Author: cimi

Chelsea are not expected to pursue either Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne or Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane this summer, according to a recent report.

Enzo Maresca recently hinted that Chelsea will target experienced players in the summer transfer market to balance out their remarkably young side, leading to links with former midfielder De Bruyne and ex-Tottenham Hotspur star Kane.

De Bruyne, who will be 34 years old in June, is leaving City this summer and will be available on a free transfer, while Kane has a release clause that could facilitate a Bayern departure as Chelsea eye attacking reinforcements. However, according to The Telegraph, neither will be considered.

They reveal that De Bruyne “could cause a selection headache” as he would battle for minutes with former City teammate Cole Palmer, while the Belgian has also show significant signs of “slowing down” following another injury-hit campaign.

The figures involved in signing Kane are deemed “highly prohibitive” and the striker’s release clause also needed to be triggered during the most recent winter transfer window to have made a summer deal possible as per previous reports from Germany.

Chelsea’s striker search has also included links with Victor Osimhen and Ollie Watkins but there are “attitude concerns” among English clubs regarding the former and the latter’s age and dimishing goalscoring returns could dissuade Chelsea from making a move.

In their hunt for more experience, Chelsea reportedly made an approach to sign Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, who was set to be out of contract this summer but instead signed a fresh contract with the Reds.

The Telegraph add, however, that Chelsea are not interested in signing older players with vast experience. Their plan is to instead ensure that the “majority” of their new recruits have “plenty of first-team games under their belts” regardless of age.

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Liverpool have been destined to claim their second Premier League title for some time but their fate can finally be mathematically confirmed this weekend.

Over eight months of hard work can be rewarded with the ultimate prize when Tottenham Hotspur arrive at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, with the home crowd desperate to seal silverware in style against struggling Spurs.

Liverpool supporters were unable to properly celebrate their previous Premier League triumph in 2019/20, the result of the Covid-19 pandemic putting a limitation on gatherings, but will more than make amends when honouring their title-winners this time around.

Here’s how the Reds can wrap things up on Sunday.

Having witnessed Arsenal stumble again in midweek, as they drew with Crystal Palace, Liverpool’s assignment against Spurs is straightforward. The Reds need just one point to secure the crown, meaning even a draw at Anfield this Sunday will guarantee them the title.

Given Spurs are in desperate Premier League form and have a crucial Europa League semi-final first leg to prepare for this coming Thursday, Liverpool will be strong, strong favourites to win on Sunday. Avoiding defeat, which is all they must do as a bare minimum, seems inevitable.

However, if Spurs were to stun the Anfield crowd, Liverpool would be forced to wait until next weekend to win the title. They face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a weeks’ time but would be crowned champions the day before should Arsenal fail to beat Bournemouth.

Liverpool currently lead the division with 79 points and have five games remaining, meaning they can accumulate a total of 94 points should they win the rest of their 2024/25 clashes.

If they achieve maximum points during the remainder of the term, Arne Slot’s side would achieve the sixth-highest points tally in Premier League history and the fifth-highest for a winning team – Liverpool cruelly managed 97 points without actually finishing first in 2018/19.

It will only be Liverpool’s third-highest total, however, due to the aforementioned 97 points followed by their 99-point return in the 2019/20 season when they finally won a first Premier League-era title.

Liverpool can clinch the title in front of the Anfield crowdon Sunday but they will have to wait to get their hands on the trophy. The Reds will be presented with their prize after the final game of the Premier League season at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday 25 May.

The Reds will then enjoy a first Premier League trophy parade having seen the last one cancelled in 2020, with an open-top bus tour of Liverpool expected on Monday 26 May, a UK bank holiday.

This season marks just a second title of the Premier League era, since 1992, but it is a 20th overall for Liverpool. That is significant because it equals the all-time English record currently held by fierce north west rivals Manchester United, who overtook Liverpool’s previous record with a 19th title in 2011, and then extended it to 20 in 2013. They haven’t been close to winning another since.

Liverpool’s next title will be their 21st and, assuming it comes before United’s – a likely probability, will restore their position as England’s most successful league club, having previously held that status for for almost four decades from the early 1970s until 2011.

The club won a first ever English league title at the end of the 1900/01 season, enjoying sporadic success until Bill Shankly’s arrival in 1959 sparked the creation of multiple successive dynasties that dominated the domestic football landscape for the next 30 years.

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Ipswich Town’s relegation from the Premier League has now been confirmed and the vultures are already circling their best and brightest.

Not many have impressed during Ipswich’s brief return to the top flight but Liam Delap has certainly been a shining light. The 22-year-old, who only signed for the Tractor Boys last summer, is the club’s leading goalscorer by some distance and is already intriguing Europe’s elite.

