Manchester United are working overtime to land at least one of the Eredivisie's top stars, with their chase for Ajax's Antony and PSV's Cody Gakpo reportedly heating up.
Antony racked up eight goals and four assists in 23 league games last season, and has started the new campaign in hot form, collecting a goal and two assists from his first two fixtures.
Gakpo netted a brace in PSV's season opener against FC Emmen, and while the Telegraph claims United will only be able to afford one of the two wingers, a conflicting report from the Netherlands' De Telegraaf says that might not be the case.
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The report from De Telegraaf says "it is not a question of [Antony or Gakpo], but the club wants to contract both players", which would mean well over £100million in transfer fees after their last offer of £68m for Antony was rejected.
Ajax have no interest in letting Antony leave, with the Brazilian's contract tying him to the club through 2025, but Goal is reporting he has missed recent training sessions, and the reason he was absent from his side's 1-0 win against Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday was due to him trying to force his way out.
The Telegraph claims United are "expected" to complete a £34m deal for Gakpo, but it remains to be seen if they are willing to pull the trigger on the Dutchman while they still believe they can land Antony.
ROUND-UP
– According to The Sun, United will block any moves for captain Harry Maguire after Chelsea expressed interest earlier in the week.
– Calciomercato is reporting Milan have approached Tottenham about a potential transfer for 23-year-old English centre-back Japhet Tangana.
– Tottenham and Newcastle United are waiting to see if Juventus secure Barcelona's Memphis Depay, with the two Premier League clubs hoping to swoop in if the Bianconeri's deal falls apart, according to The Sun.
– Free agent Andrea Belotti has rejected an offer from Wolves, according to Calciomercato, instead preferring to wait for Roma to make room for him.
– Sport1 is reporting Paris Saint-Germain are planning a move for RB Leipzig defenders Josko Gvardiol and Mohamed Simakan, but the German side hope to retain both.
Erik ten Hag confident Marcus Rashford can score 40 goals in a season
Erik ten Hag believes ever-improving Manchester United star Marcus Rashford can become a 40-goal-a-season forward.
The 25-year-old pressed reset last summer after the most chastening year of his career, kicked off by his heart-breaking penalty shoot-out miss in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
Post-tournament shoulder surgery kept Rashford sidelined and an initial flurry of goals on his return quickly dried up amid widespread criticism.
But a priceless pre-season under new boss Ten Hag led to a resurgence, with Rashford scoring his 30th goal of the season in all competitions in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Chelsea.
Rashford’s best haul saw him become the first United player to reach 30 goals since Robin van Persie a decade ago, but Ten Hag believes the best is yet to come.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement in his game,” the United boss said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League finale against Fulham. “I’m convinced he could score even more.
“I think when you take, for instance, the last 10 games, he didn’t score so many goals. I think only two or three.
“So, yeah, he can improve but I am happy from where he was last season to what he did now, that he brings himself back.
“We supported him where we could, with the way of play but also in his mental mindset, so we are happy with that.
“But, yeah, we have to push for more and I am sure he’s capable to score 40 goals in a season, to make also for him the next step.”
Asked if Rashford’s form takes the pressure off getting a striker in the summer, Ten Hag said: “We need across the squad more scoring abilities.
“You can’t be dependent on one. But it can also come from this squad, but we need more scoring abilities.”
Ten Hag has stressed the need for additions and internal improvements after a promising first season in the dugout.
United won February’s Carabao Cup and face Manchester City in the FA Cup final after wrapping up a Champions League return with a game to spare.
“We have to look to ourselves,” Ten Hag said about the next step. “We want to win the cup but that is for next Saturday and we have to do everything that’s in our power.
“I think in many aspects we can improve with this group of players, with this team. I know where we have to improve. I think there is a lot of room for improvement, yes.”
Ten Hag feels “fantastic in this club” and says Manchester feels like a home away from home, where the reaction to people he meets on the street is “absolutely positive”.
That feedback would be even greater from the red half of the city if United can stop rivals City’s treble charge at Wembley in the FA Cup final.
Asked if the FA Cup final was a free hit given what they have achieved already and City’s standing or a chance to send a statement, Ten Hag retorted: “Both not.
“But when I was here one year ago, I said we wanted to win trophies. We have won one, so we want to go for the highest.
“But that is a long, long way, it’s going to be a project. That’s not over one year. We’re talking over one to three years.
“But when there’s an opportunity to win a trophy, for every player it’s massive.
“I have to count but there are not so many players in our team, in our squad who have won the FA Cup. The FA Cup is huge for everyone in the world.
“You can have won the Champions League, you can have won so many titles, but when you have the opportunity to win the FA Cup, it goes all over the world, global-wide, a huge reputation.
“I know from the Netherlands how big the FA Cup is, so we have the opportunity to win that.
“We are also realistic (that) it’s not going to be easy but I can assure you one thing: we will give everything that’s in our power to get the cup.”
I’ll stay at Newcastle as long as I’m wanted – Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe does not want to be anywhere but Newcastle as he plots a route to lasting success after delivering Champions League football at the end of his first full season at the helm.
The 45-year-old will spend the summer working with the club’s owners and sporting director Dan Ashworth to bolster a squad already enhanced by spending in excess of £250million for the challenges which lie ahead.
