Aguero LATEST, Chelsea to make £80m Jadon Sancho offer, Barcelona ‘to cull Coutinho and Griezmann’ – live transfer news

LUKE-ING UP

To miss one final is unlucky. Two is heartbreaking. Three, you might start wondering if you are in the right trade.

But four… no make that FIVE if you want to chuck in a Super Cup… well.

Well that is Luke Shaw’s back catalogue at Manchester United as he finally looks forward to breaking his duck in the Europa League final against Villarreal in Gdansk.

He said: “There was disappointment with all of them, really.

“In big games at big times are big opportunities to show yourself and I feel like I missed out on them.”

DAN IN THE DUMPS

Dani Ceballos has confirmed his exit from Arsenal as the midfielder posted an emotional message to Gunners fans ahead of his Real Madrid return.

EYES ON THE PRIZE

Manchester City romped to this season’s Premier League title, clinching glory with weeks to spare.

But while their success on the pitch increased this season, their prize money actually went DOWN.

According to The Times, City netted £163million for their efforts this campaign.

This figure is made up of their £123m ‘equal share’ payment – given to every club in this season’s Premier League – and then a further £40m for winning the title.

Runners-up Manchester United pocketed £38m, meaning their overall total was £161m.

WORLD IN MOTION

Manchester United star Harry Maguire says he still cannot watch England’s 2-1 defeat by Croatia at the 2018 World Cup.

He told the Overlap: “The Columbia game was massive for us. We should have really won it in normal time.

“And then to reach the quarter-final and we get Sweden and then all of a sudden we, we believe that we, we can, we can go and win this.

“I look back at Croatia and I still, I still feel a bit disappointed, should be a good memory to reach a World Cup semi-final but I can’t really watch it back because it makes me feel disappointed.

“I can remember the feeling at half-time and that’s probably where we went wrong, we probably felt like we were nearly there. We played really well in the first half, we probably should have been more than one goal ahead.

“In the second half, we just couldn’t keep the ball.

“We probably didn’t have that experience of playing in these big games, and these big tournaments to see out the semi-final, so I look back at it as disappointment just because I do feel that we could have done that little bit more.”

VIEW TO A KYL

Kylian Mbappe is in urgent transfer talks with Paris Saint-Germain over his future following Sunday’s Ligue 1 title flop.

He told Canal Plus: “Everyone knows how profoundly attached I am to the club.

“I have always been very thankful towards the president and my different coaches.

“What I want is to win, to feel like I am somewhere where I can win, where there is a solid project around me.

“The footballing project is essential. I want to feel like I am part of a team that is going to do something.

“Then, it’s up to us to show what we can do. We are talking with the club, we will see what happens.”

BALE OUT

Gareth Bale will join Wales for pre-Euro 2020 training on Wednesday after being allowed to fly back to Madrid to see his family.

The Dragons captain, 31, travelled back to Spain on Sunday night after scoring twice for Tottenham in their 4-2 Premier League final day win at Leicester.

But Bale, who has completed a season-long loan at Spurs from Real Madrid, will now spend time with his family in the Spanish capital before linking up with Robert Page’s 28-man training camp in Portugal.

Spanish TV channel EL Chiringuito showed footage of Bale arriving back in Madrid late on Sunday night.

Wales travelled to the Algarve on Monday for the five-day camp near Lagos.

SunSport understands Bale will follow testing and quarantine rules and will be tested when he enters the squad bubble as per Uefa testing regulations.

STAT ATTACK

Coronavirus has impacted every walk of life over the past 14 months – and football is no exception.

The 2020-21 season kick-started a month later than usual on September 12 with the 38 rounds of matches crammed into a condensed schedule.

And with some help from Opta, here are a collection of the best stats from a truly unique Premier League campaign…

1. The 2020-21 Premier League campaign was the first season in any division in the top four tiers of English football league history to see more away wins (153) than home wins (144).
2. After setting a club record 68-game unbeaten home run in the Premier League, Liverpool then lost six consecutive home league games for the first time in their history.
3. Manchester United became just the fourth side in English top-flight history to remain unbeaten away from home across an entire league campaign, after Preston in 1888-89, Arsenal in 2001-02 and Arsenal again in 2003-04.

BAR CRAWL

Barcelona president Joan Laporta is ready to wield the axe and cut as many as ten first-team players in a summer overhaul.

Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho are just two star names who could be sold as the Spanish giants look to cure their ailing finances while also turning the team around.

According to Sport, the starting point will be securing Lionel Messi’s contract.

A number of senior players who have not quite hit the high notes at the Camp Nou are named as up for sale, from Coutinho and Miralem Pjanic to Martin Braithwaite, Junior Firpo and Neto.

One-time Arsenal target Samuel Umtiti could finally move after a torrid time with injuries.

Matheus Fernandes is being considered for a sale while academy starlet Riqui Puig may be allowed to leave on loan.

