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Tottenham have made an initial approach to sign Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku, according to reports.

The 27-year-old joined Chelsea in a £52 million deal from RB Leipzig in 2023 but his first season at Stamford Bridge was disrupted by knee, hip and hamstring injuries.

Nkunku has been fully fit for the majority of this campaign, however, he has struggled to secure a regular role under Enzo Maresca, starting just nine games in the Premier League.

For Chelsea’s Conference League final against Real Betis on Wednesday evening, the French forward was an unused substitute with Maresca opting to bring on 19-year-old striker Marc Guiu in the closing stages instead.

Nkunku had attracted interest from Bayern Munich and Arsenal in the January transfer window but Chelsea were demanding a transfer fee in excess of £50m.

According to talkSPORT, Nkunku remains open to joining a rival Premier League side and Tottenham are the latest club to have made an enquiry ahead of the summer window.

The report adds that Nkunku would also welcome the chance to join Bayern Munich, who completed the signing of Jonathan Tah on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen this week.

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Elsewhere, Chelsea look set to win the race to sign Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap.

The 22-year-old, who scored 12 goals in the Premier League this season, is available due to a £30m release clause in his deal with Ipswich.

Manchester United had also held extensive talks to sign Delap but the striker has now given the green light to Chelsea.

Chelsea have also targeted Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike and Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres, who is wanted by Arsenal.

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Tottenham have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target Leroy Sane this summer, according to reports.

The Bayern Munich winger, who becomes a free agent at the end of next month, has been linked to both the Gunners and the Blues in recent weeks.

It was thought that Chelsea were set to sign the German but there’s been a twist with Spurs now given the opportunity to bring him to north London.

Spurs have become a ‘more attractive proposition’ after winning the Europa League – Sky Sports have reported – ending their 17-year wait for a trophy and qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

A number of other Premier League clubs have also been linked to Sane this summer including Newcastle United and Aston Villa.

The former Manchester City star appeared to be on course to sign a new contract with Bayern this month before he opted to switch his representation to Pini Zahavi’s agency.

He could now potentially be on his way to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium if the Europa League champions decide to pay his salary demands.

Sane has spent the last five years at Bayern – joining the club in a £54.8m deal from City in 2020 – but appears to be keen on a Premier League return.

The 29-year-old has registered 11 goals and six assists across 30 Bundesliga games this term, helping Bayern clinch the German title.

Sane spent four years at City prior to joining Bayern, landing two Premier League trophies under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.

Sane also won the FA Cup with City and helped the club clinch three Carabao Cup trophies.

He has earned 69 international caps for Germany to date, scoring 14 goals for his country.

According to reports, Sane has already moved to London, which looks to have ruled out a switch to any clubs located outside of the English capital.

Sane has spent the last two seasons playing with former Tottenham stars Harry Kane and Eric Dier at Bayern.

Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany praised Sane last month after a series of impressive performances.

‘It’s been clear in recent games that Leroy is in good form,’ Kompany said in April.

‘[That] is why he’s started a lot. We’ve got great talent in the team, and he’s one of those players who’s helped us a lot lately and scored important goals.

‘I’ve got no doubt that he’ll continue to bring that for us.’

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Jose Mourinho admits the Europa League final will have a ‘huge impact’ on both champions Tottenham and runners-up Manchester United.

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs beat Ruben Amorim’s United 1-0 in an all-English, low-quality Europa League final last week.

The result saw Tottenham lift a major trophy for the first time in 17 years and sent Spurs back into the Champions League despite their embarrassing form in the Premier League.

For Manchester United, the defeat capped off a miserable season in which they finished just 15th in the Premier League under Amorim and his predecessor Erik ten Hag.

Mourinho, who managed both clubs and has been a mentor to Amorim, said the final would have a ‘huge impact’ on both Tottenham and Manchester United.

‘The impact is obvious,’ Mourinho told Sky Sports.

