Real Madrid will listen to offers for France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 23, this summer with a number of Premier League clubs expressing interest in his signature. (Marca - in Spanish), external
Arsenal have opened discussions with RB Leipzig for their 23-year-old France centre-back Castello Lukeba. (L'Equipe - in French), external
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are all set to battle it out for the services of Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton, 22. (Football Insider), external
And Chelsea and Manchester United also find themselves in another tug-of-war, with the two sides among the main suitors for Cologne's 19-year-old German forward Said el Mala. (Caughtoffside), external
Aston Villa are competing with several clubs across Europe for the signature of 29-year-old Germany and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt, who will be out of contract this summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Newcastle could reunite with academy graduate Elliot Anderson, 23, in the summer, with the Nottingham Forest and England midfielder seen as a perfect replacement if Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, 28, or Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali, 25, depart. (Teamtalk), external
Liverpool and Brazil goalkeeper Alisson, 33, has emerged as a major summer target for Juventus. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external
Manchester United and Liverpool are the leading contenders for RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande, 19, after Bayern Munich pulled out of the race for the Ivory Coast winger. (Christian Falk), external
Manchester City want to ensure England midfielder Phil Foden, 25, remains beyond his current deal, which expires in 2027, and are keen to speed up the process of finalising a new contract. (Football Insider), external
Manchester United are willing pay around 100m euros (£86.7m) to meet 23-year-old Spain winger Nico Williams' release clause with Athletic Club. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Liverpool are set sign highly rated Scottish defender Dara Jikiemi, 16, after he rejected the offer of a three-year deal from Celtic. (Teamtalk)
Guardian
Mavropanos earns vital draw for West Ham to hurt Manchester City title hopes
Konstantinos Mavropanos heads home West Ham’s equaliser in the first half. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
Right at the death, Marc Guéhi skied over with the West Ham goal at his mercy. It was the chance. The Manchester City players collapsed, fearing any hope of reeling Arsenal in had disappeared into thin air, and there were probably a fair few Tottenham and Nottingham Forest fans cursing Guéhi’s lack of composure in front of goal.
This was a big night at both ends of the Premier League table. West Ham were dogged, defiant and unflinching in their refusal to give up on the point that lifted them out of the bottom three for the first time since November. They will believe, even though they will be back in the relegation zone if Forest pick up at least a point at home to Fulham on Sunday. Nuno Espírito Santo has orchestrated quite the revival. This draw made it two defeats in nine league games for West Ham and, while they still have the toughest run-in out of anyone scrapping for survival, they will take immense encouragement from how they neutralised City’s attack with an exhibition of classic Nunoball.
City were short of ideas before raising the tempo during a desperate finale. Erling Haaland’s aim was awry and although a defensive West Ham were limited to one shot, the problem for Pep Guardiola is the one that was allowed was the Konstantinos Mavropanos header that cancelled out a strange goal from Bernardo Silva and left Arsenal nine points clear in first place.
With Gianluigi Donnarumma at fault for the equaliser, this was City again failing to take care of the details. After twice squandering the lead against Forest in their previous league game, a similar lapse at the London Stadium was a reminder that this is a long way from being one of the great Guardiola sides. Arsenal, of course, will still fear a trademark City comeback from here, not least because the hunters still have a game in hand. For all that Arsenal will fret until the job is done, though, Guardiola will know there will be a breathless sprint for the finish if his side continue to play with such a lack of identity, cohesion and belief.
Putting it bluntly, this is not the City of old. There is enviable talent at Guardiola’s disposal but something is missing. Haaland has four goals in his last 18 appearances in all competitions and there is a wider sense of a team in transition. Is there an obvious replacement for Kevin De Bruyne in the creative department? Phil Foden was a late substitute. Rayan Cherki offered hope after coming on but he is still adjusting to the league. Guardiola hinted at the challenges of integrating new players. He accepted that City are not ruthless enough. They have also become less adept at squeezing opponents after going ahead, although Guardiola was still not minded to hand the trophy to Arsenal.
“It is more complicated but we want to be there,” the City manager said. He pointed out that Arsenal still have to visit the Etihad Stadium next month. He insisted that City will try to mount a fightback from 3-0 down when they host Real Madrid in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Tuesday. Next weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal will be a chance to land a psychological blow on Mikel Arteta’s side.
Here, though, the impact of Arsenal’s late show against Everton in the earlier kick-off was felt by City. Guardiola smiled and said he was having a beer when those two late goals went in at the Emirates Stadium. With the chance to close the gap gone, though, there was no fizz to City’s football. They were flat despite dominating possession and struggled to trouble West Ham’s deep back five.
With Crysencio Summerville missing with a calf injury, West Ham found it difficult to create counterattacking opportunities for Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos. Yet City were ineffective. Short of width and too focused on control, they did not get behind West Ham. Antoine Semenyo and Omar MMarmoush were too central and Haaland was quiet.
