Inside Futbol

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Everton will begin talks with Galatasaray to try to sign former Tottenham Hotspur defender Davinson Sanchez ‘in the coming days’ and are ‘insistent on signing the player’ this summer.

David Moyes’ side are in the process of upping the urgency of their transfer activity, having just agreed a fee of around £8m with Bayern Munich for left-back Adam Aznou.

They are also making moves towards a possible deal to sign Lyon winger Malick Fofana in what would be a real coup if it happened.

Further faces are also being looked at by Everton, with Galatasaray centre-back Sanchez now in their thoughts.

Sanchez, a former Tottenham defender, was linked with Everton last summer, while earlier this summer it was suggested the Toffees had held talks on the outline of a deal.

He does appear to be very much on Everton’s radar as a possible signing and now they appear to be back on Sanchez’s trail as, according to Turkish outlet Takvim, they will hold new talks with Galatasaray ‘in the coming days’.

The Premier League side are suggested to be ‘insistent on signing the player’ and taking him back to England.

Club Years Atletico Nacional 2013-2016 Ajax 2016-2017 Tottenham Hotspur 2017-2023 Galatasaray 2023- Davinson Sanchez’s career history

Sanchez would be an experienced option for Everton, with the defender having been thoroughly tried and tested in the Premier League from his time at Tottenham.

His spell at Tottenham though saw him regularly the subject of criticism and former Spurs star Jamie O’Hara dubbed him ‘absolutely awful’, while Gabriel Agbonlahor labelled him a ‘kamikaze defender’.

Former Tottenham boss Antonio Conte however was more appreciative of Sanchez and explained how he could in his view become a top defender.

“He has a lot of space for improvement. He’s good physically, he’s fast. He’s good technically”, Conte, when he was Spurs boss, said.

“He has the right characteristics to become a top defender but he needs to be focused from start to end.

“This is the gap to him becoming a top defender.”

If Everton do proceed with a swoop to take Sanchez to the Hill Dickinson Stadium then they will hope he improved what Conte identified him as needing to improve during his time in Turkey.

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Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur look unable to now sign Yoane Wissa this summer as Brentford have ‘closed the door’ on selling him.

The Bees sold Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United recently and losing Wissa too would be a hammer blow.

Newcastle, who have suffered a string of snubs in the transfer window so far, have been holding talks with Brentford and were confident of doing a deal for Wissa.

Tottenham, where former Brentford boss Thomas Frank is in charge, have also been in the mix to land the attacker.

Now though, according to journalist Ben Jacobs, Brentford have ‘closed the door’ on letting Wissa depart, despite Newcastle offering £30m.

That has made Wissa unhappy and he is ‘refusing to train’ as a result as he wants to play in the Champions League.

The attacker feels he had an agreement with Brentford that they would let him go for £26m.

Having lost Frank as manager, influential midfielder Christian Norgaard and Mbeumo, Brentford are drawing a line and keeping Wissa.

Having an unhappy player who is refusing to train though will be a big test of the Bees’ ability to manage the situation.

Wissa has just a year left on his contract at Brentford and could well move on from the club on a free transfer next summer.

For Newcastle especially, missing out on Wissa would be another blow this summer, with Joao Pedro, Mbeumbo, Hugo Ekitike and Liam Delap all preferring to swerve a move to St James’ Park.

Tottenham did get Mathys Tel through the door on a permanent move from Bayern Munich, following his loan spell, while they continue to work on signing Morgan Gibbs-White, who continues to train with Nottingham Forest.

All eyes are now on how far Wissa will take his efforts to secure a move away from Brentford before the transfer window closes in early September.

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Tottenham Hotspur target Morgan Gibbs-White has now flown out to link up with the Nottingham Forest squad in Portugal.

Spurs want to sign Gibbs-White from Forest and had been preparing to pay the £60m release clause in his contract.

Gibbs-White is also in favour of the move and it was expected to happen quickly, but the manner in which Tottenham tried to sign him angered Nottingham Forest and their fans.

They have accused Tottenham of an alleged illegal approach for the player and the move has now been put in the balance.

