Newcastle United have been warned not to spend big money on the potential transfer of Chelsea misfit Nicolas Jackson this summer.
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The Senegal international is currently on loan at Bayern Munich and hasn’t made a particularly positive impact there, having also struggled to perform consistently at Stamford Bridge.
Of course, the transfer market never sleeps, so Newcastle will, like many other clubs, surely already be looking at summer targets.
Jackson may well be one of them as Eddie Howe could probably do with more depth up front, but Mick Brown has told Football Insider that he doesn’t think it would be a good move for NUFC.
As well as being expensive, Brown says he’s also heard that Jackson doesn’t have the best attitude, so it certainly seems like one to avoid.
“He isn’t consistent enough in front of goal which Newcastle are looking for at the moment,” Brown said.
“That’s the issue they’ve had this season, consistency, and Jackson isn’t the person who’s going to go to St James’ Park and be the answer to everybody’s problems.
“From what I hear, there are a few question marks about his attitude and they’ve been there since his time at Chelsea, I think it’s a big reason they let him go.
“What type of money are Chelsea going to be asked for as well? Last summer it was around £70-80million I believe, so around that again?
“So if Newcastle want to sign a new striker, I can’t see Jackson being the one they go for, because it’s going to be expensive and I don’t think he’ll solve their problems.”
Newcastle signed Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa last summer after selling Alexander Isak to Liverpool, but it looks like they’ll surely be in the market for further signings up front this summer.
Woltemade started well but has faded, while Wissa arrived injured and hasn’t made the desired impact, though they can surely aim higher than Jackson, who has now flopped at both Chelsea and Bayern.
Savinho scored a genuinely strange goal for Manchester City to equalise against Newcastle United in their FA Cup clash this evening.
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Harvey Barnes gave Newcastle a 1-0 lead earlier in the game, but good work by Jeremy Doku on the left-hand side set up Savinho to make it 1-1.
However, the Brazilian winger didn’t know too much about it, as he just stood waiting in the penalty area as the ball bounced in off him and over the line.
Watch below as Savinho somehow scored whilst standing completely still as though he didn’t quite expect Doku’s cross to get to him…
Savinho goal levels it up in Newcastle vs Manchester City clash
Savinho doesn't know much about it, but he's equalised for Manchester City at St. James' Park ?
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 7, 2026
City have fielded a heavily rotated line up tonight, with Pep Guardiola admitting before the game that all these changes are necessary due to the amount of games they’re playing.
Still, so far this second strong side is doing a decent job, with Guardiola still able to pick a lot of quality even if he’s resting the likes of Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rodri, Ruben Dias, Antoine Semenyo, and Marc Guehi.
Savinho is a very capable backup, and this is just the kind of moment he needed after struggling to really make that much of an impression since moving to the Etihad Stadium.
One thing City will really hope for now, however, is avoiding the score staying like this and going to extra time.
Arsenal also rotated a lot for their game earlier today but were able to get the job done in 90 minutes, and that could be important as these two face a busy schedule whilst competing for the Premier League title and preparing to play each other in the Carabao Cup final later this month.
Manchester United are reportedly preparing to try offering €40m to try to convince Barcelona to sell talented young left-back Alejandro Balde.
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The 22-year-old has impressed a great deal at Barca in recent times, earning the reputation for being one of the best young full-backs in Europe.
While Barcelona would surely ideally keep Balde, they face interest from Man Utd, according to Fichajes, and there’s a recognition that they might need to accept an offer in the region of €40m to ease their financial issues.
It will be interesting to see if this develops into something concrete, but it would be quite the coup if the Red Devils could land themselves a top talent like this for a pretty reasonable price.
Alejandro Balde looks the part for Manchester United
We will surely see United making more changes to their squad this summer, with Balde looking like he could be a useful addition to give the club a long-term successor to the ageing and injury-prone Luke Shaw.
MUFC did sign Patrick Dorgu last January but he’s ended up playing further forward, so it could make sense to bring in Balde as the new first-choice left-back.
Given his age, rumoured asking price, and all-round profile, it’s hard to see this as anything other than an excellent potential signing for United.
The only worry is recent performance, with his form actually going down slightly this season with a WhoScored rating of just 6.70, but fans can probably be fairly confident of that just being a temporary blip.
United fans will surely be hoping something serious can develop here, but it probably won’t become clear for a little while yet if it’s a particularly realistic deal.
Fichajes can be quite speculative, so even if there’s interest from United, and it would undoubtedly be a fine signing, it doesn’t mean they’ll actually be able to do it.
Clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal could reportedly be in luck as Real Madrid are reportedly already prepared to consider selling Dean Huijsen.
