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      Liverpool willing to sell surprise star defender Nat Phillips in £10m summer transfer with Van Dijk and Gomez to return

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      LIVERPOOL will sell centre-half Nat Phillips in the summer – but only if they get a major offer.The defender has had his first run in the team under Jurgen Klopp, but he is unlikely to be a starter next season and that has caught the eye of other Premier League clubs.
      Nat Phillips, 24, may leave Liverpool this summer – if the price is rightCredit: EPA
      The Reds have already decided not to keep Turkish centre-back Ozan Kabak – as we revealed last week – but local lad Phillips could also go if the right bid lands.
      The 24-year-old starred in the win at Burnley, when he got his first senior goal, and the former VfB Stuttgart loanee could command a £10million fee.
      Phillips made 19 league appearances for the German side during the 2019-20 campaign, helping them win promotion to the Bundesliga.
      He has since featured 16 times in the Premier League this season but is likely to play fewer games once Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip return from injury.
      The crocked trio have managed just 22 Prem appearances between them this term.
      Klopp may also decide to sign a new centre back this summer as Liverpool are believed to be interested in RB Leipzig ace Ibrahima Konate.
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      Liverpool boast the most-valuable squad in the Premier League

      The Reds have been linked with several players recently, including Udinese star Rodrigo De Paul.
      They are also said to be keen on Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma, rated at £40m.
      And Liverpool are believed to be interested in Manchester United target and Borussia Dortmund talent Jadon Sancho.
      Naby Keita, meanwhile, could be on his way out of Anfield, with newly-crowned LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid reportedly considering a move for the midfielder.
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Tearful Liverpool hero Alisson dedicates incredible headed winner to late father who tragically drowned this year More

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      Man City boss Pep Guardiola admits he’d love £150m-rated Harry Kane as Tottenham star plots summer transfer escape

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      PEP GUARDIOLA has opened the door to signing Harry Kane by admitting: I’d love a 30-goal-a-year hitman.His Manchester City are favourites to land the £150million-rated Tottenham centre-forward, who wants to leave this summer.
      Pep Guardiola has admitted he’d love a 30-goal-a-year striker like Kane at Man CityCredit: PA
      Man City chief Pep Guardiola has opened the door to a summer move for Harry KaneCredit: PA
      Kane gave a huge hint that the Etihad would be his chosen destination when he admitted Kevin De Bruyne is the one man he would love to play alongside.
      And Guardiola said: “I’d love to have a striker who got 50 goals a season honestly but I don’t like to put all the pressure on one player.
      “At Barcelona Lionel Messi, every season since he was born, scored 50 a season.
      “Thierry Henry scored a lot in the first season, Samuel Eto’o scored a lot – what a striker.
      “When you are to win titles, especially the Premier League, with just one guy you won’t win it.
      “You need more and the statistics speak for themselves. You need three guys with more than ten, scoring 12 to 15, to be competitive.
      “But when you have someone who can get 25 to 30 it helps a lot.”
      Despite romping to the title, City’s top Prem scorer is midfielder Ilkay Gundogan with 13.
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      Raheem Sterling, with three fewer, is the only other player to reach double figures.
      Sergio Aguero – the club’s 258-goal all-time leading scorer – has played a bit-part due to injuries and leaves after today’s clash with Everton.
      Gabriel Jesus, bought to fill Aguero’s boots, has again failed to take his chance with only eight.
      That spread of goals saw City stroll to a third title in four years and they will complete a treble if they add the Champions League to the League Cup.
      Now there is the growing prospect of Kane, 27, leading the line next term – though Guardiola could face competition to sign the England skipper from across Manchester.
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      United chief Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has just nailed down Edinson Cavani for another 12 months but still wants another goalscorer at Old Trafford.
      And he believes playing with the veteran Uruguay ace, 34, would improve any striker – even Kane.
      Solskjaer revealed: “Just because Edinson stays doesn’t mean we are not looking for a forward.
      “It’s the nature of the beast that you’re always trying to improve.
      “Edinson staying is great and whoever comes in will learn from him definitely, whoever you are.
      “So the short answer is we’ve not stopped looking for a centre-forward.”
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Harry Kane will hold transfer talks with Tottenham amid Man Utd and Man City interest More

