• Mo will stay but Sadio will tell the Reds he wants to depart despite being offered a contract worth £250k a week.
• We welcome back to the Premier League Nottingham Forest, who qualified in third place in the Championship and join Fulham and Bournemouth, who will again be playing in the top division.
Image: REUTERS
Thomas Tuchel often used a 3-4-1-2 formation last season with Kai Havertz and Timo Werner paired with Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku was left on the bench.
The big Belgian striker has failed to adapt back into the high standard of Premier League football and is considering a return to the Italian Serie A and his former club Inter Milan. He has even sacked his agent so he gets more leverage at Inter.
However, Chelsea are seriously considering a bid for Lautaro Martinez, who worked so effectively with Lukaku at Inter. He scored for Argentina this week when they won 3-0 against Italy.
Lukaku is reported to have told Martinez to stay at Inter because he is returning to Italy but the lure of Premier League football would be very tempting to the Argentine striker.
Tuchel is currently thinking of Ben Chilwell, who will be available after missing a big chunk of 2022 action through injury, and Reece James operating on the wings and feeding balls into the centre to Lukaku with Martinez and Havertz sitting just behind the big man and feeding balls up to his feet inside the penalty area.
That formation would give Chelsea an edge that most teams would be hard-pressed to contain. Tuchel is wrestling with a problem surrounding N’Golo Kante.
“I think he is our key, key, key player; but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch,” Tuchel told us.
“He plays only 40 per cent of the games. So it’s maybe a miracle that we finished in third place. He is our Mo Salah, he is our Virgil Van Dijk, he is our Kevin De Bruyne. He is simply that player. He is our Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappe, he is the guy who makes the difference. And if you have only 40 per cent from him, it’s a huge problem.”
Mane decides to quit Liverpool
Following an FA Cup win and second in the title race despite losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have a difficult summer ahead of them. Sadio Mane has not rejected Liverpool, he simply says that after six years, he must face a new challenge.
He is 30. Mane and Mo Salah have one year left on their contracts. Mo will stay but Sadio will tell the Reds he wants to depart despite being offered a contract worth £250k a week. Divock Origi is going to Milan and it is a fact that Roberto Firmino is not the force he once was.
Luis Diaz has performed to the highest level when called upon. Bayern Munich are at the centre of all this upheaval with Robert Lewandowski requesting a move from the German champions and Barcelona will offer him a three-year contract.
Mane could be the answer as his replacement and Bayern have talked about a three-year deal but the £30million fee, I have heard, is below Liverpool’s valuation of their striker. Klopp has to consider if new signing, Portugese teenager Fabio Carvalho from Fulham, Diaz and Jota can fill the gap left by Mane.
Image: REUTERS
Welcome to the Premier League Nottingham Forest
We welcome back to the Premier League Nottingham Forest, who qualified in third place in the Championship and join Fulham and Bournemouth, who will again be playing in the top division.
Forest were the longest serving club in the Championship and come back to the top league after a 23-year break. The club was made famous under football legend Brian Clough and they won the First Division (now called
the Premier League) in 1978 and the European Cup (now the Champions League) in 1978/9 and 1979/80. The club will receive £150 from the FA and investment in new players is a priority over the summer break. The fans adopted Paul McCartney’s song Mull of Kintyre in 1977 and it became the club anthem.
Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis has promised to add to the £110million he has already spent on Forest’s push into the Premier League. Five players who helped Forest gain promotion are currently on loan and deals have to be negotiated. Manager Steve Cooper wants to keep
James Garner, Villa forward Keinan David and Djed Spence, the Middlesborugh wing back. Talks are already under way with Sheffield United defender Max Lowe and Watford’s Philip Zinckernagel.
Pogba packing his bags
All indications are that Paul Pogba will leave Manchester United in four weeks. He was Keen on playing in Spain but is more likely to return to Italian football at Juventus. Pogba’s disappointing time at United was highlighted by fans on social media who tweeted “Good Riddance” to the player who has caused them so much disappointment.