The talented young centre-back joined Real Madrid from Bournemouth last summer after some hugely impressive form in the Premier League.
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Huijsen hasn’t been entirely convincing since the big move to the Bernabeu, however, and Fichajes report that he could now be available for just £54m.
The Spanish outlet does not name any specific clubs looking into signing Huijsen, but he was very strongly linked with all three of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea less than a year ago.
Dean Huijsen will surely still be on the radar of Premier League clubs
As reported by Fabrizio Romano last summer, Huijsen was being eyed up by all three of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea, as per his post on X below…
?? Dean Huijsen scores, gets his 4th MOTM Award… with his future set to be decided soon, probably this month.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are all involved in the race to sign Spanish CB with £50m release clause.
Huijsen’s fine form during his time at Bournemouth surely means those clubs would still be keen if there really were a genuine possibility of him coming back to England already.
Fichajes also state that the Spain international could cost just £4m more than Real paid for him in the summer, as reported by BBC Sport at the time.
That’s not a bad price to be paying for a talented young player who is perhaps just going through a bit of a wobbly spell due to being at a new club going through changes of managers and other issues this season.
Dean Huijsen could surely still be an important signing for Liverpool
Arsenal already have a lot of quality and depth in defence, so it probably wouldn’t make much sense for them to target Huijsen as a priority.
Liverpool, however, look in urgent need of strengthening in that department after conceding a lot of goals this season, and with Ibrahima Konate coming towards the end of his contract.
We’d still rate this as a superb signing for LFC – a strong fit for their current needs, and reportedly available for a very generous price…
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The Mexico international has had a mixed career in recent times, but overall he looks like he could be a good option to strengthen Leeds’ forward line.
It remains to be seen if Gimenez will definitely be on the move, but he hasn’t been entirely convincing for Milan, so probably could be someone who’s realistically available in the near future.
Santiago Gimenez transfer could be worth the gamble for Leeds United
Gimenez has a career total of 99 goals for club and country, with his best form coming during a spell with Feyenoord.
The 24-year-old has just seven goals in 30 games for Milan in two seasons with the club, though he previously impressed with 65 goals in 105 appearances while he was in the Netherlands.
Gimenez also has a fairly underwhelming total of six goals in 46 caps for the Mexican national team, so it remains to be seen how he’d get on in the Premier League.
LUFC do need a striker, however, and can’t afford to be too picky, so if this deal can be done on the cheap it could end up being decent business just to strengthen the depth in Daniel Farke’s side.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has made it clear that Gabriel Jesus seems likely to leave the Emirates Stadium, and that he’d need replacing.
The Brazil international previously made a great start to life with the Gunners when he joined from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, but the move hasn’t really worked out for him.
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In more recent times, Jesus has struggled to stay fit and has also not made that much of an impact when he has been on the pitch.
Parlour now thinks Jesus will surely be leaving soon in order to get more playing time, though the pundit feels that would leave Arsenal a bit short of options in attack.
Ray Parlour on Gabriel Jesus’ Arsenal future
Discussing the Jesus situation and Arsenal’s depth up front, Parlour made it clear that when he was at the club they’d have had four strikers in their squad.
“I think Jesus might leave at the end of the season, he is at that age where he wants to be playing week in, week out,” Parlour told the Metro.
“We could lose him. We had four strikers when I played. That’s what I don’t understand. (Regardless of Jesus leaving), bring in another one anyway. That can give the other options a lift because they see the standard being set.”
Julian Alvarez to replace Gabriel Jesus at Arsenal?
Parlour then specifically named Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez as an ideal option to come in up front at Arsenal.
Alvarez is surely better than Jesus, but if Arsenal want someone to come in who can definitely give them an upgrade on Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz, then there’s surely someone else out there who’d represent better value for money.
Discussing Alvarez, Parlour told the Metro: “For me, Alvarez would be a great addition to the squad. There will always be people coming and going in the summer because it’s a big squad and they can’t keep everyone happy.
“But Alvarez would be a fantastic option to have with his pace and what we saw at Man City.
“It was always going to be difficult for him playing with Erling Haaland there but when he did start and when he did play, he was always lively.
“He’s a young man too, so if he’s available it’s a yes for me. When know how Arteta likes to work with young players to make them better so I think it would be a great addition, definitely.”
Arsenal are reportedly interested in a potential transfer swoop for Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The Georgia international has not quite been at his best so far this season, contributing a total of eight goals and six assists across 30 games in Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
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It seems Kvaratskhelia is now open to leaving PSG and this has Arsenal on alert and eyeing up a potential transfer, according to a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes.
Arsenal could do with someone like Kvaratskhelia as an upgrade on inconsistent duo Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, though it’s also not clear if this deal would be worth the risk right now after the former Napoli man’s slump in form.
