Casemiro hints that he could stay at Old Trafford

Manchester United’s midfielder Casemiro dropped a big hint this week that he might be staying at Old Trafford.

His performances have been below par and Saudi clubs have shown interest in taking United’s biggest wage earner.

United would want £30 million for Casemiro who has two years left on his contract. I have learned that his representatives are due to meet with coach Erik Ten Hag next week to discuss his future.

The player himself has told close associates that he could stay at the club and his personal Instagram has posted a picture of him wearing United’s new shirt for next season.

Maresca starts work at Chelsea

Enzo Maresca started life at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Monday and immediately had decisions to make.

Many of his players are away at the Euros and Copa America but he linked up with new signings Tosin Adarabioyo and 18-year-old Omari Kellyman later in the week.

Maresca went to the training academy to see what kind of youngsters were coming through for the team. Because of a long list of injuries last season,  academy products such as Alfie Gilchrist were called up for first-team duty.

Maresca is determined that he will not be put in that position. Much of his time has been spent working on getting Christopher Nkunku back into the first team.

The French international was impressive during his time at RB Leipzig and can play in any position up front. Maresca thinks playing him out wide would be his best position.

Chelsea have been heavily involved in the transfer action and have paid a £30million fee for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who will reunite with Maresca following their time together at Leicester.

The joke circulating at Chelsea is that owner Todd Boehly thought he was buying a large impressive mansion called Dewsbury-Hall. 

Liverpool return to training

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot received a boost to his pre-season planning when many of his players returned to training on Thursday.

Waturu Endo was left out of Japan’s squad for the Olympics because he is 31 years old. The national team wanted Endo to play and be included as one of their three over-age players in what is in reality an under-23 squad for the games being held in Paris later this month.

Head coach Go Oiwa said in Tokyo that the “restrictions” the Japanese Football Association had to agree to meant that no over-age players could be selected.

Players who returned to Anfield on Thursday were a mix of senior and squad players including Mo Salah, Endo and Curtis Jones but 11 internationals were missing because of the Euros and Copa America competitions.

Several will miss the Reds' tour of the United States entirely. Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister were all absent.

Gray seeking to make an instant impact on Tottenham

Brentford are mightily disappointed that having agreed personal terms with the Bees, the Leeds youngster Archie Gray had a change of heart and opted for Spurs.

He claimed former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou was the reason he changed his mind.

He said, “I’m not going to lie. I’m a massive Celtic fan so I love him! My whole family loves him! He’s a massive factor. Playing under a really good manager is very important to me. I’ve got lots to learn because I’m only 18. Gray has signed a six-year contract and comes from a long line of Leeds players where he was in the academy.

He is the son of Andy Gray, the grandson of Frank Gray and the great-nephew of Eddie Gray all of whom played for Leeds and represented Scotland.

Archie spent most of his time at right-back for Leeds but sees himself as a central midfielder. Gray is Spurs' second signing of the season having extended Timo Werner’s loan from RB Leipzig.

De Bruyne snaps at reporter

A very irritated Kevin De Bruyne earned his 105th cap for Belgium but suffered bitter disappointment as they exited the Euros, beaten by France 1-0.

A rattled De Bruyne then turned on a reporter who said that Belgium’s golden generation included himself, Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois but had never won international silverware. De Bruyne snapped back, “What is a golden generation? You say that France, England, Spain and Germany are not a golden generation?”

Jose Mourinho linked with taking Nunez to Turkey

Reports have been circulating that Liverpool intended to sell Darwin Nunez to Fenerbahce, where he would link up with Jose Mourinho.

I have been asked to pass on to you that these rumours and reports are without foundation and Liverpool currently have no intention of selling him to the Turkish side or anyone else.

Nunez is playing for his native Uruguay at the Copa America. He is only two years into a six-year contract which he signed when he joined the Reds from Benfica for £64million.

He has scored 33 goals in 96 matches so far. It was reported that Mourinho was working with super-agent Jorge Mendes and his Gestifute agency on a deal to take Nunez to Turkey.

The claim in the Turkish press is that Nunez is wanted as a replacement for Michi Batshuayi at Fenerbahce and that Mendes would mastermind what would be the biggest deal ever carried out in Turkish football.

De Bruyne returns from Euros to discuss his future

Kevin De Bruyne will return to the Etihad Stadium to discuss his future now Belgium have been eliminated from the Euros.

De Bruyne has one year left on his contract and has admitted to friends that he is willing to think about a move to Saudi Arabia. He spent much of last season out injured but returned after Christmas with some impressive performances.

