The men’s Ashes begins on Friday and the Champions League – a competition that commenced on 21 June 2022 – has finally concluded. It must be time for summer sports aficionados to drift happily through the next few months accompanied by the sound of leather on willow and tennis-ball-on-racket. Right?
Wrong. There is always red-hot football transfer news to deal with, and nothing hotter than the news that Declan Rice’s proposed move to Arsenal from West Ham is “a done deal”, according to multiple outlets. The West Ham manager, David Moyes, is eyeing up Fulham’s João Palhinha and Ajax’s Edson Álvarez as potential Rice replacements.
Rice’s imminent move to the Gunners means the Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, will miss out on one of his priority targets – but the Mail reckons that James Ward-Prowse is one of the next men on the list, with the Reds willing to pay Southampton £25m for the 28-year-old free-kick specialist and midfield general.
Jadon Sancho, a player who fuelled a million transfer-gossip columns before his overhyped move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, has not done an awful lot at Old Trafford since then and as a result is being linked with a move to Tottenham. Manchester United want somewhere in the region of £60m for the England international while Spurs would be willing to pay something like £50m.
Another Manchester United player who looks to be on the move in Erik ten Hag’s summer reboot is the much-maligned Harry Maguire: it’s said that Eddie Howe and Newcastle are willing to take the statuesque centre-back on loan, but United will only consider a sale to a top-four rival. Aston Villa are also reportedly keen on a loan for Maguire, with Unai Emery hoping to bolster his options in central defence.
Harry Kane is a player Ten Hag would love to bring in the opposite direction to Sancho and Maguire, but the Times reported the powers-that-be at Old Trafford are “increasingly resigned” to the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, sitting tight this summer, and obliging Kane to play out the final year of his contract in north London.
The Brentford goalie David Raya, meanwhile, may become Ange Postecoglou’s first signing as the Australian takes the reins at Spurs. Brentford want £40m for the 27-year-old but Tottenham, perhaps needless to say, are keen to beat them down a bit on the price for a player with only a year left on his current contract, PA Media reports.
Ilkay Gündogan, who helped Manchester City to seal the treble in Istanbul on Saturday night, has been offered a one-year contract extension to stay at the Etihad Stadium and a three-year deal by Barcelona, while a number of Saudi clubs are also interested in signing the 32-year-old. Arsenal, too, are said to be keen on the Germany international. All that information thanks to transfer gossip king Fabrizio Romano.
Relegated Leeds want to sign the Coventry City midfielder Gustavo Hamer while, off the pitch, Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers are both live options when it comes to a manager to replace “Big” Sam Allardyce after his brief and unsuccessful relegation firefight.
Last but not least up to Scotland, where Celtic are pondering the possibility of hiring the 34-year-old Italian Francesco Farioli to replace Postecoglou. He coached under Robert de Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo in Italy and left the Turkish club Alanyaspor in February.
Note to non-cricket and tennis fans everywhere: the EFL begins on 5 August, the Premier League kicks off on 12 August. Not too long to wait now.