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      Uefa chief Ceferin rejects Gary Neville call for regulator and says losing League Cup wouldn’t kill English football

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      GARY NEVILLE and Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin agree on the basics.But their visions of how to stop future Super League projects and give football a more sustainable future are very different.
      Aleksander Ceferin does not back Gary Neville’s plan
      Player-turned-pundit Neville and more than 100,000 fans who signed a parliamentary petition reckon English football needs an independent regulator to defend its traditions and values.
      But Ceferin believes the game can and should be left to govern itself – and English football must play its part in devising Europe-wide solutions to long-running problems.
      Ceferin, a lawyer by profession, is catching his breath after “a crazy three weeks”.
      No sooner had Uefa seen off the ESL than it had to move the Champions League Final from Istanbul for the second year in a row, in order to allow Chelsea and Manchester City fans to attend.
      But while he is willing to see both sides of most arguments, Ceferin has strong views on outside regulation being forced on football, in England or anywhere else.
      He said: “I don’t think there’s a need to change the way football is run. Especially I don’t think that governments should interfere.
      “When there are ideas of an independent body governing football, it’s just a matter of time before the level of independence of those bodies will be questioned. 
      “The most important thing is that we strengthen the pyramid, that we create the regulations we didn’t have so that projects like that cannot happen again.”Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is NOT taking his hat off to Uefa’s plans to expand the Champions League
      Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is NOT taking his hat off to Uefa’s plans to expand the Champions LeagueCredit: AFP

      Neville was not alone in calling for severe punishments, including points deductions and competition bans, for England’s Big Six.
      Instead, the Premier League clubs, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter have escaped with modest financial penalties and threats of massive fines if they try it again.
      Ceferin said: “I don’t think it’s right to say who, but I spoke with two or three of the owners of the six English clubs.
      “They said they completely misjudged the situation, they know it was a big mistake and they know there has to be a sanction because of that.
      “I’m sure they will not do it again. They learned their lesson. That’s enough for me. I’m not on a crusade to punish them forever.”
      But it will be strange next Saturday to watch Chelsea and Manchester City trying to win a trophy they were prepared to ditch just weeks ago.
      Especially after City were only able to reach the final after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a two-year ban for breaking FFP rules.
      Ceferin said: “I disagree with their decision and was for sure disappointed.
      “But I’ve learned as a trial lawyer in Slovenia that some cases you win that you were sure you would lose, and some you lose that you thought you would win.” 
      So much for the past, what about the future?
      Managers like Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, players like City’s Ilkay Gundogan and fans of all clubs are also united in opposition to Uefa’s plans to revamp the Champions League from 2024.
      Earlier this month, supporters told Ceferin at a virtual meeting they did not want any more CL games, let alone the 100 extra proposed, because of the impact on the English calendar and competitions like the League Cup..
      Ceferin said: “You like traditions very much, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have to modernise from time to time.
      “I don’t want to get into how. But I don’t think that all the spirit of English football would be gone if you had one cup less.”
      Plans to award CL places on the basis of past European competition performance are also unpopular.
      Ceferin says Uefa must explain better why the Swiss-style league format and the new qualification criteria will create a better and fairer Champions League.
      He is willing to tweak the proposals, but football authorities in England and elsewhere must also be willing to compromise.
      Angry fans protest outside Stamford Bridge over the European Super LeagueCredit: Getty
      A Chelsea fan famously protested against the ESL with a placard reading: “We want our cold nights in Stoke.”
      Which club’s ground in Ceferin’s native Slovenia would be the equivalent of the Bet365 Stadium on a Tuesday night in February?
      Ceferin laughed: “Maybe FK Aluminij. They have a small stand that’s not covered. It’s cold up there.”
      But Aluminij, like all the clubs in Slovenia’s top flight, receive about £85,000 per year in TV rights revenue, compared to £100m for each Premier League club.
      And that’s why, Ceferin says, initiatives like the new third-tier Europa Conference League, regarded as a booby prize by some Premier League managers, are important.
      Ceferin said: “It is a serious competition.
      “Clubs like Tottenham or Roma could be in it. Top teams will play in the semi finals and final.
      “If English clubs play well in the Conference League, they will earn points that could help them play in the Champions League in the future.
      “If we want to work on saving the pyramid of football – and football is not about England only – clubs in smaller countries need more international matches.
      “They will improve, they will get more sponsors, more money from broadcasting rights, because they can play against a team from the Premier League or La Liga.”
      Neville wants an independent regulator to help to re-set the balance between rich and poor in English football.
      But Ceferin says everyone must work together for the benefit of the whole European game in the post-pandemic, post-ESL era.
      The Uefa president said: “The good that Covid has done is that we are all discussing all the topics.
      “You have to work on the whole ecosystem of European football. If we do something, but the Premier League, La Liga and the others don’t, then we don’t achieve much.
      “We should calm down now and put things in place for the future which ensure that football becomes even more sustainable.”
      Gary Neville gives impassioned rant about greedy Big 6 and The European Super League More