Even club stalwarts Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto are said to not be safe from the clearout as Barcelona attempt to agree a fresh round of pay cuts with the quartet.

ON THE MEND

Thomas Tuchel is hopeful Edouard Mendy will be fit for the Champions League final after a ‘huge improvement’ in his rib injury.

The goalkeeper, 29, was taken off at half-time after crashing against the post attempting to save Bertrand Traore’s opener in the the 2-1 loss to Aston Villa.

He said: “For Edu, the update is that we still have hope that he joins training on Wednesday and he joins the group.

“We had a huge improvement in the management of the pain.

“We need a further update on Wednesday, but we hope to have him back in training on Wednesday.

“Edu will play if he is fit and if he is not fit on Wednesday we will try on Thursday.

“And we will try on Friday and take the responsibility for this decision.

EURO BARRED

John Barnes claims Jack Grealish is a huge doubt to make England’s Euro squad after his recent injury woes.

He told BonusCodeBets: “Grealish hasn’t played for a few months so it’s going to be difficult for him to really say he’s done enough to get picked for the Euros squad.

“Particularly if you are talking about his position whereby you have James Maddison, Mason Mount and other attacking midfielders who can play in that position.

“If England were struggling for other players in that position, then maybe we could take a chance on him.

“But with so many players already playing in that position, you shouldn’t have to drop other players into different positions to accommodate Grealish.”

SO NEAR YET SO VAR

Exclusive by Martin Lipton: Arsenal would have finished FOURTH without VAR this season.

A SunSport study of all the decisions overturned by Stockley Park show the Gunners were the biggest “sufferers” from the system.

If all on-field original decisions had stuck, Mikel Arteta’s men would have earned four more points.

That would have been enough to take them above Spurs, West Ham AND Chelsea and steal the final Champions League spot.

AUBA AND UNDER

Arsenal are interested in a shock move for Leicester flop Cengiz Under, according to reports.

Under joined the Foxes on loan from Roma last summer, to bolster Brendan Rodgers’ forward line.

The temporary deal included a £20million option to buy.

But with the Turkish international having failed to make an impact in the East Midlands, he is set to be back on the market this summer.

His contract in the Italian capital still has another two years left to run.

But he is expected to be sold in the coming months.

According to Tutto Mercato, the Gunners are one of a number of teams interested in signing the winger.

FOX HUNT

Leicester are reportedly closing in on a £20million deal for Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare.

The Mail claim talks have been ongoing since January with the Ligue 1 side ready to cash in on the 22-year-old due to the financial impact of Covid.

Soumare is thought to have been convinced by a move to the King Power Stadium by France U21 teammate and Leciester defender Wesley Fofana.

NEYMAR PENALTY SHOCKER

Not only did PSG lose the Ligue 1 title to Lille last night, Neymar also missed a penalty in shocking circumstances.

They did win the game 2-0, but Lille’s victory meant they failed to defend the French top flight.

Here is the spot kick.

KANE NOT ABLE

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has confirmed his interest in Manchester United transfer target Harry Kane – while Ollie Watkins has been tipped to replace the striker at Tottenham.

England star Kane has told the North London side he wants to leave this summer after another disappointing campaign.

That has prompted interest from the Blues, Manchester United and City.

HOME GARD

West Ham fear Manchester United will block any attempt to sign Jesse Lingard by opting to keep the star this summer.

Lingard played a key role in helping the Hammers secure a Europa League spot with nine goals in 16 appearances on loan in the capital.

Boss David Moyes is desperate to bring the 28-year-old to the London Stadium on a permanent basis.

But the popular Hammers gaffer admitted on Sunday he had no clue whether a deal was possible.

There are increasing concerns within the club that United have no interest in letting the England ace leave Old Trafford on the back of the impact he has made while on loan.

SunSport understands there has been no contact at all between the two clubs to discuss a permanent deal, despite the Hammers making it clear they would be willing buyers.

‘WE MUST IMPROVE’

Harry Maguire has urged his Manchester United team-mates to ‘improve again’ after an impressive Premier League campaign.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has also confirmed the injured defender will still travel with the team to their Europa League final against Villareal in Gdansk on Wednesday.

Maguire is almost certain to miss the Europa showdown having injured his ankle ligaments against Aston Villa earlier this month.

But the Red Devils captain will still join his team-mates so he can provide support from the sidelines.

And despite his absence from the upcoming season finale and United’s last four Premier League games, Maguire is still trying to keep standards high.

After United won 2-1 at Wolves on Sunday as they comfortably finished second – five points above Liverpool in third – Maguire took to Instagram to urge his team-mates to get better next season.

The 28-year-old uploaded a picture of himself in a United shirt and wrote: “Great way to finish the @premierleague campaign.

“Well done lads. Another step forward this year but we don’t settle for this, next year we must improve again. Looking forward to Wednesday #MUFC.”