French club trying to sell striker to Newcastle
When you are the world’s richest club you tend to be mentioned in any hot transfer news. I am told French club Reims have contacted Newcastle and asked them if they are interested in joining Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in bidding for their striking sensation Hugo Ekitike.
The Saudi, oil-rich club tried to sign the Frenchman in January but the youngster decided to stay in France until the summer. Reims are looking for £25million plus a percentage of any sell on figure.
Calvert-Lewin could become a Toon player
Everton have lost approximately £250million in the last two seasons. It is possible they might now lose their talisman striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The player is rated by England manager Gareth Southgate as a close second to Harry Kane in the national line-up
and Newcastle are going to be in contact with Everton next week about the possibility of signing him. Everton have done well in earning transfer money but still lost vast sums. They sold Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United for £85million and I am hearing this could be the figure they would want for Calvert-Lewin.
Image: REUTERS
Perisic links up with Conte again
Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic travelled to Tottenham, north London this week and stayed at Hotspur Way. He then went to the ground on Tuesday and underwent a medical. Spurs have agreed a two-year deal worth £100k-a-week for the Croatian international. He was encouraged to join because of his loyalty to previous boss Antonio Conte.
As I wrote last week, Conte has been handed considerable influence in any of Spur’s incoming players and whereas chairman Daniel Levy previously only authorised signing younger players, Perisic is 33 and is highly respected by Conte. He can play as a winger, attacking midfielder and even a wing-back and would be an
alternative to Ryan Sessegnon.
Conte is anxious to sign his players earlier enough to take part in pre-season training. He particularly wants to work on his back three system. Tottenham have told Tanguy Ndombele, Davinson Sanchez, Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguillon, Joe
Rodon and Steven Bergwijn that they can leave as they are not part of Antonio Conte’s plans going into next season.
Newcastle could walk tall next season
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has big ideas for the super-rich Baggies. He will certainly achieve that if he signs Frenchman Souleymane Isaak Toure from Le Havre. The 19-year-old is a massive 6ft 9ins tall and is highly rated in France. Toure would link up at the back with Dan Burn who stands at 6ft 6ins which would give Newcastle the tallest defence in the league.
French club Lille want £30million for Sven Botman. However, Toure would only cost around £6m. Howe is trying to get all his transfer business done in the next fortnight so the club can enjoy a month off before they start July pre-season training.
Departing Cavani applauds Ronaldo and De Gea
Departing striker Edinson Cavani said this week that for him the two standout players in Manchester United’s season have been Cristiano Renaldo and David de Gea.
Ronaldo scored 24 goals in 38 appearances. He has one year left on his contract which will take him to the age of 38 which could explain why many fans have criticised him for not using the entire pitch to help out in defence when under pressure.
Image: REUTERS
Kane shows his belief in Conte
Harry Kane has done a U-turn and decided to stay with Tottenham because he believes Antonio Conte will win trophies next season. The striker almost joined Manchester City last year but says he is excited about Spur’s progress under the Italian coach and it was Conte
agreeing to manage Tottenham next season that persuaded Kane to stay. He will discuss a contract when he returns for pre-season training in July, just before his 29th birthday.
This would enable him to have a chance of breaking legend Jimmy Greaves’ all-time scoring record for the club. Kane also wants to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of 260 goals. Playing in the Champions League next season is another reason Kane chose to stay and Conte’s plan to reorganise the first team squad for 2022/3.
Mings going to Newcastle?
Burnley will play in the lower Championship division next season and centre-back James Tarkowski is out of contract and almost certain to leave on a free transfer. Steven Gerrard is considering his services for Aston Villa. In addition Villa have moved quickly to sign
Carlos from La Lega’s Sevilla who accepted a bid which I understand is around £50million. This leaves a big question mark over England international Tyrone Mings who could go to Newcastle for £30million.
“The Normal One”
I had a good laugh this week when I saw Jurgen Klopp drinking from a mug before the Champions League final. The mug carried the message “THE NORMAL ONE.” I wonder if Jose Mourinho saw the picture!