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His second stint at Stamford Bridge has been somewhat of a disaster since he moved back to west London in a huge £97.5m deal in 2021.
Juventus’ 23-year-old striker Vlahovic, meanwhile, has registered 23 goals and six assists across 63 games for the club since he joined them from Fiorentina.
Fabinho will link up with N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema (Picture: @ittihad_en)
Fabinho has become the latest player to join the Saudi Pro League after his £40m transfer from Liverpool to Al Ittihad was confirmed on Monday.
The Brazil international midfielder has signed a contract until 2026 and will link up with former Chelsea player N’Golo Kante after he also left the Premier League.
Al Ittihad have brought in ex-Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema too as well as Celtic star Jota as Saudi teams continue to splash the cash in the transfer window.
Fabinho, 29, spent five years at Liverpool and made 219 appearances across all competitions for Jurgen Klopp’s team.
During his time at Anfield, Fabinho helped Liverpool win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
The Reds’ first bid for the 19-year-old was an initial £34m, plus £4m in add-ons but it was rejected by the Saints who are holding out for more amid interest from a number of big clubs.
Southampton believe they can get £50m for the 19-year-old, with Chelsea also interested in him if they fail in their pursuit of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.
Whether Liverpool will raise their offer to as high as £50m is yet to be seen, they are more likely to try and persuade Southampton to accept less, but they are in desperate need of another central midfielder this summer.
Liverpool have also lost Jordan Henderson to the Saudi Pro League after he teamed up with Steven Gerrard at Al Ettifaq.
Arsenal want £50m for Folarin Balogun (Photo: Getty)
Inter Milan have reportedly bid for West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca after getting priced out of Arsenal star Folarin Balogun.
Balogun has been widely-tipped to leave the Emirates this summer and has attracted much interest following his prolific loan spell at Reims last season.
The USA international scored 22 goals in 39 games for the Ligue 1 side, and though he wants first-team football in the upcoming campaign he says he is chilled about where his future may lay.
For now, he is part of Arsenal’s squad, but Mikel Arteta is content to sell the 22-year-old for the right price, putting a £50million price tag on the player.
Inter have made Balogun their priority signing after deciding against a permanent move for Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku, however they were hoping to pay around £35m for his services.
But now, Fabrizio Romano reports that while talks have taken place, Inter are still far off Arsenal’s asking price and as such have turned their attention elsewhere.
Specifically, they have approached West Ham and verbally bid around £17m for Scamacca, however this has been swiftly rejected.
Gianluca Scamacca scored just eight goals – three in the Premier League – last season (Photo: Getty)
Negotiations are expected to continue for the 24-year-old however, with the player keen to leave the London Stadium.
The Irons only signed the Italian No.9 last summer for around £31m but only scored eight goals in 27 appearances as he struggled to adapt to David Moyes’ tactics.
Many expected Van Dijk, Liverpool’s record signing and one of the world’s best defenders, to be selected as their new skipper and that news was confirmed on Monday evening.
It has also been announced that Trent Alexander-Arnold will become the new vice-captain, taking over from James Milner who left for Brighton on a free earlier this summer.
‘[It’s] a really proud day for me, for my wife, for my kids, my family,’ Van Dijk told Liverpoolfc.com.
‘It’s been a special feeling and I can’t really describe it at this point. But it’s something that I’m really, really proud of.
‘Obviously I’m captain of Holland, that was already such a huge honour, a proud moment as well. But also to be the captain of Liverpool Football Club is something that I can’t describe at this point.
‘It’s just something that makes me very proud and I will do everything in my power and what I can do to make everyone proud and happy with me and the football club.’
The 32-year-old joined Liverpool for £75million from Southampton in January 2018 and has been a key part of Jurgen Klopp’s side ever since, pivotal to their successful, trophy-laden last few seasons.
While his appointment as captain is not a surprise, it is interesting to see Alexander-Arnold selected as his vice given who else could have taken the role.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk hope to lead Liverpool to glory next season (Photo: Liverpool FC)
Many would have expected fellow full-back and Scotland skipper Andy Robertson to be picked, but Klopp has chosen the academy graduate instead.
