Manchester United are reportedly preparing a second offer for 22-year-old Porto striker Evanilson after they had a bid of €65million rejected by the Portuguese champions.
The Brazilian was purchased by Porto in 2020 for €8.8m out of Fluminense, and after scoring four goals from 24 appearances in his first season in the Primeira Liga, he exploded in his second campaign with 21 goals in 46 outings.
He had 14 goals and four assists in 30 league games, and seven goals in seven Taca de Portugal fixtures on the way to winning Portugal's top domestic cup.
TOP STORY – RED DEVILS PLAN BIG-MONEY MOVE FOR LITTLE-KNOWN BRAZILIAN
The report out of Portuguese newspaper O Jogo claims Porto has already fought off interest from both Brighton and Hove Albion and Wolves by raising their asking price to €80m.
Porto are said to be desperate to retain the striker's services for one more season – even labelling him 'untouchable' – but could have their hand forced if the Old Trafford side is willing to go all-in.
It would be a shock for United to fork out such a large sum for a striker while also trying to push Barcelona's asking price for Frenkie de Jong down to a more palatable number.
The Sun is also reporting Ajax winger Antony is a serious target for former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, Goal claims that they are hoping to convince Christian Eriksen to sign on as well, and Corriere dello Sport believe they are investigating the possibility of landing Tammy Abraham.
ROUND-UP
– Arsenal have reportedly become the favourites to land Leeds United winger Raphinha as Barcelona's interest in the Brazilian cools off, according to Goal.
– The Daily Mail is reporting Chelsea have joined the race for Everton striker Richarlison, with Tottenham also in the bidding for the £50m man.
– According to Sky Sports, West Ham are planning a £30m bid for 20-year-old striker Armando Broja, who scored nine goals for Southampton last season while on loan from Chelsea.
– Nottingham Forest are trying to break their club-record transfer fee to sign 24-year-old Nigerian striker Taiyo Awoniyi for £17.5m from German side Union Berlin, per the Telegraph, although Football Insider claims Awoniyi will turn them down in favour of other offers.
– Calciomercato is reporting Kalidou Koulibaly will not join Juventus because he does not want to be considered a "traitor" like Gonzalo Higuain after his move to Turin – instead favouring a move to Barcelona.
Thilo Kehrer’s excitement rises ahead of the chance to achieve his West Ham goal
Thilo Kehrer has urged his team to write their names into the West Ham history books by winning the Europa Conference League final.
The Hammers face mid-table Serie A side Fiorentina in Prague on Wednesday night with the aim of lifting their first major piece of silverware for 43 years.
The 1980 FA Cup was their most recent major trophy while their solitary success in Europe was clinching the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965.
Kehrer is determined for West Ham to finish the job at the end of a rollercoaster season that produced a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League.
“Making history is being in the final, we know that. Now our focus and vision is completing the goal,” Germany defender Kehrer said.
“I said it at the beginning of the season without knowing how the season would go, bringing a title to West Ham is a big goal.
“We have the squad and quality to do it, so we’re very confident going into this final. We’re focused completely on the final.
“You can feel the excitement of the fans and everybody around the club. There’s great excitement and for us players it’s great to be in that place. We’re enjoying it and will prepare to the best of our abilities.
“We feel the support of every one of our fans. We are aware of all the people who are supporting us, they are behind us and cheering us on. We are very glad about that. We are taking that energy with us to Prague.
“We’re happy for everyone who will be at the stadium but also for everybody around back here, we’ll give our best for them.”
West Ham’s 10-day gap between the climax to the Premier League season and their European final enabled David Moyes to take the squad to Portugal for a short training camp.
Apart from fine tuning their preparations for next week’s Eden Arena showdown, the players were given the freedom to play golf and visit a local water park.
“We had some time together in a different place to usual, which helps to mix things up,” Kehrer said.
View this post on Instagram“We’ve bonded well as a group this season. We used the last few days to grow even more and get even more team spirit so that everyone is focused on the goal.”
Kehrer’s form since his £10million move from PSG last summer has been patchy, but the 26-year-old insists he has learned during his first season at West Ham.
“I’ve taken some experience from the differences of the Premier League to other leagues – the intensity, the speed, the duels, the competitiveness,” he said.
“This season I’ve become more complete by feeding off that experience. I can’t wait for what’s coming next.”
Ange Postecoglou agrees to leave Celtic for Tottenham – reports
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou appears to be moving towards a swift resolution of his future amid reports he has verbally agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager.
Postecoglou admitted on Saturday that his ability to enjoy Celtic’s treble success would soon be disrupted by some decision-making and that seems to have happened even quicker than he anticipated.
The 57-year-old dodged questions on his future before and after Saturday’s Scottish Cup final win over Inverness having emerged as the overwhelming frontrunner to take over at Spurs.
Neither club are commenting publicly but reports claim Postecoglou told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night that he intended to leave for London and he is now said to be closing in on signing a two-year Spurs deal with the option to extend.
When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, the Greek-born Australian said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.
“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.
“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”
The former Australia head coach has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in Japan and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season.
Postecoglou became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans.
But he looks set to swap Glasgow for another rebuild job as Spurs finally look to appoint a permanent successor to Antonio Conte, who departed on March 26.
Postecoglou is due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday and a deal could be finalised quickly.
Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester.
Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham.
Udinese 0-1 Juventus: Chiesa strikes but Bianconeri miss out on top-six Serie A finish
Juventus missed the chance to finish sixth in Serie A despite Federico Chiesa's strike sealing a 1-0 victory over Udinese at Dacia Arena.
After Paulo Dybala's late penalty helped Roma to a 2-1 victory over Spezia, Massimiliano Allegri's side were unable to leapfrog the Giallorossi and were forced to settle for a seventh-place finish in the league.
Chiesa's second-half strike was the difference for Juve, who were deducted 10 points for violating financial rules earlier in a rollercoaster campaign, but they suffered their lowest finish in Serie A for 12 years.
Meanwhile, Udinese finished 12th in Serie A following their 10th defeat in 12 meetings with the Old Lady.
Udinese had lost their last three but went close after just four minutes when Beto somehow headed Florian Thauvin's cross over from inside the six-yard box.
Federico Chiesa’s deflected effort hit the side-netting before Juve saw a headed opportunity go begging as Leonardo Bonucci nodded against the crossbar from seven yards out following Arkadiusz Milik's flick-on.
Chiesa continued to cause Udinese problems down the left flank, yet the sides headed into half-time goalless after a profligate showing from both teams.
Juve squandered a great chance to break the deadlock just after the hour mark, Adrien Rabiot firing wide despite being found by Milik in acres of space inside the box.
But the visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 68th minute, Chiesa receiving the ball from Manuel Locatelli before bending a brilliant shot into the bottom-right corner.
Locatelli and Angel Di Maria went close to extending the advantage and though the single goal was enough, former Juve forward Dybala was to snatch sixth place for Roma from under his old club's nose.
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