ERLING HAALAND’s future remains a hot topic with Chelsea reportedly looking to sign the Dortmund star ‘at any cost’.
North of the border, Neil Lennon has left Celtic with cross-town rivals Rangers closing in on the Scottish Premiership title.
And we’ve the very latest on Andre Silva after SunSport revealed exclusively on Tuesday that he could switch to Man Utd for just £30million.
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Read our live blog below to get the latest from around the clubs…
TEAM NEWS
Joe Hart starts in goal for Spurs against Wolfsberger this evening.
Carlos Vinicius leads the line as Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min warm the bench.
And there is also a rare start for Dele Alli in midfield.
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HAAL WAIT AND SEE
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not ruled out a new bid for Erling Haaland.
He said: “When you have had kids and players through as a coach, you follow them and I keep in touch with Erling, it’s great to see the player he has become.
“I know he will work to improve all the time. He is a Dortmund player, we wish him well there and let’s see what life will bring later on.”
Asked if any deal was now dead or could be revived Solskjaer said: “You know I can’t speak about Erling, he’s with Borussia Dortmund.
“It’s disrespectful to talk about it apart from I know him and speak to him.”
UNITED WE STAND
Marucs Rashford has recalled his stunning two-goal Manchester United debut – and why Dean Henderson made it even more special.
He told the club’s website: “You were in the crowd. The academy get particular seats and they’d just moved you. They used to be high up, the tickets, but not long after I started training with the first team the seats moved to the family stand.
“I just knew that there were people there and as I was running I just saw you and you grabbed me! Great memories.
“That’s probably the bit I remember the most.
“I remember the goals and stuff and how they happened, but other than that I don’t really remember the game itself. I just remember certain moments.”
LUK-ING BACK
Romelu Lukaku has revealed he loves Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
UNLUCKY 13
Tottenham’s wait for a piece of silverware has now stretched to 13 YEARS.
It was on this day in 2008 that Juande Ramos led Spurs to the League Cup thanks to a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Wembley.
But what happened to the Tottenham team that beat Avram Grant’s side?
PAULO DYBALA
United were heavily linked with the Juventus star in the January transfer window.
He has found game time tough to come by under Andrea Pirlo.
And United, Tottenham and Liverpool have all been linked with the Argentine ahead of the summer transfer market.
Dybala’s contract expires in 2022 but injury issues are hampering his chances of signing a new deal in the coming weeks.
Juve managing director Fabio Paratici has admitted that the club are concerned by his fitness woes.
Read more HERE.
ANDRE SILVA
SunSport exclusively revealed on Tuesday United will be offered Eintracht Frankfurt striker Silva for £30m but only if Cavani leaves.
Silva’s agent Jorge Mendes is hoping to orchestrate the move with Frankfurt needing to raise funds to buy back Real Madrid forward Luka Jovic.
Portuguese international Silva has been on fire in the Bundesliga this season with 18 goals in 20 appearances – second only to Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski in the scoring charts.
The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League in the past after leaving Porto to join AC Milan in 2017 for £32m.
Since then, loan switches to Sevilla and then Frankfurt saw him sign for the latter in September, but England remains a luring attraction.
The deal – which could be worth up to £30m in pandemic times – is with bringing Jovic back to the club in mind.
RED REINFORCEMENTS
Manchester United could be without Edinson Cavani next season with the Uruguayan’s contract set to expire in the summer.
And SunSport has explored five strikers the Red Devils could sign to replace him.
ERLING HAALAND
Solskjaer is set to be handed a summer war chest – and Haaland is said to be top of his wishlist.
United were in the hunt for Haaland, the most wanted striker in Europe, before he joined Borussia Dortmund last January.
A £65million release clause only kicks in next year, meaning anyone wanting to sign the 20-year-old before then will have to pay an inflated premium of at least £100m.
The striker has been in sensational form this season, scoring 17 Bundesliga goals in as many games.
TO THE MAX
Exclusive by Charlie Wyett: Norwich rejected a move from Roma for defender Max Aarons.
The England under-21s international is certain to make a big-money transfer this summer with Bayern Munich, Everton and Manchester United all showing an interest.
But Roma were the only club to make an offer last month in a deal which potentially, could have been worth up to £20m.
MOR PROBLEMS
Alvaro Morata has been diagnosed with a lifelong virus after feeling faint and needing to lie down after the loss to Porto.
Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo revealed the Chelsea flop complained of feeling ill after the 2-1 Champions League defeat on Wednesday.
Morata has now been diagnosed with Cytomegalovirus (CMV) which stays in the body for the duration of your life.
However, it is common and usually harmless and can cause flu-like symptoms – similar to those the Spaniard was exhibiting.
CMV is related to the herpes virus that causes cold sores and chickenpox but many people will carry it without realising.
It is transmitted via close contact but can only be passed on when it is ‘active’ – usually when you first contract the virus.
SHORT-TERM GOALS
Thomas Tuchel claims he feared Chelsea didn’t trust his managerial abilities after offering him an 18-month contract.
He told Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport: “It was all done in 72 hours.
“At first I didn’t like it, I thought ‘maybe they don’t trust me?’
“‘I have to leave my country, maybe leave my family behind and they are many points behind fourth spot.’
“Maybe we won’t make it which is still possible because it’s a tough race and it will be easy to sack me again.
“But after just a matter of minutes I took the weight off my shoulders.
“I thought ‘if I’m good, if they like what I’m doing they will make me stay.’
“‘If I’m not good, if I dont have good results they will sack me anyway.’
“I can have a five-year contract and they could still sack me so why worry about it?
“Am I convinced about myself? Yes. Am I convinced about this club and team? Yes and yes. So why worry?
“From there on I stepped out of the cycle of thinking and I live a bit easier now. I don’t worry as much.”
CONFERENCE CALL
Comment by Charlie Wyett: “Spurs will attempt to win a first trophy in 13 years when they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on April 25.
“And the added extra for Tottenham is that, considering they are currently ninth in the Premier League, a Wembley win will guarantee a spot in Europe next season.
“But it will not be the Europa League.
“If Spurs do win the Carabao Cup, they will be flying the flag for England in the inaugural Uefa Europa League Conference.
“Should Manchester City triumph at Wembley, then the sixth-placed Premier League team will be heading into uncharted territory.
“This competition is a dream for groundhoppers but not so good for stroppy managers of a big club.
“Some teams might even prefer to actually finish seventh.”
JULS IN A CROWN
Tottenham could have a new man in the dugout by the beginning of next season which will spark a big change on the pitch.
Current boss Jose Mourinho is under increasing pressure with his side dropping to ninth in the Premier League.
And reports claim he could target the hugely-talented RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann.
Here’s how they could line-up…
‘VERY DIFFICULT TIME’
Ronaldinho has paid tribute to his ‘inspirational’ mother after she passed away from coronavirus complications.
Miguelina Eloi Assis dos Santos contracted the illness in December and died in hospital a few days ago, at the age of 71.
Condolences have flooded in from around the footballing world with the former Barcelona star opening up on her passing for the first time via Instagram.
He wrote: “My family and I thank all of you for the affection and support that we are receiving in this very difficult time.
“My mother was an inspiration of strength and joy to all who knew her and will continue to show her light in our lives forever.
“With the strength she taught us, we will continue our journey. Thanks.”
TUCH N GO
After Olivier Giroud’s stunning winner in Bucharest, Tuchel admitted he will have to alter his plans when they meet again on March 17 after discovering he would be without the two stars.
The Chelsea boss said: “We will miss two crucial players, it makes things not easy for us.
“But I am very happy with the performance of everybody, that includes Mason of course.
“Again, a good effort, a big effort, high work-rate, high intensity like we are used to when he plays like this. He has a big impact on our team.
“Honestly, we now play Man Utd, Everton, Liverpool and Leeds, it is good like this. We cannot get comfortable, we cannot get lazy.
“These games will push us to our limits, then we will think about our solutions for the second leg.”
DOUBLE WHAMMY
Chelsea have been hit with a double whammy after Mason Mount and Jorginho were both ruled out of their Champions League second leg clash with Atletico Madrid.
The midfield duo were both booked in last night’s 1-0 away win.
And now the pair are suspended for the crunch return game at Stamford Bridge next month.
SOL SEARCHING
Yet Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could spring a surprise and name a strong side to retain his side’s rhythm.
Here’s an alternative way they could line up…
PAUL OVER NOW
Manchester United welcome Real Sociedad to Old Trafford for the second-leg of their Europa League last-32 tie on Thursday.
Paul Pogba is definitely unavailable but with the Red Devils having thrashed the Spanish side 4-0 in the first-leg, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can afford to rest some other big stars.
