•Four years ago, he was named the player of the tournament when the Italian
•Eze performed well last season, scoring 11 goals and assisting in four despite missing some matches through injury.
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Despite denials from Pep Guardiola that Kevin De Bruyne will leave Manchester City, the club have decided Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze could be their playmaker if Kevin decides to head to the Middle East.
Saudi teams are difficult to refuse when lucrative contracts are waved in front of players and their agents. De Bruyne, 33, has been offered £1m (Sh171m) a week. He is a shrewd businessman and was bound to explore possibilities.
I am told he has discussed the situation with his wife, Michele, and they decided their children’s happiness was more important. They are settled in Manchester. Al-Ittihad’s new coach, Frenchman Laurent Blanc, wanted De Bruyne to link up with recent signings Fabinho and Karim Benzema.
City are expected to bid £68m (Sh11.6bn) for Eze if De Bruyne changes his mind. Eze is also on Tottenham’s radar but City have the upper hand for the 26-year-old. Guardiola has previously spoken of his admiration for Eze, who has three years left on his contract with Palace. The South London club will not negotiate on price, especially after losing Michael Olise to Bayern Munich.
Eze performed well last season, scoring 11 goals and assisting in four despite missing some matches through injury.
Tottenham clear-out continues
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Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has completed his switch to Marseille. The French club have taken him on a loan deal with an obligation to make the transfer permanent for £17m (Sh2.9bn) next year. He joins Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood, who cost the club £27m (Sh4.6bn) last week. Spurs will also collect a payment if Hojbjerg moves clubs in the future. The 28-year-old was successful under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte but does not fit in Ange Postecoglou’s style of attacking play. Tottenham have now moved Eric Dier, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Tanguy Ndombele and Japhet Tanganga. Joe Rodon has been sold to Championship club Leeds United.
Fans annoyed at Chelsea’s treatment of Chalobah
Many Chelsea fans are upset that several players have been left out of the team's pre-season tour of America. Top of the list is Trevoh Chalobah and when I contacted the press office, no explanation was given. Fans feel Chalobah has been treated unfairly. It looks like coach Enzo Maresca does not plan to use him anytime soon.
Kepa Arrizabalaga is now in the final 11 months of his contract and Chelsea are desperate to unload him from the squad. Romelu Lukaku, David Fofana, Cesare Casadei and Alfie Gilchrist have also been left behind. Italian side Como, who are coached by former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder, Cesc Fabregas are interested in Gilchrist.
We must upgrade, says Arteta
Upgrading certain positions is the only way Arsenal can win the Premier League, manager Mikel Arteta has said. The Gunners face Liverpool in the American city of Philadelphia next week.
Arteta said: “We have to improve. Perfection in this league requires different standards. Relate that word to winning the Premier League.” He also spoke about a new signing from Bologna, defender Riccardo Calafiori: “We know there are certain positions that we want to improve and give the squad better resources in terms of numbers where we are short. We will try our best.”
The English trio of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale will miss the Stateside tour after landing extra days off following their involvement in the Euros, where England lost 2-1 to Spain on July 14.
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Erik Ten Hag wants McTominay to stay
To those Manchester United fans who are worried about losing Scott McTominay to Galatasaray, Tottenham or Fulham, the word from coach Erik Ten Hag is “don’t worry.”
He claims he has no intention of selling the 27-year-old Scotland midfielder. McTominay started 27 matches last season and was the club’s joint third-highest scorer after moving to a more advanced role. He has another 12 months left on his contract.
Ten Hag said: “We want to keep him. He is a very important player for our squad.”
Speculation about his departure started when United signed 18-year-old French defender Leny Yoro and Dutch international striker Joshua Zirkee. The club need to sell to remain within the Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Meanwhile, United have given the iconic No9 shirt to Rasmus Hojlund for the 2024/25 season. He previously wore No11. He is United’s number one striker with 16 goals last season. The 21-year-old has inherited the number from Anthony Martial, who left the club a few weeks ago. New signing Zirkzee will likely take the number 11.
Rodri should win Ballon d'Or
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There is a huge support for Manchester City midfielder Rodri to win the Ballon d’Or. Rodri won Player of the Tournament at the Euros to add to his accolades at the Club World Cup, Nations League and Champions League. He is considered by millions to be the world’s best-holding midfielder. Rodri has recognised and accepted in the past that it was usually front players such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who won, but Real Madrid’s Luca Modric gatecrashed their party in 2018. Rodri is heavily tipped to beat Madrid’s Vinicius Jr.
