Football rumours: Liverpool ramp up bid for Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure

By Sports Desk August 17, 2023

What the papers say

Liverpool are ramping up their bid for 23-year-old midfielder Cheick Doucoure after missing out of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea this summer, the Independent reports. The price to lure the Crystal Palace star to Anfield is reported to be around £60million, but the Eagles could be hesitant to sell Doucoure after already losing a number of players this summer.

The Daily Mail says Liverpool are also interested in Netherlands international midfielder Ryan Gravenberch. The 21-year-old at Bayern Munich is reportedly open to leaving the club due to a lack of playing time.

Newcastle United are set to pay £30million for 18-year-old full-back Lewis Hall after Chelsea put him up for sale, according to the Telegraph.

West Ham are hoping to use some of the money gained from the monster Declan Rice sale to sign a flurry of players. The Guardian says Montpellier striker Elye Wahi, Stuttgart defender Konstantinos Mavropanos and Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou are all on the club’s watchlist.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jesse Lingard: West Ham are scoping out the 30-year-old midfielder who is now a free agent after his contract expired with Nottingham Forest, Football Daily said.

Aleksandar Mitrovic: The Guardian says the Fulham and Serbian striker is looking like the next Premier League player to head to the Saudi Pro League.

Related items

  • Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Young Boys: First-half comeback gives hosts Champions League hope Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Young Boys: First-half comeback gives hosts Champions League hope

    Shakhtar Donetsk staged a quick first-half comeback to earn a 2-1 home victory over Young Boys in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

    Both sides entered the game winless, and Young Boys grabbed the lead in the 27th minute when Kastriot Imeri struck from close range.

    But Shakhtar responded swiftly in Gelsenkirchen as Oleksandr Zubkov tapped in four minutes later to restore parity.

    And Heorhii Sudakov, who teed up the equaliser, then put Shakhtar ahead four minutes before the interval, with that goal proving enough to take maximum points.

    Shakhtar now have four for the campaign, while Young Boys are still waiting on their first point after four straight defeat to begin the campaign.

    Data Debrief: Breakthroughs at last on matchday four

    Not only were both teams looking for their first wins on Wednesday, neither had even found the net.

    Imeri broke Young Boys' duck with their 40th shot of the campaign, but the lead was short-lived as Shakhtar's 25th attempt of the season brought them level.

    The Ukrainian outfit went on to register their third Champions League home win in four matches as they pursue a place in the play-off round, while Young Boys are really up against it.

    They have not won any of their 11 away games in the competition and must surely end that run against Stuttgart or Celtic to have any hope of advancing.

  • Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa: Mings calamity ends unbeaten Champions League run Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa: Mings calamity ends unbeaten Champions League run

    Tyrone Mings' calamitous mistake proved costly as Aston Villa lost 1-0 to Club Brugge in the Champions League.

    Villa had won their opening three games in the competition, but their unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt in Belgium on Wednesday.

    Mings was at fault as he conceded a bizarre penalty early in the second half.

    On his first Champions League appearance, Mings inexplicably picked the ball when it was passed his way by Emiliano Martinez, believing it was not in play.

    The referee pointed to the penalty spot, with the spot-kick confirmed by VAR, and Hans Vanaken converted from 12 yards.

    Unai Emery's side failed to create much of note from then on, and finished with just 0.4 expected goals (xG) from what was a disappointing attacking display.

    Brugge are now on six points, three behind Villa.

    Data Debrief: Brugge finally claim an English scalp

    This was Brugge's first win over an English team in Europe since they beat Chelsea in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1995, ending a run of 14 matches without a victory against English teams.

    Villa, meanwhile, failed to become just the fourth team to win their first four Champions League matches, after Milan (1993), Paris Saint-Germain (1994) and Juventus (1995).

  • Chelsea to 'wait and see' on Palmer before Arsenal clash Chelsea to 'wait and see' on Palmer before Arsenal clash

    Cole Palmer's availability for Chelsea's crunch Premier League clash with Arsenal on Sunday is still to be decided.

    Blues talisman Palmer was on the end of a painful challenge from Lisandro Martinez in last week's draw with Manchester United.

    With seven goals and five assists in the Premier League already this season, following a breakout campaign last time out, Chelsea will be keen to have Palmer back for their next league match against Arsenal.

    But Enzo Maresca revealed ahead of his side's Conference League meeting with Noah that Palmer was yet to train with the team again.

    Palmer is not part of Chelsea's European squad for the league phase and so would not have featured on Thursday regardless, but his status for the Arsenal encounter is uncertain.

    "Cole didn't train [on Tuesday], so we will see today if he can train with us," Maresca said on Wednesday.

    "We hope [he will be available for Sunday]. We need to wait and see and then decide."

    Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League, above Arsenal on goal difference, while they lead the Conference League table after two matches.

    Maresca's men have so far succeeded in that competition due to their incredible strength in depth, although the vast number of options means some star names are struggling to see minutes in the Premier League.

    Asked about Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku, Maresca said: "I would like to give him more minutes in the Premier League, but I have said many times: we need defensive balance and we cannot play with Joao, Cole, Christo.

    "I like to put all of them inside the pitch, but then you also have to defend and you need the right balance between the two phases of attacking and defending.

    "This is the only reason why. There is no doubt if Joao keeps working well, he is going to find his moment also in the Premier League."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.