The pros and cons of Arsenal signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
The 25-year-old surely has it in him to get back to his best again, and perhaps a change of scene is what he needs, with Mikel Arteta often doing well to improve players at Arsenal.
Kvaratskhelia would surely not come cheap, and it’s not often we see Arsenal going all out with a big-money move for one player, with Declan Rice the only real exception in their history.
All in all, there might be some logic in splashing the cash on Kvaratskhelia, but the uncertainty of moving for a player struggling for form in a weaker league certainly loses the deal points as far as we’re concerned.
Liverpool’s sporting directors are reportedly ready to launch an offer of around €80m for the transfer of Nottingham Forest central defender Murillo.
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Murillo is also a target for Chelsea, as we’ve previously reported, but after his superb form for Forest it makes sense that other big clubs could also be keen on the Brazilian.
Liverpool are now being strongly linked with Murillo by Fichajes, with the Reds looking for the 23-year-old as a potential replacement for Ibrahima Konate.
The report states that the Reds are accelerating their efforts to sign Murillo due to the fact that Konate looks set to leave as he nears the end of his contract.
Murillo looks ideal to replace Ibrahima Konate
Murillo has shown his quality in the Premier League, even if Forest as a whole haven’t been at their best this season, and his age and price tag makes him a strong fit for LFC.
Using our Transfer Fit rating system, we’ve scored Murillo as a 19/25 match for Liverpool’s needs, even if he wouldn’t come cheap.
Murillo
TOTAL SCORE: 19/25
Transfer fee
***
Performance
****
Achievements
**
Career phase
*****
Squad need
*****
While he’s lacking the experience of playing for a top club and winning silverware, he has at least shown what he can do against Premier League forwards.
Chelsea could also surely do with Murillo due to their issues in defence this season, with Wesley Fofana struggling with both fitness and form, while the likes of Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo not quite looking like they should be starting regularly for a top four club.
Former Arsenal star Alex Iwobi has revealed the chaotic way his exit from the Emirates Stadium was handled as he rushed into a move to Everton.
The Nigeria international hadn’t quite been a regular starter for the Gunners towards the end of his time there, despite showing a lot of promise as a youngster.
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Iwobi came up through Arsenal’s academy and started well for the north Londoners, and he’s since gone on to have a fine Premier League career, particularly with current club Fulham.
Iwobi recalls that he was given extra holiday by former Arsenal manager Unai Emery, but then ended up being called by his agent and by Marco Silva during his time on the beach with his parents.
Alex Iwobi on how he ended up leaving Arsenal
Speaking in the video clip above, the 29-year-old said he didn’t have much time to think about his move to Everton.
He very quickly ended up staying in a very dark and lonely hotel in Liverpool, and it seems he struggled with homesickness after leaving London for the first time.
Looking back, Iwobi says he could perhaps have asked more questions about what life at Everton would be like.
Still, Iwobi has gone on to have a fine Premier League career, now becoming a key player for Silva at Fulham.
Arsenal fans will still have plenty of fondness for their former player, but it’s a shame that his time at the Emirates Stadium couldn’t have been handled a bit better.
Some Gooners might even feel Iwobi’s career since then has shown that he could have at least been a decent backup player for the club.
Chelsea are showing a surprise interest in signing former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez from Al Hilal this summer, as first reported via the Daily Briefing.
My understanding is that Nunez is highly likely to leave the Saudi Pro League club this summer, perhaps on an initial loan deal.
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Nunez had a mixed spell at Liverpool, so might not be every fan’s cup of tea, though he did manage 25 Premier League goals in his time in England, picking up one top flight title in the process.
Sources on potential Darwin Nunez to Chelsea transfer
“Chelsea have liked Nunez for a while and still see him as someone to add spark and depth up front.”
It remains to be seen if CFC will go ahead and make Nunez a priority, but the interest in the 26-year-old is there, and it looks like he’ll be available.
An issue, however, is his high wage of £400,000 a week with Al Hilal, though he may be ready to accept a pay cut in order to get out of Saudi Arabia.
As you can see below, Nunez fits the bill as a relatively proven striker, which is something Chelsea need, so even if he’s far from the best in the world he’s surely an upgrade on the struggling Liam Delap.
Darwin Nunez
TOTAL SCORE: 12/25
Transfer fee
**
Performance
*
Achievements
***
Career phase
**
Squad need
****
However, he is in poor form and not exactly young, so it’s hard to see him suddenly improving a great deal as he approaches his late 20s.
Being available on loan, or possibly on the cheap, bumps up his score slightly, but there’s also uncertainty about precisely how that deal could be structured.
