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Chelsea and Tottenham target Murillo says that while he ‘dreams of playing in the Champions League’ he intends to stay at Nottingham Forest this season.

Murillo had a great impact during his first season at the City Ground, helping his club avoid relegation from the Premier League with some eye-catching performances at centre-back.

Forest value the 22-year-old, who was signed from Corinthians for £10million, at around £60m, with Chelsea, Spurs and Atletico Madrid among the clubs interested in his services.

In June, it was reported that the Blues were willing to offer two players to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in order to sign the Brazilian, with the player himself confirming the bid.

And Murillo later added fuel to the fire by expressing interest in leaving Forest with an eye on joining Manchester City, Arsenal or Liverpool.

However, in a new interview with the Telegraph, the defender has said that though he has ambitions of playing in the biggest competitions, he believes it is best to stay at the City Ground for at least one more campaign.

‘I need regular game-time and really feel that with Forest I’m in the best place for my career,’ he said.

‘Staying here for another season will enable me to mature as a player and eventually become better prepared if the chance ever comes to play at another level one day.

‘Of course I want to eventually play in the Champions League. When I was growing up I’d play video games and play with all those teams. Whenever I hear that classic music before the games it moves me, and it would be a dream to play in that competition.

‘But I’ve been focusing on my work here 100 per cent and I just want to do my best. Forest is a massive club in its own right and I feel good here.’

Neither Chelsea or Tottenham are playing in the Champions League this season but the pair will no doubt be keeping tabs on Murillo.

Though they were docked points for breaching financial rules last season, Forest are under no pressure to sell Murillo, who has a contract until 2028.

Chelsea’s interest in the centre-back may have lessened of late after they secured the free transfer of Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham, with Enzo Maresca now focused on buying a new goalkeeper, having made a bid for Villarreal’s Filip Jorgensen.

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Erik ten Hag insists Manchester United want to keep hold of Scott McTominay this summer, amid interest from the likes of Tottenham, Fulham and Galatasaray.

The 27-year-old was involved on a regular basis last season, making 43 appearances in all competitions and scoring 10 goals.

The Scotland international was the subject of transfer speculation last summer, with West Ham seeing a bid rejected, but he put that behind him and was an integral part of Ten Hag’s squad over the last campaign.

However, he is being linked with a move again, with interest in him from the Premier League and abroad, but the United manager says he wants the midfielder to stay.

‘We have very good players so there will always be an interest from other clubs,’ Ten Hag said of transfer talk around McTominay.

‘When you score 10 goals in a season and also perform very good for Scotland, then there will be an interest. But we want to keep him because he is a very important player for our squad.

‘What he can contribute, as we saw last season once we had our sixes available, he could play in a more advanced role and he is a highly interesting player for our team.’

The Red Devils have already made two signings this summer – forward Joshua Zirkzee and defender Leny Yoro – but are expected to bring in more new faces, including in midfield.

The FA Cup holders have agreed personal terms with Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte, although they are still working on a deal with the French club.

A move for free agent Adrien Rabiot has also been touted, after the France international left Juventus following the end of his contract in Turin.

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Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven would be a better fit for Manchester United than Matthijs de Ligt, former Red Devils coach Rene Meulensteen has suggested.

Erik ten Hag’s team are in the market for at least one centre-back this summer, with the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite and Leny Yoro heavily linked with Old Trafford.

De Ligt has also been tipped to reunite with Ten Hag in a £42million switch from Bayern Munich, though there are trepidations surrounding the 24-year-old given his struggles since leaving Ajax.

The Dutchman hasn’t lived up to expectations in Munich nor former club Juventus, and as a result he isn’t as well-regarded as his international teammates, with the defender yet to make an appearance at Euro 2024.

‘De Ligt has always been top notch but for whatever reason [Stefan] De Vrij has got the nod ahead of him,’ Meulensteen told Free Bets.

‘De Ligt is a good player, he’s strong. Ten Hag knows him well from working with him at Ajax.

‘He of course had a spell at Juventus and Bayern, but he hasn’t played all the time. But he will be suited for the Premier League, he’s a tall boy, he’s strong and he’s a top competitor.’

While Meulensteen believes De Ligt could do a job at United, he mused that Van de Ven, another player ahead in the Netherlands pecking order, might offer the Red Devils more.

But Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant manager conceded that it would be very hard to sign the 23-year-old just one year after he joined Spurs from Wolfsburg in a deal worth around £34m.

‘They [United] do need another centre half, but it surprises me it’s a right footed one,’ the Dutchman added.