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      Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson tells pals he fears England axe as he struggles to recover from injury

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      JORDAN HENDERSON is set to join in the celebrations should his Liverpool team-mates secure a Champions League place today.But the Anfield skipper will still have a worry at the back of his mind.
      Jordan Henderson is concerned about missing Euro 2020Credit: Alamy
      For he has told close pals he is deeply concerned that his return to training after groin surgery in February may have come too late for him to make England’s bid for the Euros this summer.
      Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate is due to announce his squad for the finals on Tuesday.
      But Henderson, though seen happy and smiling as he worked out on Friday, fears he might get a call tomorrow that would turn the joy of his club’s top-four comeback to sorrow.
      Reds boss Jurgen Klopp declared recently that England’s vice-captain still had a chance of being selected by Southgate.
      Yet Friday was his first proper football session since getting crocked and the 30-year-old fears the worst.
      That with only two warm-up games scheduled, against Austria and Romania before the big kick-off with Croatia on June 13, Southgate will not take a chance on him.
      Henderson’s injury, along with the season-ending knee damage to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, means Klopp’s fallen champs find themselves in the last-chance saloon today.
      The Anfield chief, whose team host Crystal Palace, stressed: “A season is a season and you cannot cut off the positive parts from the negative parts and then say, ‘Oh, look at that, nearly there’.
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      Arsenal ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed a new deal at the club
      “We don’t see it like this. I said when we lost our centre-halves, all of them pretty much, we broke our leg but we could still win games.
      “Not always with the most convincing football but we could still win games, we were still scoring and all these kind of things.
      “Then, we had to – and we had to at that time – take midfielders and transform them into centre-halves and that broke our spine.
      “The young boys were not ready to play centre-half, the midfielders had to play centre-half at that time and we lost rhythm, we lost pretty much everything, all of the stuff.
      “A football team is like an orchestra or whatever, or something else where plenty of people work together, and if you lose one piece you might, or you can, still do it.
      “But if you lose another piece then it gets really difficult, especially in this league where everybody performs at such an incredibly high intensity level.

      “This year with the injuries we had, it was not a year in which you can become champions. No chance for nobody.
      “Take out, as good as they are, the three centre-halves of City. No.
      “Three centre-halves of United. No. For the whole season, pretty much. That’s how it is, it was really strange.
      “But fight back. Accept the difficulties, fight back and make the best of it.
      “If we qualify for the Champions League, then we made the best of it.”
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Liverpool boss Klopp reveals that Jordan Henderson has returned to training More

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      Harry Kane can beat Alan Shearer’s 260-goal haul if he gets summer transfer with Man Utd, City and Chelsea keen

