Manchester City are looking to make a big midfield signing in this transfer window, with Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips reportedly at the top of their wish-list.
Phillips, 26, has been with Leeds his entire senior career, and excelled on the world stage when he started every game in England's run to the Euro 2020 final.
He was rewarded for his excellent international play with England's 2020-21 Senior Men's Player of the Year award, and may have the opportunity to parlay that into Champions League football at the Etihad Stadium.
TOP STORY – CITY SETS SIGHTS ON LEEDS' PHILLIPS
Phillips' stats of one goal and three assists in his past two Premier League campaigns do not tell the story of his impact, as he is arguably England's best defensive midfielder.
After 12 years with Leeds, Phillips has reportedly played his last game for the club, with The Sun claiming City have prepared a £60million bid.
ESPN mentions a factor working in Phillips' favour with City is that he will count as a homegrown player for Champions League purposes, and that Pep Guardiola views him as a strong fit for both the number-six and number-eight roles in his set-up.
ROUND-UP
– The Manchester Evening News is reporting Manchester United remain in discussions with Barcelona for Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong, but they are not willing to pay the current £85m price-tag.
– Liverpool and City are both monitoring 17-year-old Barcelona midfielder Gavi, despite his release clause reportedly coming in at £85m, according to Marca.
– RB Leipzig have set a price of £100m for teams chasing Christopher Nkunku due to the Frenchman not desiring a move away this transfer period, with the Independent reporting interest remains from Arsenal, United and Paris Saint-Germain.
– According to the Telegraph, Newcastle United are moving on from Lille defender Sven Botman after the asking price was raised from £30m to £36m.
– The Telegraph is reporting that Tottenham have joined the race for Everton's Richarlison, with the asking price set at £50m.
Rumour Has It: Nagelsmann open to Tottenham talks
Julian Nagelsmann was sensationally sacked as Bayern Munich boss on Friday and replaced almost immediately by Thomas Tuchel.
The 35-year-old German had guided the Bavarians to last season's Bundesliga title.
And Bayern have looked good in reaching the Champions League quarter-finals this term.
Nagelsmann previously led RB Leipzig, guiding the side to the Champions League and the 2021 DFB-Pokal final, before moving to Bayern in 2021.
TOP STORY – SPURS MAKE MOVE FOR NAGELSMANN
Sky Sports claims Julian Nagelsmann is open to Tottenham's advances as they seek talks following his dismissal as Bayern Munich boss.
Spurs may be in the market for a new manager with uncertainty over Antonio Conte's future. Football Insider claims Nagelsmann is Spurs' number one priority if Conte departs.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was also considering Nagelsmann in 2019 when he replaced Mauricio Pochettino with Jose Mourinho.
ROUND UP
- Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are all circling for PSV midfielder Ibrahima Sangare, reports 90min. According to the report, the player's representatives have spoken to several Premier League clubs and he could be available for around £32million.
- Manchester United have joined the race for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic , who is being courted by Manchester City and Liverpool, according to Football.London.
- 90min claims Newcastle United have held talks with Marcus Thuram's representatives about a free agent move from Borussia Monchengladbach in the offseason. Thuram has already declared he will leave Gladbach when he contract expires at the end of the season, with Inter among a host of clubs interested.
- Chelsea are interested in signing ex-Leeds United man Raphinha from Barcelona, claims journalist Simon Phillips. The Blaugrana may be forced to sell players due to financial fair play regulations.
Sweden 0-3 Belgium: Lukaku hat-trick gets Tedesco tenure off to flying start
Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick as Belgium kicked off a new era under Domenico Tedesco with a 3-0 win over Sweden on Friday in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.
The Red Devils replaced Roberto Martinez with Tedesco after exiting the World Cup at the group stage, while a number of big names also retired from international football.
Tedesco's tenure got off to a flying start at Friends Arena in Stockholm, where Lukaku's header and a close-range finish either side of half-time had the visitors in control.
Sweden brought on 41-year-old striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Lukaku completed his treble in the 82nd minute to round off a comfortable victory.
Dejan Kulusevski almost gave Sweden the lead when his shot trickled towards goal after Thibaut Courtois got a hand to it, only for Wout Faes to clear off the line.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring 10 minutes before the interval when Dodi Lukebakio's right-sided cross was glanced in by the head of Lukaku.
The on-loan Inter striker doubled his tally with a tap-in from a yard out after Lukebakio burst into the box, got away from his man and once again picked out his team-mate.
Sweden struggled to ask any real questions of Courtois, despite the introduction of Ibrahimovic, and Lukaku made certain of the win when given a simple finish by Johan Bakayoko.
Yaya Toure confident of managerial opportunities despite Vieira sacking
Yaya Toure is "very positive" about having opportunities in management despite seeing Patrick Vieira recently sacked by Crystal Palace.
Toure was disappointed to see his former Manchester City team-mate lose his role as manager of the Eagles, who replaced Vieira with 75-year-old Roy Hodgson until the end of the season.
Speaking at a Football Black List event, the former Barcelona and City midfielder paid tribute to Vieira, whose dismissal meant there are no black managers in the Premier League.
"Patrick Vieira is a great person, and a great coach as well. I think it's a sad part of it," Toure said.
"It's a concern because if you have 50 per cent of the black players playing Premier League, and maybe one or two per cent of managers or coaches are black, it's quite strange."
Toure has taken up coaching since retiring from playing in 2019, with short-term assistant roles at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russia's Akhmat Grozny, before returning to England to work for Tottenham's academy in August.
He has designs on becoming a manager himself one day, and still believes the opportunities will be there for him.
"I think the Premier League and the FA are working hard to get it right, because for us it's very important," he said.
"And as well, for me, I can say, I'm confident, to be honest. I'm confident, I'm looking forward, I'm very positive [about] how the opportunities are going to come for me and I'm going to be ready for it."
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