•Postecoglou has already brought in Socceroos legend Mile Jedinak and he is fondly regarded in Australia for promoting the careers of several players and coaches on the world stage.
•The prospective new owners of Everton have beaten the challenge which stopped 777 Partners from buying the club from Farhad Moshiri.
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Tottenham Hotspur have put £20 million on the table for Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey.
The idea is that Giovani Lo Celso would go the other way. Villa need to sell players to remain within the financial rules.
Villa turned down the offer because they rate the 23-year-old midfielder at £45million and he has three years left on his current contract.
Lo Celso has a year left on his contract and Tottenham want to offload him alongside Emerson Royale, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Bryan Gil, Sergio Reguilon and possibly Richarlison.
We will soon be hearing even more Australian accents around the London Stadium if Tottenham Hotspur coach Ange Postecoglou completes his aim to bring two more assistants to the club.
Nick Montgomery is known as the Socceroos King. He won the Australian championship and formerly was the boss at Central Coast Mariners. He has been swamped with offers since leaving Scottish Premier club Hibernian where the board failed to meet his ambitious programme to bring in quality players.
He would be joined by his number two Sergio Raimundo if the Spurs can cement a contract with Montgomery.
Postecoglou has already brought in Socceroos legend Mile Jedinak and he is fondly regarded in Australia for promoting the careers of several players and coaches on the world stage.
Montgomery will replace Postecoglou’s number two Chris Davies who has taken over as coach at Birmingham City.
Van Nistelrooy will coach the Ferguson way if he joins United
Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy was in the frame to take over the vacancy as Burnley coach.
This week it has emerged that he is also talking to Erik Ten Hag and Manchester United and has praised the Dutchman as a “great coach” and ranks him alongside the very best in football, Johan Cruyff, Louis Van Gaal and Rinus Michels.
Van Nistlerooy spent five years at United scoring 150 goals in 219 matches. He learnt much from Sir Alex Ferguson and tends to follow his philosophy.
He said: “Sir Alex was always pushing us forward. Look forward, play forward, get crosses in, shoot on target. As a player, I loved the way that made me feel. I wanted to play like that and I want to transmit that same feeling to my teams, to my players.”
Ruud has been attending Holland’s Euro matches with his friend Clarence Seedorf.
Slotting in nicely at Anfield
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Arne Slot will meet the Kop fans when Liverpool hosts Spanish side Sevilla in a friendly on August 11th with a local kick-off time of 3 pm.
The clubs are old rivals and met in the 2017/18 season and drew twice during the Champions League group stage. Sevilla beat Liverpool in the Europa League Cup final in 2016.
Liverpool have already arranged three friendlies on their tour of the United States in July.
They play Spanish side Real Betis in Pittsburgh on July 27, take on Arsenal in Philadelphia on August 1 and Manchester United in Columbia on August 4.
Liverpool meet newly promoted Ipswich Town away on August 17 when the new Premier League season kicks off and then entertain a home crowd at Anfield against Brentford the following weekend.
Owners of Roma chew over deal for Toffees
The prospective new owners of Everton have beaten the challenge which stopped 777 Partners from buying the club from Farhad Moshiri.
The Friedkin Group has paid off the club’s £158 million debt to MSP Sports Capital and also made extra funds available to Everton amounting to a total investment so far of £200 million.
The investment means that the group headed by Dan Friedkin can now look deeper into Everton’s finances without another bidder interfering.
Friedkin already owns Italian giants Roma and the French side Cannes. I understand if Friedkin is successful in his takeover of Everton, he will engage fully with supporters and work with them to achieve success for the Toffees.
Olise could join Kane at Bayern
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Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise has been linked with Manchester United ever since he arrived at Selhurst Park in July 2021.
He fits the type of player that owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company INEOS want to be the future of the club.
Chelsea attempted to lure him to Stamford Bridge but he decided to stay with Palace. They showed interest again a few weeks ago but the financial package wanted by Palace was too high and they withdrew.
The latest club involved are Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and I can reveal that Olise is interested because he wants to work with new coach Vincent Kompany, who departed Burnley after they were relegated back to the Championship.
Palace have offered a significant wage increase plus a new release clause which would be expensive to any club wanting to sign him as his current release fee is £60 million.
Olise missed 19 Premier League games through injury during the season but still managed to score 10 goals.
*Bayern are also making a new offer to Fulham for Joao Palhinha for approximately £39million. The German club says talks are in progress.
American company snaps up United sponsorship
American brand Snapdragon is using Manchester United legend Eric Cantona to officially announce their sponsorship worth £ 60 million a season.
United’s previous sponsor deal with TeamViewer which was agreed upon during the height of the pandemic and worth £47million has ended. United’s home shirt release is imminent.