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      HARRY KANE wants a move because he’s desperate to play for a trophy-winning team.Well, if he gets his wish, I think he’ll have a massive individual record to his name when he retires, too — as the Premier League’s all-time top scorer.
      Harry Kane is ready to wave goodbye to Tottenham in the summerCredit: PA
      Alan Shearer is top of the list with 260 and Harry is still the best part of a hundred behind him right now.
      But if he turns up in Manchester or at Chelsea, it really wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up with even more.
      He’s 27, could stay at the top for another five years and, if that is the case, you’d have to fancy him to be the top man by the time he finished.
      It’s quite ironic, really, because I see Shearer’s move to Blackburn 30 years ago as very similar to Kane now.
      When Jack Walker broke the British transfer record to take him to Ewood Park in 1992, it was for one reason — he knew Shearer could win the title for Rovers.
      However daft it seems now, £3.6million was a huge amount at the time, but it was a signing which came with as big a guarantee as you can get.
      Shearer was no risk. Jack knew he was buying someone who’d score goals, had a great attitude and would hit the ground running.
      It will be the same for whoever signs Kane, too. You know exactly what you’re getting — which in this case is the best centre-forward in the world.
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      Alan Shearer is the Premier League’s top scorer with 260 goalsCredit: PA
      Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is ready to make the move for KaneCredit: Reuters
      That’s why, if I was still managing and had the choice between him, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, I’d go for Harry every day of the week.
      As good as the other two are, no one could say for definite how they’d take to the Premier League, how long it would take them to adapt.
      With Harry, there’s no risk, no gamble, no settling in. He’d be ready to go from day one.
      Look, Mbappe and Haaland are both brilliant young players who could be around for the best part of ten years, or have a massive sell-on clause.
      But as manager, I’m interested in the next four seasons — and Kane guarantees you 30 goals every time, barring injuries.
      Shearer and Blackburn showed what a massive difference one man can make — and Harry is the same. You’re talking another 15 points, that’s the impact he’d have.
      For Manchester United or Chelsea, that makes the gap a heck of a lot closer, maybe even turns you into champions.
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      Harry Redknapp is backing Harry Kane to smash the Premier League recordCredit: PA
      For City, it means you carry on winning titles, but by a wider margin — and if Harry went there, he’d certainly be joining the best team right now.
      Can you imagine how many goals he’d end up with playing for Pep Guardiola, given the number of chances they create?
      With some strikers, you’re thinking, ‘Is he going to finish it?’ With Harry, you’re thinking, ‘Where’s he going to finish it,’ because you never feel he’s going to miss.
      For me, he’s the best centre-forward in the world, bar none, but there’s a lot more to his game than just goals. He’s the best passer Spurs have got, he can play a killer ball, his range is incredible and,of course, he’s incredible in the air.
      In my book, Kane has got everything, he’s the full package.
      That’s why Daniel Levy will demand the earth. He certainly won’t say, “You’ve done great with us, didn’t cost us anything” and wish him all the best.
      Someone will have to pay stupid money — and it’s not beyond the realms that he could still be a Spurs player next season.
      But as for not wanting to sell him to a major rival, where else is he going to go? With all due respect, Kane’s not going to end up at Burnley or Brighton.
      If Harry stays at Spurs, I don’t think he’ll down tools. He’ll put the shirt on and work his socks off — unlike some other players I could mention.
      I had one — a very well-known player whose name I’ll keep quiet — who wanted to move and said: “If you don’t sell me, I’ll put one in my own goal.”

      There’s no danger of that with Harry. He’s more like Luka Modric (above), when Chelsea wanted to sign him.
      He came to tell me they’d offered double the wages we were paying him, but we didn’t want to sell, and he played another year before getting a move to Real Madrid.
      But really, I can’t see Harry sticking around for another season, and someone is going to end up getting value for money — even at that crazy price.
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Man Utd boss Solskjaer hints at new striker transfer amid Harry Kane and Danny Ings links More

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      West Brom chasing ex-Sheff Utd boss Chris Wilder to lead charge back to Premier League but face uphill struggle