Guardiola, who was serving a touchline ban, looked bored in the directors’ box. The energy was all off, even when City took the lead in the 31st minute. Silva ran on to a pass from Marmoush, looked for support in the middle and was about to admonish himself after miscuing his dinked cross, only for the ball to nestle inside the far post after drifting over an unsuspecting Mads Hermansen.
It was poor from the West Ham goalkeeper but City remained shabby. “We reacted well,” Nuno said. Indeed it did not take long for West Ham to level, as Donnarumma flapped at Bowen’s corner and left Mavropanos to build on his penalty heroics in the FA Cup win over Brentford by heading in off the bar.
It was not until Cherki and Jérémy Doku came on that City improved. Matheus Nunes threatened and Haaland had a string of chances. Hermansen, though, made up for his earlier error with some excellent saves and West Ham held firm. “It was a very good defensive performance,” Nuno said. “It was heroic from our boys.”
Bowen ran himself into the ground and Mateus Fernandes battled in midfield. And when Guéhi missed deep into added time, West Ham breathed a sigh of relief and Arsenal almost allowed themselves to dream.
Football Talk
Arsenal & Liverpool eye move to sign West Ham target Osorio
Arsenal and Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing West Ham United target and FC Midtjylland star Dario Osorio, as per TEAMtalk.
The 22-year-old started his youth career at Santiago Wanderers before joining Escuela Municipal Hijuelas. He moved to Universidad de Chile’s youth system back in 2015 before making his first team debut in 2022.
After being impressed by the youngster’s performances in Liga de Primera, the Danish giants decided to secure his services in 2023.
Now, he has established himself as a key starter at MCH Arena, scoring four goals and registering eight assists in 27 appearances across all competitions this season.
Having proven his worth in the Danish top-flight, Osorio has secured his place in the Chile national team.
TEAMtalk claim that Arsenal and Liverpool have been monitoring his development closely, but they don’t believe he is ready to play at the highest level yet.
So, they are unlikely to make a move this summer. Instead, West Ham are showing more concrete interest and have been keeping a close eye on his performances before making a potential swoop.
Battle
Moreover, Fulham and AFC Bournemouth are in this race as well. Bayern Munich are also interested in the South American, but like Arsenal and Liverpool, they aren’t planning to finalise the operation.
Midtjylland are a selling club and are prepared to let him leave if they receive a ‘substantial’ proposal in the summer, with the player’s existing deal set to run until 2030.
Osorio is a left-footed right winger by trait. He is technically sound, can dribble past opposition defenders in tight areas, is efficient in creating opportunities for fellow attackers, and has an eye for scoring goals from distance.
The South American is a talented player and could be a shrewd acquisition for West Ham should they purchase him. However, the Hammers have endured a dire campaign this season, languishing in the relegation scrap. So, they would have to stay in the Premier League to sign top-class talents like Osorio.
Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see whether the West London club eventually manage to secure his service by defeating Arsenal and Liverpool in this race.
Give Me Sport
West Ham Eye Move To Sign 6ft 5ins Rangers 'Colossus'
Rangers could be saying goodbye to centre-back Emmanuel Fernandez in the summer transfer window, with West Ham United keen on signing the 24-year-old.
Fernandez has impressed for Rangers this season since being given an extended run in the team towards the end of November and he has five goals to his name from 19 Scottish Premiership starts.
The big defender only arrived at Ibrox last summer, joining from League One side Peterborough United in a reported £2.5million. There was plenty of consternation amongst the Gers fanbase when he joined, given his career to that point, having only come through the youth set up at Gillingham and going out on loan to the likes of Barnet and Spalding United before getting a big move to the Premiership.
Russell Martin Did Not See What He Had With Fernandez
Russell Martin was the man who signed him and while his managerial reign at Ibrox did not go to plan, the signing of Fernandez certainly has in the end, although it has been new boss Danny Rohl who has got the best out of him.
Fernandez was only given two starts by Martin, one in the league and one in the League Cup, but since Rohl has been at the club he has flourished and is now being tipped for a move to the Premier League.
According to Alan Nixon, West Ham have watched the 6ft 5ins giant and ae monitoring his situation with a view to making a move this summer.
Nixon also reports that Rangers are willing to sell for the right price, undoubtedly looking to make a profit on the 24-year-old if they were to sanction a deal.
Fernandez Was Loved At Peterborough United
Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony knew he had a good thing on his hands in the 2024/25 season, before he left for Rangers.
He said: "Manny is a colossus. He’s been our best defender this season. Lots of people want to say what he can’t do, but I want to talk about what he can do. He’s not just a great defender, he’s also a great organiser and talker. He’s a gentle giant off the pitch, but he’s aggressive on it. He’s the only defender we have who talks and it’s so important."