Here’s how they could line up…
GRANIT XHAKA ON SOCIAL MEDIA ABUSE
He said: “If I showed the others what they write, I think I have to close my social media and I think everyone has to close their social media.
“I say that before, I say that now and I will say it always as well, it’s only about me I am the one on the pitch. It’s not my wife it’s not my little one, it’s not my family. If you want to criticise someone, like a person, like a player, no problem, criticise me. But don’t get other people involved because they have nothing to do with my job.
“Secondly I have had a lot of help from the club. It’s something we have to speak very openly about it. We don’t have to be quiet and say ‘keep it with me’ because it’s not always easy.
“But the club was here for me and for my family. I was very open with the guys here. And if you have people around like this to help you it’s very important.
“The problem is only if you lose. It’s not a problem when you win. If you lose everyone hates you, everyone is writing you things where it’s not possible to understand how they’re writing stuff like this.
“I wish I could meet the people who write these things, to sit with them eye to eye and ask him ‘why are you writing things like this?’ Not only for me personally because it happens a lot in the past few weeks, but only to know what he’s feeling in this moment when he writes things like this.
“It is not acceptable, so we have to open our eyes and speak a lot because I think you kill football like this if people start to talk about a family or player or things like this.”
BAR-CA CRAWL
Exclusive by Charlie Wyett: Lionel Messi is following in the footsteps of best pal Luis Suarez – by building a bar 100 yards away from the Uruguayan’s restaurant.
The Barcelona talisman may be missing his old strike partner, sold to Atletico Madrid last summer, on the pitch but will soon have even greater ties to him off it.
In 2017, Suarez opened ‘Chalito’, a trendy restaurant on the beachfront of Castelldefels, a short hop down the coast from Barcelona city centre.
Just 100 yards away, Messi is setting up shop on the same road.
SunSport pictures HERE show a construction site behind a steel fence that will eventually become the home of the Argentine’s bar.
JACK POT
John McGinn has told his Aston Villa teammates to man up and prove they can win without their talismanic leader Jack Grealish.
Dean Smith’s side have seen their team lose all of the three Premier League games captain Grealish has missed since winning promotion to the top flight in 2019.
McGinn claims it’s time to end that trend and said: “Any team in the league is going to miss Jack. But we are more than capable of putting in better performances than we did (against Leicester) without him.
“There are going to be spells in a season when teams lose their best players. But we have more than enough in that dressing room to get results.”
FAN THE FLAMES
Mikel Arteta lifted the lid on the prospect of there being some fans for the end of the season:
“I cannot wait to have our fans back in the stadium. I think all the players and everyone at the club are desperate to have our fans back at the Emirates because they make a huge difference.
“For me personally as well, because the energy they are able to create, the motivation they create, the passion they can show in the stadium for our players, I think is something we’ve really been missing.
“I’ve said it before: to feel part of something that you are trying to do without sharing it with the people that really matter is very empty at the end.
“A lot of the emotional parts are the beauty of this game so hopefully we can have them back very, very soon.”
MORE FROM MIKEL ARTETA
On whether Bukayo Saka is one of Arsenal’s most important players:
“His form in recent months shows that he’s a very important player for us. I think he’s getting better and better, his performance levels have been really consistent, so that makes him for sure one of the most important players in recent months.”
On whether Saka’s consistency is unusual for a young player:
“It is very unusual but he’s been doing a lot of unusual things. He’s dealing with things at his age in a very unusual way, but that’s why he’s showing what he’s showing, because his maturity is above his age and so is his intelligence as well.”
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Mikel Arteta was quizzed over whether winning the Europa League was Arsenal’s best chance of qualifing for the Champions League.
He said: “I think while mathematically everything is possible, in football you have to try so hard.
“We’re going to do that in the league for sure. It’s true that the Europa League gives you a completely different route and is a competition that we want to carry on playing, and try to win it.
“Tomorrow is another opportunity to make a step forward. The better we are in the Europa League, the better we’re going to be performing in the league and vice-versa. We need to be alive in both competitions.”
ARSENAL TEAM NEWS
Mikel Arteta said: “Thomas is very close. He’s got a final test today in training.
“If he’s feeling good, he will be available to play the match.”
At the back, Arteta will be without Rob Holding after a concussion during Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
The Arsenal boss added: “Regarding Rob, he’s not available.
“He had a concussion, we tested him and he’s completely fine but obviously now we need to follow the protocols and he won’t be able to travel.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
