Rangers maintain ‘genuine interest’ in Gilmour (Football Insider)
The Scottish side wanted to sign the Chelsea midfielder in January and will look again in the summer
Rangers were seriously interested in re-signing Billy Gilmour on loan from Chelsea in January and will try again in the summer, according to Football Insider.
Gilmour was denied a loan exit by new Blues manager Thomas Tuchel, who wants to keep him as cover for the first team.
The player, who started his career at Ibrox, was open to a loan return to get more first team action, and Rangers are said to still want Gilmour if a deal can be done in the summer.
‘Leeds eye Koopmeiners as Phillips cover’
Leeds are tracking AZ midfielder Teun Koopmeiners as cover for first choice defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to Leeds Live.
England international Phillips is among the first names on the teamsheet at Elland Road, but Leeds are otherwise light in that area and are planning to strengthen in the summer.
Koopmeiners, 22, has impressed in Eredivisie this season, while he also poses more of a goal threat than Phillips, with 30 strikes in two and a half seasons in the Netherlands.
Luiz defends Arsenal transfer flop Willian
David Luiz has come to the defence of Arsenal and Brazil team mate Willian, who has struggled at Emirates Stadium since his summer move from Chelsea.
Luiz told ESPN Brazil: “The player Willian everyone knows. And everyone knows Willian’s potential. And he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone after so many years at the high level. And he’s a moment which it’s not so pleasant at the individual level because things are not happening.
“But he’s an experienced, intelligent guy, who knows what he should know, what he must do every day.
“You don’t see Willian murmuring to train, you don’t see Willian not training. He’s always dedicated, he’s looking for the best, to improve, to grow. You don’t see Willian with an ugly face on the bench. All those things.
“So he’s a guy who will go through this, he will go through this moment and he’ll still bring a lot of joy to Arsenal, to this club. Because there’s this turbulence, just as I had in the first months.”
Wighton finished at Hearts
Craig Wighton will leave Hearts at the end of his contract to join Dunfermline Athletic.
The forward has signed a pre-contract with the Pars and will move to East End Park in the summer. pic.twitter.com/jU9f1g1Wlw
— Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) February 4, 2021
West Brom signing has work permit approved
Inter anticipate Handanovic loss
Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic has served Inter extremely well, but the club are aware of the need to lock down a top-class replacement before the 36-year-old’s contract runs out or his form falls off further.
Gazzetta dello Sport writes that Udinese’s Juan Musso could be the first choice for Inter.
Mourinho asks for good Alli following loss to Chelsea
After nixing Delle Alli’s potential transfer to Paris Saint-Germain before this week’s deadline, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho on Thursday suggested a path back into a starting role for the out-of-favour midfielder. Mourinho said his team could use “a good Dele Alli that we haven’t had yet” – an indication that he indeed has hope for Alli eventually contributing under his watch.
Jose Mourinho suggested missing players were the reason for Tottenham’s limp performance in their 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Thursday.
Mourinho singled out “a good Dele Alli that we haven’t had yet,” as well as the absent trio of Harry Kane, Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon after his side were deservedly beaten by Thomas Tuchel’s Blues.
It was a record-setting defeat for Mourinho on a personal level but, while Jorginho’s penalty was the only goal of the game, Chelsea could have scored more while Spurs never looked like troubling Edouard Mendy.
“Reguilon means something for our attacking football,” Mourinho said in his post-match press conference.
“Harry Kane means something to our attacking football. Giovani Lo Celso means something and a good Dele Alli that we haven’t had yet also means something to that. It also is about not having the players to change things. It’s also about the confidence.”
Carlos Vinicius started in attack with Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn supporting him. Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura came off the bench to some effect but Mourinho opted not to use Gareth Bale despite still having one substitution left at the end of the game.
Asked about Bale, Mourinho said: “I’m doing my best. He’s doing his best. Everybody is doing their best.”
In general, Mourinho admitted Chelsea were the better team in the first half but he felt his side deserved something from the contest.
“The performance in the first half was inferior to Chelsea. They had the initiative and they had the ball. We were in very low positions. The reality of the first half is that with them being superior a penalty decided the game.
“In the second half they were not superior and they had the low block.
“I saw togetherness and it’s not easy to show togetherness with bad results and with injuries. It’s easy to see togetherness in good moments but I saw it in that second half.”
Tottenham host West Brom on Sunday and will need to improve ahead of a difficult run of fixtures including games against Manchester City and West Ham, plus a return to the Europa League against Austrian side Wolfsberg.
Elche eye Piatti as answer to attacking woes
Elche believe free-agent attacker Pablo Piatti could uplift their 19th-place squad during the second half of La Liga’s 2020-21 campaign, AS reports.
Even if a deal is agreed upon, Piatti needs to prove his fitness following a serious knee injury suffered at Toronto FC.
Dynamo consider bid for star Tigres defender
The Houston Dynamo have apparently kept an eye on Tigres’ Club World Cup run and could make a transfer offer for defender Carlos Salcedo, ESPN reports.
Salcedo has been a rock at the back in recent months and will start for his Liga MX side this weekend in the tournament’s semi-final round against Palmeiras.
Atlanta near deal for Sosa
Atlanta United are closing in on a transfer deal with 21-year-old River Plate midfielder Santiago Sosa, writes journalist German García Grova.
Sosa has featured for Argentina up to a U-20 level.
Bayern Munich reject says latest termination not due to performance
The once-promising career of former Bayern Munich prospect Sinan Kurt has swerved to FC Nitra of Slovakia after he was cut by a semi-pro German side last month.
But he claims to Sport Bild that contrary to popular belief, his latest move had nothing to do with poor play on the pitch and he is hopeful of regaining the attention of scouts.
Man City want Haaland to replace Aguero
Pep Guardiola has set his sights on Dortmund’s top scorer (Marca)
Manchester City want to buy Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland as the long-term replacement for oft-injured Sergio Aguero, whose contract is up this summer, according to Marca.
City are so keen on getting Haaland ahead of competitors that they are willing to pay a higher price to services well before a release clause activates in the summer of 2022.
Chelsea want Hazard back at huge discount
Despite the playmaker’s health problems, the Blues might be drawn by his Premier League track record (DefensaCentral)
Real Madrid flop Eden Hazard, who has been mired in a “viscious circle” of injuries, is drawing interest from former club Chelsea at about half the initial transfer fee of £88 million ($112m) paid for the player in 2019 – reports DefensaCentral.
That would come after the Blues acquired much younger attackers Timo Werner and Kai Havertz last summer for a combined cost about £117.5 million ($150m)
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