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      WEST BROM are facing a tough battle to talk Chris Wilder into leading them back to the Premier League.Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael may be approached instead if Wilder does not have the appetite to replace Sam Allardyce.
      West Brom want Chris Wilder to lead the charge back to the Premier LeagueCredit: PA
      Wilder and Ismael are at the top of the Baggies’ shortlist after Allardyce decided to leave following the first relegation of his career.
      West Brom chiefs would prefer to make a quick appointment.
      But Wilder is willing to wait for a Premier League job as he thinks he has proved himself since taking Sheffield United to a top-ten finish in his first season in the top flight.
      And the shrewd boss has told pals he may even hold out for the first round of sackings next season — with Newcastle a potential move in his sights.
      Wilder, who left in March, is still being paid by the Blades but that should not be a problem if he decides to take on a post before that arrangement runs out.
      A big offer from the Baggies could swing it but they are offering £25,000 a week plus a bonus for going up — which is much less than Wilder was on at Bramall Lane.
      Main rival Ismael has done a remarkable job at Barnsley and could be tempted to move to a club with a bigger budget.
      However, Frenchman Ismael is also a serious contender for the Crystal Palace vacancy — and could yet get that call while he waits on West Brom to commit.
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      Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael also remains on West Brom’s shortlistCredit: PAWIN £50,000 with Dream Team EurosDream Team Euros is HERE!

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      Another possible is former Fulham chief Slavisa Jokanovic — now in Qatar — who is also in talks with Sheffield United.
      Albion want experience but could yet speak to Aston Villa assistant John Terry if they cannot agree terms with those who have a promotion on their CV.
      Meanwhile, QPR are set to sign veteran keeper Andy Lonergan, 37, after he leaves West Brom.
      The former Liverpool reserve would take on the challenge of fighting Seny Dieng for a game at the R’s after the departure of No 2 choice Joe Lumley.
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Sam Allardyce will leave West Brom at the end of the season after failing to keep Baggies in the Premier League – Sky Sports More

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      Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s £20m ‘Mini Versailles’ mega-mansion finally finished after 4yrs as pair prepare to move in

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      THE Rooneys are finally ready to move into their £20million mega-mansion.Their new pile — four years in the making — had been likened to a Morrisons supermarket as it took shape.
      Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s incredible new ‘Mini Versailles’ home is completeCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvin Media
      Now the finishing touches are being applied, Wayne and Coleen jokingly call it a “Mini Versailles” — a reference to the grandiose 17th-century French Palace.
      The Rooneys’ pad may not have the 2,300 rooms of the original but it does come with bespoke furniture throughout.
      It should have been ready at the start of the year but Covid restrictions led to repeated setbacks. A source said Coleen considered moving in early to give the builders “some focus”.
      But they finally finished after a deadline was imposed.
      The multi-millionaire couple are hoping to be in by the end of the monthCredit: instagram
      Our exclusive pictures show the country pad, referred to by the couple as ‘Mini Versailles’Credit: Chris White
      Large JCB-style diggers have been seen on the site as it nears completionCredit: Zenpix
      Wayne and Coleen, both 35, and their four boys now plan to fully move in by the end of the month.
      Builders’ cabins have all been removed and last week the land-scapers arrived to finish off the gardens. The source said: “It’s been a difficult and often frustrating process but it’s all but done and ready to move into.
      “Wayne and Coleen are absolutely thrilled with it.
      “It’s been a long time coming, but the best things come to those who wait. They’ve still got their other house nearby so are gradually moving between both homes until everything is in.”

      Work is nearly complete on a grand entrance to the £20million propertyCredit: Chris White
      The vast home in Cheshire has seen landscapers hard as work finishing the gardensCredit: Chris White
      The Rooneys will be surrounded by rolling green fields and country air
      The six-bedroom pile sits on a 40-acre plot in Knutsford, Cheshire, and boasts stables, a six-car garage, an orangery and two man-made fishing lakes.
      There is a whisky and cigar room for Wayne, boss of Championship side Derby County, and a football pitch.
      The mansion also boasts a television room, bar, wine store, snooker room, cinema, gym, hot tub, swimming pool, plunge pool and steam room.
      There is also a main entrance hall, study and a library, plus two lifts — one for the family, the other for visitors.
      There are security cameras surveying the property, which sits in 40 acresCredit: Zenpix

      After an attempted burglary at their home in 2016, builders have created an underground escape route linking the pad to the nearby garage and stable block.
      The ultra-secure tunnel has steel doors at either end. In the event of intruders, it can whisk Wayne, Coleen and sons Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass off to safety.
      Inside Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s jaw-dropping £5k-a-week ‘caravan park’ holiday to Wales More