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Manchester United could finally land their long-term transfer target after reports reveal an £85 million bid for Jadon Sancho is expected to be made imminently.

What’s the story?

According to The United Stand editor Jamie Ward, a source with knowledge of the situation has informed him that the Red Devils are set to sanction a move for the 21-year-old over the coming days.

The report claims that the United PR team met with club officials today in preparation for a bid for Sancho, as the Old Trafford outfit want a deal wrapped up before Euro 2020 kicks off.

Fans will be buzzing

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men made solid progress in 2020/21, securing a consecutive top-four finish for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

However, a disappointing defeat in the Europa League final, a group-stage exit from the Champions League and a 12-point gap to Premier League champions Manchester City illustrate that there’s still progress to be made by United.

Several star names such as Harry Kane and Raphael Varane have been linked with a move to Solskjaer’s side in recent weeks, but it appears as though Sancho has become the club’s primary target for the summer window.

The England international has been in scintillating form for BVB since he arrived at the Signal Iduna Park back in 2017, scoring 50 goals and providing an incredible 64 assists in 137 appearances for the Bundesliga giants.

Sancho’s incredible performances have attracted the attention of a host of the continent’s top clubs, but The Athletic claim the youngster favours a move to United over the likes of Chelsea.

News of an impending bid for the Dortmund sensation and of his apparent eagerness to join compatriots Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Harry Maguire at the 20-time English champions will surely have the club’s supporters buzzing.

It’s been eight long years since United last lifted the Premier League trophy, but the arrival of Sancho would give them hope of ending that barren spell.

And, in other news…Romano update could signal mass change at Man Utd, £19.8m-rated ace needs to watch out

Andrew Dickson was left slamming Glen Kamara after his part in a goal conceded by Glasgow Rangers in their Scottish Premiership clash at lunchtime.

The Lowdown: Early setback

After going 1-0 up early on at Motherwell, the Ibrox faithful were dealt a setback when Leon Balogun was given a straight red card just before the half-hour mark.

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The hosts then equalised through Ross Tierney, before Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team eventually got a grip on the game in the second half.

The Latest: Kamara slammed

Taking to Twitter, Scottish football journalist Dickson slammed Kamara after Tierney’s goal, claiming that it was an ‘all-round shambles’ from him as he put unnecessary pressure on his side:

“That was an all-round shambles from Glen Kamara. Rangers have gone from being very comfortable to on the ropes in five minutes.”

The Verdict: Not his best

That moment from Kamara was certainly not his best in a Light Blues shirt, as he was guilty of dwelling on the ball when he should have really just cleared his lines.

That was one of eight occasions that he gave the ball away cheaply, while he also lost three of his duels, made no clearances and failed to block any shots on his goal (SofaScore).

Lucky for the Finland international, the Teddy Bears won the match anyway, but van Bronckhorst will surely be concerned about his midfield maestro going into their first leg against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Europa League.

In other news, find out what ‘huge blow’ has now emerged for the Gers here!

Many Middlesbrough fans hailed the performance of Everton loanee Yannick Bolasie in their 3-1 home win over Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.

The DR Congo international grabbed the opening goal of the Championship clash on Saturday afternoon, which left numerous Boro supporters begging for him to be signed on a permanent deal once his loan spell from the Toffees expires.

Bolasie had a very good game aside from the goal, also managing to register an assist, while he had five shots on goal in total, the most of any player to set foot on the pitch, and also made the joint-most clearances (four) for Neil Warnock’s side despite playing up top (Sofascore).

Middlesbrough fans on Bolasie display

These Boro fans lauded his performance on Twitter, with one claiming that the 31-year-old Everton loanee was ‘excellent’:

“Please stay forever @YannickBolasie x”

Credit: @tom_mcgarry17

“He actually is the best player in the league”

Credit: @Kai22_x

“Give the man everything he wants”

Credit: @MercilessMendez

“Never leave us. A decent attacking set up bought for next season, goalkeeper and Neil Warnock will celebrate his last year as a manager with promotion.”

Credit: @andrewduffy505

“Head and shoulders above anything at the club, struggle to keep hold of him next season!”