Real Madrid president wants Rodri
Real Madrid have been linked with a possible bid for Rodri who they believe can improve Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham in midfield. 28-year-old Rodri is known to be a favourite of Real’s president Florentino Perez. He believes with Kylian Mbappe, Bellingham and Rodri in his team, they would be unbeatable. Rodri has a link with Madrid, having signed for City in 2019 from Atletico Madrid. He has played 257 games for City and won four Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2023.
Who will start a new season as Newcastle boss?
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Newcastle coach Eddie Howe has planned for the new season, departed with his team for Japan this weekend and pledged his allegiance to the Black and Whites. However, the club is aware that the Toon boss is on England’s shortlist of candidates to replace Gareth Southgate.
I can tell you that Howe is seriously thinking over his two options.
Two things are happening right now… Howe lost his two biggest Newcastle board supporters—Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi —when they stepped down as directors. Secondly, Paul Mitchell has been installed as Newcastle’s Sporting Director.
He has previously worked with Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton and Tottenham and could install the Argentine if Howe leaves.
Time is not on Newcastle’s side since they do not want to go into the new season with the managerial job unsettled and time is needed if a new boss arrives and has to start without knowing the strengths and weaknesses of his players. Howe did not have a say in Mitchell’s appointment.
City in position to sign Donnarumma
Manchester City have contacted Paris Saint-Germain’s Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma since they believe Ederson could leave very shortly to play in Saudi Arabia.
City are prepared to put £50m (Sh8.5bn) on the table to get their man. Donnarumma led Italy to Euro glory in 2020 but his team was beaten by Switzerland in the knockout rounds this year.
Four years ago, he was named the player of the tournament when the Italian. He is happy in Paris and has had early discussions about renewing his contract, which expires in 2026.
However, he is keen to continue his career playing in the Premier League, particularly under Guardiola. Donnarumma was the hero of Euro 2020 and player of the tournament in which he starred in the penalty shootout when the Italian side beat England in the final.
Pre-season going well for Villa
Aston Villa secured a comfortable 3-0 win in their pre-season tour match when they beat Slovakian team Spartak Trnava. Coach Unai Emery made 11 changes at half time just as he did at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium last week. I am reporting this to you since, despite Walsall’s lowly position in the fourth division of English football, Emery was delighted with his dynamic winger Leon Bailey, the style and playmaking ability of new signing Ross Barkley who, alongside Pau Torres — controlled the match — and striker Morgan Rogers, who scored against Spartak.
Villa are determined to once again challenge for another ticket to the Champions League come the new season. Matty Cash proved what an energetic player he can be and youngster Sil Swinkels teamed up successfully with Diego Carlos. Kadan Young and Kaine Kesler-Hayden were impressive and when he came on, Lamare Bogarde worked well with Barkley.
In goal, Joe Gauci did well but his distribution needs work. It will be interesting to see who plays No2 to Emiliano Martinez with Robin Olsen also in contention. Out of all the teams I am tracking in pre-season, I would say Villa look all set for the new season.
Transfer news…
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A fascinating story coming out of Arsenal and Tottenham is the possibility that Saudi side Al-Ahli are planning to approach Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison. Jesus has scored 19 times in 69 matches for the Gunners but, regrettably, injuries have dampened his effectiveness. Richarlison has said any news linking him with a Saudi team is rubbish but I keep hearing the story over and again. As people say there is rarely smoke without fire. Watch this space.
Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf has urged Chelsea to bring back N’Golo Kante to Stamford Bridge. The 33-year-old Premier League title winner — with Leicester City — moved from Chelsea to Saudi and West Ham have been strongly linked with returning him to the Premier League. New coach Julen Lopetegui is an admirer and tried to sign the midfielder when he was in charge at Real Madrid.
Chelsea have signed Caleb Wiley from Atlanta United on a six-year contract. The 19-year-old left-back is described as an amazing talent by his former manager, Gonzalo Pineda. The defender is with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Following on from my recent story about Emile Smith-Rowe and Eddie Nketiah being sold, the Gunners have made a statement saying they will not let either leave for cheap despite having no offers. Fulham had an offer for Smith-Rowe turned down. However, the players are allowed to talk to potential buyers. French giants Marseille are interested in Nketiah but are yet to table an offer. Arsenal need to offload players before they can bring others into the Emirates.
Napoli are negotiating with Brighton in an attempt to sign midfielder Billy Gilmore. Coach Antonio Conte wants to take the Scotland international to the Serie A for £8m (Sh1.3bn). That bid was rejected and Napoli are expected to return with a higher figure. Brighton remain in talks with representatives of the American MLS team Inter Miami for midfielder Diego Gomez, who would replace Gilmore if he is sold.