‘I’ve been very impressed with Micky Van de Ven for Tottenham Hotspur, he’s a left footed player and very quick.

‘I’m not saying it wouldn’t cost you a lot of money and dealing with Tottenham is difficult.’

For now, De Ligt and Van de Ven will be looking to get on the pitch and help the Netherlands in any way they can when they play England in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on Wednesday night.

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Tottenham are closing in on the signing of Leeds midfielder Archie Gray with centre-back Joe Rodon set to go in the other direction.

Leeds rejected a bid from Brentford in the region of £35million for Gray on Sunday, but have been braced for the 18-year-old to depart this summer after they failed to secure an immediate return to the Premier League in May.

Spurs have now jumped to the front of the queue. ahead of the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, with personal terms agreed with Gray and talks with Leeds at an advanced stage.

While negotiations continue over the final details of the move, it will be a player-plus-cash transfer with Rodon set to head back to Elland Road on a permanent deal after he spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Leeds.

Failure to go straight back up from the Sky Bet Championship put Leeds under pressure to make at least one lucrative sale in order to comply within financial fair play rules.

Gray flourished under Leeds boss Daniel Farke last season and made 52 appearances across midfield and right-back to become one of the club’s most valuable assets.

Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville and Italy forward Wilfried Gnonto are among the club’s other bankable assets, but Gray looks set to be the first to exit with Tottenham confident of securing his services after a dramatic 24 hours.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou gave the green light to move for the highly-rated Gray, who will get the chance to play Europa League football with the north London club.

Tottenham are closing in on the signing of Leeds midfielder Archie Gray with centre-back Joe Rodon set to go in the other direction.

Leeds rejected a bid from Brentford in the region of £35million for Gray on Sunday, but have been braced for the 18-year-old to depart this summer after they failed to secure an immediate return to the Premier League in May.

Spurs have now jumped to the front of the queue. ahead of the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, with personal terms agreed with Gray and talks with Leeds at an advanced stage.

While negotiations continue over the final details of the move, it will be a player-plus-cash transfer with Rodon set to head back to Elland Road on a permanent deal after he spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Leeds.

Failure to go straight back up from the Sky Bet Championship put Leeds under pressure to make at least one lucrative sale in order to comply within financial fair play rules.

Gray flourished under Leeds boss Daniel Farke last season and made 52 appearances across midfield and right-back to become one of the club’s most valuable assets.

Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville and Italy forward Wilfried Gnonto are among the club’s other bankable assets, but Gray looks set to be the first to exit with Tottenham confident of securing his services after a dramatic 24 hours.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou gave the green light to move for the highly-rated Gray, who will get the chance to play Europa League football with the north London club.

Tottenham are reportedly planning to make a move for England international Eberechi Eze once the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign is over.

The Crystal Palace star is attracting interest from several Premier League stars but it is said that Spurs are leading the race for his signature.

It is not surprising to see Eze so coveted after a fantastic season with the Eagles where he scored 11 goals and made six assists in 31 appearances.

Nine of these came in the final 12 games of the campaign under new manager Oliver Glasner, with this upturn in form earning the 25-year-old a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros.

Last week, he made his major tournament debut, coming off the bench to play the last 22 minutes of England’s 1-1 draw with Denmark.

Eze, who previously spent five years in Arsenal’s academy, joined Palace from QPR in 2020 in a deal worth £15million.

Like so many other Palace players, Eze has been linked with a big money move away from Selhurst Park this summer and, according to The Athletic, Tottenham will ‘push to buy’ the player once he returns from the Euros.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are confident they can beat their rivals to the player and have not been put off by his release clause which is believed to be around £60m.

It has previously been reported that Eze is content to stay in south London and would only consider leaving if he feels the buying club can fulfil his ambitions.

It is for this reason that Palace teammate Michael Olise snubbed the opportunity to sign for Chelsea or Manchester United, with the Frenchman now set to join Bayern Munich as they could offer him Champions League football.

Given that Glasner’s team are set to receive £60m for Olise, they will be less inclined to let Eze go and as his release clause cannot be triggered in a straightforward manner, it is possible he will be staying put for next season.

For now, Eze’s focus is solely on aiding England’s Euro 2024 campaign which continues on Sunday evening when they take on Slovakia in the last-16.

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Newcastle are under financial pressure.

An interesting take from Big Ange.

'We would have had a massive hole in our line-up without Timo.'

Areola was forced off in West Ham's 4-3 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.