In doing so he will have to make a series of tough decisions, but not about his own situation.
Asked if his long-term future lies at St James’ Park, Howe said: “Very much so, there is no other thought in my mind.
“For as long as I’m wanted, Newcastle is where I want to be. I’m hugely excited about next season and hopefully beyond.”
Howe has been linked repeatedly with the England job in recent years and his early success on Tyneside after his sterling work at Bournemouth has seen his reputation blossom.
However, he is not a man to rest on his laurels and knows what lies ahead may prove even more difficult as he attempts to balance the demands of domestic and European football.
He said: “It can be tougher [playing in Europe]. I don’t want to come across as negative or pessimistic in any way, or almost having that mindset going into next season. We need to go into next season full of positivity and full of what can be.
“We want to compete, we want to try to win a trophy, so we are very, very ambitious to move things on, but the challenges will get harder and we have to be better.”
Tyneside has been bathed in euphoria since Monday night’s 0-0 draw with Leicester ensured just a third Champions League campaign for the club and took the pressure off Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.
However, while he is determined to make an impression among Europe’s elite, Howe has no intention of forgetting the bread and butter of the Premier League.
He said: “I look at the Premier League as your first target, the foundation to your season, really, so we won’t be going away from all eyes on the Premier League, all eyes on making sure we start as well as we can and we try to be as consistent as we can.
“We won’t be taken off course in terms of our focus. The Champions League will start later on. It’s the foundation that we’re looking at and that’s the Premier League.”
If the quest for Europe was something of a pipe dream back in August, the desperation to end a trophy drought which dates back to 1969 remains after despite February’s Carabao Cup final defeat, and that will not be pushed into the background either.
Howe said: “We won’t look at the domestic cups and sacrifice them for the Champions League. That’s not my mindset sitting here now.
“We want to try to win a trophy and we came very close this year. We want to go one step further.”
Ryan Mason believes Daniel Levy has ‘been let down by other people’ at Tottenham
Tottenham acting head coach Ryan Mason has defended Daniel Levy and insisted the under-fire chairman has been let down by other people.
Levy has faced growing criticism this season and repeatedly had his name chanted at games with a section of supporters eager for the long-serving board member to depart.
Eighth-placed Spurs are currently searching for a new permanent head coach and managing director of football while they could find themselves not in Europe for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Meanwhile, record goalscorer Harry Kane is about to enter the final year of his contract, but Mason leapt to the defence of Levy before the last match of the club’s season at relegation-threatened Leeds on Sunday.
He said: “It hurts him, it hurts everyone committed to this club and everyone who really cares and wants this club to be successful.
“One thing I will say is he’s spent money, he’s tried and I just think ultimately he has probably been let down by other people but that’s football.
“That happens and hopefully we can get things right quickly, make good decisions and it can turn around.”
Optimism was rife at the beginning of the campaign, but Spurs have lost 14 times in the Premier League, conceded 62 top-flight goals – their worst against tally since the 2002-03 term – and seen their trophy drought extend into a 15th season.
Mason pulled no punches when asked about positives, adding: “I think the biggest positive will be the future.
“And if we’re clever and if we do it right, then I think we’ll look back on this season and say it was tough, disappointing but ultimately it made us realise what we want to be.
“It made us realise who we are, what our history and DNA probably suggests we are, what our fans want, what our fans demand and hopefully there is a connection very soon where we look back and say disappointing season, absolutely yes, but it helped us.”
It was just over two months ago when Antonio Conte had his post-match outburst at Southampton and accused his own “selfish players” of not being a team or wanting to play under pressure.
Spurs have won only twice during the ensuing nine matches but Mason rejected any notion his old boss was right given the games in hand Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton held over a club that were fourth at the start of April.
“We haven’t won an away game since January, conceded 60+ goals this season so this isn’t something that has just happened in recent weeks,” ex-Tottenham midfielder Mason stated.
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“Obviously we were left in a position in the league table that was probably false, in terms of other teams had games in hand.
“When you level them out, I think the first game we had against Man United (on April 27) we might have been seventh in the table so there were a lot of things that were probably false.
“One thing I will say is I respect everyone that I have worked with and I have learnt off a lot of people, but at the same time I am my own person and believe how not only this club, but how any football club I am at in the future, should work and operate.”
Mason will have a decision to make on his own future after the clash at Elland Road with the 31-year-old firmly of the belief he is ready for management following this latest caretaker spell.
He has consistently referenced the importance of “committed people” being at the club next season in recent weeks and hinted unspecified players could miss the trip to Leeds if they are not motivated to secure Tottenham a spot in the Europa Conference League with a seventh-placed finish.
“I am looking forward to it. I hope my players are looking forward to it too,” Mason said.
“I have made it very clear that if anyone isn’t up for the fight and doesn’t want to play in this type of game, then it is probably best we don’t play with them.
“I just think going forward that (commitment) is really important. That is probably the first thing we need to address.
“Whether it’s a cleaner, groundsman, members of staff, players here, coaches here, they need to be committed to this football club.
“It’s an honour to work here. I’ve played here, I felt that pride whenever I put on the shirt and for anyone who’s lucky enough to represent us next season, first of all they need to be committed to the football club.”
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