Chelsea have reportedly locked in on Everton's Anthony Gordon and are desperate to get a deal done before the deadline, going as far as including both Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher in their latest offer.
Gordon - who scored his first goal of the season in his side's 1-1 draw against Brentford at the weekend - has seen his stature rise meteorically, with the 21-year-old now considered a real chance to represent England at the World Cup later this year.
Chelsea have already had an offer of £50million plus add-ons rejected, and after previous rumours hinted that Everton wanted one of Gallagher or Broja on loan to make it happen, a stunning new report claims the Stamford Bridge side are willing to take it a step further.
TOP STORY – CHELSEA WILLING TO PART WAYS WITH GALLAGHER AND BROJA IN GORDON DEAL
The report from Football Insider states Chelsea are willing to send Gallagher and Broja to Everton on permanent moves, as well as adding £25m in cash, making the total offer value in the range of £85m.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been clear about how highly he values 20-year-old Broja and 22-year-old Gallagher, with both players coming on as substitutes in the first two Premier League fixtures.
However, Broja has been left on the bench the past two games, and Gallagher's two starts have resulted in a 3-0 loss to Leeds United and a red card against Leicester City just 28 minutes into the action.
So far this season, only Raheem Sterling against Leicester has registered more than one shot on target in a single game, while Gordon has had at least two shots on target in each of his past three outings, including five against Nottingham Forest and four against Brentford.
ROUND-UP
– Sky Sports Italia is reporting Juventus have interest in Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz if they can not secure Leandro Paredes from Paris Saint-Germain.
– In their search for strikers, Chelsea are said to be considering Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, although Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains the priority, according to the Guardian.
– The Daily Mail claims that after reportedly accepting a deal in the range of £80m (€95m) from Manchester United for Antony, Ajax are hoping to bring Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech back to the Eredivisie.
– Liverpool's midfielder hunt has brought them to Sheffield United's 24-year-old Norwegian international Sander Berge, per the Yorkshire Post.
–The Evening Standard is reporting Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks is finalising a move to Sampdoria after initially holding out hope of a Premier League club swooping in.
Barcelona gifted win over Sevilla by Sergio Ramos own goal
Former Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos put through his own net to hand Barcelona a 1-0 win against Sevilla.
Xavi’s side looked set for a second LaLiga draw in succession following their midweek 2-2 clash at Mallorca before Ramos’ own goal with 14 minutes remaining.
The win takes Barcelona top of the table, one point ahead of Girona and two clear of Real Madrid, who travel to Girona on Saturday.
Following the draw at Mallorca on Tuesday, Xavi made four changes with Robert Lewandowski returning to the starting line-up. Jules Kounde partnered Andreas Christensen in defence, while 16-year-old Lamine Yamal was also handed a start.
For Sevilla, Ramos, 37, who returned to his boyhood club last month following 16 years at the Bernabeu and two seasons with Paris St Germain, was among five changes for his side’s trip to Barcelona’s temporary home at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium.
Sevilla arrived for Friday night’s fixture unbeaten in their last four outings and fresh from a 5-1 midweek demolition job of Almeria, but it was the hosts who enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges with Joao Felix involved.
First the Portuguese forward, on loan from Atletico Madrid, forced Orjan Nyland into a fine save following a low drive. And then midway through the opening period, Felix rattled the woodwork from six yards out after neat build-up play by Joao Cancelo.
Substitute Fermin Lopez then wasted a good chance just minutes before the interval when his shot from Yamal’s cross was straight at a thankful Nyland.
After the break, the chances continued to fall the way of the hosts, with Lewandowski’s close-range shot saved by the legs of Nyland on the hour mark before the impressive Yamal then dragged an effort wide. Moments later, Lewandowski’s shot was headed clear by Loic Bade.
Barcelona might have been wondering if it was going to be one of those nights but with 75 minutes gone, they were handed a lifeline.
Yamal’s header back across goal from Ferran Torres’ cross dropped into Ramos’ path and the ex-Real defender, who netted five times in 33 appearances against Barcelona, inadvertently scored past Nyland.
From there, a shell-shocked Sevilla never looked like getting back in the match as Barcelona saw out the game, including five additional minutes, to claim top spot in LaLiga.
Ange Postecoglou had a love of Liverpool as a youngster but says ‘things change’
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has acknowledged Liverpool’s trophy-laden era during the 1970s’ and 1980s’ planted the seeds for him to become a manager.
Postecoglou has made no secret of his childhood love for Liverpool and recalled on several occasions how he used to watch matches in the early hours of the morning in Australia with his dad Jim.
