN
Real Madrid CAN afford to splash £154million on Erling Haaland, according to his agent Mino Raiola.
Madrid president Florentino Perez had claimed no mega money signings would be possible without the cash injection from the shamed European Super League.
But Raiola told AS: “Real Madrid can afford Erling Haaland. They have money to sign him.”
Perez had previously told El Larguero: “When money does not flow from the rich clubs to the poor clubs, everyone suffers.
‘It’s impossible to make signings like Mbappe and Haaland, in general, not just for Real Madrid, without the Super League.”
Erling Haaland’s agent Mino RaiolaCredit: Getty – Contributor GARDEN OF EDEN
Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola jokingly suggested a Real Madrid swap deal with Eden Hazard could come to fruition.
Manchester United’s French midfielder has regularly been linked with a move to Los Blancos.
And Raiola told AS: “For Pogba, Madrid always had a great attraction … Zidane is his idol. The important thing now is to know what United want, what project United are proposing to Pogba.
“Pogba is interested in one thing, winning the Champions League and winning titles, and we are going to see where this is possible, whether at United or at other clubs.
“At one time Pogba felt a lot of love and trust from United, and there were several other clubs… But then, it is very difficult for United and Madrid to come to an agreement over a big transfer, because strong clubs do not want to sell strong players to other strong clubs.
“And I’m not going to fool him, for Pogba playing for Madrid was always a very attractive thing for Zidane too. He is his young idol.
“I don’t know. I believe nothing is impossible, but football depends on the day. And you have to be flexible and consider all possibilities.
“Suppose tomorrow Madrid want to make a Hazard-Pogba exchange? It is just an example. And if all four parties liked it, why not?”
Credit: AFP or licensors HEND IS NIGH
Jordan Henderson looks destined to miss England’s bid for Euros glory.
Jurgen Klopp has revealed Henderson is nowhere near a return to Liverpool training — and could still be weeks away.
The Three Lions kick-off their summer campaign against Croatia in 44 days’ time.
Reds boss Klopp said: “There are a lot of steps to go after that before they can take part in football training.
“They are all quite a long way from that.”
Liverpool play their last game of the season on May 23 against Crystal Palace but Henderson appears to have little or no chance of being ready for the Eagles’ visit.
That is the day before England head coach Gareth Southgate is expected to name his squad for the finals.
Credit: EPA GOOD MORNING FOOTBALL FANS,
Cristiano Ronaldo has become ‘nervous and irritable’ at Juventus – and has ‘given up’, according to reports.
The 36-year-old has not enjoyed the best season of his career this time around, despite still managing 25 goals in 29 Serie A outings.
And according to Gazzetta dello Sport, his entire demeanour around the club has changed.
Ronaldo has failed to reach a single Champions League semi-final during his three years in Turin, the competition he was signed to win.
Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is a major doubt for the Real Madrid second leg after suffering a setback in his recovery from injury.
The Chelsea and Croatia star, 26, has missed the last five games with a hamstring problem.Tuchel said: “Unfortunately Kovacic is still injured.
“He trained with us, but he’s still not fully confident, he felt something at the end of training. So he’s not available, unfortunately.
“All the others are available except for Toni Rudiger, who got injured in the last minute of the Madrid game. Everybody else is available.
“Before training today we thought that Kova had a big chance to join us latest for Madrid, maybe even for today.
“So now we have a little setback, not a big one, with him.”I don’t want to be too negative, let’s see how he is tomorrow. For Toni, I’m quite positive for Wednesday.”
And finally, Ryan Mason staged a meeting with Tottenham’s players to tell them: Don’t call me gaffer.
The Tottenham caretaker manager, 29, stressed to the squad — with many having been former team-mates — that he wants to keep things informal.
He said: “One of the first things I said to them was that I do not expect to be called ‘gaffer’ or ‘boss’.
“Call me what you have been calling me for the last five or ten years — or however long I have known you.
“The most important thing for me is respect. You can call me what you want but if you don’t respect me then it is not good. The respect is there from everyone.
“Not just the players but the groundsman, the kitmen, everyone. I have a good relationship with everyone.”
MACE IS ACE
Ryan Mason staged a meeting with Tottenham’s players to tell them: Don’t call me gaffer.
The Tottenham caretaker manager, 29, stressed to the squad — with many having been former team-mates — that he wants to keep things informal.
He said: “One of the first things I said to them was that I do not expect to be called ‘gaffer’ or ‘boss’.
“Call me what you have been calling me for the last five or ten years — or however long I have known you.
“The most important thing for me is respect. You can call me what you want but if you don’t respect me then it is not good. The respect is there from everyone.
“Not just the players but the groundsman, the kitmen, everyone. I have a good relationship with everyone.”
KARREN BRADY
“The refereeing itself has been poor this season, possibly the worst I have seen in the Premier League.
“No doubt there will be statistics that prove me wrong but, subjectively, I can remember no time when the whistle was so out of tune with the game.
“VAR was sold to us as a way of perfecting decisions.”
Read more HERE.
CAN’T GO RON
Cristiano Ronaldo has become ‘nervous and irritable’ at Juventus – and has ‘given up’, according to reports.
The 36-year-old has not enjoyed the best season of his career this time around, despite still managing 25 goals in 29 Serie A outings.
And according to Gazzetta dello Sport, his entire demeanour around the club has changed.
Ronaldo has failed to reach a single Champions League semi-final during his three years in Turin, the competition he was signed to win.
HOT ROD
Arsenal are reportedly increasing their efforts to land Real Betis star Guido Rodriguez this summer.
El Desmarque claim that the LaLiga side might be forced to cash in on the central midfielder who has a £70million release clause in his contract.
And the report adds that Arsenal are set to make every effort to sign Rodriguez at the end of the season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