Do you think Nunez would be a good fit for Chelsea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is reportedly working on signing his fellow countryman Sandro Tonali for the Gunners.
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The Newcastle United and Italy midfielder has shone during his time in the Premier League, and it’s easy to see why he’s being linked with bigger clubs.
According to Tuttosport, there is interest from Arsenal, but also from Manchester United, with Tonali surely someone who Newcastle could find hard to keep hold of.
The report suggests, however, that Newcastle could command as much as €100m for Tonali, and that seems like far too much for Arsenal to be paying for someone they arguably don’t need that much.
Still, AFC seem to be pursuing Tonali if Tuttosport are to be believed, with Berta driving the interest, and with the player’s agent recently watching the north London giants’ win over Brighton.
Sandro Tonali to Arsenal transfer doesn’t tick all the boxes
The transfer fee of €100m is far too high for someone who wouldn’t necessarily start over Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi, while he’s also not even a player at the stage of his career where he could improve much further.
The 25-year-old may have won the Carabao Cup with Newcastle, but if Arsenal really want to elevate their current squad they would surely need an elite-level young player for the long term, or an immediate upgrade with more experience of winning the kind of big trophies they’re chasing.
Tonali isn’t either of those, so it will be interesting to see if this proves another miscalculation by Berta, with last summer’s signings like Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, and Noni Madueke not being particularly convincing either.
From Newcastle’s point of view, they surely need to avoid another disruptive saga like the Alexander Isak to Liverpool story of last summer.
Keeping a key player like Tonali will be important to help Eddie Howe take this team forward, so they’ll hope their high asking price proves enough to ward off suitors.
Tottenham have reportedly already held talks with former Marseille and Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi after an awful start by Igor Tudor.
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The north London outfit are on an awful run of form, losing three out of three since Tudor replaced Thomas Frank less than a month ago.
Tudor is only at Spurs on an interim basis, but the Telegraph report that discussions are already taking place with De Zerbi as the club consider making a second managerial change in the space of a month.
De Zerbi impressed a great deal during his time in the Premier League with Brighton, so could be ideal to help Tottenham out of their current predicament as relegation becomes a very real danger.
Roberto De Zerbi makes sense for Tottenham, but would he take the job?
De Zerbi might well be ideal for Tottenham, but would the Italian tactician necessarily go for this opportunity now with the club in such a dire state?
Spurs are on a run of five consecutive defeats in the Premier League, leaving them just a point above the relegation zone.
It would be a big gamble for De Zerbi to take the job now when there’s so little time to turn this situation around.
And if THFC were to go down to the Championship, it would surely only be even harder for them to convince a coach of De Zerbi’s calibre to take over.
Glenn Hoddle has hinted at Tottenham return
Meanwhile, former Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle has hinted he’d be ready to return to the club.
This would be a slightly left-of-field appointment since Hoddle’s been out of the game for so long, but it might just be the kind of short-term move that does enough to lift the mood and rally the players to put up more of a fight in their final few games of the season.
Manchester City attacking midfielder Phil Foden is reportedly still likely to be offered a new contract despite his poor form and possible doubts over making England’s World Cup squad.
Foden has been out of sorts for some time now, though of course he has generally been one of City’s best players during the Pep Guardiola era.
The 25-year-old is a classy performer on his day, combining skill and intelligence to make him a great all-rounder in a variety of attacking roles.
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Still, Foden will have just a year left on his contract this summer, even if the Athletic suggest it’s still inconceivable that he wouldn’t be offered a new one.
Foden is surely coming up to a crucial moment, though, as he needs to up his game to show he deserves good renewal terms, as well as a place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad to go to North America this summer.
Can Phil Foden turn things around for Manchester City and England?
With 110 goals in 357 games for City, Foden has played a big part for the club, picking up major honours like six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups, and four League Cups along the way.
Foden has arguably been a little less impressive for England, with just four goals in 47 caps, but if used properly he could surely make an impact at a major tournament.
For the moment, though, Foden has just ten goals and five assists so far this season, and, crucially, no goals and only one assist in his last 17 appearances in all competitions.
City really need Foden to rediscover his best form as soon as possible as they look to stay close to Arsenal in the Premier League title race, but it’s hard to see where any kind of miraculous comeback is going to come from right now.
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana is now looking less likely to join Trabzonspor permanently after his loan spell there this season.
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The Cameroon international has flopped at Man Utd and will surely be sold by the club at some point, particularly after the fine form of Senne Lammens since he moved to Old Trafford last summer.
Still, as reported by the Manchester Evening News, there could be issues with Onana making his loan with Trabzonspor permanent as the Turkish side can’t afford his asking price.