All eyes are on what Gibbs-White does and whether he pushes for a move, and he was not with the Forest squad when they flew to Portugal.

That was due to a personal matter, but Gibbs-Whites has now flown out to Portugal to link up with the Nottingham Forest squad, according to journalist Tom Collomosse.

The attacking midfielder flew out to Portugal last night to link up with his team-mates.

Tottenham still want to take Gibbs-White to north London and how the transfer saga might proceed in the coming days and weeks remains to be seen.

Despite the speculation over Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest are continuing their own efforts in the transfer market.

The Tricky Trees had a bid for Bologna winger Dan Ndoye turned down, while they are also showing interest in a defender at Danish side FC Copenhagen.

Forest are due to take on fellow Premier League side Fulham in a friendly in Portugal this coming Saturday, before they then play Estoril.

A further three friendlies are then scheduled before the start of the new league season, with games against Birmingham City, Fiorentina and Al-Qadsiah coming up for Nuno to complete the final preparations for his side.

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Tottenham Hotspur defensive talent Ashley Phillips has assured Stoke City that he has unfinished business after securing his second successive loan move to the Championship club.

Phillips featured in 35 Championship games for the Potters last season and was able to help them avoid disaster by surviving in the second tier.

The defender returned to Tottenham earlier this summer with question marks over his future given the amount of centre-backs on the books in north London, a number which only grew with Spurs signing Kota Takai.

When Takai signed it was claimed that it was not a good sign for Phillips and he has again moved on, back to Stoke for another season-long loan spell.

Giving his first reaction to Stoke’s official website after signing, Phillips insisted that he feels like he has unfinished business at the club.

“It feels like unfinished business. I am absolutely buzzing to be back”, Phillips revealed.

Praising the club’s coaching staff and manager Mark Robins, Phillips added: “I feel really valued, the coaching staff are brilliant, the gaffer has been amazing with me and presented me with the plan he has to help me to develop, it made it a no-brainer.”

Club Years Blackburn Rovers 2022-2023 Tottenham Hotspur 2023- Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2024 Stoke City (loan) 2024-2025 Stoke City (loan) 2025- Ashley Phillips’ career history

Phillips also took time to mention the club’s first-team coach, Ryan Shawcross, as an influence, while noting the impact of the fanatical Stoke supporters.

“Working with Ryan Shawcross in particular is great for me.

“He helped my game immeasurably last year and I am sure that will be the case again this season.

“Also, through thick and thin, our fans have turned up and supported us.

“They have been great to me, I know they will continue to be, and we will need them throughout the whole season.”

After an unimpressive campaign in the Championship last season, Robins will need to show that he has improved Stoke in the approaching campaign.

Robins will want more fresh faces through the door before the big kick off.

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Tottenham Hotspur are ‘not concrete’ in their interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha at the moment, amid the Bavarians being ‘open to talks’ about an exit.

The Europa League victory last season has helped boost the north London club’s finances and they are now making ambitious moves in the summer transfer market.

They have spent £55m on signing Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United and are also active in the pursuit of Brentford striker Yoane Wissa.

They have also been trying to capture Morgan Gibbs-White by triggering his release clause, but Nottingham Forest have stood firm, planning legal action for what they consider to be an illegal approach.

With that move now being stalled for now, the Lilywhites have turned their attention to Bayern Munich midfielder Palhinha.

The Portuguese international, who moved to Germany from Fulham last summer, has found life difficult at Bayern Munich and has had a limited impact.

His stint has been marred by injuries and he could be on the move yet again this summer.

Midfielder Age Rodrigo Bentancur 28 Yves Bissouma 28 Lucas Bergvall 19 Pape Matar Sarr 22 Archie Gray 19 James Maddison 28 Tottenham Hotspur’s midfielders

A return to England has been touted and Tottenham have been widely linked with moving to try to bring him back to the Premier League.

Tottenham though are just monitoring Palhinha and their interest is ‘not concrete’ at the moment, according to German broadcaster Sky Deutschland.

Bayern Munich are ‘open to talks’ about a deal for Palhinha to depart this summer and the player’s entourage are aware there is an interest from Tottenham in their client.