There is some doubt inside the club that he might not be able to continue his current high standards now that he has reached the age of 33 years. Kevin has admitted that the money on offer from Saudi is a head-turner. However, in a frank interview, he commented, “I’ve read a lot of headlines about a transfer, but I haven’t spoken to anyone.”

Ipswich sign Omari Hutchinson

Ipswich Town coach Kieran McKenna is delighted that Omari Hutchison has joined from Chelsea on a five-year contract. Last season the 20-year-old scored 10 Championship goals on loan from Chelsea.

I am surprised that Chelsea let this talented winger leave because only a few months ago one of the Chelsea coaches told me that the club valued Omari highly because of his dribbling skills.

Town have also completed a deal to bring West Ham’s Ben Johnson to Portman Road. The 24-year-old was part of the squad which won the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023.

The club are travelling to Austria on July 15th for their pre-season training camp where they won the Innsbruck Cup last year and which involved clubs such as RB Leipzig and Werder Bremen. After a week’s training, the Tractor Boys will play two-hour-long friendlies against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Transfer news…

**Ross Barkley has rejoined his former club Aston Villa from relegated Luton Town for £5million. The midfielder who has 33 England caps is 30 years old. England Under-21 international Samuel Iling-Junior and Argentinian midfielder Enzo Barrenechea have also signed for Villa.

Villa have completed a deal with Juventus which takes Douglas Luiz to the Italian giants for £ 50 million. The Brazil international has been sold to keep Villa within the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.

**Chelsea have signed 18-year-old striker Marc Guiu on a five-year deal from Barcelona.

**Newcastle’s midfielder and winger Miguel Almiron is being targeted by Steven Gerrard’s Saudi club Al Ettifaq.

**Bayern Munich have revealed that Manchester United have contacted the agent of Matthijs de Ligt and discussed a five-year deal for the defender and a price of £42million. United’s original choice, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, is considered too expensive.

**Arsenal have finally triggered their £27million option to buy Brentford’s David Raya.

**Newcastle have completed a deal for Chelsea’s Lewis Hall for £28million. He enjoyed a successful loan from Chelsea at Newcastle last season.

** Crystal Palace have signed Japan attacking midfielder Daichi Kamada who was out of contract at Italian side Lazio. He previously played under Palace coach Oliver Glasner at Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.

Ins and outs at United

Following his successful season with Manchester United, Jonny Evans is in discussion with the club about renewing his contract which ran out on Monday.

Evans is 36 and goalkeeper Tom Heaton is 38 but both remain valuable to United. Evans rejoined last summer as a free agent and played 30 times including the FA Cup final which they won 2-1.

Evans said he was relaxed about the deal and would wait to see what the club offered him. Heaton played three times in the Champions League group stage and also the League Cup.

United have already said goodbye to Raphael Verane, Anthony Martial and Brandon Williams.

Marseille say they are very serious about signing Mason Greenwood and have contacted former Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi who has just been appointed by Marseille.

Napoli were interested but have said the £ 30 million value placed on the midfielder is too much for a player who will be able to negotiate his pre-contract agreement next January. United had intended to bring Mason back into the Old Trafford squad but a negative response from fans forced change their plans.

PSG still pursuing Radford

Paris Saint-Germain are about to renew their pursuit of Marcus Rashford. The 26-year-old was formerly linked with the French giants. After scoring 30 goals two seasons ago, Marcus’s form dropped off remarkably last year and United made it plain that they will listen to offers.

Haaland is at home with City

Relax City fans, Erling Haaland does not intend to go anywhere except back to training in readiness for next season which he says is exciting. His agent says the striker is “1,000 per cent” happy at City but of course, he could move at some point in his career as he eventually wants to explore other challenges.

His agent Rafaela Pimenta said she doesn’t know for certain if he will move long-term but he will certainly stay for the next few years.

"Erling Haaland feels at home at City and he is committed to the City project,” said Rafaela.

After winning the treble and retaining the Golden Boot for most goals scored in the PL, Pimenta predicted that Erling could become the first billionaire footballer.

United to spend £50million because of Ronaldo’s remarks

When he left Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo parted with a criticism of the club’s training facilities. United listened and are about to spend £ 50 million on improving the whole Carrington complex to create what they describe as a “world-class” environment.

They have employed the architects who redesigned the national Wembley Stadium. When he left in 2022 Ronaldo said, “Since Sir Alex Ferguson left, I saw no evolution in the club. Nothing had changed.”