Andre Onana future becoming clearer due to United demands
It now surely seems likely that Trabzonspor won’t be able to spend the kind of money required on Onana, who could cost as much as £43m.
As quoted by the MEN report, Trabzonspor vice-president Zeyyat Kafkas has explained the challenges for his club in signing Onana permanently.
“As the figure fromManchester Unitedfor the purchase of Andre Onana is in the range of €45-50m, our president has sincerely informed the community in line with Trabzonspor’s realities,” he toldGunebakıs.
“I don’t think this information affected Onana at all. Because Onana’s thinking is that if it’s not England, he wants to continue at a club in Europe.
“His family thinks the same way. The president also wanted to explain Trabzonspor’s reality. However, if the conditions change, the situation changes.”
As Kafkas suggests, this now surely paves the way for Onana to seal another move, with the 29-year-old perhaps already looking for other options out there for him in Europe.
It will be interesting to see if anyone comes in for him, though, as MUFC surely need to adjust their asking price to something more realistic if they want to offload him.
Transfers are a big part of football, and it’s every bit as chaotic and unpredictable as the beautiful game on the pitch that we all know and love.
Huge amounts of work happens behind the scenes via scouts, sporting directors, agents, and intermediaries, to determine if a player is the right fit for their club, both in terms of what they can offer on the pitch, and if they’re a realistic and affordable target.
When it comes to covering football transfer news, we know fans are desperate to find out inside information on the players their teams are chasing, but also to gain an insight into what this player could offer, and realistic expectations about how good a piece of business it could be.
This kind of analysis is going on inside football clubs all the time, and while there can never be a totally foolproof method for guaranteeing every signing will be a success, our years of experience in covering the transfer market has afforded us some insight into what clubs are doing to assess players and how that guides their recruitment decisions.
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With that in mind, we aim to provide our readers with a scoring system of our own, to help contextualise player links and to give fans not just a news story, but hopefully a glimpse into what a deal means for their team’s future.
We’ve put together the following five categories, each of which we’ll rate out of five for a total score of 25 for each player. The higher the score the better, and these are the categories we’ve chosen as the most significant, with a full breakdown of what they mean…
Transfer fee
This one’s pretty simple – how much is this player going to cost? Are they already at a big club, with a long-term contract? If so, it’s probably going to end up being too expensive to be worth it. Transfer fees and asking prices can obviously change depending on certain clauses, if the player is unhappy, and if a club sees another similar player suddenly moving for a higher or lower price than expected.
Performance
This one’s pretty important – how well is Player X actually performing? We’ll do our best to crunch the numbers, whether that’s goals and assists for attacking players, or tackles and interceptions for defensive players. This will be based on recent form, because fans deserve to know if the big name they’re being linked with has actually been well below par recently. Even a goal machine like Erling Haaland can go through a dry spell, and whether that’s a temporary blip or the start of a long-term decline is not always obvious, but in the here and now it’s something that has to be taken into account.
Achievements
While recent performances are important, there will also be times when a club is looking for someone even with the knowledge that their best years might be behind them. While there’s often so much talk of the need to find the best talents before they hit their peak, there’s sometimes also a clear need for adding an experienced old head to balance out the youth of a squad, and to provide guidance on the training ground and in the dressing room as much as on the pitch. Of course, some players will already have plenty of games and trophies under their belt at a relatively young age, which just adds to their value.
Is a player just breaking through and causing a sensation? Have they just hit their peak and find themselves a big fish ready to leave a small pond? Do they look a bit too expensive when they have maybe two or three years left at the top at most? We’ll do our best to convey that with this rating.
Squad need
Are we looking at a player who’s going to immediately prove a major upgrade on what the club already have, or are they a bit of a luxury player? Is this transfer target perhaps a complete waste of time because they’ve spent their career playing as a wing-back but are now being linked with a team who play with a back four? We’ll use this category to evaluate how much Player X is actually needed by whoever’s being linked.
Weak, medium, or strong?
After taking those all into account, we’ll give a total score out of 25 to grade how strong a fit this player is.
0-8 = LOW
9-17 = MEDIUM
18-25 = HIGH
Michael Olise Transfer Fit rating
So, to take one example doing the rounds at the moment, Michael Olise is being linked with Liverpool and he’s a world class player, approaching his prime, whose only issue is probably his price tag.
Unsurprisingly, this gets a high score from us…Olise would be a near-perfect signing for Liverpool right now!
Michael Olise Transfer Fit score (CaughtOffside)
Michael Olise
TOTAL SCORE: 21/25
Transfer fee
**
Performance
*****
Achievements
****
Career phase
*****
Squad need
*****
Julian Alvarez Transfer Fit rating
While it might be intuitive to think of Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez as a tempting target for Arsenal, who lack a world class striker, our verdict gives a slightly more mixed picture, taking into account his huge price tag and recent dip in form.