NO PLACE FOR HATE

Rio Ferdinand has been racially abused for the second time in less than 24 hours.

The Manchester United legend was subjected to monkey chants from a Wolves fan at Molineux on Sunday.

The supporter was thrown out, arrested and Wolves promised to ban the fan for life if found guilty.

Ferdinand wrote on Twitter: “The last couple of weeks, it’s been unreal to see fans back.

“However to the Wolves fan who has just been thrown out for doing a monkey chant at me, you need to be dismissed from football and educated.

“Come meet me and I will help you understand what it feels like to be racially abused!”

But Ferdinand received further abuse online when Twitter user @AageBjerre told the former England defender and now BT Sport pundit to ‘Eat a banana’ followed by three emojis of the fruit.

GUER WILL HE GO?

Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero bid farewell to the Etihad faithful in fairytale fashion on Sunday with two goals in his team’s 5-0 thrashing of Everton.

But focus has already switched to where he will play next season having confirmed he will leave this summer with his contract expiring next month.

Barcelona are hot favourites to sign the Argentine superstar.

The 32-year-old is one of the greatest players in Premier League history and is demanding £200k-a-week from his next team.

And Pep Guardiola all but confirmed the goal machine will join the Catalan giants in the next few weeks.

However, nothing has been confirmed yet and SunSport has explored five teams the Argentine international could join including Ronald Koeman’s side.

Those five teams are:

• Barcelona
• New York City FC
• Paris Saint-Germain
• Chelsea
• Juventus

GOAL MEDAL

Harry Kane completed a unique double as this season’s top goalscorer and assist-maker – but was still some way off the Premier League’s all-time creation record.

Consistent top form and a largely injury-free season allowed the Tottenham star to produce a personal-best tally of 23 goals and 14 assists.

That meant a total of 37 goal involvements, comfortably clear of Bruno Fernandes (30), Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min (both 27).

Patrick Bamford, Jamie Vardy (both 24) and Marcus Rashford (20) also featured in the upper echelons following strong campaigns in front of goal.

But Tottenham hero Kane still has work to do if he is to best the Prem’s greatest-ever goal creators.

RAM SHOCK

Spain have sensationally dropped captain Sergio Ramos from their Euro 2020 squad.

Boss Luis Enrique has decided to axe the nation’s most-capped player for the summer showpiece.

Ramos only managed 21 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos and has paid the price for his lack of fitness.

And amazingly it is the first time EVER that no Madrid player has been included in a Spanish squad for a major tournament.

Luis Enrique said: “It was a very difficult decision but Ramos has not been able to compete or train very much recently.

“I would have liked Ramos to be in the squad but I did not think it was viable because he has practically been unable to compete.”

BELL’S HELL

Arsenal star Hector Bellerin has revealed how he turned to booze as he struggled to deal with his injury hell.

Bellerin said: “It was the first time that I had got injured like that, and I had friends and team-mates that had gone through it before, I had my family next to me, but I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen to me.

“I talk about an experience when I came back and I wasn’t really training, and I started going out a lot, I started drinking and all this stuff and you know for a footballer that’s not what you’re supposed to say but it’s the truth.

“We have our issues, we have our mental health problems. And when football, which is basically your identity gets taken out of you, we find it difficult.

“Obviously London is a town that offers a lot of distractions and it’s really easy when you don’t feel you have a responsibility – obviously I knew I had to recover, but I didn’t have to train or play – my mind kind of just went elsewhere.”

TOP MAN

Manchester City are favourites to sign Harry Kane this summer after lifting the Premier League trophy.

Kane’s future is uncertain after he made it clear he’d like to move away from Tottenham.

And bookmakers Betfair make City favourites to land him, ahead of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Kane is said to want to stay in the UK despite Daniel Levy’s preference to sell him abroad.

And the bookies believe Kane will get his way with the European contingent starting with PSG at 9/1, Real Madrid 20/1, Barcelona 25/1 and Juventus 33/1.

HEN DO

Jordan Henderson expects to be fit to lead England at next month’s European Championships.

He said: “I was itching to get on. But I have only trained a few times with the team so it wasn’t the wisest thing to do!

“I feel good. I have been training the last few weeks on my own.

“Now I need team training and hopefully I can be fit for the Euros. Fingers crossed. That is my target.

“I have been working hard in the background. I feel good but I have to go and train with England and be ready for the Euros.”

MAGIC NUMBER

Gary Neville believes Manchester United’s best route to signing Harry Kane is a players-plus-cash deal.

The 46-year-old told Sky Sports: “It’s difficult. City don’t tend to break their budget, do they? [Their record is] £65m-£70m – they’re not going to get him for that.

“So it’s whether they could get a player to Tottenham that would makeweight the deal.

“And I think that’s what United maybe have in Martial, James and Lingard.

“They’re types of players you could send [to Spurs] plus a chunk of money and it might make Daniel Levy happy.”