Paper Talk: Chelsea gifted chance to sign Barcelona man to fund Messi deal; Tottenham bid £50m for No 1 target
Chelsea are mulling over an offer from Barcelona to take one of their superstars on the cheap, Arsenal have bid for a France midfielder, while Wednesday’s transfer gossip claims Tottenham will bid £50m for their prime summer target.
GRIEZMANN OFFERED TO CHELSEA
Cash-strapped Barcelona have offered Chelsea the chance to sign Antoine Griezmann as part of their plans to raise cash.
The LaLiga giants are in a huge mess and have breached salary cap rules in Spain. That means that new signings Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia cannot yet be registered as players. Even worse, they are currently unable to give star man Lionel Messi the new deal he’s been promised.
In a desperate bid to offload players and raise funds, the Daily Star claims they’ve contacted Chelsea to offer them Griezmann.
Since joining Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in 2019, the Frenchman has scored 35 goals in 99 games. He initially took some time to settle, but his quality has shone through in the end. Still, it may not have been enough to save his Camp Nou career.
As per the report, Barca could let Griezmann leave for just £45m – more than half the £102.8m they paid for him.
Chelsea are yet to respond to the offer, but Thomas Tuchel is yet to decide whether to accept. The German does want a new striker to lead the line amid question marks over Timo Werner. But it seems his priorities may lie elsewhere before Griezmann, who’s not a natural centre forward.
Griezmann isn’t the only Barcelona player up for grabs either. As per reports, they are also willing to sell Philippe Coutinho for around £20m – an 83% reduction on what he cost.
The Barca clearout began on Tuesday with Junior Firpo joining Leeds for just £12.8m.
TOTTENHAM PREPARE MASSIVE KOUNDE BID
Tottenham are ready to bid £50m to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla, local reports in Andalusia claim. (Daily Express)
Arsenal have reportedly submitted a fresh bid for Lyon’s Houssem Aouar. (Daily Express)
Gareth Bale plans to retire from club football next summer but could still play for Wales at the 2022 World Cup. (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool could be set for a cash windfall if Danny Ings leaves Southampton this summer. (Daily Mirror)
Marko Grujic is set to feature in pre-season training with Liverpool, though his future is up in the air. (Daily Mirror)
SARRI ADMITS TO CHELSEA BLUNDER
Maurizio Sarri confesses he made a monumental error leaving Chelsea in order to take the Juventus job in 2019. (Daily Mirror)
At least one Premier League club has suffered a coronavirus outbreak among its squad following the return of its players for pre-season training. (Daily Telegraph)
Roberto Carlos has been impressed by England left-back Luke Shaw, with the Brazil great saying ‘Shawberto Carlos’ has everything it takes to go to the top. (Daily Telegraph)
West Ham face competition from Real Betis and Napoli for Nikola Maksimovic. (Daily Star)
England fans must wait until September to celebrate with the players if Gareth Southgate’s side win the Euros. That’s with the FA opting against attempting a mass event this month. (Daily Mail)
England vs Denmark: Three Lions are coming home and Sterling can star again
NEW VILLA BID FOR SMITH ROWE
Burnley are keen on a deal for free agent Wayne Hennessey. The 34-year-old is also an option for Chelsea and Aston Villa after leaving Crystal Palace. (Daily Mail)
Southampton are increasingly confident of bolstering their defence by landing Brandon Williams on loan. (Daily Mail)
The co-founder of one of Barcelona’s major sponsors has branded the behaviour of Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann “unacceptable”. That’s after the pair were responsible for an offensive social media video on Barcelona’s pre-season tour of Japan in 2019. (Daily Mail)
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City “cannot afford” to fork out £150m on Harry Kane. (The Sun)
AND MORE TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand is urging the club to sign Declan Rice over Eduardo Camavinga. (The Sun)
Sergio Ramos will undergo a medical at Paris Saint-Germain following the signing of Achraf Hakimi. (The Sun)
Barcelona are willing to sell Philippe Coutinho for as little as £20m and take an 86 per cent loss, according to reports. (The Sun)
UEFA has invited Denmark international Christian Eriksen and the paramedics who helped save his life to attend the Euro 2020 final at Wembley on Sunday. (The Guardian)
Celtic have opened talks over a £4m move for Rubin Kazan defender Carl Starfelt. (Daily Record)
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