It now remains to be seen whether Tottenham indeed go on to make that interest in the 30-year-old concrete in the coming days and weeks.

Tottenham have a significant number of midfielders in their squad already and they may want to make room before Palhinha could arrive.

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Real Madrid star Rodrygo, who is on Liverpool’s wish list, is not being chased by Tottenham Hotspur, despite the suggestion of them being interested in the Brazilian.

The north Londoners are looking to rejig their squad after they won the Europa League trophy last season under former boss Ange Postecoglou.

New manager Thomas Frank has seen the likes of Kota Takai and Mohammed Kudus arrive this summer, with Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso’s loans being made permanent to bolster the ranks.

Spurs though are expected to make more signings, especially with a busy season ahead and a minimum of eight Champions League games.

They hold an interest in Brentford attacker Yoane Wissa, but Newcastle United are currently pushing harder for the Bees attacker.

And on Wednesday, they were credited with an interest in Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, but according to German journalist Florian Plettenberg, Spurs are not chasing him and talk they are is ‘wide of the mark’.

Liverpool have shown most interest in the 24-year-old in recent days, as they have ‘made enquiries’ for the Brazil attacker.

Fellow Premier League side Arsenal were also interested in Rodrygo, but they have moved to other targets due to Real Madrid’s asking price.

Bayern Munich are heavily targeting Luis Diaz, and if he leaves, the Reds could make a move for the Galactico.

He has made 270 appearances for the La Liga giants, and so far, Rodrygo has not expressed his desire to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.

It remains to be seen if Spurs are targeting other attacking options, as they are not chasing the highly ambitious Rodrygo.

Tottenham will remain hopeful of being able to bring in Morgan White-Gibbs from Nottingham Forest as they are willing to meet his release clause.

The deal though is off for now as Forest register a complaint over an alleged illegal approach.

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Tottenham Hotspur stand ready to meet the asking price for Bournemouth defender Illya Zabarnyi only if he opens up to a move to north London this summer.

Despite securing their first European trophy in 41 years in the shape of the Europa League, Tottenham endured their lowest top-flight finish in 48 years, finishing 17th in the Premier League with just 38 points.

As a consequence, Ange Postecoglou was sacked and has been replaced by Thomas Frank, who joined after seven years at Brentford.

Spurs have already added Mathys Tel following his loan from Bayern Munich, while Kota Takai has been brought in to boost the backline.

The young Japanese is unlikely to be thrown in though and amid Cristian Romero being looking to leave, Tottenham want to sign Bournemouth’s Zabarnyi.

According to Italian journalist Luca Bendoni, Spurs are prepared to meet Bournemouth’s €70m price tag for the defender, on the condition that he opens up to the move.

Zabaryni favours a switch to French side Paris Saint-Germain and they are his priority.

The defender is waiting to see the European champions agree on a fee with Bournemouth in order that he can move to the Parc des Princes.

It is suggested that the coming days will be crucial to see if PSG do put in a new bid for the player.

It is unclear if the Cherries would rather sell the defender abroad or would rather to do business with Tottenham if Zabarnyi indicates he will go to north London.

Bournemouth look set to start the new season with a brand new centre-back pairing having already sold Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid.

Spurs boss Frank will look to conclude the club’s transfer dealings as quickly as possible to allow him every chance to get a look at the new boys before the season proper begins.

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Newcastle United ‘will have to act with speed’ if they are to be able to land Tottenham Hotspur target Yoane Wissa from Brentford.

The Magpies have now called time on their pursuit of Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike after Liverpool pushed past them in the race.

Eddie Howe still wants a striker bringing in and Newcastle’s eyes have fallen upon Brentford’s Wissa, who is also a target for Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs have been weighing the financials of a move to bring Wissa to north London.

Brentford are also facing the prospect of losing Bryan Mbeumo, who Manchester United want, and they are unlikely to want both their attackers to go in the same window.

Given competition from Spurs, plus the added complication of Mbeumo and Manchester United, Newcastle ‘will have to act with speed’, according to journalist Craig Hope.

He is now a ‘live target’ for Newcastle as they bid to answer Howe’s call for another goal threat.

