Guido Rodriguez ‘aware’ of Arsenal interest, Chelsea ‘confident of Donnarumma on free’- Liverpool, Spurs transfer news

HUGE RIV-ELATION

Lionel Messi is close to signing a new Barcelona contract, according to Barca legend Rivaldo.

The Argentine superstar’s Nou Camp future has been in doubt since he handed in a transfer request last summer before performing a dramatic new turn.

He is set to become a free agent with Manchester City interested at the end of the year although the election of Joan Laporta as the new Barca president could tempt him to stay.

Rivaldo told Betfair: “Barcelona are massively improving in the last few weeks capitalising on Messi’s superb form and the election of a new president.

“Messi looks much more connected and happier since Laporta’s arrival – a president he knows well.

“For that reason, I’m starting to believe more and more that Messi might reach an agreement with the new board and sign a new contract to stay at the club for a few more years.

“Messi had a confidence boost with the new president election – someone he has a good connection with – raising the chances of him considering to stay for a bit longer.”

ARE YOU FER REAL?

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand bizarrely told Newcastle fans to stump up £300million to buy out owner Mike Ashley if they hate him so much.

Just one win from 18 league games leaves the Magpies facing a third relegation from the Premier League under the despised Sports Direct tycoon.

Ashley is desperate to sell and is currently suing the Premier League over the failed £300m Saudi Arabian-led bid.

And Ferdinand angered the Toon Army by claiming they can have few complaints unless they are willing to put their money where their mouth is.

The former England defender told his YouTube channel: “He doesn’t care what people think. It’s his club and he’s doing what he wants to do.

“Whether you like it or not, he’s the one that’s put the money up and he’s doing what he thinks is right for the club.

“Whether the Geordies don’t like it, a lot of them hate him and don’t like him but, round your money up and take over the club then.”

ADIOS ARO

Manchester City keeper Aro Muric has been sent home from international duty for breaching team discipline, according to reports.

The 22-year-old was part of Kosovo’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Spain.

But national boss Bernard Challandes sent Muric packing earlier this week after the Swiss-born keeper broke team rules.

Muric is on a season-long loan to Dutch club Willem II.

He helped City win the 2019 League Cup, making five appearances, but has since been loaned out to Nottingham Forest and Spanish club Girona.

The keeper had rowed with national teammate Edon Zhegrova, according to Dutch outlet AD.

But coach Challandes labelled the claims ‘fake news’. The Swiss-born manager added: “It would be a lack of respect on my part towards Aro Muric if I give out any more information.”

DEAL WITH IT

Manchester United are set to hand Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a new £10million-a-year contract, according to reports.

The Norwegian, first appointed by the Red Devils on a temporary basis in December 2018, is currently contracted until 2022.

And while he is yet to win a trophy, club chiefs are convinced that he is the right man for the long-term.

According to The Mirror, Solskjaer will be handed a new three-year deal, even if they fail to win the Europa League this season.

The 48-year-old is also set for a significant £2.5m rise on his current £7.5m-a-year salary.

MOUNT A COMEBACK

Chelsea star Mason Mount has admitted that new boss Thomas Tuchel ‘lit a fire’ inside him after axing him for his first game in charge

Speaking ahead of England duty this week, he said: “I’ve had that experience before.

“I was on loan at Vitesse Arnhem when I was 18, 19. That first couple of months I didn’t play hardly at all.

“I had that motivation and that fire to want to get into the team. The first game with the manager coming in, he went for a more experienced team.

“I understood that and wanted to get back into the team, so that motivation and that fire that I have inside me came out.

“I really tried to push to get back into the team. It’s been brilliant. We are working very hard.

“We’ve had tough games in this last period but we have come through it. It’s exciting stuff, we continue to work hard. It’s been a great start.”

GO-MART

Real Madrid reportedly expect Martin Odegaard to return to Spain in the summer following his loan spell at Arsenal.