The 24-year-old is considered one of the best right-backs in the world with a remarkable 16 goals and 72 assists in 273 games for his boyhood club so far.
‘It’s a proud moment for him obviously and his family,’ Van Dijk said of Alexander-Arnold’s appointment.
‘I think he’s in a phase now where he has to make that transition of becoming a big leader for the football club. I think he will make those steps.
‘And with the help obviously of myself and the others, Robbo [Robertson], Ali [Alisson Becker], Mo [Mohamed Salah], obviously the manager, he can make the next step.
‘I think to give that responsibility to him could definitely even more benefit him as well. So it’s a very good choice. Obviously the others as well, they are as important and we all have to make sure that we take the responsibility.’
Australia aim to avoid an early exit like fellow co-hosts New Zealand, Japan and Spain look to win Group C, and Republic of Ireland play their final 2023 Women's World Cup match.
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Mauricio Pochettino was quizzed about Axel Disasi and other targets (Picture: Getty)
Mauricio Pochettino has fired a transfer message to Chelsea’s hierarchy and wants the Blues to strengthen in several areas before the new season begins.
The Blues head coach faced the media after Chelsea defeated west London rivals Fulham 2-0 on Sunday to lift the Premier League Summer Series trophy.
Goals from Thiago Silva and Christopher Nkunku secured the victory – with the match played in the United States.
‘You know more than me!’ Pochettino said. ‘With (Wesley) Fofana’s injury, I think it’s obvious that maybe we need to reinforce this area (defence).
‘We need experience in midfield. My information is a player that is from France that they will sign (Lesley Ugochukwu) with the idea for some loan time.
‘I don’t know (how many new signings I need) because if I say some numbers, after I can create a problem.
‘For me, it’s important, the club is working really hard to try and improve all of the areas.’
Pochettino is open to bring in a new striker too despite impressive performances from Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson in pre-season thus far.
‘Today we were happy with the performance and they can compliment very well,’ Pochettino said about the pair.
Christopher Nkunku scored in the 2-0 win over west London rivals Fulham (Picture: Getty)
‘Yes, of course, maybe we can add some different profile or different player who can help us, of course we are open.
‘I am so happy with both and we have younger players like Mason (Burstow) and (Armando) Broja in the UK recovering from his procedure. We need to analyse now in the next weeks until the transfer window closes. We will take the best decision for the team.’
Meanwhile, Pochettino has provided an update on Trevoh Chalobah after the Chelsea defender went off with injury in the pre-season win over Fulham.
Chalobah came on for the second half but was taken off again on the hour mark after picking up an injury, replaced by Alfie Gilchrist.
‘I hope it’s not a big issue,’ Pochettino added. ‘It’s a precaution. We need to assess him [in the] next few days. We don’t believe it is big, but [we] hope also.’
Chelsea’s season gets started on August 13 when they host Liverpool in their Premier League opener.
Chelsea were forced into the transfer market for a centre-back after another injury to Wesley Fofana – who is expected to be out for a meaningful period of time with a knee problem.
Disasi has knocked up four caps for France and was part of the 2022 World Cup squad, playing in the final as the French lost to Argentina.
The 25-year-old mad his professional debut for Paris FC, moved on to Reims and has been at Monaco since 2020, being a regular in the team for the last three seasons, scoring 10 goals in 129 games across all competitions.
Chelsea are hoping for an improvement in 2023-24 after a dismal campaign last term saw them finish 12th in the Premier League without a trophy.
Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has come in as head coach and the Blues get their season started on August 13 as they host Liverpool.
Carney Chukwuemeka made 14 Premier League appearances for Chelsea last term (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has hailed ‘very talented’ youngster Carney Chukwuemeka ahead of the new season.
The 19-year-old midfielder joined the Blues from Aston Villa in a £20m deal last summer, making 14 Premier League appearances for the west Londoners.
Chukwuemeka has been tipped for a bright future and Pochettino, who arrived at Stamford Bridge this summer, was quizzed about the England U20s international ahead of the Blues’ pre-season friendly against Fulham in the USA on Sunday.
‘He’s a player that can play in-between No.10 and No.8,’ Pochettino told NBC Sports.
