ERLING HAALAND’S representatives have held a positive meeting with Barcelona today regarding a potential transfer to the club.
Agent Mino Raiola and dad Alf-Inge Haaland flew to Spain and met with Barca president Joan Laporta as Europe’s top clubs vie for the Norwegian’s signature.
And no sooner than they were done there did they fly across the country to meet with Real Madrid.
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ALL BEHIND ROO
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney finally hung up his boots this season with his Old Trafford legacy poised to remain for generations.
PUSH AND PAUL
Paulo Dybala is reportedly set to be sold by Juventus following a breach of lockdown rules.
Team-mates Arthur Melo and Weston McKennie attended an alleged gathering with the striker after Italy introduced strict coronavirus measures.
Media reports suggest police were called to the dinner, which included several people, and the club has reacted furiously.
The trio are set to be left out of Saturday’s local derby with Torino and have all reportedly been fined.
According to CalcioMercato, the episode has added further fuel to the fire of Dybala’s exit from the team.
MORE FROM KLOPP
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk is also fighting to join the Dutch squad as he continues his recovery from cruciate knee ligament damage that has kept him out for the past six months.
Klopp added: “Nothing has changed. They are all in the place they should be at the moment and that is it.
“Time will show. I do not want to take a player away from England or Holland.
“If they are ready then they are ready. If they are not ready, I cannot change that.
“It is not about me to make the decision. I only deliver the news when I have it, and I do not have it at the moment.
“No bad news, no brilliant news.”
HEN HEARTY
Jordan Henderson has been offered a glimmer of hope that he could still make England’s bid for Euro glory.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists he still has “no idea” of whether Henderson will be ready but he revealed: “At the moment he cannot train but he will train in the next days and weeks for sure.
“It is just about time. If the time will be enough? I hope so.”
HOT ROD
Marcelo Bielsa is adamant that Rodrigo has already justified Leeds’ record £26million spend – despite just three goals.
Injuries and a bout of Covid have restricted the Spanish forward to 12 starts since joining from Valencia.
Asked if supporters have to wait until next season to see Rodrigo’s best, he said: “No, he can immediately show the resources he has.
“Rodrigo has already shown how important he can be to Leeds and has also justified, with the abilities he has, his transfer fee.
“We hope to have him healthy for a considerable amount of time and, if this happens, he will be able to show his ability very quickly.
“For me, it would be very difficult in the current footballing scenario to obtain a player with his qualities.
“He becomes a starter when he’s in a good state.
“We have seen what he is capable of – he is a great striker.”
OD TO JOY
Arsenal look set to be without academy graduates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe for their clash against Liverpool on Saturday.
Here’s how Mikel Arteta’s side could line-up…
MORE FROM SOLSKJAER
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted it will be difficult to do anything out of the public eye in his pursuit of Erling Haaland.
He said: “I think the way the world works at the moment, you’d like to do all your business on the quiet and all your talks on the quiet but there are platforms everywhere, there’s news, the media make that more difficult.
“Who can you trust? Hopefully we can suddenly sit here with players no one has written about.
“We conduct our recruitment business, scouting, the players that we are interested in, we do it the right way I hope and feel.”
SOL MATES
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is refusing to be drawn into a public battle to land Erling Haaland.
He said: “Even though I worked with Erling it’s not right for me as Manchester United manager to talk about Erling, he will make his own mind up.
“I’m focusing on the next two months and whatever happens in the world of football there is only so many places anyone can go to and I just, focus on the ones who are here.”
‘STAY STRONG’
Donny van de Beek wished old Ajax pal Abdelhak Nouri a happy birthday as the ex-midfielder turned 24 on Friday.
HAAL NO
Pep Guardiola fears Manchester City will be priced out of a big money replacement for Sergio Aguero this summer.
The City boss said: “There are a lot, a lot, a lot of big, big chances that maybe we are not going to sign a striker for next season with the situation world economics as they are.
“We have enough players in the first team and interesting players in the academy.
“With these prices, it’s impossible – we cannot afford it. It’s not going to happen.
“All the clubs struggle financially and we are not an exception.”
POWER SERG
Jamie Carragher has named Sergio Aguero the second-best striker in Premier League history ahead of his Manchester City exit.
