Football news LIVE: Tottenham appoint Ange Postecoglou, Arsenal confident of Declan Rice signing, Man United eye £40m striker, Alexis Mac Allister set for Liverpool medical
talkSPORT.com brings you all the latest football news, views and transfer gossip from the Premier League and beyond.
Top stories:
- Tottenham appoint Ange Postecoglou on a four-year deal
- Manchester United step up Rasmus Hojlund interest as Erik ten Hag eyes two new strikers
- Real Madrid eye Harry Kane as Karim Benzema replacement
- Arsenal remain confident of signing West Ham midfielder Declan Rice
- Brighton star Alexis Mac Allister set for Liverpool medical ahead of £55million transfer
- Chelsea step up Moises Caicedo pursuit as they learn the price of Brighton star
- Nottingham Forest in advanced talks to buy Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson
- Leicester confirm release of seven players, including Aston Villa target Youri Tielemans
Brighton are hoping to sign Levi Colwill in a part-exchange deal with Chelsea for Moises Caicedo amid reports of a club-record bid for the defender.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Brighton are now preparing a record £40m bid for Colwill after seeing their first offer of £30m rejected last week.
Chelsea have no intention to sell the defender, however, talkSPORT understands that the Seagulls are hoping they can change that by using Colwill in the deal to let Caicedo head the other way.
And this may sway the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, with Mauricio Pochettino interested in bringing Caicedo to the club after missing out on Sporting Lisbon’s Manuel Ugarte.
Leeds majority owner Andrea Radrizzani has reportedly agreed to a complete sale of the club to the San Francisco 49ers investment fund.
A deal between the two was believed to close, with it depending on Leeds avoiding relegation from the Premier League.
But the Whites failed to stay up, leading to uncertainty over whether the takeover would go through.
But according to the Daily Mail, that is now back on, with the 49ers to pay £170million – where they will become the owners of Elland Road.
The 49ers already own 44 per cent of Leeds having first acquired a 15 per cent stake five years ago.
It has been said that details of the takeover have already been passed on to the EFL.
West Ham are gearing up for their Europa Conference League final clash with Fiorentina in surroundings far worse from what they are used to.
It is not everyday multi-million pound footballers are put through their paces in a ground where grass grows from the stands, but David Moyes’ side have done just that.
That’s because the Hammers have swapped their 80,000-seater London Stadium for a derelict one in Prague.
Though the Great Strahov Stadium, located in the Czech capital, is not as bad as it seems.
It was in fact once a world-beating venue housing up to 250,000 spectators back in its day and 56,000 seats, making it it larger than any current or former sports stadium – the second largest ever.
Used mainly for synchronised gymnastics, no competitive sports event have taken place their since 2019.
It is, however, used as a training facility for Czech top flight side Sparta Prague with the Great Strahov Stadium containing eight pitches.
Rennes have confirmed they will not be turning Joe Rodon’s temporary stay into a permanent switch.
The Tottenham defender was shipped off on loan to the French side last summer, where he featured in 22 games in all competitions.
Though the Wales international played just twice since February 12 after falling out favour.
And Rennes Sporting Director Florian Maurice has now confirmed that the club will not be activating their £17million buy option.
Discussing Rennes’ plans for the summer transfer window, he told Ouest-France: “For Joe, there is a very high purchase option.
“Evidently, it won’t be possible for us to raise that amount.”
Arsenal have reportedly revived their interest in Real Valladolid right-back Ivan Fresneda following the club’s relegation from LaLiga.
The Gunners were keen to sign the 18-year-old in January, but refused to pay the quoted £35million price tag.
And their decision has paid off, with the teenager now available for a cut-price fee thanks to a relegation clause in his contract.
According to The Sun, the Spain youth international is now up for grabs at £17.5m – half of his initial asking price.
It has been said that Arsenal are now weighing up a summer swoop to sign the highly-rated youngster.
Fresneda is claimed to fit the perfect profile of player Arsenal are looking for as he is young and hungry with the potential to improve drastically.
Should he make the move to the Emirates, he would provide competition for Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Harry Kane has been urged not to turn down a move to Real Madrid by club legend Sergio Ramos.
Los Blancos are searching for a new striker following the news that Karim Benzema will leave the club after 14 years at the Bernabeu.
With Kane tipped as a potential replacement, Real Madrid icon Ramos has been discussing his credentials as a future Galactico.
Speaking to the Mirror, Ramos said: “My advice to any player is don’t turn down the opportunity to play for Real Madrid – it is a special club who know how to win.
“He [Kane] has an incredible physical presence, you can’t score as many goals as he does in the Premier League and not be able to play the physical side of the game.