Credit: @storrzy_10

“I actually quite enjoyed that today! I know it was poor in terms of quality football but plenty of goalmouth incident and a few goals is always nice to see. Bolasie excellent get him signed up! And of course well done @Jcoburn06 #oneofourown #UTB”

Credit: @wallsendredicko

In other news, one Everton man’s performance Arsenal was slammed by many supporters.

West Brom will be looking for around £40m combined for Matheus Pereira and Sam Johnstone, says the club’s former midfielder Carlton Palmer.

Both players are being heavily linked with moves away from The Hawthorns following West Brom’s relegation to the Championship.

According to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor, West Ham have held talks with Pereira’s representatives over a potential transfer. And prior, Sky Sports claimed that the east London club had made an unsuccessful bid for Johnstone.

The offer was thought to be worth £6m, well short of what ex-West Brom striker Kevin Phillips expects them to get.

He told West Brom News that the Midlands club should be receiving £20m each for Johnstone and Pereira, a sentiment Palmer also shares.

“For sure, for sure,” the former England international told FFC when asked if he agreed with Phillips. “But, you see, they’re in a position West Brom where clubs will know they’re wanting to offload these players because of the fact that they were relegated.

“Still, you’d be expecting West Brom to be looking for that type of money for those two players.”

In regards to Johnstone specifically, it is hard to imagine West Ham going from £6m to £20m. However, with both Arsenal and Tottenham said to be interested, West Brom should still be able to get a decent fee for the goalkeeper.

Many Wolves fans have been left flocking to some transfer news involving Fabio Silva.

As per  Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness), his transfer from FC Porto to the Midlands club is being investigated by Portuguese authorities.

They want to understand the details of the operation and why the Liga NOS team did not get a bigger percentage of the €40m (£34.1m) fee paid by the Molineux outfit.

€3m (£2.6m) of the commissions went to STV, a company which belongs to Silva’s father.

The Wanderers will certainly be hoping that the investigation does not go much further, but the fact that some of the commission went to Silva’s father, and that Porto themselves seem to have been left a little bit in limbo, will certainly raise alarm bells around the club.

Wolves fans on Silva transfer news

These WWFC supporters flocked to the transfer news on Silva as it was shared by Talking Wolves on their Twitter page:

“Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes”

Credit: @__Grav

“Hahahaha we’re dodgy”

Credit: @Dang93_

“Oh dear! Who would think that?”

Credit: @Billywi62142167

“Sounds proper dodgy that his father’s company got £3 mil”

Credit: @Fabiofury46

“No surprises there”

Credit: @PaulHargrave3

“Surprise surprise”

Credit: @dougan_the

In other news, find out what injury news has Wanderers fuming here!

Rangers winger Ianis Hagi has been linked with a switch to VFL Bochum recently and it would be a huge blow to Steven Gerrard if he were to leave Ibrox this summer.

The Romania international only joined Rangers on a permanent deal from Genk last summer but has been heavily linked with a move away from Ibrox, despite being a regular in Gerrard’s side throughout the season.

VFL Bochum, who are on the brink of promotion to the Bundesliga, are the latest side to be linked with the 22-year-old, with Sport claiming that the German side are plotting an ambitious move for the winger, who is also attracting interest from Sevilla and Lazio.

It would be something of a surprise to see Hagi switch Rangers and the Champions League for Bochum, who will likely be battling relegation in the Bundesliga next season should they earn promotion, however, it seems as if they are determined to strengthen their side ahead of a return to Germany’s top-flight with the signing of the Romanian.

It would be a huge shame to lose the forward after just one full season at Ibrox, as he has played a significant part in Rangers’ title win and impressive run in the Europa League this season.

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In 28 Premiership appearances, the youngster has contributed six goals and nine assists, earning a sold 6.93 average rating from WhoScored for his performances in the Scottish top-flight.

He is contracted at Ibrox until 2024, which suggests that those at Rangers have a lot of belief in his ability and potential to become a key player in Gerrard’s side in the future but he could well be tempted to depart this summer, given the serious interest being shown in him.