Cantona says in the advert promoting Snapdragon’s sponsorship: “How do you measure your passion? Because this beautiful game is more than just numbers. It’s about billions of voices singing as one
Transfer news…
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**Pep Guardiola has been an admirer of Germany’s Joshua Kimmich ever since he gave the 20-year-old his chance at Bayern Munich in 2015. Now, nine years later, Kimmich’s contract is entering the final 12 months.
Manchester City are interested in bringing him to the Etihad Stadium but Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid are also monitoring developments. Guardiola has previously said, “He’s got everything. He can do everything and he gives everything."
Guardiola played Kimmich as a centre-back at Bayern who have to sell him now, offer him a new contract or risk losing him for nothing next summer.
**Everton are getting ready for another Manchester United bid for Jarrad Branthwaite and they have also approached French club Lille regarding Leny Yoro who is only 18 years of age.
**Chelsea have confirmed the £ 28 million signing of another Willian…this time it is Willian Estevao from Palmeiras. They are also finalising a £19million deal for Aston Villa midfielder Omari Kellyman with Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen having a medical before a £37.5million move to Villa.
**Villa’s Douglas Luiz is in talks with Juventus for a move said to be £17million.
Newcastle are continuing to talk with Burnley about signing goalkeeper James Trafford for £17million.
**Manchester United are working hard over the summer in a bid to sign Holland’s Joshua Zirkzee with Arsenal and AC Milan in hot pursuit. United management has put a solid case to his employers, Italian club Bologna and is prepared to meet the 23-year-old’s £34million release clause.
Zirkzee, playing in the Euros, is keenly watching the unfolding scenario and says he will wait until the end of July before deciding where his career will take him next.
Holiday and work for Villa’s Unai Emery
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Aston Villa coach Unai Emery has brought a new belief to the midlands club and after another successful season he is taking time off to holiday with family and friends, walking, swimming and watching the Euros in a relaxed way although he mainly focuses on his players John McGuinn, Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Youri Tielemans.
His holiday, however, has included daily phone calls to the Villa management and there are likely to be players moving out and being replaced in the next few weeks as Emery builds his new strategy for next season and inclusion in the Champions League.
If Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen signs for Villa, their former claret and blue striker Dwight Yorke reckons it is a decision the Blues will come to regret. Villa have been searching for ways to strengthen their defence and full-back Maatsen fits the bill perfectly.
I have also been told Villa are interested in signing Hoffenheim forward Maximillian Beier as Emery is keen to give the club several different options up front.
“Snickometer” is not wanted in Premier League
The Premier League will introduce semi-automated offside technology in four months to help speed up referees' decision-making.
However, there will be no “Snickometer” which is being used in the Euros. It detects if a ball has come into any sort of contact with players.
The technology, widely used in cricket to measure if a ball has snicked the bat, is being used by Uefa and features a microchip implanted in the ball. The Premier League have stated that they do not intend to follow the trend.
It’s playtime for the Euro players
A thought for Premier League clubs who want their players to relax between matches.
The England Euro team are building Lego castles, enjoying saunas and racing each other on Nintendo’s Mario Kart. Chess games and card games are enjoyed and children’s bouncy castles are on hand for players and their families.
Brighton’s Lewis Dunk proudly announces that he is building a Harry Potter Hogwarts school. The players also have competitions in the sauna and Ivan Toney has emerged as the winner as he adds more and more water to raise the temperature. The last one out of the sauna is the winner.
Declan Rice has emerged as the best singer in the squad while Harry Kane plays chess. Declan also eats seven or eight pancakes a day before a match to build up his energy. Kane also plays golf at their hotel along with Dunk.
Rashford working hard during the summer break
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The three high-profile players left behind by England and not selected for the Euros include Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and James Maddison. The three would arguably walk into any side in the world and such is their class.
Marcus Rashford has acknowledged he has not been at his best for most of last season and blames himself that he is watching the Euros on TV. Instead of taking a break this summer and sunning himself on a beach, the forward has been hard at work in the gym and is determined to hit the ground running in August.
Following England’s two lacklustre performances in the Euros, his brother and agent Dwaine Maynard said, “It’s hard to sit and watch when you honestly believe your man could make the difference.”
Many have argued that England manager Gareth Southgate stuck by Harry Maguire when he was out of form but in truth, Gareth did not have too many options whereas up front he has plenty of class players from which to choose.
Marcus has stepped back from his social media postings and charity work to focus on his recovery. His hard work over the summer should produce the results he needs to get him back to where he belongs.
Sessegnon considers return to Craven Cottage
Fulham are in the queue to sign free agent Ryan Sessegnon after selling him five years ago for £25million.
The 24-year-old winger earned his reputation coming through the academy ranks at Craven Cottage and won a first-team place at the age of 16.
At Tottenham last season, Ryan was at an all-time low when he played only eight minutes because of injuries and he was shown the exit door.
Crystal Palace and West Ham have also shown interest and Ryan is proclaimed to be fit to start the new season. My sources tell me that Ryan is favouring a return to Fulham.