Football transfer news

90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…

Manchester United will step up their interest in Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, with the Red Devils ready to open talks over an £85m deal for the Uruguayan. (CaughtOffside)

Barcelona are beginning to cool their interest in Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, whose contract contains a £50m release clause. (SPORT – Spain)

Liverpool may reignite their interest in Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella, with the newly-crowned champions of Italy readying a move for former Barcelona star Franck Kessie. (Corriere dello Sport – Italy)

Though Mohamed Salah is in line to stay at Liverpool in the post-Jurgen Klopp era, they are in the market for a new wide forward. (The Athletic)

Meanwhile, Real Madrid remain on the trail of Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold but have not advanced that interest as of yet. (Fabrizio Romano)

Jorginho is expected to sign a new contract with Arsenal having been offered a fresh deal. His current contract is set to expire at the end of the season. (The Athletic)

In terms of incomings, Arsenal remain interested in versatile Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, who only recently turned 18. (TBR Football)

Raheem Sterling does not intend to join a club in Saudi Arabia this summer and is settled in London with Chelsea. Romelu Lukaku, however, is more likely to sign for a Saudi Pro League side once his loan at Roma ends. (CaughtOffside)

PSG have seen their advances for Hector Fort knocked back by Barcelona. The French champions have also been linked with moves for Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi. (Mundo Deportivo – Spain)

Genoa president Alberto Zangrillo has revealed he will not stand in the way of Tottenham and Inter target Albert Gudmundsson leaving this summer. (FCInterNews – Italy)

READ THE TRANSFER RUMOURS OF THE PAST WEEK HERE

We’re inching ever closer to the final run-ins around Europe but the excitement is not slowing down.

It was goals galore in Europe this week, with some of the game’s biggest names walking away with match balls and boosted stats.

Here are 90min‘s top ten players across Europe from Gameweek 35.

Club: Napoli
Position: Forward

Victor Osimhen came in clutch for Napoli this week with a late penalty to secure a 2-2 draw with Roma.

He was a constant menace to the Roma backline throughout the game and was more than a little unfortunate not to have found the back of the net before his spot-kick arrived.

Club: Lyon
Position: Forward

No, you haven’t accidentally fallen into a time machine and gone back to 2016. Alexandre Lacazette really is dominating Ligue 1 at the ripe old age of 32.

Doing his best to singlehandedly drag Lyon out of the crisis in which their season began, Lacazette grabbed a goal and an assist in his side’s huge win over second-placed Monaco. He’s now got 16 goals for the season, 13 of which have come in his last 15 games.

Club: Sporting CP
Position: Forward

Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to score in both the 87th and 88th minutes to drag Sporting CP back to a 2-2 draw with Porto.

That’s now 40 goals in all competitions for Ruben Amorim’s favourite son, whose £86m release clause is looking more and more appealing by the week.

Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Forward

Speaking of players enjoying outrageous goalscoring seasons, Harry Kane now has 42 in 42 this year after his double led Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the Bundesliga, he has 35 goals to his name and needs six more in Bayern’s final three games to tie Robert Lewandowski’s all-time single-season record of 41.

Club: Fiorentina
Position: Winger

Fiorentina winger Riccardo Sottil has hardly had the sort of season that would catch the eye outside of Serie A, but perhaps the greatest performance of his career so far came this weekend.

The 24-year-old scored and bagged two assists in a 5-1 thumping of Sassuolo, standing out in a game which also saw strong showings from Arthur Melo, Antonin Barak and Nicolas Gonzalez.

Club: PSV Eindhoven
Position: Forward

Luuk de Jong is in unbelievable form right now. His PSV side have scored no fewer than 19 goals in their last three Eredivisie games, and he’s been involved in eight of them.

The 33-year-old walked away from the 8-0 win over Heerenveen with one goal and two assists to his name, effectively ensuring Arne Slot’s final year with Feyenoord will not end with another title triumph.

Club: Bochum
Position: Midfielder

A late bloomer, 30-year-old Bochum midfielder Kevin Stoger is currently enjoying the best campaign of his career.