Gerrard was full of praise for Hagi after his winning goal against Hibernian last season, saying:

“Ianis is a top talent. I thought his performance grew as the game wore on…””He’s a brave player. He’ll receive the ball in any situation, in any area of the pitch. Even if he makes a mistake, he won’t shy away”It would be a significant blow to lose a player with Hagi’s obvious potential but as his exit rumours continue to intensify, there looks to be a chance that he won’t be at Ibrox next season. Rangers should be doing all they can to keep him.And, in other news… Gerrard could be set for huge Rangers boost after major development on “very dangerous” beast

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt another devastating blow in their managerial search this week…

What’s the word?

According to Sevilla president Jose Castro, the North Londoners made a “dizzying” offer to their manager Julen Lopetegui to become their next head coach, but he has rejected the opportunity as he is happy in Spain.

In an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER (as relayed by the Telegraph), Castro said:

“Julen rang me and told me. He said he’d received offers he’d not listened to in addition to a dizzying one from Tottenham. But he said he doesn’t forget things and that he is very motivated here. We believed and believe in him, giving him a two-year contract extension, and I’m sure he will bring much more to the club.”

Blow after blow

This is just the latest setback of many in what has been an immensely frustrating process for Spurs. It’s been over two months since Jose Mourinho was sacked by Daniel Levy, with the club still no closer to finding his long-term successor.

Ryan Mason had taken charge on an interim basis until the end of the 2020/21 campaign and at this stage, he could be in line to take pre-season considering that their players who aren’t involved at Euro 2020 will resume training on July 5th.

Early on in their hunt, it’s thought that Spurs made Julian Nagelsmann one of their top targets. He instead opted for Bayern Munich, understandably.

Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers was another mooted first-choice option for Levy and co but he ruled himself out of swapping the FA Cup winners for the seventh-place strugglers.

Since then, Spurs have reportedly held talks with no fewer than four more candidates, with neither being appointed.

The Athletic revealed that the Lilywhites had tried to bring back Mauricio Pochettino in a sensational return to the club that sacked him over 18 months ago but Paris Saint-Germain held firm in their stance to keep him.

Chelsea’s former Premier League-winning coach Antonio Conte was the next name to appear to be close to the role before negotiations collapsed, with both parties having their own doubts.

And more recently, the newly-appointed director of football Fabio Paratici has seen moves for Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso fall through, leaving Spurs seemingly back at square one.

Now it has been confirmed that Lopetegui, who won the Europa League at Sevilla in 2019, has also rejected them, only adding to Levy’s frustrations.

This news will surely have the Tottenham supremo absolutely livid.

With pre-season less than ten days away and the Lilywhites still managerless heading into a third month, the pressure will only mount on those in charge at the club.

AND in other news, Forget Nuno: Paratici can revive Spurs by hiring “wonderful” 57 y/o with 67% win rate…

Former Everton star Michael Ball has lauded Demarai Gray after his fine start to the season at the Toffees.

The club brought the winger in during the summer transfer window, securing his signature from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.

The deal cost around £1.7m and Gray is already providing to be one of the biggest bargains of the summer transfer window.

He has made a total of six appearances in the Premier League and has already scored three goals, while also registering one assist.

The winger is already one of the first names on the team sheet under manager Rafael Benitez and the Toffees are currently fifth in the Premier League table.

Ball has been mightily impressed with Gray’s first few appearances for the Toffees and believes that the winger operates in such a way that he is constantly trying to make things happen.

He said: “£1.7m, it seems an absolute bargain right now. There were question marks over the signing when we were first interested but he’s proved straight away why.

“It was the type of player we were missing, he’s got energy, he gets the ball, he goes forward, he tries to break the lines, he’s trying to create and scoring goals, he’s making three man runs. He’s doing everything. He looks like a guy who wants to be at the football club and wants to impress every time he’s on that pitch.”

Gray may have something of a chip on his shoulder, having previously played for Leicester City in the Premier League, making 169 appearances for the club.

Newcastle United fans have a reason to be excited about their football club following the official confirmation that Saudi Arabian consortium PIF have completed their takeover from Mike Ashley.