‘He’s a very talented player, very good quality. In our dynamic, he can use different spaces on the pitch.’
Pochettino also spoke about fellow 19-year-olds Mason Burstow and Gabriel Slonina ahead of the match against Fulham after handing both men starts.
Burstow arrived at Chelsea in February 2022 from League One side Charlton Athletic and the young forward is yet to make his professional debut for the Blues.
United States international goalkeeper Slonina joined Chelsea from Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire last summer and is also waiting to make his first pro appearance.
‘[Burstow] is a young player, it’s a good opportunity for him to start,’ Pochettino added. ‘We can only trust the players to see them play. It’s a good opportunity for him and our fans to see him.
‘[Slonina has had] a very short period of time working with us. All the information we have is very good. It’s a good opportunity to see him. Kepa [Arrizabalaga] needs a rest.’
Chelsea are trying to tempt Kylian Mbappe to Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty Images)
Chelsea have started negoatiations with Paris Saint-Germain over a move for Kylian Mbappe, with Blues owner Todd Boehly holding talks with the French club’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
The Daily Record reports that Chelsea are trying to work out a cash-plus-player deal with the Ligue 1 champions for the prolific striker.
PSG are keen to sell Mbappe this summer rather than allow him to leave on a free transfer next year and have already accepted a monumental €300m (£258m) bid for him from Saudi side Al Hilal.
However, Mbappe is not interested in moving to the Saudi Pro League and has not even entered into talks with Al Hilal.
The 24-year-old made his intentions clear that he intended to stay at PSG over the coming season and then leave when his contract expires, but the club are trying desperately to avoid that now and sell him for a fee while they can.
The report does not mention which player Chelsea are trying to send in the opposite direction to Mbappe.
The likes of Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all available for transfer, but it is not clear whether PSG are keen to sign any of them this summer.
Mauricio Pochettino and Kylian Mbappe worked together at PSG (Picture: Getty Images)
Pochettino and Mbappe worked together while the Argentine was in charge at PSG, winning the Ligue 1 title in 2022.
Real Madrid remain interested in Mbappe, but a bid has not emerged from the Spanish capital yet.
Liverpool have also been linked with making an ambitious loan bid for the France international, with no shortage of interest in arguably the best striker on the planet, unsurprisingly.
Arsenal and United both looking to take further strides forward next season (Picture: Getty)
Gary Neville believes Arsenal’s second place finish is ‘up for grabs’ this season and predicts Manchester United could leapfrog them in the Premier League table.
The Gunners mounted a serious challenge under Mikel Arteta last season but fell away in the final weeks with Manchester City going onto clinch their third successive title.
United secured a third place finish having also won the Carabao Cup in Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge, with Newcastle United securing the final Champions League place.
‘Sitting here today, it’s difficult to say yes,’ Neville told FourFourTwo when asked if anyone can overtake City.
‘It’s all dependent on the budget,’ Neville continued on United’s prospects.
‘Under the owners the club has had, I think they’ll probably still finish in the top four, but I don’t think they’ll improve on it.
Neville not convinced anyone can take the crown from City (Picture: Getty)
‘If they got new owners and had £250m or £300m to spend, they’ve got a chance of going up to second. I do think they’ve got a chance of taking that spot off Arsenal – that’s up for grabs – but they’d have to spend well.’
Jamie Carragher meanwhile has backed Liverpool to reclaim a top four spot after missing out and settling for fifth last season.
‘I think Liverpool will be in the top four,’ he said. They signed Alexis Mac Allister early on. They were awful last season and were still in with a shout of the top four with two or three games to go, which I couldn’t believe, considering how poor they’d been in the middle of the season.
‘It’s whether they can get back to the level they’ve been at: it’s really difficult to have the season they’ve just had, then add 25 or 30 points to get to where they were before. I’m not sure they can make that jump.
‘But I certainly think they can be at the top of the pack chasing Manchester City. I actually think that Manchester United will improve, but I also think Jurgen Klopp will be so energetic and determined to put things right after how poor it was last season.
‘I get the feeling that he would have loved this season to have started as early as June.’