‘Tottenham play Champions League and of course for Mr Levy, the millions the Champions League gives, for him it’s the best news.

‘For the fans, the players and Ange, it’s a title. Yes the game was not amazing but they made history for Tottenham because Tottenham didn’t have a trophy for so many years.

‘From what I read – just what I read – the impact on United of course is huge in the sense of for how many years has United are not involved in any European competition.

‘But at the same time it looks like they are supporting Ruben, they are giving him time and conditions to go forward.

‘I read some quotes from him saying he’s happy he came and already had these six months. When I went to Porto the same thing happened.

‘I went in January and we had a difficult six months, we struggled even to qualify for UEFA Cup. And then we saw what happened.

‘I was divided because on one side I love United and I have a fantastic relationship with Ruben.

‘But on the other side I saw Sonny [Tottenham captain Son Heung-min] crying with the cup… also for Tottenham fans it was a special feeling.’

Despite Manchester United’s dismal form this season, the club are ready to give Amorim more time to turn things around at Old Trafford.

Postecoglou has been given less assurances despite ending Tottenham’s trophy drought, with the Spurs board still weighing up whether or not to sack the ex-Celtic boss.

Mourinho, 62, managed Manchester United between 2016 and 2018 and Tottenham from 2019 to 2021. He is currently in charge of Turkish side Fenerbahce.

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Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle are all interested in Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey, with a deal possible after the Villains missed out on the Champions League.

It was a nightmare final day of the Premier League campaign for Unai Emery’s side as they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United and missed out on the top five on goal difference.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was sent off before the half-time break but Villa could still have come away with the result they needed but for a refereeing error.

Morgan Rogers saw a goal wrongfully ruled out shortly before Amad Diallo put the Red Devils ahead on 76 minutes, then a late Christian Eriksen penalty secured the win at Old Trafford.

That has left Aston Villa in the Europa League next season and the amount of revenue they will miss out on after failing to reach the Champions League could force them into sales.

TalkSPORT report that Ramsey would be a candidate to be sold as he would represent pure profit from a Profit and Sustainability Rules standpoint.

With plenty of Premier League interest in the midfielder, Aston Villa will look to bring in around £50m if they are to sell him.

The 23-year-old has already racked up a lot of experience for Villa, making 167 appearances and scoring 17 goals.

His progress was hampered by injury last season but he has featured regularly over this campaign, making 45 appearances in all competitions.

While clearly rated by Emery and an important member of the Villa squad, Ramsey did only start 19 Premier League games over the season.

In contrast, Morgan Rogers has reportedly attracted interest from Chelsea but is considered not for sale after he started 37 top flight games.

This is not the first time Ramsey has been linked with a move away from Villa Park, with Newcastle, Tottenham and even Bayern Munich linked with him in January.

Emery spoke out on the speculation, stating that the midfielder is seen as a crucial player in the squad.

‘Jacob Ramsey is a very important player here,’ Emery said in January.

‘He grew up here in the academy and his progression is clearly getting better, his level is increasing a lot and I want to keep him here with us.

‘Of course, he starts getting some movements around him, maybe teams involved in the possibility to sign him because he’s a player with big, big potential in Aston Villa and England.’

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Bruno Fernandes has been urged not to quit Manchester United by his devastated teammates.

The United skipper cut a crestfallen figure on Wednesday night after his side spurned their last chance to salvage something from a miserable season.

After shattering a number of unwanted records in the Premier League, defeat against Tottenham in the Europa League final means Ruben Amorim’s side will go without European football next season.

The repercussions of a fourth consecutive defeat against Spurs are likely to be damaging and far reaching.

On Friday it was reported that another round of redundancies would be affecting club staff would be made as Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues his extreme cost-cutting measures.

United, meanwhile, are said to be willing to listen to offers for virtually every member of their first team squad, including skipper Bruno Fernandes.