Julian Alvarez Transfer Fit rating (CaughtOffside)
Julian Alvarez
TOTAL SCORE: 15/25
Transfer fee
*
Performance
**
Achievements
***
Career phase
****
Squad need
*****
Sandro Tonali Transfer Fit rating
Finally, an example of a signing we wouldn’t recommend for Arsenal is Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali.
It’s important to note that this does not mean he’s a bad player by any stretch of the imagination, and perhaps for a different club we’d have him a much higher score, but he’s been strongly linked with Arsenal in recent times and it’s hard to justify it based on his likely cost and their current squad needs.
As noted by Falk in his latest column, Olise is currently under contract with Bayern until 2029, which means it’s not exactly a desperate situation for the club to give him a new deal.
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At the same time, however, the German journalist suggested it could be a risky game for Bayern to play after finding themselves having to scramble late on to tie Dayot Upamecano down to a new contract.
It may well be that Bayern would be taking a risk not sorting this out sooner, as there will surely be clubs like Liverpool and Man City continuing to keep a close eye on Olise’s situation and perhaps ready to offer him better terms.
Michael Olise transfer insight from Bayern Insider Christian Falk
“Michael Olise is currently on a contract running until 2029, and Bayern Munich would love to have him sign a new contract until 2031. But this all takes time. With three years left on Olise’s current terms, Bayern have time on their hands,” Falk wrote.
“But, of course, they also heard that Liverpool are interested and Manchester City is watching the player. But they also have the Konrad Laimer contract negotiations to think about, the Harry Kane negotiations… It’s a complicated situation. What if you sign one player until 2031 and then the others say, ‘Hey, I want a longer contract’?
“It’s a bit of a dangerous game; the longer you wait, the more it invites other clubs to pick up the phone and call the player. Michael Olise isn’t, at the moment, one of the top earners (picking up around €15m [£13m]. Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane perhaps earn about €10m more.
“Bayern can always give the right winger more money, but the longer they wait, the more complicated the situation becomes. Bayern don’t want another “Upamecano case”. Nobody wants that!”
Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle has suggested he’d be ready to step in and replace the struggling Igor Tudor as manager.
Spurs have made an awful start under interim manager Tudor, who was brought in to replace Thomas Frank as the north London club hover dangerously close to the relegation zone.
There’s now only one point in it as Tottenham lost 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace last night, while West Ham picked up a crucial win away to Fulham at the weekend.
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It probably wouldn’t be wise for Spurs to make yet another change after barely giving Tudor any time, but it’s also easy to imagine that Hoddle would be a popular choice among the club’s fans.
Glenn Hoddle on potential return as Tottenham manager
Hoddle is one of Tottenham’s all-time great players, and he also had a spell as manager with the north Londoners between 2001 and 2003.
Speaking on the FA Cup podcast Could It Be Magic, Hoddle hinted he’d be tempted to return to management after a long spell out, describing Spurs as particularly tempting as he’s supported them ever since he was a young child.
“I think it would actually. Particularly with Tottenham, as that’s my club,” Hoddle said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“I’ve supported them since I was eight years of age. So they were a massive part of my life.”
Looking back at his previous spell with THFC, he added: “I managed them probably at the wrong time, I’ve got to say. Let’s put it that way.
“Politically and financially, there wasn’t money there. Certainly, it wasn’t what they told me I was going into.”
Tottenham’s remaining fixtures
Liverpool (A) Nottingham Forest (H) Sunderland (A) Brighton (H) Wolves (A) Aston Villa (A) Leeds (H) Chelsea (A) Everton (H)
How many points do you realistically see THFC getting from these games? Let us know your thoughts on their current predicament and your predictions for the end of this season in the comments below!
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The Magpies have still found a role for Trippier on a regular basis this season, with the veteran defender continuing to do his job well even if he’s now more of a squad player than an automatic starter.
Trippier performed well in the win over Manchester United this week, with Newcastle manager Howe singling him out for praise afterwards.
Eddie Howe praises Kieran Trippier performances
“It was, I mean, vintage Kieran, really. He was feeling cramped and feeling the effects of the speed of the game, as a number of our players were,” Howe said, as quoted by the Shields Gazette.
“And that’s where you’ve got to remember he’s playing every week. It’s a tough physical challenge for someone who’s 21, let alone someone who’s Kieran’s age.
“I thought he was magnificent for us today. Not just in how he played, but his experience, his game management, his know-how, his little things that people might not see. His experience is invaluable to us. So big congratulations to him.”
Kieran Trippier still set to leave Newcastle
The report from the Shields Gazette notes that Trippier is still set to leave St James’ Park at the end of this season when his contract expires.
