Chelsea may not be finished with their January signings, reportedly joining Tottenham in the pursuit of Brighton and Hove Albion winger Leandro Trossard.
Trossard, 28, is in his fourth season with the Seagulls, and after never scoring more than eight Premier League goals in each of his previous three campaigns, he is on pace to set a new personal-best with seven in his first 16 appearances.
His exploits this season have included a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool, as well as goals against Manchester City and Chelsea, but he recently butted heads with head coach Roberto De Zerbi and has been left out of Brighton's last two matchday squads.
The Belgium international with 24 senior caps has also had his agent announce his intention to leave the club this month, triggering plenty of interest from fellow Premier League sides.
TOP STORY – CHELSEA WANT TROSSARD TO RECREATE MAGIC WITH POTTER
According to The Mirror, Chelsea are understood to now be a main player along with Tottenham and also Arsenal as the three clubs compete for Trossard's services.
Trossard had only six months remaining on his contract on the south coast, before Brighton reportedly activated a 12-month extension to ensure he would not be able to leave the club on a free transfer.
It is believed Chelsea have the most spending power of the trio, even after their £88.5million purchase of Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, and Trossard remains a favourite of his former boss Graham Potter.
His asking price has been set at £25m, while the report adds any potential deal for fellow Brighton talent 21-year-old Moises Caicedo – also of interest to Chelsea as well as Liverpool – would cost "more than double" that £25m figure.
ROUND-UP
– The Mirror is reporting West Ham would like to bring in 29-year-old Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire on loan.
– According to Sky Sports, Arsenal have enquired about 23-year-old Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, but have been told he will not be available this month and will cost €100m (£88.5m) at the end of the season.
– Barcelona are hoping to secure 32-year-old Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer at the end of the season, per the Telegraph.
– Fichajes is reporting Arsenal will attempt to sign Chelsea's Raheem Sterling after failing to land the 28-year-old England international prior to his move to Stamford Bridge last year.
– According to The Independent, Real Madrid and Juventus are monitoring United 18-year-old Alejandro Garnacho after he rejected the club's most recent contract extension.
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega
Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later.
Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.
However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.
"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote.
"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.
"At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title.
"But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."
Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
Nurnberg 3-0 Juventus: Motta's men thrashed in first pre-season friendly
Thiago Motta's first game in charge of Juventus ended in defeat as an unfamiliar Bianconeri side was thrashed 3-0 by 2. Bundesliga outfit Nurnberg on Friday.
The likes of Timothy Weah, Nicolo Fagioli and Dusan Vlahovic were limited to substitute roles as Motta selected a young side at Max-Morlock-Stadion, with the latter hitting the post with a second-half penalty at 1-0.
Caspar Jander had earlier given Nurnberg a 19th-minute lead, and they put some gloss on the scoreline with two late strikes after Vlahovic's missed spot-kick.
Substitutes Dustin Forkel and Tim Janisch both converted from inside the penalty area in the final four minutes as Motta's reign began in disappointing fashion.
The Bianconeri are next in action versus Brest on Saturday, with a further friendly against Atletico Madrid in the diary before they begin their Serie A campaign at Como on August 19.
Data Debrief: Juve's second string miss their chance
It's fair to say few of the youngsters selected by Motta made a big impression, with the Bianconeri only managing two shots to Nurnberg's seven before they rang the changes at half-time.
No Juventus starter created a chance in Bavaria, and things did not get much better when Motta made his changes, with Vlahovic in particular enduring a disappointing outing.
He only had 18 touches, one of them coming when he struck the woodwork from 12 yards.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
