Sunday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester United and Manchester City are both interested in Paris St-Germain's 26-year-old Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, with the Ligue 1 side lining up Lille's French goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, 23, as a potential replacement. (L'Equipe - in French), external

Galatasaray are also set to make an approach for Donnarumma, who is about to enter the final year of his contract in Paris. (Footmercato - in French), external

Arsenal are hoping to quickly seal a £60m deal for Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze, with the 27-year-old England forward keen on a move to Mikel Arteta's side. (Independent), external

Everton are in discussions with Bayern Munich over a £7.8m move for 19-year-old Morocco left-back Adam Aznou. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Flamengo are interested in signing Brazil and Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus, 28.(RTI Esporte - in Portuguese), external

Benfica are pushing to sign Joao Felix from Chelsea, with the 25-year-old Portugal forward optimistic of completing a return to his boyhood club. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Fulham are in advanced talks to re-sign Arsenal's 25-year-old English winger Reiss Nelson, either on loan with option to buy or on a permanent deal (Athletic - subscription required), external

Everton are in talks with Lyon over a deal for 20-year-old Belgium winger Malick Fofana. (Fabrizio Romano), external

The Toffees have made a bid of about £31m for Fofana, but Lyon want at least £35m. (L'Equipe - in French), external

Manchester United and Burnley have joined Brentford, Southampton and Borussia Dortmund in the hunt to sign Metz's 18-year-old Senegal forward Idrissa Gueye. (Sun), external

Chelsea are set to subsidise England winger Raheem Sterling's wages in order to complete the 30-year-old's move to Fulham. (Football Insider), external

West Ham are considering a move for Werder Bremen's Romano Schmid, who is valued at about £13m. Aston Villa and Fulham are also monitoring the 25-year-old Austria attacking midfielder. (Guardian), external

West Ham and Benfica are planning to make bids for Cagliari's 24-year-old Italian forward Roberto Piccoli, who is valued at around £26m. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Leeds are willing to pay £28m plus add-ons for Feyenoord's Igor Paixao, but face competition from Marseille and Roma for the 26-year-old Brazilian forward. (Sky Sports)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY MAIL

Newcastle have drawn up a shortlist of four strikers in case they're forced to sell Alexander Isak. Those four are named as Nicolas Jackson, Ollie Watkins, Yoane Wissa and Benjamin Sesko.

West Ham are ready to cash in on Lucas Paqueta and could accept an offer in the region of £30m.

THE INDEPENDENT

Arsenal will now step up their interest in Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze after securing the signing of Viktor Gyokeres.

THE SUN

Brentford face a transfer battle with Manchester United over whizzkid Idrissa Gueye.

West Ham's London Stadium is facing major financial difficulties.

THE TELEGRAPH

Fulham have put Raheem Sterling on a shortlist of summer targets - but will wait until later in the window to move for the Chelsea forward.

THE MIRROR

Former Arsenal star Carl Jenkinson required oxygen and was taken to hospital after suffering a horror injury in a pre-season friendly.

The Lionesses will net more than just a trophy if they beat Spain on Sunday night - they will hit a £15m jackpot, too.

THE ATHLETIC

Fulham are in advanced talks with Arsenal over a move to re-sign winger Reiss Nelson.

Everton are in talks to sign Lyon winger Malick Fofana.

Everton have made progress over a deal for Bayern Munich defender Adam Aznou.




EFL

Sheffield United set £15m price tag on key player who is well liked by West Ham United

Sheffield United will be looking to mend their broken hearts in 2025/26 as they push for promotion back to the Premier League.

It’s been an intriguing summer at Bramall Lane, with fans shocked after Chris Wilder departed the club just a month after Tommy Watson’s Wembley winner for Sunderland in the Championship play-off final.

Ruben Selles has come in to take charge after he was sacked by Hull City in May, and the addition of Louie Barry on loan from Aston Villa is a good one. But more quality is still needed following Vini Souza’s move to Wolfsburg.

However, keeping hold of key players is also a target for the Blades, and Michael Cooper is one name that has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with West Ham United taking a look at the Sheffield United shot-stopper.

Selles has tried to ease fears over a potential sale of Cooper, however, it has now emerged that West Ham are targeting the ex-Plymouth Argyle man.

That’s according to Alan Nixon, with the Hammers having also shown an interest in Mads Hermansen of Leicester City. He said: “Cooper has emerged as a major target and Hammers will make final checks on him before the window shuts.

“Blades would want around £15m for the keeper they sneaked out of Plymouth for just £4 million a year ago. United turned down an approach from Everton recently and Cooper was not keen. He may fancy Hammers if he is given a first team chance.

“West Ham have a staggering list of keepers under review like Leicester’s Mads Hermansen and Parma’s Zion Suzuki who are both in the £30m plus range. Hermansen is now on Newcastle’s shopping list after long-term target James Trafford chose to join Manchester City instead.

“However, the Hammers are keen at the right price if Leicester drop the fee down to the £20m range.”

Ruben Selles must not sell Michael Cooper

Cooper was an incredible signing for Sheffield United last summer, and without him in the team, they would not have been pushing for an automatic promotion finish.

While they failed to end the campaign in the top two, the role that the goalkeeper played in the Blades’ season was huge and he will be a big player once again in 2025/26.

Sheffield United perhaps do not have as much quality across their squad as others, and having a safe pair of hands in goal is crucial if they are to push for promotion.

With less than two weeks to go until the first Championship fixtures of the season, letting go of a player with Cooper’s quality would be very ill-advised and Selles must do everything he can to keep Cooper at Bramall Lane.




C&H

Areola Horror Show Highlights West Ham’s Goalkeeping Problem

If anyone was still wondering why West Ham are in the market for a new goalkeeper, this morning’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United provided a very clear answer.

There were some encouraging signs in the loss to Ruben Amorim’s side – with Jarrod Bowen, Malick Diouf, Freddie Potts and debutant Preston Fearon all impressing – but Alphonse Areola’s performance will do nothing to reassure anyone.

The Frenchman is a decent shot-stopper, but his struggles with the ball at his feet have always been a concern. Against United, though, he managed to fluff his lines with both hands and feet.

First, Areola dropped a routine catch onto the back of Malick Diouf, leading to a scramble and a penalty after the keeper clattered into Ayden Heaven. Then came a sloppy pass that led to Bruno Fernandes netting United’s second.

It’s clear Graham Potter wants his goalkeeper to build from the back, but Areola simply isn’t equipped for that style of play. He’s never been reliable with crosses either, so must nail the basics – and didn’t.

It’s no surprise then that West Ham remain interested sign Mads Hermansen from Leicester City. The club recently overhauled its goalkeeper coaching setup, and this morning’s game underlined exactly why. A new arrival in that position can’t come soon enough.

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.