The Gunners signed the midfielder in January for a fee of £1.8million and he has produced some stellar performances for the club.

Goals against Tottenham and Olympiacos, as well as a starring role in the comeback draw with West Ham, have made him an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s plans.

It is said that the Premier League side are very open to the idea of keeping Odegaard past the summer.

But, according to Madrid publication Marca, Real are not contemplating a sale.

Zinedine Zidane gave the Norwegian his first run in the team at the start of the campaign but a knee issue and a lack of match action hindered his form.

Madrid reportedly want to provide Odegaard with a fresh crack at proving himself at the Bernabeu and no purchase option was agreed in his temporary transfer.

REAL DEAL

Liverpool will take the opportunity to scout Nacho when they meet Real Madrid in the Champions League, it has been claimed.

The Spaniard has been vital in Madrid’s recent eight game unbeaten run in the league, playing every match.

It comes while Sergio Ramos is sidelined with injury, and Nacho is expected to keep his place in the squad even upon the captain’s return to fitness.

That will see the centre-half play against Barcelona domestically and Liverpool in Europe.

And according to AS, the English champions, along with Roma, have both been interested in Nacho before.

So, with two legs to watch the 31-year-old in action, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp can take a better look at him.

MARC MY WORDS

Holland legend Marco van Basten wants to scrap the offside rule from football.

The iconic former midfielder wants to do away with the rule as it will make the sport ‘more interesting’.

Van Basten, 56, was Fifa’s technical director between 2016 and 2018 and rule improvements were part of his remit.

The Dutchman told Sky Sports: “I am still very curious about the offside rule because I am convinced that it is not a good rule.

“At least I would like to trial it to show that football is also possible without the offside rule. I am convinced that football would be better without it.

“Football is a fantastic game but I still think that we have to do much more to make it better, more spectacular, more interesting, more exciting. We have to work on that.”

NICK OF TIME

Nicky Butt reportedly left Manchester United after ‘friction’ with the club’s newly-appointed director of football John Murtough.

The official line from the former England midfielder, 46, who won six Premier League titles as a United player, was that he wanted ‘a new challenge’.

SunSport has exclusively revealed that Derby boss Wayne Rooney is interested in adding Butt to his management team at the Championship outfit.

But according to The Athletic, Butt and Murtough had ‘differing footballing views’.

Murtough was essentially Butt’s line manager in the new coaching set up. The Athletic describes the pair as ‘like chalk and cheese’.

It is also alleged that Butt felt ‘overlooked’ for the technical director role that his former team-mate Darren Fletcher bagged.

Butt helped bring current first-teamers like Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay, Axel Tuanzebe, Dean Henderson and Mason Greenwood through United’s famous academy.

MARI-NO CHANCE

San Marino are massive 250/1 outsiders to beat England, but there are plenty of other bizarre things apparently more likely to happen.

RASH DECISION

Marcus Rashford joined up with the England camp to catch-up with his team-mates and rehab in a social environment but will not play in the World Cup qualifier.

The 23-year-old Manchester United forward is struggling with an ankle injury but The Athletic reports he was desperate to be in and around Gareth Southgate’s side.

Rashford is said to have wanted to be in team meetings ahead of plans for the delayed Euro 2020 tournament this summer.

Rashford is still fully recovering from an ankle blow suffered in the Manchester derby and despite returning for 90 minutes against West Ham, he was hooked at half-time against AC Milan.

The report states he did not suffer ligament damage but bruising and bleeding on the bone initially ruled him out of the first leg in the Europa League.

DIE IS CAST

Diego Costa has reportedly agreed a two-year deal with Portuguese club Benfica.

The striker left Atletico Madrid in December and has fielded numerous offers to return to action.

Premier League club Wolves, Sao Paulo and even Manchester City were discussed as potential destinations for the 32-year-old.

But Benfica emerged as frontrunners earlier this month with a reported contract offer worth £50,000-a-week.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Costa has agreed in principle to sign for the Lisbon side.