KEEPER CONUNDRUM
Ole Gunnar Solskajer is agonising over who to make his number one goalkeeper in the final Premier League run-in.
Dean Henderson has enjoyed a run of six games while David De Gea was given time off for the birth of his first child.
But the Spanish star is ready to return and Manchester United boss Solskjaer has a big call to make for Sunday’s home game against Brighton. A call that could well point to who will be his main man for next season.
Solskjaer said: “It’s difficult to leave one of them out. It’s easy to give the nod they’ll play, it’s difficult to leave one out. Where there can be potential tension and controversy, everyone wants to hear a comment from me.
“They are both top goalkeepers and both of them want to play as much as possible. But who we pick will be decided on merit and we have to think of who’s going give us a win on any given day.
“Both will be needed in these final nine league games and five in the Europa League because we want to go all the way in that.”
ERLI BIRD
Erling Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola is set to fly to England TODAY for transfer talks with Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool but NOT Manchester United.
The super agent was spotted flying into Barcelona and Madrid alongside the player’s father Alfe-Inge Haaland on Thursday to hold talks with the El Clasico sides.
And it was reported that a further three interested teams were due to begin negotiations around a potential deal for Borussia Dortmund’s prized asset.
The Mail reports Raiola and Haaland senior will arrive in England to hold talks with multiple Premier League giants.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool are expected to welcome the pair but SunSport understands United will not meet with Haaland’s agent, who also represents Paul Pogba.
However, the Red Devils are waiting in the wings and keeping tabs on his situation. The Norwegian has a £65million release clause in his Dortmund contract but it cannot be activated until the end of next season.
TOUCH OF CLASS
Yeovil Town fans have paid their respects to their late captain Lee Collins by laying tributes outside Huish Park.
The former Port Vale defender was found dead by police at the age of 32 on Wednesday, with news of his passing leaving the football world in mourning.
Collins – who had featured eight times for the National League side this term – joined the Glovers in 2019 after being released by Forest Green Rovers. And he quickly became a fan favourite, with supporters heading to their ground to lay out flowers, scarves, jerseys and emotional messages.
A statement from Yeovil told fans they were welcome to show their respect, as they tweeted: “The club have left an area near the ticket office for supporters to lay flowers and leave tributes to Lee. We miss you, Captain.”
Before adding: “When visiting Huish Park to pay respects, please ensure you remember to follow the Government’s COVID guidelines. Stay safe.”
And fans were quick to visit the stadium in honour of Collins, who leaves behind his partner Rachel and their three daughters. Police are not treating Collins’ death as suspicious after officers were called to an address in West Coker.
Credit: PA Credit: PA ED IN THE GAME
Manchester United could welcome back striker Edinson Cavani for their clash with Brighton at Old Trafford this weekend.
The Uruguayan missed all but one of the Red Devils’ five matches before the international break due to injury. But he is now returning to full fitness, much to the relief of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who is suffering a mini crisis among his attacking options.
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood could all miss the game having picked up injuries, a selection headache that could see Amad Diallo earn his Premier League debut.
Martial is yet to return to training and while Rashford and Greenwood have re-joined the squad, they are not expected to be fit enough to start.
The ever-present Bruno Fernandes will be well rested for this one having returned from international duty early after picking up a suspension for Portugal’s final World Cup qualifier. And Dan James will be hoping to build on his crucial goal for Wales against the Czech Republic earlier this week.
In between the sticks, Solskjaer has a big decision to make between David de Gea and Dean Henderson. Henderson started the six matches before the break, but De Gea is now back in contention having been missing following the birth of his child.
TIM AND A PLACE
Thomas Tuchel is weighing up several injury risks ahead of Chelsea’s game with West Brom.
The Baggies travel to Stamford Bridge for a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday before Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Porto.
With that trip to Portugal on the horizon, Chelsea could decide to play it safe with a number of players. Thiago Silva has not played since early February and appears to be nearing a return.
Fans were excited by the 36-year-old Brazilian posting a picture of himself training on Instagram in the week, with the caption: “Happy to be back doing what I love.”
Given his long spell out, Silva may be given a start against West Brom to build his sharpness ahead of Porto.