The captain produced a woefully sub-par performance in Bilbao in midweek and almost appeared resigned to his departure in a downbeat post match interview.

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‘I’ve always said I will be here until the club says to me that it’s time to go. I’m eager to do more, to be able to bring the club to great days,’ he said.

‘In the day that the club thinks that I’m too much or it’s time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it.

‘But I’ve always said it and I keep my word in the same way. If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cash in or whatever, it’s what it is, and football sometimes is like this.’

Al-Hilal are preparing to test United’s resolve with a £100million offer for the Portugal international and are willing to pay the 30-year-old a whopping £700,000-a-week salary.

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United chiefs are yet to make a definitive decision on Fernandes’ future but his teammates are in no doubt of the importance he can still play in Amorim’s rebuilding project.

A source told The Sun: ‘Bruno may be criticised but the players know what a talent he is.

‘He can be demanding but they all respect him and sent him messages letting him know how valued he is.

‘If he leaves, the dressing room would fall apart.’

Amorim, meanwhile, plans to apologise to fans after a dismal season comes to close against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday.

‘We will do that, it’s tradition and we have to face it,’ Amorim said of the usual lap of honour.

‘I think it will be the biggest mistake if we don’t do that. We will do that.’

Asked what he might say to fans, Amorim added: ‘An apology I think is clear; an explanation, you don’t have time.

‘So we will try to be honest. I think I will be honest with the fans and I will say what is in my mind and what is in my heart.’

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Brighton will give a guard of honour to Tottenham following their victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final this week.

Spurs ended their 17-year wait for a trophy as Brennan Johnson’s goal sealed a historic win for Ange Postecoglou’s side in Bilbao.

The newly crowned Europa League winners host Brighton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday and could end the campaign in 14th place if they win and Manchester United, West Ham and Wolves all fail to pick up three points.

As it stands, Spurs sit 17th in the Premier League but they will receive a guard of honour from Brighton’s players when they walk out onto the pitch for Sunday’s game.

Typically, a guard of honour in a Premier League match is only reserved for the domestic champions and Liverpool have enjoyed that gesture in their games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton this month.

However, Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler believes Spurs’ success in a European competition also needs to be recognised.

‘Like we did against Liverpool, if great clubs achieve great things then it’s always a positive thing and also if English clubs achieve great things in the international cups,’ Hurzeler said.

‘I’m very happy for them. Of course, they deserve it, so we will do it.’

Hurzeler also paid tribute to Postecoglou and says the 59-year-old is a role model.

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‘I’m happy for [Postecoglou] because he’s a very good guy. He deserves it,’ Hurzeler said.

‘He has a lot of pressure and how he deals with it, I think he’s a role model for young coaches as well, like me.

‘I’m very happy for him. I know that he worked hard for this and what I really like is that he said already in September after a game against Arsenal [that he wins trophies in his second season].

‘He’s a man who can look into the future and that’s something very impressive.’

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Ange Postecoglou has urged Tottenham’s hierarchy to sign players with ‘experience’ in the summer transfer window.

Spurs head into Sunday’s final Premier League game of the season at home to Brighton on a high following their 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.

Postecoglou, who has ended Spurs’ 17-year wait for a trophy, admitted after the victory in Bilbao that he sacrificed the team’s Premier League campaign in order to focus on winning the Europa League.

Spurs have been hampered by multiple injuries to key players this season, forcing Postecoglou to heavily rely on 19-year-old duo Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, who were both signed last summer with no Premier League experience.

Postecoglou, who suggested during Spurs’ trophy parade on Friday that he is staying for a third campaign, believes the club now need to add more seasoned players to his squad ahead of their return to the Champions League next term.

‘You learn from every season,’ Postecoglou said ahead of Spurs’ game against Brighton.

‘Looking back at our pre-season last year, I don’t think it was ideal and there were certain things we needed to do differently, and certainly design differently for the coming year, how we get our guys ready for the biggest challenge of Premier League and Champions League football, we know it’s a massive challenge.