Stoger scored twice as relegation-threatened Bochum sealed a huge win over Hoffenheim, including a beauty of a free kick to leave him flirting with double-figures for both goals and assists this year.

Club: PSV Eindhoven
Position: Midfielder

Bayern Munich loanee Malik Tillman has only started 14 Eredivisie games this season but still has nine goals and 11 assists to his name. Efficient.

He joined De Jong in running the show for PSV, bagging two and creating another coming in from the left wing.

Club: Villarreal
Position: Midfielder

Alex Baena made a late push for La Liga’s assist award by setting up no fewer than three goals in Villarreal’s 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano.

He celebrated the win by publicly pleading with Xavi to sign him for Barcelona where, if Baena gets his wish, he could play alongside this week’s winner.

Club: Barcelona
Position: Forward

Robert Lewandowski heard the criticism about his early-season form and has been playing with a vengeance in 2024.

He thumped three past Valencia at the weekend – his first La Liga hat-trick and only the second of his Barcelona career.

READ THE LATEST NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND MATCH REACTION

No Dutchman has ever led a side to the Premier League title, prompting Liverpool fans to view the appointment of Arne Slot as somewhat underwhelming.

But, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, or so they say, and Slot may just be the answer to all of Liverpool’s woes. The Feyenoord manager is set to become just the 10th Dutch manager in Premier League history and will hope to achieve more than his predecessors – much more.

Without further ado, let’s rank every Dutch manager in the league’s history, enjoy!

Frank de Boer’s reign at Crystal Palace remains one of the strangest and shortest appointments in the Premier League to date.

He arrived at Selhurst Park in 2017, but left quite promptly after leading the squad for just four games. He was unable to register a single win in these games, and in fact didn’t see one goal during his tenure either.

As a player, though, De Boer wasn’t half bad, featuring for the likes of Ajax and Barcelona before taking the step into management.

Jose Mourinho branded him ‘the worst manager in Premier League history’ – maybe not the best reference to have on your CV.

Rene Meulensteen didn’t last long in his role at Fulham either, joining the club in November 2013 before bidding farewell to the squad in February 2014.

He did see slightly more success, however, leading the team through 17 games in all competitions and winning four of them.

His move into management made perfect sense at the time after spending a handful of years as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United. Meulensteen’s time at Fulham wasn’t quite as fruitful though, with the team sitting at the bottom of the league at the time of his sacking.

When Sunderland sought after an experienced manager to carry them to success, Dick Advocaat seemed like a good option – having managed 18 other teams previously.

Upon reflection, maybe there was another reason that number was so high.

He did manage to keep his side in the Premier League, albeit in dramatic fashion, and was paid well for his work. But, Advocaat refused to work with players that lacked ambition, naming this as one of the reasons why he quit.

He arrived under immense pressure, and left the club less than a year after joining. Advocaat has since said that he wanted to give enough time for Sunderland to find another leader, but at the time it seemed as if he wanted to up and leave them in utter turmoil.

Ruud Gullit was undoubtedly talented on the pitch, but in the dugout his skills didn’t quite transfer over as much as he would’ve liked.

During the latter stages of his career, the midfielder arrived at Chelsea to fulfil a player/manager role, but just two years later he was let go.

Just five months on from his sacking, Gullit joined Newcastle United and made an enemy of their star striker – Alan Shearer. Fans were not impressed with what they saw, and the Dutchman was sacked after 53 games in charge.

In fact, the best thing Gullit did during his time in the Premier League was bring Gianfranco Zola to Stamford Bridge – you’re welcome, Blues.

Martin Jol spent time with both Tottenham and Fulham, but his reign with Spurs is most memorable, having been in charge from 2004-2007.

He joined the club as an assistant, but took the top spot after putting in a stellar job. During his time in charge he led Spurs to two fifth-placed finishes, narrowly missing out on the Champions League in 2006.

Things changed in 2007 as a poor start to the season placed Jol in the firing line. In fact, he was sacked during Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Getafe in the UEFA Cup with the news spreading around the ground before Jol was even aware.