N’Golo Kante and Jorginho are on the way back from shorter absences, providing Tuchel with another headache. Having suffered a hamstring tweak on France duty, Kante may be held back along with his midfield partner, who hurt his knee in training.
How Chelsea could line up against West Brom ‘END SPECULATION’
Former Arsenal Fan TV star Claude Callegari died from natural causes relating to his health, his devastated family have confirmed.
Claude was a regular fixture on the popular YouTube channel before he left the platform last year. He tragically passed away this week aged 58, leading to tributes from both the Arsenal and wider football community.
Speculation about his cause of death had been fuelled by a cryptic post on Twitter two days before his passing, in which Claude wrote: “No one is forcing you to watch it don’t worry I will disappear soon to see my mother then you can all be happy.”
A statement released by the Callegari family read: “My family and I would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support and kind words during this extremely distressing time.
“I am now able to officially confirm that my father passed away from natural causes relating to his health. I hope this will ensure an end to any speculation regarding the matter and our privacy can continue to be respected whilst we make arrangements for his funeral. Thank you.”
Claude was removed from AFTV after a racism storm erupted when he referred to Spurs star Son Heung-min as ‘DVD’ during last summer’s North London derby.
‘TIN MAN’
Scott McTominay has revealed his nickname is ‘Tin Man’ within the Manchester United dressing room, NOT ‘McSauce’.
After netting two goals in just three minutes against Leeds back in December, social media exploded as ‘McSauce’ began trending on Twitter.
But the Red Devils midfielder has now confirmed he is known by a different tag with his teammates. Speaking to ESPN, he said: “I don’t know where that originated from. It’s social media isn’t it? I don’t pay attention to Instagram and Twitter. I tend to stay away.
“I’ll give you a nickname, my old reserve team coach Warren Joyce used to call me the Tin Man. So, yeah. Whenever I was growing up, I was really small, then I went really tall all of a sudden.
“It was quite a big change, but I was really like, my legs, I always struggled to move my hips and stuff. Dean Henderson still calls me it, because we were in the same reserve team together so he still calls me Tin Man to this day.
“And the foreign lads are always looking at him like: ‘Are you alright, why are you calling him that?’ So that’s been one for years now. But we don’t need that one to stick, I don’t like it!”
Credit: Getty COST AN ARM AND A LEG
The captain’s armband thrown to the floor by Cristiano Ronaldo in last week’s World Cup qualifier has raised £54,000 for charity.
The item was collected from the Red Star Stadium pitch in Belgrade and soon found its way online.
Posted on auction website Limundo, it received huge attention with the proceeds going to charity. The money raised from selling the armband will be sent to Gavril Djurdjevic.
The six-month-old baby lives in the city of Kragujevac and suffers from spinal muscular atrophy. Humanitarian organisation Together for Life is hoping to raise just over £2million to pay for his treatment.
After 408 bids, the auction has ended with £54,000 raised from the buyer.
The armband was picked up from the pitch by a Serbian firefighter, who posed with the piece before the auction closed.
Credit: EPA CUP FOR IT
Fans will have to take THREE Covid tests to watch the first match back at Wembley.
Leicester’s FA Cup semi-final with Southampton a fortnight on Sunday will be used as a test event with a 4,000-strong crowd.
Anyone attending must take a lateral flow test beforehand, provide proof of an official test and take one 24 hours after the game. If everything goes well, around 8,000 fans will be allowed in for Manchester City’s Carabao Cup final against Spurs a week later.
The matches will hopefully pave the way for 20,000 fans to be at Wembley for Euro 2020. Only those living in the borough of Brent will be allowed to attend the Foxes‘ clash against the Saints.
And the majority of tickets for the Carabao Cup final will be given to NHS staff as a thank you for their hard work over the pandemic.
It is understood that local residents would also be in line to attend – putting Spurs supporters at a slight advantage with the game played in the capital.
Credit: Getty – Contributor Credit: Getty SEEING RED
Arsenal are the joint dirtiest team in Premier League history after amassing 98 red cards.
The Gunners have been an ever-present in the glitzy top flight since it was established in 1992.
And research shows the North Londoners – who have been crowned Prem champs three times – are top of the tree for most dismissals alongside Everton. Both sides are just two red cards away from a century.