Wissa found the back of the net 19 times in the Premier League for Brentford over the course of last season.

That included a goal and an assist in Brentford’s two meetings with Newcastle.

Wissa made an impression on the Magpies with his exploits, but it is unclear who the attacker might choose if he is given the choice of Newcastle and Brentford.

Spurs also have the added bonus of having former Brentford boss Thomas Frank at the helm, which could be a tempting factor for Wissa.

A move to Tottenham would keep Wissa in London and Spurs, like Newcastle, also have Champions League football that they can offer to the attacker.

Wissa though is due to turn 29 years old in September, something his suitors will surely take into account as it will affect his sell-on value in the future.

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Koni De Winter’s agent, Fabrizio Lioi, has revealed that the Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace target received a ‘monstrous’ offer from Saudi Arabia this summer, but he is focused on staying in Europe.

The Belgium central defender has generated transfer interest this summer and could well be on the move.

Crystal Palace essentially had a deal done for De Winter, but the player stalled due to not knowing what competition in Europe the Eagles would be next season, while Tottenham have since joined the race.

The Genoa defender’s agent, Lioi, is clear that the 23-year-old has ‘many’ clubs chasing his signature, though he does not want to name names.

He further went on to reveal that De Winter only wants to join a big club, which will take his career forward.

De Winter’s representative revealed that a club from the Saudi Pro League made a ‘monstrous’ offer for him recently, but the Genoa defender has no intention of leaving Europe.

“There are many clubs, some of which those competing in the cups are already ahead of the game, and these are avenues we’re working on”, Lioi told Italian outlet Tutto Juve about De Winter.

Club Years Juventus 2021-2024 Empoli (loan) 2022-2023 Genoa (loan) 2023-2024 Genoa 2024- Koni De Winter’s career history

“Out of respect, I don’t want to name any teams, but the boy has his preferences. It’s normal, I think, as a player aspires to play at bigger clubs.

“Otherwise, it wouldn’t be worth making a move.

“In the last few days, a monstrous offer arrived for him from Saudi Arabia, but Koni hasn’t considered it.

“He wants to stay in Europe and play in the top competitions.

“Discussions are ongoing, and he intends to listen to everyone without preconceptions and then make his decision calmly.

“He’s not a boy who gets carried away easily.”

Inter Milan, though, are currently the frontrunners for the Belgian, as they are nearing a verbal agreement with him.

The Nerazzurri though want to make room for De Winter, while they also want Parma starlet Giovanni Leoni, and that could leave the door open for other clubs to snap up the Genoa man.

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Sunderland are ‘preparing an opening official bid’ for Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur linked defender Jhon Lucumi, despite Bologna’s desire to keep hold of him.

The Black Cats have been on a spending spree which has caught the eye this summer, even being remarked upon in Germany.

As many as five players have arrived through the Stadium of Light door and the club’s transfer spending has gone through the roof on quite a few of those acquisitions.

For now, Habib Diarra is their most expensive signing, with in the region of £30m being spent to get him from Strasbourg.

Sunderland have now turned their attention to Italy, where they have zeroed in on Bologna’s 27-year-old defender, a player already interesting Premier League sides.

Aston Villa, who want a centre-back, hold an interest in Lucumi, while Tottenham are also admirers and may need a new centre-back if Cristian Romero goes.

Lucumi has been in Serie A since 2022 and has managed 109 appearances for Bologna, 15 of which have come in European competition.

Now, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Sunderland are preparing an official opening bid for the defender.

Interested club Can offer Aston Villa Premier League, Europa League Tottenham Hotspur Premier League, Champions League Sunderland Premier League What can suitors offer?

They have established contact with the Italian club in the last 24 hours and want to test Bologna’s resolve to keep hold of him.

The Rossoblu want to keep hold of Lucumi for now but with less than 12 months left on his contract, their stance could change if a lucrative offer is made.

Lucumi also boasts of international experience, having played 29 games for Colombia.

If Sunderland do manage to have a bid accepted by Bologna, it remains to be seen if that might then spark either Aston Villa or Tottenham into life in the chase.