‘I think our players will be better equipped. People forget, we signed Dom [Solanke] who has been unbelievable for us but then we signed three teenagers, they weren’t ready for what was ahead. They’ve been unbelievable, obviously Wilson [Odobert] has missed a lot of the season but Lucas and Archie [have been] unbelievable.

‘We signed three teenagers and the start of next year they’re not going to be teenagers, they’re more than ready so we’ll be in a better space straight away.

‘That’s the other lesson learned, I don’t think it would be my sort of direction, you need to now bring in some experience for this group in terms of our recruiting. So that changes, you learn some lessons from that as well.

‘I said all along, I have still felt there has been growth this year and we’ll be much better placed at the beginning of next year to tackle what’s ahead than we were at the start of this one.’

Postecoglou also said he was ‘overwhelmed’ by the thousands of supporters who attended Spurs’ trophy parade on Friday.

‘Come Monday, I won’t have a care in the world, but I assume I’ll have an indication at some point. Only because you know there’s some serious planning to do more than anything else, but I won’t have any problem switching off,’ Postecoglou said.

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‘I was overwhelmed by the sea of people and every demographic you can think of. There were grown men crying, women, girls and boys just so ecstatic.

‘When you see the sheer magnitude of the numbers, you realise it is a massive club.

‘I had a sense of that before I joined but I guess even for the club itself, it reaffirms that missing piece of success and what it can do to galvanise a supporter base and really show the size of the club.

‘It’s fair to say it is a massive club and the opportunity now is to make it bigger than ever.’

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Ruben Amorim admits he ‘doesn’t know what will happen’ with Alejandro Garnacho after the Manchester United winger publicly questioned his decision not to start him in the Europa League final against Tottenham.

Garnacho was named among the subs on Wednesday night with Mason Mount selected ahead of him in the starting XI. The Argentina international came off the bench with 20 minutes, immediately testing Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

The winger was unable to drag his side back into the game and vented his frustration over not starting the game post-match.

Speaking to the Argentine press, he said: ‘There were a lot of things missing – when you don’t score goals, you always need more at the end,’ Garnacho told the Argentine media after the game. ‘I played every round until we reached the final, I helped the team, and to play twenty minutes today… I don’t know.’

His brother, Roberto Garnacho, also blasted the United boss with a post on Instagram, accusing Amorim of ‘throwing him under the bus’.

United will end what has been a catastrophic season at home to Aston Villa on Sunday ahead of a pivotal summer.

Having already been strongly linked with a move away from Old Trafford this year, Garnacho’s future has been thrown into further doubt following his comments midweek.

In an already tumultuous week, Bruno Fernandes’ future at the club has also come under scrutiny. Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal are ready to offer up to £100m for the United captain and offer him a lucrative three-year contract worth £700,000-a-week and up to £65m per season once signing-on fees and bonuses are included.

With a huge summer ahead, Amorim insisted his focus is solely on Villa for the time being.

‘I always speak to my players, but the focus now is on the last game,’ Amorim said in his pre-match press conference on Friday when quizzed on Garnacho’s comments.

‘I don’t know what is going to happen. We have a plan and we prepared for both situations, with Champions League and without.

‘We have an idea what type of squad we want, but now we have to focus on the last game and we will have time address all of those situations.”

Asked whether the Europa League final had changed his opinion on some players, Amorim responded: ‘No, what changes is one less competition, that game in the middle of the week.

‘You can manage the squad in a different way, so that rotation of the players, the depth of the squad, that changes completely if you have three or four competitions.

‘That changes a little bit the plan, but not the way I look at my players just by looking at the final.’

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Ange Postecoglou has given the clearest indication yet that he is staying at Tottenham in his speech during the club’s Europa League trophy parade on Friday night.

Standing in front of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Postecoglou addressed the thousands of fans who had lined the streets to get a glimpse of the players travelling on an open-top bus with the Europa League trophy.