“But also he can play the technical side of the game as well and I don’t think he gets enough credit for that.
“Yes, he is a great goal scorer but also he is a great football player as well.”
Tottenham are reportedly interested in signing Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire this summer.
The England international will be allowed to depart Old Trafford after falling down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag.
And according to The Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Spurs will look to secure his services.
It has been said that the potential transfer would delight Harry Kane as Spurs look to persuade the striker to remain in north London.
New Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is keen to improve his defence, with Eric Dier, Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez all facing an uncertain future.
Paris Saint-Germain boss Christophe Galtier will reportedly leave his post as boss.
The 56-year-old only took charge of Les Parisiens last summer after succeeding Mauricio Pochettino.
But like every manager before him, he failed to win the Champions League, and only won the Ligue 1 title by a point.
According to Le Parisien, PSG director Luis Campos has informed Galtier his services are no longer required.
PSG could now look to bring Julian Naglesmann to Parc des Princes.
Pep Guardiola has revealed he is more calm going into Saturday’s Champions League final than he was two years ago.
The Citizens have the chance to win their first European Cup when they face Inter Milan – two years after their final defeat against Chelsea.
And speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola was asked whether his side are more relaxed this time around having already won the Premier League and FA Cup.
He said: I’m more than calm, I’m so grateful for what the players have done but finals are so different.
“What we do in the next days is understand the game we have to play. It will be a game of a lot of difficulties. It’s not easy to attack the defensive system they use.
“We have to have a lot of rhythm and patience. The right tempo is the most important thing in these type of games, more the game you go through anxious becomes a problem.
“They are used to dominating the games in Italy and they have a lot of good patterns so we have to defend really well. It’s a final against a top team and we have to do it. We are confident, optimistic but I can not deny the qualities of the opponent.”
Manchester City have been dealt an injury blow ahead of the Champions League final.
Kyle Walker has missed Man City training today and is now a doubt for the final against Inter Milan in Istanbul.
Manager Pep Guardiola gave an update on Walker’s fitness at his press conference this afternoon.
He said: “He had a disturbance in his back. Yesterday he was not good. Today he was a little bit better. We didn’t want to take a risk and we will see in the next days.”
The defender played a key role in the semi-final win over Real Madrid and his absence could prove to be a huge loss for the Citizens who are eyeing a historic treble on Saturday.
New Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has got fans excited after a clip resurfaced of him mic’ed-up during a Celtic training session.
Supporters were recently treated to a behind-the-scenes look at what an unhappy Postecoglou might say to under-performing stars.
The Aussie can be heard bellowing towards his players during a pass-and-move training session.
He then shouts instructions, praising the Celtic stars for everything they do correctly.
One fan said: “Just came across this video of Postecoglou mic’d up during a Celtic training session… It’s impossible not to get excited after watching this”
Another added: “I CAN’T WAIT!! I love everything about this guy.”
A third wrote: “Oh, thanks a bunch…..I’m now getting excited about this….”
Arsenal remain optimistic on their chances of signing West Ham captain Declan Rice, talkSPORT understands.
The Gunners are set to make a formal approach for Rice after tomorrow’s Europa Conference League final.
Rice is also wanted by Bayern Munich, but is believed to prefer a move to the Emirates.
Manchester United have been asked to be kept informed on developments, but do not consider themselves front-runners.
West Ham value Rice at more than £100million.
Alexis Mac Allister has been given permission by Brighton to undergo a medical at Liverpool, talkSPORT understands.
Liverpool will pay a fee of up to £55million for the Argentina World Cup winner.
The Reds have made signing the Seagulls midfielder a priority this summer.
Brighton have already agreed a deal to sign Mahmoud Dahoud on a free transfer as his replacement.
Arsenal are reportedly set to face Monaco in this year’s Emirates Cup – with a twist.
Just like in the 2022 edition, there will be just one game, as opposed to four clubs being involved.
According to the Evening Standard, Ligue 1 side Monano will be taking part.
Though for the first time since it’s inception in 2007, it will not be taking place on a weekend, with it scheduled to go ahead on Wednesday, August 2.
It has been said this is because the Gunners are due to face Manchester City in the Community Shield a few days later before the new Premier League season.
Former Leeds midfielder Lee Bowyer has thrown his name in the hat to succeed Sam Allardyce at Elland Road this summer.
The Whites are on the lookout for a new manager following their relegation from the Premier League.
And Bowyer, who declared he held conversations with the club before they hired Allardyce, has insisted he would welcome future talks.
Appearing on the White and Jordan show, he said: “Without going into too much detail, there was a message or two exchanged, but the decision from the club was to go with Big Sam because of experience.