The 35-year-old clearly still has a lot of quality and could have plenty to offer to a Premier League club, though it’s perhaps hard to see him earning a new NUFC deal.
Newcastle will likely want to continue to build around a younger player in Tino Livramento, who should soon be back from injury and starting ahead of Trippier again.
It’s still not clear where Trippier could end up next, but it will undoubtedly be a big story to watch out for this summer.
I’m aware there has been a report doing the rounds about Arsenal needing to make a major sale this summer, and I’ve just finished some calls to my sources close to the agents industry.
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From what I’m hearing, however, it’s not likely that Ethan Nwaneri or Myles Lewis-Skelly will be leaving. Things could change, of course, but the people I spoke to were not aware of that as a concrete possibility. Nwaneri’s loan move was intended to provide the young midfielder with experience rather than putting him in the shop window, and both he and Lewis-Skelly only recently signed new long-term contracts.
Martin Odegaard transfer won’t come cheap
What’s important to note about Odegaard’s situation is that he is not pushing for a move and Arsenal will only sell if the price is right.
The situation should become clearer soon, but there is understandable interest in the Norway international, whose asking price could be as high as €100m. After an injury-hit season and a slight loss of form, however, sources expect clubs to try negotiating for less than that. That’s where the uncertainty lies, and where other players’ futures can also be significant.
Martinelli, by contrast, is likely to be available for more like €65m. As things stand, he looks more likely to leave, and it’s possible that if, for example, White were also to move on, that would be enough to balance the books sufficiently so that Odegaard’s exit was not also required.
Which clubs are chasing Odegaard and Martinelli?
One source told me: “Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid will be interested in Odegaard’s situation. A lot would depend on the structure of the deal, but expect them to be there.”
This has been confirmed by other sources as well, with no mention yet of Premier League clubs. Arsenal, in any case, would certainly prioritise a sale abroad.
With Martinelli, Barca and Atletico have again been mentioned by multiple sources. Much will depend on what happens with Marcus Rashford, who is on loan at the Nou Camp and likely to join permanently, albeit without a full agreement in place yet.
Arsenal and Manchester United are reportedly eyeing up Hertha BSC wonderkid Kennet Eichhorn, according to German football journalist Christian Falk.
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Writing in his latest column for CF Bayern Insider, Falk discussed Eichhorn’s future as it looks like he’s already very highly rated and attracting plenty of interest.
Arsenal and Man Utd have been named as being among the 16-year-old’s suitors, while Falk also mentioned interest from Bayern Munich and other Bundesliga clubs.
It’s clear that Eichhorn is already thought of very highly, with Falk expressing just how much there are top teams who are already prepared to do what they can to add him to their squads.
Kennet Eichhorn has drawn comparisons to midfield greats
As per the teenager’s Wikipedia page, Eichhorn seems to base his game around his midfield idols like Sergio Busquets, Toni Kroos, and Kevin De Bruyne.
Eichhorn’s playing style sounds very much like Busquets as he is primarily a defensive midfielder, but with the quality on the ball to dictate play from deep.
He is probably not as flashy as someone like De Bruyne, but he has the intelligence and composure of someone like Kroos, and that bodes very well for his career ahead.
Who’s trying to sign Kennet Eichhorn?
Discussing Eichhorn’s situation, Falk said: “It is TRUE: Bayern have communicated their concrete interest in Kennet Eichhorn to his advisors.
Kennet Eichhorn (Foto von City-Press GmbH Bildagentur)
“He’s one of the biggest talents in Germany – and at only 16 years of age! This is quite something that such a young player can already be so helpful in his team. He’s so good, in fact, that Bayern are determined not to lose him to a rival (domestic or otherwise).
“Other clubs are, of course, focusing on him; Arsenal, Manchester United and some other Premier League clubs are among them. But there are also several Bundesliga clubs keeping an eye on Eichhorn’s situation.
“He has a release clause, which makes a summer move more than possible. Bayern Munich are thinking that if he makes a move to the Bundesliga, there’s always a chance for the Bavarians to get the player eventually. But if the talent gets lost to the Premier League, it then becomes a lot harder to get him back to Germany.
“Eichhorn is at the same agency as Jamal Musiala. They’re always in talks with his agency. It’s not an offer, but Bayern have made it plainly clear that if Kennet Eichhorn fancies a move in the summer, they’re ready and waiting to make something happen.
“They want to be given advance notice if he wants to leave Hertha Berlin. They want the player – they don’t want to lose him. Bayern Munich are concretely interested. However, should he wish to spend another year in Berlin tending to his development, that would be okay for Bayern. But it would be unacceptable to lose him to the Premier League.”