He later went on to manage Fulham, gifting them a strong finish of ninth.

We might need to check the word limit before diving into this one, as Erik ten Hag’s time at Manchester United has been so far hard to comprehend.

Let’s be honest, he is not the worst manager, and leading a side like United will always be an intense ask. But after his first season at Old Trafford, Ten Hag has continued to frustrate fans who crave exciting, successful football – naturally.

During his first campaign it looked like the Red Devils had finally landed a strong leader, reaching two cup finals and gaining Champions League qualification.

However, the 2023/24 season has been abysmal.

At the time of writing, the club sit in sixth place, but could drop significantly in their final few games.

Ronald Koeman did not have a bad run in the Premier League, but his time in England was definitely a rollercoaster.

His stint at Southampton was admirable and made even more so with the fact that he followed the successful Mauricio Pochettino. But, he managed to guide the Saints to their highest-ever league finish, sitting in sixth place and earning Europa League football.

Koeman chose to leave St Mary’s after two years to join Everton. This is where things started to go downhill.

He was offered a three-year contract with the Toffees, but saw just 16 months of it after being let go as Everton finished third from the bottom, recording two wins in 13 games.

As far as recent United managers go, Louis van Gaal was a solid offering at Old Trafford.

He still remains the last Red Devils manager to win the FA Cup, and directly followed the legend that is Sir Alex Ferguson – a tough task for anyone to accomplish.

Now his football was not attractive, but it was consistent and his tactics were very commendable. Van Gaal was shockingly sacked just days after beating Crystal Palace to lift the FA Cup, leading to a revolving door of managers thereafter.

United have seen four managers since then, and none have lived up to the high expectations set.

Guus Hiddink takes our top spot for Dutch managers, despite never actually being in a permanent role at Chelsea.

On two occasions he was named as interim manager for the Blues, with the least impressive being his second after replacing Jose Mourinho in 2015, arriving when the team looked in need of a rebuild.

However, his initial arrival was tremendous. Hiddink juggled managing the Russian national team as well as his appointment at Stamford Bridge, but excelled under the pressure, losing just one of his 22 games in the 2008/09 season.

Chelsea wanted to keep Hiddink around but his commitment to the Russian setup meant his stint in the Premier League was short, but oh so sweet.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP

Declan Rice has revealed why he chose to join Arsenal, rather than take the chance to line up alongside Rodri at Manchester City.

Ahead of his move to Arsenal, Rice spent many lucrative years just around the corner with fellow Londoners West Ham. He excelled through their youth system, before being handed a deserved chance in the first team.

So, when Rice looked set to depart his boyhood club, many big clubs made their interest known. Rice ended up moving to Arsenal to join Mikel Arteta’s squad and subsequently feature in the Gunners’ title chasing campaign.

City were another team that voiced their interest in Rice, but had a £90m bid rejected by West Ham before his switch to the Emirates.

In an interview with The Athletic, Arsenal’s midfielder was asked to detail his reasons behind the Arsenal move.

He said: “This project seemed more exciting and that’s why I chose to come to Arsenal, because I believe we’re on to big things here.”

Rice also addressed the missed opportunity to play alongside Rodri in midfield, but praised the Spanish international as one of the “world’s best”.

He continued: “We’re different players, I feel. With Rodri, he was born in Spain, he’s always been a natural No 6. You can just tell by the way he plays that he’s worked under Pep [Guardiola] for so long.

“He’s a lot more structured than I am. I’d say I’m a lot more off-the-cuff. Obviously, this season I’ve been more structured. But in terms of the way I play, I feel like I’m being free a little bit more.

“There are different things that we complement each other on – but no doubt, he’s the best in the world.”

Rice’s Arsenal move has proved fruitful in his debut season at the Emirates, making 48 appearances across all competitions and earning six goals.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP

Tuesday’s heavyweight clash between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid definitely didn’t disappoint.

