Chelsea and Tottenham are ready to battle Juventus and Milan for the signature of Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik, perhaps including Lucas Moura or Jeremie Boga.
According to the Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, Poland international Milik has attracted a lot of attention from the Premier League after refusing to extend his contract with Napoli.
It’s reported that Spurs would be open to a swap deal involving Brazilian forward Lucas Moura, while Chelsea could have the upper hand thanks to their ownership of Boga.
Football Italia reveal that Napoli have long been linked with the Sassuolo winger, who came up through the Chelsea academy.
Chelsea still have a €20m buy-back option on Boga and could activate it in order to hand him over to the Partenopei.
Chelsea fans have slammed Uefa’s “f***ed” system which could see them pipped by ninth-placed Arsenal to a Champions League spot next season.
The Blues are currently fourth in the Premier League and were on course to seal their spot in the prestigious tournament again, especially with Manchester City banned.
But as revealed by The Sun, European football’s governing body are considering using their coefficient rankings to determine who qualifies for next season’s competition if league seasons aren’t completed.
One said: “How the f*** are Arsenal above Chelsea in this coefficient?? We’ve won the league multiple times, Europa twice, and the CL since they’ve done anything of note. May as well give Nottingham Forest a CL spot.”
Another wrote: “Using coefficient methods is completely flawed & even more flawed if they count the 19/20 season as data on the overall records. To prove how flawed it is, Chelsea ranked higher than Liverpool last season.”
A third added: “With this whole Uefa coefficients thing, and ranking each club based on European performances. How the f*** are Utd, Spurs, City and for the love of God Arsenal somehow above Chelsea despite us winning 3 European trophies in the past decade?? That’s f*ed.”
There are reports that RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner is preparing for a move to the Premier League by learning English Language.
The 24-year-old Germany international has been linked with a host of European clubs but this latest development will give Liverpool and Chelsea hope as they look to secure his services.
Werner has scored 27 goals in 36 games in all competitions so far this season, with the Reds known to be the favourites to get a deal done.
Werner is the club’s priority and they will be focusing their efforts in signing the RB Leipzig striker at the end of the season.
But Chelsea are equally reportedly keen to sign the German goal merchant despite moves by Jurgen Klopp to sign the striker.
The forward has a release clause in the region if £50million which is due to expire on June 15.
He has talked up a move to Anfield at every opportunity possible, which has given Liverpool hope that they can pull off a deal.
And according to Bleacher Report football insider, Dean Jones, Liverpool “will” sign Werner this summer.
He claims the only reason for the delay is due to the problems that currently exist to hold talks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Everything I’m hearing is that this will happen,” Jones said in a question and answer session with fans.
“The only confusion comes with this pause in activity and how hard it is to negotiate and have discussions right now because of the travel ban.”
Jones believes that while there are other clubs interested in Werner there are two reasons why he will pick Liverpool – the chance to play in the Premier League and Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
“I’m told Werner is desperate to play in the Premier League,” Jones added.
Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze has revealed that Chelsea are his favourite team in the Premier League.
The Nigeria star features for La Liga club Villareal, and his superlative performances have attracted the attention of top clubs in England.
Frank Lampard and Jurgen Klopp were reportedly interested in signing January this year for their respective clubs.
But his release clause- set at €65m- is of concern to prospective suitors as the Yellow Submarimes won’t let him go for less.
Goal.com quoted the 20-year-old as saying, in an Instagram Live filmed in isolation: “My favourite team in England is Chelsea.”
“I was supporting Chelsea when I was young. When Chelsea lost that Champions League final against Manchester United, I was crying all through the night,” he continued.
That surely puts the Blues in the hot-seat, if indeed they want Chukwueze, and if they can agree a deal with his club.
There are reports in Italy that Juventus have joined the chase to sign Dries Mertens, who will be a free agent from Napoli and is already wanted by Inter, Monaco, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.
The Belgium international’s contract expires this summer and he has not yet agreed personal terms for an extension.
So far, according to Football Italia, Inter and Chelsea have emerged as the favourites, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Monaco also ready to swoop.
However, Sport Mediaset claim today that a reunion with Maurizio Sarri at Juventus could also be on the cards.
It was Sarri who transformed Mertens from a winger into a False 9, leading to a rush of results that made him joint all-time scorer in Napoli’s history.
With Gonzalo Higuain – another former Napoli striker – looking to leave and Sarri trying to implement a 4-3-3 formation, Mertens would be an addition who already knows the ins and outs of Sarri’s tactics.