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Goretzka is coming towards the end of his time at Bayern, with his contract due to expire so he becomes a free agent this summer.
Arsenal had an interest in the experienced Germany international in January, but it seems the player was keen to see out his contract and end the season at the Allianz Arena.
Christian Falk on Leon Goretzka to Arsenal transfer
“It is TRUE: Arsenal are currently leading the race for Leon Goretzka,” Falk said.
“This is indeed true from Goretzka’s point of view. The Gunners didn’t make an offer in January, but they did signal that they were aware of the fact that Goretzka was considering a move away from Bayern.
“There were very concrete talks with Atletico Madrid – their sporting director was in Munich. The player’s goal is to move to the Premier League; he would love to play for Arsenal. Of course, he can’t guarantee that Arsenal will come back again in the summer with a concrete offer.
“In his heart, he feels this would be a perfect next club. I heard he loves the Premier League and his playing style suits English football.
“However, he’s not focused on one club and only one club this summer. If Arsenal are there, he’d be more than happy to sit at the table and listen to offers. Tottenham are also interested, and that could be an option, but Spurs are not as attractive an option as Arsenal right now. Arsenal are playing very well at the moment, and they’re in the Champions League.
“For Leon Goretzka, it would be a great thing to win the Champions League with another club. So, we have to wait and see if Arsenal make an offer!”
Leon Goretzka can give Arsenal more midfield depth
Arsenal have a strong squad this season, but one area they’re arguably lacking a little is in central midfield, so Goretzka could have an important role to play.
Both Thomas Partey and Jorginho left at the end of last season, and although Mikel Arteta brought in Christian Norgaard from Brentford, he’s barely featured this term.
Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice is clearly Arsenal’s first choice partnership, but they could do with more rotation options, and an experienced player like Goretzka seems ideal.
O’Hara was clearly in no mood for his co-host Jason Cundy making light of the situation, with the former Chelsea man suggesting he was seeing positive signs from interim manager Igor Tudor…
Tottenham getting relegated and Cundy has managed to get O’Hara to leave the studio on TalkSport. We might be looking at an all timer sports bar ?? pic.twitter.com/LKN4PRc5pi
O’Hara said it was “pointless” having this discussion with Cundy, who was clearly enjoying himself a bit as he wore a strange, blurry-looking Ange Postecoglou mask.
Tottenham are in real danger of relegation
Tottenham fans will all be feeling as fed up as O’Hara right now, with their team looking in genuine danger of an unthinkable drop to the Championship.
The north London outfit are on just 29 points from 29 games so far this season, and their remaining fixtures don’t exactly look kind.
In their final nine games, Spurs will have tests like Liverpool and Chelsea away, while it’s also hard to see them picking up points even from opponents like Aston Villa, Brighton, and Wolves.
Tottenham’s remaining fixtures
Liverpool (A) Nottingham Forest (H) Sunderland (A) Brighton (H) Wolves (A) Aston Villa (A) Leeds (H) Chelsea (A) Everton (H)
How many points do you realistically see THFC getting from these games? Let us know your thoughts on their current predicament and your predictions for the end of this season in the comments below!
Arsenal and Manchester United are reportedly among the clubs looking set to battle it out over the transfer of Fulham wonderkid Samuel Amissah this summer.
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The highly-rated young Englishman is seemingly expected to be on the move this summer, with interest being reported from other Premier League clubs and some European giants.
Arsenal, Man United, and Chelsea are among Amissah’s main suitors in England, while Ajax, Juventus, and Marseille are also mentioned by the Telegraph.
Amissah can play defensive midfield or defence, so it looks like he has qualities he could bring to a lot of top teams straight away, even if he’s still learning the game.
Youngsters like Samuel Amissah tipped to move in changing transfer landscape
The Telegraph notes that Amissah is likely to be on the move in a summer transfer window that could be dominated by similar deals.
The report mentions similar recent deals, such as Rio Ngumoha and Ayden Heaven moving between Premier League clubs on the cheap and quickly gaining a lot of market value.
It makes sense in this era of PSR that clubs would be eager to have the opportunity to sign young players on the cheap and quite quickly be able to sell them for a considerable profit.
Young players being discovered earlier
Amissah is not yet a particularly big name, but he’s been involved in Fulham’s first-team this season, being named on the bench seven times by manager Marco Silva.
Mateus Mane has also enjoyed a breakthrough season with Wolves, while the Telegraph notes that Man United youngster JJ Gabriel has been quite well known since he was just 14.
In the modern era, fans can use the internet to find out more about their favourite young players than used to be possible in the past, and the dynamics of the market now also mean they’re seeing more involvement earlier and earlier.
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