Postecoglou told Spurs supporters: ‘I told them, I told them and they laughed. I told them and they didn’t believe, but here we are.

‘And we’re here because of this unbelieveable group of people, players, staff, absolute heroes, lef by the legend Son Heung-min, Cuti Romero, James Maddison and Guillermo Vicario.

‘All of them are heroes and they did it all for you, because you deserve it, the club deserves it.

‘And I’ll tell you something, I’ll leave you with this… all the best television series, season three is better than season two.’

The Australian’s sign off was greeted with a huge cheer from both the supporters and the Spurs players stood beside him.

Postecoglou’s future was in major doubt before the Europa League final due to Spurs’ abysmal form in the Premier League.

Ahead of the final day of the Premier League season this Sunday, Spurs sit 17th in the table with 38 points from 37 games.

Only the three relegated Premier league sides – Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City – have lost more games than Spurs this term.

But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is now faced with a huge decision after Postecoglou delivered Spurs’ first trophy in 17 years after his side beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday evening.

Speaking after the game, Postecoglou admitted that he had sacrificed Spurs’ Premier League campaign from January in order to focus on winning the Europa League, a decision which he claimed was not widely backed by the club’s hierarchy.

‘I think when we got to the end of January – the end of the transfer window and assessed our situation – I made a decision there and then that this was the trophy we were going to go for,’ Postecoglou said.

‘It was at odds with what other people believed at the time we should do and that’s understandable but I really believed we could win this.

‘Everything we’ve done since then, everything we’ve done in training and the teams I’ve selected were making sure that when these games came around that we were in the best possible position to tackle them.

‘That has come at a cost for sure in the league and I have to take responsibility for that, but I just felt the end game of winning something was more important to me and it’s the only way that I was going to do it.’

Postecoglou also claimed after the Europa League final that he had not had a conversation with Levy about his future as Spurs’ manager.

‘No, no planned meetings,’ the 59-year-old said.

‘I haven’t had any discussions, no one has spoken to me about anything. Maybe they felt like they didn’t need to or they were waiting for this game.’

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Cristian Romero wants to leave Tottenham to join Atletico Madrid just days after their Europa League triumph over Manchester United.

Romero, 27, played a starring role in Bilbao on Wednesday night, leading the celebrations as Spurs ended their 17-year wait for a major trophy.

The Argentina international helped nullify United’s attack with Alejandro Garnacho later describing his countryman as ‘the best centre-half in the world.

Romero has been a hugely influential presence at the back since arriving from Atalanta for £42million four years ago.

Atletico Madrid are huge admirers of the centre-half with Romero recently informing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy that he wishes to join the Spanish giants, Marca report.

While negotiations were postponed until after the Europa League final, Atletico are now poised to make their move.

Atlético sporting director Carlos Bucero and Romero’s agent Ciro Palermo have already held talks with club president Miguel Angel Gil also ready to step in to get the deal over the line.

Atletico and Tottenham have done plenty of business in recent years with the La Liga side signing Kieran Trippier and Matt Doherty, also taking Sergio Reguilon on loan.

Romero’s price tag reportedly stands at €70million (£58m) with his current contract in north London set to expire next summer.

Winning the Europa League, which also secured Champions League football for Spurs nest season, has not changed Romero’s stance with the defender still eager to link up with Diego Simeone in the Spanish capital.

The move will also reunite him with some of his closest friends from the Argentina national team including Rodrigo de Paul, Nahuel Molina and Julian Alvarez, who also left the Premier League to join Atletico last summer.

Los Colchoneros had to dig deep to sign the forward from Manchester City, paying £82m to land him a year ago.

Speaking after Wednesday’s win over United, Romero strongly suggested his business with Spurs is done.

‘I gave everything for this shirt. I came here with the mentality of making history, I achieved it, and now it’s time to enjoy it,’ Romero said.

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