“Unfortunately for the football club that didn’t work out, but going forward, I’d like to think that we would have a conversation at some stage and maybe try and put something together.”
Pressed by Jim White whether he’d jump at the chance to manage Leeds, Bowyer remarked: “Oh for sure, I have a connection with the club and I understand the club and I think that’s important for whoever goes in there next.
“But if I got the call, I would love to go there and get that club going again and get the fans onside and get the place bouncing again.
“I would definitely jump at the chance for sure.”
He added: “I know the Championship now, I’ve done a few years of management there, I understand it, I watched it all last season, and you analyse and see what it takes to get promotion.
“I believe if I went in there I would get them promoted again.”
Manchester City have been likened to Formula One team Red Bull, with Manchester United labelled as Ferrari – despite the Citizens’ dominance.
That is according to talkSPORT host Simon Jordan, who believes that despite Pep Guardiola’s side being the best in the world, they aren’t yet a bigger club than their rivals.
The ex-Crystal Palace owner said: “Man City are well on their way to establishing themselves as a football club around the world will view differently than one that has been created by Sheikh Mansour, they’re on that journey.
“They’re building up these relationships, but they are still to Manchester United’s Ferrari, they are the Red Bull.”
He added: “We’re not talking about their achievements, because their achievements set them apart from everybody right now.
“No doubt about it, undebatable, not even worth a discussion, Man City are the best football team in the world, but we’re talking about the iconography, not the achievements.
“And this legacy position that teams like Manchester United and to some extent Liverpool, and Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, they have a legacy about them that’s very different to Man City.
“It’s going to take Man City a long time to get those blue chip credentials in the minds and eyes around the world of everybody that we’re talking about.”
Pressed by Jim White how long that would take, Jordan simply stated: “A generation.”
Sergio Aguero’s son Benjamin has produced a scathing attack on Paris Saint-Germain after the club bid farewell to Lionel Messi.
The teenager went viral on Instagram after his comment claiming the Argentinian World Cup winner was bigger than the club gathered over 96,000 likes.
Messi, who recently left PSG, is a long-term friend of Benjamin’s father Aguero, with the pair sharing a dressing room both on international duty and at Barcelona.
It was the former Manchester City and Barca forward’s son, though, who leapt to his defence, after the club confirmed Messi’s departure.
PSG posted several pictures of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, with the caption mercimessi.
Benjamin then decided to take matters into his own hands, saying: “He was too big for you.”
N’Golo Kante could swap the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League this summer with the Chelsea midfielder set to become a free agent.
The World Cup winner is in talks to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge, but an agreement is not believed to be close.
And according to Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano, this has led Saudi clubs Al Nassr and Al Ittihad to look to bring the Frenchman to the Gulf nation.
Should Kante decide to leave, he could join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr.
Meanwhile a switch to Al Ittihad would see him link up with Karim Benzema, who is closing in on a transfer from Real Madrid.
Simon Jordan believes Ange Postecoglou’s appointment at Tottenham must work following the sackings of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
Insisting the pressure is on Daniel Levy, the talkSPORT host said on White and Jordan: “This is a territory where Daniel needs to get this right now.
“If he ever needed to get a managerial appointment right, he needed to get this one right, because since Pochettino – Mourinho, Conte and Nuno Espirito Santo – you can say none of them have worked.
“And there’s only so many times you can make decisions and say they’re not working, and I think it creates more pressure on you just simply by the nature of getting it wrong.”
Asked by Jim White if this Levy’s most important announcement, Jordan stated: “In recent times, I think yeah.
“This idea that you can’t play a brand of football and you can’t win anything which are the two things that Tottenham fans want, they want a brand of football that they enjoy, and they want to win something.
“And Postecoglou is a winner, whether you can translate winning the Scottish Premier League into the Premier League, I think you can – it depends upon the characteristic, it has been proven before with Alex Ferguson.
“It has been proven with Martin O’Neill when he came over to Aston Villa and put them into the top six.
“OK Tottenham’s ambitions are slightly loftier, but it’s been proven for a period of time when Brendan Rodgers came over and won the FA Cup with Leicester.
“So there’s no reason why this fella can’t come in and get Tottenham facing the right way. There’s no reason.”
Chelsea are reportedly demanding just £20million for American winger Christian Pulisic.
The USA international had a disappointing 2022/23 season, where he chipped in with just a goal and an assist in 22 Premier League matches.
And according to The Athletic, the Blues are now willing to cash in on the 24-year-old, who is tied down at Stamford Bridge until 2024.
It has been said that Chelsea would be willing to part ways with him for £20m.