The switch will go through in June and see the forward earn a £2.6million signing-on fee.

Costa’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has reportedly been hard at work finding a new club that can offer top-level football to the player.

YOUNG LIONS

England’s Under-21s get their delayed European Champs up and running at 2pm.

Here’s Aidy Boothroyd’s side for the opener against Switzerland with Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah skippering the team.

Gunners team-mate Emile Smith Rowe is handed his first cap.

BREAKING: LIONS IN WAIT

England’s World Cup qualifier with Albania is at risk at being axed over police security fears, according to reports.

The Three Lions were due to face their European opponents in the Albanian capital Tirana on Sunday.

But the Albanian Football Association (AFA) have released a statement claiming the safety of both teams cannot be confirmed because the State Police have not taken over its security.

The statement, posted on Albanian Daily News, read: “Today in the Albanian Football Federation a letter arrived from the Local Police Directorate of Tirana which states the structures of the Local Police Directorate Tirana cannot guarantee the taking of measures before, during and after the Albania-England match.

“Faced with the situation where the state authorities did not react after the request of the AFA for the release of spaces on the perimeter of the National Stadium, we request urgent response to these structures.

“The cancellation of the Albania-England match would have catastrophic consequences for the image of our country, the National Team and in general for Albanian Football.”

KEANE ON CELTIC

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has been made the odds-on favourite to become the next Celtic boss.

John Kennedy is steering the Hoops until the end of the season after Neil Lennon walked away from his second stint in charge.

Roy Keane is being linked with a return to the dugout
And outspoken pundit Keane – who finished his career at Celtic Park – could be gearing up for a return to management after formerly taking the reins at Ipswich Town and Sunderland.

Bookmaker Coral’s John Hill said: “Roy Keane had a brief spell at Celtic as a player at the back end of his career and if the betting is anything to go by, he could be set for a return to Glasgow to take over as manager in the summer.

“John Kennedy has a contract until the end of the season, but it is Keane who is the odds-on favourite to take over ahead of the start of the 2021/22 SPL campaign.”

BUBBLING CALDERON

Gareth Bale has been warned about a potential ‘volatile’ reaction from Real Madrid fans if he returns to Spain.

Former Real president Ramon Calderon says Los Blancos supporters will only back him if he recreates his early Bernabeu form.

Calderon, 69 – Real president between 2006 and 2009 – told TalkSPORT: “Fans are very volatile, it depends on his performances.

“If he’s going to play well and score goals like he did when he first came then fans will back him. But if he’s not then problems will come again.

“This club is very demanding, I remember with [Zinedine] Zidane they were booing him for the first five months because they thought we’ve paid a lot of money for a player that wasn’t playing as they expected.

“I’m sure fans will be backing him if he does things well.”

SOL MATES

Manchester United are reportedly ready to offer boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a bumper new deal.

The Norwegian gaffer penned a three-year deal when he was given the Old Trafford job full-time in March 2019.

ESPN reports the club have seen enough progress to offer the former super sub a new deal.

The 48-year-old is approaching his final year in the summer and United brass are wary of causing too much speculation if negotiations drag on.

The club are planning for the long-term under Solskjaer and have installed John Murtough as football director and Darren Fletcher as technical director with the pair’s relationship with the manager key in securing their roles.

ALL BETIS ARE ON

Real Betis’ Guido Rodriguez is aware of Arsenal’s reported interest in him but hasn’t heard from Mikel Arteta.

The 26-year-old midfielder has helped propel Manuel Pellegrini’s side up to sixth in LaLiga.

Reports suggested the Gunners were preparing to trigger his £68million release clause although the Andalusian side are expected to accept a far lower offer amid the pandemic.

Arsenal’s interest was put to Rodriguez and the Argentine international told Estadio Deportivo: “I saw it because friends from Argentina asked me, but I told them that I knew the same as them.