They are reportedly expected to make a splash in the transfer market in the coming years to bring glory back to Tyneside, which could start in the January transfer window.

This comes after their attempted takeover of Newcastle in 2020 was blocked by the Premier League. During their first attempt, they had one player in mind to come in and transform the starting XI – Ciro Immobile.

The Italy striker revealed at the end of the transfer window that PIF had been in contact with his agent over a potential switch before the deal to take over at St James’ Park fell through and Immobile stayed at Lazio.

He told Corriere Dello Sport, via The Express: “During the period in which there was talk of the possible purchase of Newcastle by the Sheikh’s fund they called my agent, Alessandro Moggi.

“Then the Premier League did not approve that proposal, or the fund withdrew, I don’t remember well.”

Shearer 2.0

Now that they have finally been able to complete their purchase of Newcastle, PIF must reignite their interest and get back on the phone to Immobile’s agent. They clearly felt he would be a suitable signing a year ago and there does not appear to be anything to have happened in the past 12 months with the striker which could change that view, which is why they should target him again.

Immobile is a lethal goalscorer who has proven himself time and again in Italy for Lazio, and PIF could unearth Newcastle’s next Alan Shearer by bringing him in.

Does that sound like an over-exaggeration of Immobile’s talents to compare him to Shearer? Well…

Italian journalist and coach Giancarlo Padovan once compared him to Italy legend Christian Vieri and hailed his form for Lazio as ‘stratospheric’. He said: “Immobile reminds me a lot of Christian Vieri and this should reassure Italy given his goal-scoring form. Then there is also Belotti, unlike Immobile he has always played good games with the National team. Immobile is stratospheric with Lazio, but less so in the National team.”

Shearer ended his career with 206 goals in 405 appearances for the Toon Army, which means that he scored a goal every 1.96 matches for the club. Immobile, meanwhile, has scored 156 goals in 227 matches for Lazio in all competitions, which works out at a goal every 1.45 matches.

This does not mean that Immobile is a better striker than Shearer was for Newcastle, as it is impossible to say with the difference in quality between the Serie A and the Premier League. However, it does suggest that he has the potential to score goals at a similar rate for the Magpies if he does adapt to English football, as he has shown remarkable consistency and quality for Lazio over the years.

Therefore, PIF must reignite their interest in Immobile in January or next summer and use their wealth to lure him to St James’ Park to come and be the club’s main goal-getter.

AND in other news, PIF could raise the roof at Newcastle with “phenomenal” colossus, fans would love him…

Liverpool have made enquiries about Juventus and Italy winger Federico Chiesa, according to a report from Calciomercato.

Chiesa was apparently on Liverpool’s radar before he sealed his two-year loan move to Juventus last October. However, the Reds will have to shell out ‘a figure close to €90m’ (£77m) if they’re serious about the signing.

Juventus have negotiated a €40m (£34.2m) option to buy the 23-year-old at the end of his loan.

Recapping Federico Chiesa’s Euros

Roberto Mancini favoured Sassuolo forward Domenico Berardi over Chiesa in the early part of the European Championship, but an extra time goal against Austria in the round of 16 changed all that.

The 23-year-old was handed a start in the quarter-final meeting with Belgium and kept his place for the semi-final against Spain, scoring another sublime goal to put the Italians in front at Wembley (via WhoScored).

He came into the tournament off the back of a strong debut campaign in Turin with 16 direct goal contributions (eight goals, eight assists) in 28 league starts (via WhoScored).

Fan feed LFC Transfer Room relayed the link, and here’s how supporters reacted, with one Kopite describing Chiesa as “elite”.

Liverpool fans excited by Chiesa talk

“Oh this would be so nice…”

Credit: @LucianioFang

“He is elite. Spinazzola and him they’re best players.”

Credit: @CDCrem86

“Yes please”

Credit: @VirgilLFC

“Omg please make it happen”

Credit: @huddann

“If we get Saul/Sanches & Chiesa we are winning it all, can’t lie nobody stops this club”

Credit: @Chris55yL

“What a player he is”

Credit: @lvpl_muktar

In other news, many Liverpool fans react to reports of a potential summer departure from Anfield.