Kenny Dalglish was an early hero for the 58-year-old and he believes watching the teams of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley win European Cups helped shape his pathway to a coaching career that has seen him manage across the globe.
“I was just consumed by football,” Postecoglou reflected ahead of Saturday’s visit of Liverpool.
“I’ve said before, it wasn’t just playing the game. My infatuation was with all the game, I wanted to read about it all and yeah I was fascinated by the culture at a club like Liverpool.
“The Boot Room, Shankly, Paisley, and Ronnie Moran, all those guys because I just loved reading about it. Just as I was interested reading about Sir Alex (Ferguson) or Jock Stein.
“It seemed that even at a young age I had a real fascination with managers and people of influence within the game because I loved the game.
“We all as kids have something we love and takes us away from the world we were in and that was my world. I just loved reading about the history of football clubs and the great people within them.
“Certainly Liverpool at the time there was always a unique story there about this mythical boot room where all the magic happened. For me it was almost like reading fairytales all the time.
“Obviously that has an influence, yeah it does because that’s where all the seeds are planted, my love for the game.”
Dalglish would have been the Liverpool player on Postecoglou’s wall as a child, but he was quick to point out that is no longer the case.
He added: “I was mad about Kenny Dalglish. Everything was about Dalglish for me, whether that was Celtic or Liverpool. I was a mad Kenny fan.
“It was just about that time when I was what 12, 13 and you know we look for heroes in our lives. He was it for me, scoring in European Cup finals and the way he played.
“Like any kid, I had the posters up on my wall, so Liverpool was my team, but you grow up, things change. I used to love Happy Days back then too, but I don’t have pictures of the Fonz on my wall today either!”
Postecoglou has plenty of respect for this current Liverpool team and their manager Jurgen Klopp, who will pose a huge test to the Australian’s lengthy unbeaten home record in league matches.
You have to go back to 2020, when Postecoglou was in charge of Yokohama, for the last time he lost a home league fixture – when Kashima won in the J1 League.
A dramatic stoppage-time turnaround against Sheffield United a fortnight ago made it 50 home league matches without defeat for the former Celtic boss, but he knows Liverpool will test that run.
“Over those 50 games I’ve had some big tests, I’ve had some good teams, to be fair,” Postecoglou admitted.
“I put a lot of stock in home form because that’s the time where you can give your supporters, who you know are going to be the majority in the stadium, that feeling you want to give them, of experiencing their team winning a game of football.
“I put a lot of stock in that. It’s 50 games against all types of opposition, different types of circumstances.
“There would have been games in there where we were down to 10 men, there would have been games where we would have been down. Well, two weeks ago in the 95th minute.
“There are always tests to go for that long. I’ve probably been lucky along the way too.”
Kylian Mbappe fit to face Clermont but could be rested by Paris St Germain
Kylian Mbappe is available for Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 clash with Clermont on Saturday but could be rested ahead of the Champions League trip to Newcastle.
The France forward was forced off early in last weekend’s 4-0 hammering of Marseille with an ankle injury and boss Luis Enrique must decide whether to risk him in the meeting against the league’s bottom side.
Mbappe trained away from the rest of the squad on Thursday but was back with his team-mates on Friday.
“Kylian Mbappe trained with the squad today, he’s available,” said Enrique on PSG TV. “He has had some treatment and done some specific sessions, but he’s in shape to play.”
The defending champions made a shaky start to the season, drawing with Lorient and Toulouse and losing to Nice, and sit third in the table behind Brest and Nice heading into the weekend.
But the result against big rivals Marseille coupled with a Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund has put a different complexion on things.
“Confidence comes with good results,” said Enrique. “We had some difficult results early in the season but, when you win, everything is great, and confidence builds with victories.
“There’s a lot of things to improve. In a learning process, there is always a phase at the start where you have to learn a lot.
“We’re still in that phase. I’ve been very happy with the players since I took over but we’re still far from the level we want to achieve in attack and defence.”
Clermont have taken only one point from their first six matches, conceding 12 goals in the process, but Enrique believes that belies their quality.
“They don’t deserve to be bottom of the table,” he said. “They play good football, work well, and last season had a very solid base. They’re one of the best teams defensively.
“It’s an important game because it comes a few days before a Champions League away game. We mustn’t drop off and underestimate our opponents. It won’t be an easy game.”
PSG, meanwhile, announced on Friday that left-back Nuno Mendes is expected to be out for a further four months after undergoing surgery on his hamstring in Finland.
The 21-year-old Portugal international suffered the injury in July and an operation has now been deemed the best option in his recovery.
Enrique said: “For Nuno Mendes, we have to be careful with all of that.
“We’ve got enough strength in depth but we have to find solutions because the season is long.”
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