The decision is said to have infuriated PSG, who want to sell the World Cup winner after his refusal to extend his contract beyond next summer. Mbappe can leave on a free transfer at the end of next season with the French champions desperate to avoid that situation.
According to The Mirror, Liverpool have now stepped in to offer the forward a one-year loan deal.
Real Madrid have long planned to bring Mbappe to the Bernabeu and looked set to sign him last summer only for a last-minute U-turn.
A loan move to Merseyside could benefit all parties and allow Mbappe to complete his dream move to Madrid on a free transfer after a season under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Mbappe rejected a move to Saudi Arabia this week (Picture: Getty)
Liverpool would be expected to pay a sizeable loan fee for the 24-year-old.
Recent reports in Spain claim PSG have informed Real they would have to pay around €250m (£214m) to sign Mbappe this summer, with Los Blancos trying to negotiate a lower fee.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has already confirmed plans to sell Mbappe this summer if he does not agree a new deal with the forward left out of the club’s pre-season tour of Japan.
‘My position is very clear,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to repeat it every time: if Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay. But he needs to sign a new contract.
‘We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free, we can’t do that. This is a French club. He said he would never leave for free. If he changes his mind today, it’s not my fault. We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free, that’s very clear.’
PSG believe there is interest from other clubs in signing Mbappe in Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan and Barcelona.
Norway face the Philippines, Switzerland play New Zealand, South Korea take on Morocco and Germany are up against Colombia on day 11 of the Fifa Women's World Cup.
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Hojlund will become United’s third signing of the summer (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United have agreed a deal with Atalanta to sign striker Rasmus Hojlund.
The 20-year-old striker is poised to become United’s third signing of the summer after the clubs agreed a deal worth €75million (64m) plus £10m (£8m) in add-ons, according to The Athletic.
Personal terms have been agreed with the Denmark international set to sign a five-year deal at Old Trafford with the option of a further year.
The 20-year-old is regarded as one of the most promising young forwards in Europe.
In a further indication the move was imminent, Atalanta have confirmed the signing of striker El Bilal Toure from Spanish side Almeria in a €30m deal, a club record signing.
Atalanta signed Hojlund in a €17m (£14.3m) deal from Sturm Graz last August and the 20-year-old delivered an impressive first season in Italy with 10 goals in 34 appearances.
Hojlund was handed his first senior cap for Denmark last September and has scored six goals in six games for the national side.
United have been in urgent need of more firepower this summer having relied heavily on Marcus Rashford last season with the England international hitting 30 goals in all competitions.
Hojlund’s arrival will take United’s summer spending to over £160m following the signings of Mason Mount and Andre Onana from Chelsea and Inter Milan respectively.
United are also interested in signing Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina but it is believed the club will have to sell before they can buy again with Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay and Fred all attracting interest from other Premier League sides and abroad.
Greenwood has not played for United since January 2022 (Picture: Getty)
Mason Greenwood could still have a future at Manchester United with Adidas, the club’s most prominent sponsor, considering approving plans for him to return to the squad.
Greenwood has not played for United since January 2022 after being charged with rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and assault. Those charged were dropped in February but the striker has remained under suspension by United who have been conducting their own investigation into his conduct.
Greenwood was recently pictured in private training sessions with manager Erik ten Hag thought to have spoken to the player on several occasions. The 21-year-old could be loaned out for the coming season with clubs in Italy interested in signing him on a temporary basis.
But according to The Sun, United have discussed the possibility of his return with shirt sponsor Adidas, with those discussions described as ‘positive’.
Assurances from the German sportswear giant, who signed a 10-year deal with United worth a reported £750million in 2015, could see other sponsors follow suit.
A source told the newspaper: ‘The initial signals from Adidas are positive. Without their blessing it would be hard to see a way back. But they have communicated his return would not necessarily be an insurmountable obstacle.
‘They have certainly given the impression they would not be fiercely opposed to it.’
The club are still holding an internal investigation (Picture: Getty)
Pushed if he wanted Greenwood to return to the United squad, Ten Hag added: ‘I can’t say so much about it but I shared my opinion about it, so let’s see what’s going to happen.’