Even more tantalising for potential suitors is Delap’s relegation release clause, which has now been activated following Ipswich’s demotion. A cut-price fee for a player of such quality and potential will almost certainly prove too good to ignore this summer.

But how much is Delap’s clause worth? And who will trigger it when the transfer market opens?

Ipswich took a punt on Delap last summer after an impressive loan spell with Hull City in the Championship, spending an initial £15m on the Manchester City academy graduate – with £5m in potential add-ons agreed. But Kieran McKenna’s side are unlikely to make the major profit they hoped on the young Englishman.

Following Ipswich’s relegation, Delap will now be available for just £30m. It’s an incredibly affordable price tag for a player of his age with such future potential and who already has invaluable Premier League experience. The powerful centre-forward has proven a menace for even the sternest defences in the division and is only likely to thrive among higher quality teammates.

Unsurprisingly, Delap’s name is already filling gossip columns.

Several Premier League giants are in the market for a new striker this summer. Only Delap’s former club Manchester City are well stacked, with Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush. But the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Arsenal all needing attacking reinforcements.

However, it’s Chelsea and Manchester United who have been most strongly linked with Delap. The Blues are never shy in entering the market and are expected to offload Christopher Nkunku this summer as they search for someone to share Nicolas Jackson’s workload. Of course, Enzo Maresca might not be in the Stamford Bridge dugout next season, which could drastically alter transfer plans, but Delap remains a concrete target.

United are in even greater need of another centre-forward. The woeful form of Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund – neither of whom are certain of their futures at Old Trafford – means a new striker is a necessity for Ruben Amorim. Delap shares certain characteristics with Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres – height, power and goalscoring instinct – who Ruben Amorim transformed into a superstar.

The pair are, however, expected to face significant competition from Newcastle United, who see Delap as complementary to Alexander Isak, and it would come as no surprise to see more sides join the race now that Delap’s price tag is set.

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Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has praised centre-back Dean Huijsen for his response to the increasing speculation surrounding his future at the club.

With a release clause of £50m which can even be paid in instalments, 20-year-old Huijsen is emerging as one of the most-wanted players in world football after a dazzling debut season with Bournemouth.

In the Premier League, Chelsea and Liverpool lead a list of suitors which also includes Arsenal and Newcastle United, but Real Madrid are thought to be keen on luring Huijsen over to Spain, the country he represents at international level.

It is believed that Madrid are Huijsen’s preferred landing spot but Los Blancos’ interest is not yet as concrete as those sides chasing his signature in the Premier League.

While such significant speculation could easily take its toll on a young player, Iraola insisted Huijsen’s previous experiences with Juventus and Roma have helped prepare him to take the next step.

“From what I see every day, training and playing and I don’t see [the speculation] affecting him at all,” he said.

“I see him in the same mood that he normally is, he is training well. He is playing well also and I think, even being young, it’s not something strange for him.

“He’s coming from big teams even if they were not in the first team, so from teams, probably these things are quite natural and I see him quite normal.”

Just where Huijsen may end up this summer is up for debate. An English report argued Chelsea were leading the race, but others have quickly denied the existence of any favourite at this point in the saga.

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has denied his tactics are to blame for Cole Palmer’s dry spell in front of goal.

The Blues’ top scorer, who has 14 goals all competitions this season, has not found the back of the net in his last 16 games – a run dating back to January 14 and one which represents an enormous drop-off compared to last season’s return of 27 goals.

Amid the growing frustration towards Maresca, many fans have accused the boss of stifling Palmer with a tactical setup which has failed to bring the best out of any of his forward players, but Maresca insists something else is behind Palmer’s drought.

“For sure, it’s mental,” Maresca said. “I don’t think it’s tactical, I don’t think it’s technical, because Cole is still the same player that scored, this season with us, 14 goals in the Premier League in [the first] 20 games.

“Cole is the same one. The style of football we play is the same one. The manager is the same one. The club is the same one. So nothing changes around Cole and Cole doesn’t change. It’s just mentally in this moment.

“For sure, you can see that he is a little worried because he wants to help the team.”

Maresca went on to argue that those criticising his setup are forgetting the success it brought during the first half of the season, when Chelsea were seen as outside contenders for the Premier League title before their festive collapse.

“We try always to set up our game to put our best player in condition to be dangerous,” Maresca continued. “We have done since we started. We are doing that every game. It’s the same for Cole.

“If you go back game by game, he had at least, every game, one or two chances. So, it’s not about how the team is playing.

“If you want to see it as the team playing a different way, you’ve seen it that way, but the reality is not that. The reality is that Cole is the same, the style of play is the same, the manager is the same, the club is the same.

“It’s just football that, in this moment, he is missing the goal. No more than that.”

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