It remains to be seen if Mertens would accept Napoli’s bitter rivals Juve, as he may well prefer to go abroad.
Reports in England have revealed how Arsenal missed the chance to sign N’Golo Kante due to a row over agent fees.
The Gunners eventually got Granit Xhaka instead of the France international.
According to The Athletic, the Gunners were primed to sign current Chelsea star Kante in 2016 when he was at Leicester.
Fresh from the Foxes’ historic Premier League triumph the midfielder had the pick of all the top clubs battling it out for his signature.
Kante, now 29, ultimately moved to Stamford Bridge for a snip at £32million.
And the midfielder has since won another Prem title, and FA Cup and a Europa League crown with Chelsea, as well as the 2018 World Cup with France.
But it could have been a very different outcome but for an agent-related bust up.
It is reported that Arsenal backed out of a potential deal for Kante as they were unwilling to stump up what they deemed as excessive cash to pay for the services of associated intermediaries.
Fresh reports in Italy claim Inter Milan have already agreed personal terms with Olivier Giroud, who will leave Chelsea as a free agent.
The striker confessed recently that he had already been on the verge of a transfer to San Siro in January, but Chelsea refused to release him early due to a lack of alternatives.
Lazio also tried to approach the France international, while he was offered an extension at Stamford Bridge.
However, Tuttosport claim that Giroud has agreed personal terms with Inter and his mind is made up.
He’ll leave Chelsea as a free agent over the summer, signing a two-year contract with option for a third.
There are reports in England that Chelsea stars have unanimously agreed to take a £10million hit for the next four months to ease the club’s cash woes.
According to The Sun, a ten per cent pay cut kicks in from next month and will run until the hoped-for start date of the new season in September.
The Blues’ first-team squad OK’d the deal via a group text sent by club captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
Full-back Azpilicueta, 30, asked the players if they were willing to accept a straightforward pay cut right through the summer — and the Spaniard received a resounding ‘Yes’ from the group.
Stamford Bridge boss Frank Lampard has already volunteered to have his salary slashed.
It is believed the head coach is ready to have his £5m-a-year pay packet reduced by £1.25m — a 25 per cent cut — while the Covid-19 pandemic rages.
The reports also reveal that the players are content to simply swallow the loss.
There are no payback clauses relating to Champions League or Europa League qualification as is the case with their London rivals Arsenal.
There are reports in Italy that Juventus already considering a summer move for Tottenham captain Harry Kane as Gonzalo Higuain refuses to return to Turin.
The Old Lady’s striker went back to Argentina the moment the quarantine period concluded so that he could be with his mother, who is dealing with cancer.
Multiple Italian sources stated on Saturday that Higuain was doing everything possible to resist flying back to Italy, for a variety of reasons.
Higuain is expected back next week, to undergo another quarantine period of 14 days ahead of the resumption of training sessions.
However, his refusal, according to Football Italia, to return could lead to anything from a fine to the more extreme contract termination by mutual consent.
As his deal expires in June 2021, La Repubblica suggests it would save Juve approximately €27m.
This all leads Juve to look elsewhere and the Corriere dello Sport points out the ideal replacement is England international Kane.
His repeated injuries are a concern, but the 26-year-old has scored 17 goals in 25 competitive games for Spurs this season.
There’s more positive news for Juventus on this score, with the Daily Mail claiming Real Madrid have withdrawn their interest for Kane, preferring to focus on Kylian Mbappé in 2021.
That leaves largely just Manchester United as their challengers for the Tottenham hitman, who has a price-tag of €200m.
Reports in England and Spain claim that Real Madrid have pulled out of the race to sign Tottenham’s Harry Kane, due to the financial pressure of coronavirus pandemic.
The England international has hinted he could leave North London in recent weeks, opening speculation of offers from Manchester United and Real Madrid.
However, according to reports from the Daily Mail, Los Blancos will not pay Spurs’ reported asking price of £230M.
The report states Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is open to selling Kane, but only if the club’s full quoted fee is met.
Football Espana claim Real Madrid may now focus on cheaper alternatives to boost their attacking options ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
Zinedine Zidane’s side could now battle arch rivals Barcelona for Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Gabonese international is out of contract at the Emirates Stadium in June 2021, with no extension agreed between the two parties.
He could be on the market for around £60M, if the Gunners opt to sell him, and avoid losing out to a free transfer next summer.