The Gunners have had numerous hardmen in their ranks over the years, with Patrick Vieira picking up eight red cards during his time in the Prem and Martin Keown given his marching orders six times.
The Toffees’ figures are inflated by the misdemeanors of Scottish hardman and Carlo Ancelotti‘s coach Duncan Ferguson.
The former striker is the Prem’s joint most red-carded player with eight dismissals. Newcastle are third on the list with 87 while Chelsea make it into the top four with 79 red cards.
NO TAM-ORROW – EXCLUSIVE
Tammy Abraham is back on the comeback trail in his latest bid to beat a persistent ankle injury.
The Chelsea striker resumed training three days ago as he finally hopes to shrug off the problem which has dogged the second half to his season.
Abraham did not feature in any of his club’s seven previous games prior to the international break, hampering his chances of proving himself to new boss Thomas Tuchel.
He has already suffered one setback on the road to recovery when he was forced to abandon training after just five minutes of the warm up.
The injury, which he suffered against Burnley in January, has taken longer than expected to settle down and ruled him out of the England reckoning over the past fortnight.
Abraham, 23, is still a way off full fitness and will not be considered for tomorrow’s Premier League clash at home to West Brom. But it is hoped he can play again within the next two weeks with the possibility of being involved in Chelsea’s FA Cup semi final against Manchester City on April 17.
Credit: Getty COKE RAID
Two men have been arrested after police seized packages branded with Cristiano Ronaldo’s logo containing 50kg of cocaine.
A United States narcotics investigation found £1.5million worth of the illegal drug stashed in a closet in New York. The cocaine was wrapped in packaging marked with the Juventus star’s ‘CR7’ branding.
Police officers found materials persistent with drug trafficking inside an apartment in Queens, including a loaded firearm, $10,000 in cash, and money counting machines.
An investigation led to 43-year-old Christopher Jones being observed as he entered the apartment on Monday afternoon, as confirmed by a US Justice Department statement.
Jones entered the complex empty handed but left with a suitcase and drove away before being arrested.
The suitcase was found to contain approximately $200,000 in cash. Another man, Wykim Williams, was also arrested and there is no suggestion of a link between the raid and Ronaldo.
KYL-ER BLOW
Kylian Mbappe could be sold for as little as £102million in the summer with Paris Saint-Germain reportedly growing impatient with the striker.
The 22-year-old has just one year left on his deal at Parc des Princes, and it remains to be seen whether he will extend his stay despite the club’s best efforts.
Real Madrid are understood to be weighing up a move for the World Cup winner with boss Zinedine Zidane known to be a huge admirer of his French compatriot.
And Le Parisien have stated that Mbappe could be heading closer to leaving Les Parisiens with the board losing patience with his contract renewal.
They claim that they have lowered their asking price to between £102m-£128m for Mbappe should they decide to cash in on him.
The former Monaco ace hinted that he could quit PSG following France’s three World Cup qualifiers over the international break. He declared that he is growing increasingly infuriated over negative headlines in the French press.
Credit: Reuters ‘IT WASN’T ME’
Scott McTominay has revealed he told team-mate Sergio Romero to speak to Lionel Messi about swapping shirts with him.
The Barcelona superstar was given a bloodied nose during a Champions League quarter-final match against Man Utd in 2019, an injury he mistakenly thought was caused by McTominay.
In actual fact, the busted up Argentine had been on the end of a Chris Smalling elbow. And McTominay used Messi’s compatriot Romero to ensure he received Messi’s coveted shirt at full time.
The Scot told the Man Utd club website: “So, whenever we played against him for Barcelona [in 2009], Chris Smalling elbowed him and he’s got blood coming out of his nose. And he thought it was me.
“Because I said to Sergio Romero, ‘please can you ask Messi to get his shirt?’. Sergio comes back in and said, ‘Oh, he thinks you were the one who elbowed him on the halfway line’.
“I said, ‘No, no, no, no – tell him it wasn’t me, so make sure I get that shirt because that’s going in my bedroom’. So he knows it wasn’t me now. Sorry Chrissy, but he was the one who roughed him up a bit.”
Credit: AFP or licensors
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