“I am the protagonist because I am in the news but today, I do not know more or less than you who saw it.

“I am very happy [at Betis], I arrived and there was one or two months with a strange situation for everyone with the issue of confinement but the truth is that I am very happy in Seville, with the city, the weather, at the club… I’m very happy.

“It feels a bit [pandemic] when we walk down the street, I would have liked to experience all this with the fans in the stadium. I could only play a few games with the packed stadium.”

MATES RATES

Former Arsenal star Serge Gnabry has named his all-time XI of team-mates past and present.

The German was never really given a proper chance at the Emirates, playing only 18 times for the Gunners first team.

But despite this, four Gooners have made the cut – including current right-back Hector Bellerin and old skipper Laurent Koscielny.

Gnabry, who won the treble with Bayern Munich last season, also claimed Mesut Ozil is the best player he’s ever played with.

SWEDE AND SOUR

Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof revealed the personal sacrifices he has to make to represent Sweden.

The Red Devils centre-back is missing his son’s second birthday to play for his country during the international break.

He wrote on Instagram: “Two years of being a father to this little man. I will always walk side by side with you through life. Happy birthday son.”

Sweden face Georgia in tonight’s World Cup qualifier before playing Kosovo on Sunday and Estonia in a friendly next Wednesday.

CON’S CANCER

Stockport County striker Connor Jennings has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Jennings, 29, discovered a tumour when undergoing scans for a persistent shoulder problem and low-grade chondroid sarcoma was diagnosed after a biopsy.

The only course of treatment for the former Tranmere and Scunthorpe forward is to undergo surgery, and County have confirmed he will miss the remainder of the National League season.

Jennings has enjoyed a long career in the lower leagues and Conference, and scored the winning goal in Tranmere’s League Two play-off final win over Newport Country in 2019.

ACE FROM MASE

Manchester United ace Mason Greenwood has proved he is also a star off the pitch after sending an ill fan a heartwarming letter.

The England talent, 19, took notice of the teenager’s situation by former Man Utd youth player Nenad Smiljanic.

Smiljanic reached out to the Red Devils to see if anything could be done to raise the spirits of the teenager in hospital.

And to his delight, Greenwood took time out of his day to construct a handwritten letter wishing him a speedy recovery.

It read: “How are you? I believe you have not been well, but you are now recovering in hospital.

“I hope you are soon better and back home. It is great that you are a Man Utd fan and I hope we can win something for you this season.

“I’m enjoying playing for the first team and hope to score lots of goals for you over the next few seasons. Get well soon.”

SERG IN DEMAND

Manchester United should ‘break the bank’ for Erling Haaland or Harry Kane rather than sign Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, according to Ally McCoist.

The Scottish legend and former striker believes a move for Aguero would cause ‘uproar’.

On talkSPORT, he said: “It would cause an uproar, I don’t see it.

“They’ve already gone for the short-term fix of Cavani. I don’t think you’d go for another 32-year-old for a season.

“I think the time has come for Manchester United to go and get Harry Kane or break the bank for Haaland.”

BREAKING

Germany’s World Cup qualifier against Iceland is in jeopardy after one of their players tested positive for Covid-19.

Borussia Monchengladbach star Jonas Hofmann has returned a positive sample leaving the rest of the German squad confined to their rooms – on the morning of their clash with the Icelandics.

The 23-year-old was previously linked with a move to Chelsea.

Urgent talks are now being held by frantic German FA officials in a desperate attempt to make sure the Group J clash in Duisberg can go ahead as planned.

Bild claims the players are supposed to self-isolate and a team meeting scheduled for this morning has been cancelled in an attempt to reduce any risk of further transmission.

One option could be to roll-out a series of rapid-tests to the entire Germany squad to see if there are any more positive results returned.

If they come back clear then it is hoped that the match can go ahead as planned.

DEVILISH

How Manchester United could line-up next season with Sergio Aguero crossing the city and Hugo Lloris and Pau Torres arriving.