Both teams had to fight from behind and the spoils were ultimately shared in a 2-2 draw which leaves everything to play for in next week’s second leg.

The game got off to a tough start for Madrid as they were penned back, but a moment of pure magic from Toni Kroos sent Vinicius Junior through on goal to open the scoring.

Remember when Bayern didn’t want to resign Kroos because they thought he wasn’t world class???? #BayernRealMadrid

— John Beggs (@Jbeggs19) April 30, 2024

Toni Kroos, wow!

With passing like that and a rapid Vinicius, nothing is stopping that duo.

— ~ (@AFCMO1) April 30, 2024

Vinicius ballon d’or season

— Babajide? (@daddysawake) April 30, 2024

That goal changed the tone of the game as Madrid sat back at comfortably frustrated their hosts until the half-time whistle.

Understandably, there were a few worried Bayern fans out there.

Champions league is literally about individual moments. Madrid weren’t doing anything until that kroos pass ?

— Courtney Daley (@imCourtz) April 30, 2024

Ik tuchel cussing them like crazy in that changing room.

— è Nico Jackson’s defence attorney (@3mmxnuellx) April 30, 2024

I’m nowhere near Tuchel’s biggest fan but before Reals goal: 6 shots, 2 on target, 0 goals. That’s not on him

— AD19Burner2 (@Ad19Burner2) April 30, 2024

Thomas Tuchel responded by switching his wingers, sending Leroy Sane out to the right and bringing Jamal Musiala to the left, and it proved to be an inspired change.

First, Sane crashed Bayern level with one of the most ferocious strikes you’re ever likely to see.

Sane just pulled a Messi from literally nowhere. Generated unbelievable power from a short space ??

— Balatic (PO=Comp+Integrity+Equity) (@Balatic) April 30, 2024

What a goal by Sane, he hit that ball with everything in him. ???

— Yamkela (@YamkelaVenfolo) April 30, 2024

sane was filthy for that man

— Damilare? (@__damilar3) April 30, 2024

We went from Sane’s shot power goals to Grealish ball retention ???

— Joško ? (@GvardiolSZN_) April 30, 2024

Then it was Musiala’s turn to shine.

The Wunderkind went down in the penalty area after being tripped by Lucas Vazquez, allowing Harry Kane to step up and slot Bayern into the lead.

KANE FOR BALLON DOR

— ??Max?? (@334_MaxG) April 30, 2024

Why did kane wait so long to leave spurs he could’ve made himself one of the best strikers ever

— hasbullacueta (@CFChasbulla) April 30, 2024

With Madrid searching for an equaliser, Carlo Ancelotti made the bold decision of hooking Jude Bellingham who, up until that point, had struggled to flex his quality.

wow bellingham stank so much he got subbed

— mia?? (@levvantina) April 30, 2024

Can’t remember a big game where Bellingham has actually turned up

— Joe Jefferies (@JoeJefferies5) April 30, 2024

In the end, however, Madrid got the goal they needed when Rodrygo was dragged down in the penalty area by Kim Min-jae.

Up stepped Vinicius. 2-2.

MASTERCLASS VINICIUS JUNIOR

— Asafe ?? (@asaferb_00) April 30, 2024

Vinicius is a big game player.

— Mr.Skeng?? (@man_asabs) April 30, 2024

It was coming. Real Madrid is so scary on ucl lmao

— the gorgeous one (@kikisometimes) April 30, 2024

Both sides felt they could have won it, meaning a draw may have been the fairest result.

Either way, we’re in for some fun next week when these two behemoths clash in a do-or-die affair.

Whenever we play against Madrid in the CL it always feels like we play well and just don’t win. Incredibly irritating but we can’t still work with a draw. We deserved a lead tho…maybe a two goal lead honestly

— Bayern Fan (The Normal One) (@Bayern_1021) April 30, 2024

good draw tonight we will be back next game trust. HALA MADRID ALWAYS

— FFCam01 (@FFCam01) April 30, 2024

atleast the second leg is at the bernabeu ?

— Jani (@szazi20) April 30, 2024

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