That is almost triple less than what Chelsea paid for him in 2019 after handing over £58m to Borussia Dortmund.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor has hailed Ange Postecoglou after it was confirmed he will take over at Tottenham.
The Scotland international told the Hoops’ website: “It has been great to work with the gaffer over the past two seasons and to achieve the success that we have, especially achieving yet another treble at the weekend.
“In fact, to win five out of six domestic trophies is a tremendous achievement and that is testament to the real focus and relentlessness of the manager, the players and our whole backroom team who have all worked so hard.
“I thank all our supporters again for what they have given us this year. The scenes at Hampden and Celtic Park, when we celebrated our success together will stay with me forever.
“We have delivered something very special to our fans and done it, under the manager’s direction by playing an exciting and attractive brand of football. As all the players do, I wish Ange great success in his next challenge.
“We move on ourselves to our own challenges too. Our performances this season mean we will take our place deservedly in the Champions League and we can’t wait for it.
“It will be brilliant to have these great nights back at Celtic Park and I am sure our fans are looking forward to experiencing this again, as well as watching us striving to defend all our domestic titles.
“The players will enjoy a well-earned break and when we return we will get right behind the new manager, we will be united and, as ever, will do all we can to bring our fans continued success.”
Ange Postecoglou has thanked Celtic upon his departure to Tottenham as he revealed he turned down a contract extension to stay with the Scottish champions.
Speaking to Celtic’s website, he said: “I would like to sincerely thank everyone at the club for everything they have given me.
“In particular, Dermot, Peter and Michael and the Celtic Board have shown me tremendous support in every aspect of my time at Celtic and I will forever be grateful for this.
“They brought me to the club and I have worked so closely and so well with them for the past two years, I will always have a special relationship with them.
“They wanted me to extend my time at Celtic and while I am so respectful and understanding of their position, a new opportunity has been presented to me and it is one which I wanted to explore.
“It was an honour to be asked to be Celtic manager and during my two years I have given everything I have to deliver success to our supporters. Culminating in the Treble at the weekend, my players and backroom team have been brilliant for me on this journey.
“They have given us all some fantastic moments through their energy and effort, creating real quality, winning football.
“Our supporters have been magnificent to me and I thank them for the way they have embraced me during the past two years. My ambition was always to give our fans a team they could be proud of, a team people talked about and I think we have achieved that.
“Celtic is a phenomenal football club, and so much more – and I will forever be a supporter of this great institution. I wish everyone connected with Celtic nothing but continued success.”
Postecoglout leaves Celtic after winning the domestic treble in the 2022/23 season.
Celtic have wished Ange Postecoglou well after the Australian departed Glasgow to take charge of Tottenham.
Hoops chief Celtic Chief Executive, Michael Nicholson said: “It has been a pleasure working with Ange, a great football manager and a good man.
“He has served the club with such energy and determination and delivered a phenomenal level of success.
“I would like to thank him for all he has given us and I wish Ange and his family the very best for the future in everything they do.
“Of course, we wanted Ange to stay with us at Celtic and while there is real disappointment that we are losing him, he has decided he wants to look at a new challenge, which we respect.
“As Treble-winning champions, the club looks ahead with confidence to the future, with many exciting opportunities ahead.
“The club appreciates the tremendous support from Celtic fans this season and we will continue to build from this position of unity and strength.”
Tottenham have confirmed the appointment of Ange Postecoglou on a four-year deal.
Chairman Daniel Levy said: “Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play.
“He has a strong track record of developing players and an understanding of the importance of the link from the academy – everything that is important to our club.
“We are excited to have Ange join us as we prepare for the season ahead.”
Postecoglou will officially take over on July 1.
Spurs also confirmed that an announcement will be made on his coaching staff in due course.
Laura Woods’ reaction to Chelsea’s interest in Moises Caicedo perfectly summed up how every Arsenal fan is feeling right now.
The Blues have made the Brighton star their top summer target now Manuel Ugarte is heading to Paris Saint-Germain.
Caicedo is a player who has long been linked to the Gunners, even trying to force a move to the north Londoners in January.
However, they face huge competition other clubs this summer if they want to land the £80million-rated midfielder.
Arsenal fan Woods could not hide her frustration at as money-bags Chelsea look set to gazump them.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, she said: “I’ve got another Chelsea one, apparently they’re keen on Moises Caicedo. Oh for god’s sake…”
Asking talkSPORT chief football correspondent Alex Crook, Woodsy added: “How likely is that one to go through?”
Crook replied: “I think it’s quite likely…”
Cue Woodsy hiding her face with a piece of paper…
