naijatalk

Alvaro Morata reveals he will be happy to finally become a Chelsea player after discussing what he says has been a “strange summer” amid Manchester United’s failed attempts to sign him. The Real Madrid striker is on the brink of a move to Chelsea for an initial fee of £58million, with the fee possibly rising to £70million dependent on his success at Stamford Bridge. But it could have all panned out differently for the Spain striker with Morata close to joining United, before the Red Devils instead opted to sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton. With his future finally close to being resolved, Morata discussed his rollercoaster of emotions. “It has been a slightly strange summer for me,” he told  AS  when questioned about Manchester United’s failed attempts to sign him. “A lot of things have happened. “In the end, if God wishes, tomorrow I will be at a club that have wanted me for years, with a manager whom I have spoken to constantly. So I’m really happy. “I have been training hard ...

Liverpool have been given the green light to sign a £15m-rated Germany striker, while Chelsea’s demands have sent Juventus running, according to today’s rumours from around Europe. LIVERPOOL HANDED KRUSE BOOST Liverpool target Max Kruse will be allowed to leave Werder Bremen this summer – if he wants to. The 29-year-old has reportedly been high up on Jurgen Klopp’s summer wishlist, though he may face competition from West Ham and Southampton. Breman boss Frank Baumann is quoted as saying there are “no guarantees” he will remain at the club beyond this transfer window, while the club’s president has said any player who doesn’t wish to play for the club can go. Kruse is rated in the £15million bracket by his club and scored 15 goals for Werder last season. The player has also won 14 caps for Germany. JUVENTUS BALK AT MATIC FEE Chelsea may have to lower their demands for Nemanja Matic after Juventus decided €45million was too excessive for the midfielder. Matic’s Chelsea future has been i...

Divock Origi has outlined big targets for the 2017/18 season as he bids to make further improvements under Jurgen Klopp. The Belgium striker is much appreciated by Klopp, despite not always getting into the German’s starting XI, with Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane often preferred in attack. The addition of Mohamed Salah from Roma provides another obstacle for Origi, who joined in a £10million move from Lille in 2014. Nonetheless, the player is determined to hit the ground running this season and told   LiverpoolFC.com  of his ambitions for the new season. “I’ve made steps and it’s [up to] me to keep progressing,” he said. “I feel really good so I go into the season with a lot of excitement. “I’m going to take it game by game, training session by training session, just trying to express myself and enjoy myself. When I enjoy the game, I always play good.” Origi refused to divulge the targets he had set himself, but safe to say the striker is ready to push...

Arsenal have been given a little push in their efforts to sign teenage superstar Kylian Mbappe after it was claimed the Monaco forward held a three-hour meeting with Arsene Wenger to discuss his future. The France international has has become the most wanted and hottest player following his stunning breakout season that ended with his side winning the Ligue 1 title. The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and PSG have all been connected with moves for Mbappe this summer, while Monaco are ready to increase the player's pay in a bid to make him stay at the club. However, the forward is known to have massive respect for the Gunners manager Arsene Wenger and  France Football   claims the teenager met with his fellow compatriot last month to talk about his future and a possible move to the Emirates. The meeting is said to have been held on June 14 after France’s international friendly victory over England. Arsenal have had an initi...

Kurt Zouma will reportedly hold talks with both Stoke and West Brom on Wednesday as he considers a loan move away from Chelsea. The return of Andreas Christensen from a two-year loan spell at Borussia Monchengladbach and the signing of Antonio Rudiger from Roma have pushed the France star further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge. Having only made 13 appearances in all competitions last season, the player has been given permission by Antonio Conte to leave on loan for a season. It was thought former St Etienne defender Zouma would be heading back to Ligue 1 for a year, with both Lyon and Marseille reportedly interested, but  Sky Sports  claim the centre-half will instead look to further his education in the Premier League. Both Stoke and West Brom are on the lookout for new defenders, not least the Potters who missed out on John Terry and look unlikely to sign Bruno Martins Indi in a permanent deal from Porto. Zouma spent 11 months out of action after sustaining a...

The Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has made solemn declaration to give all three goalkeepers a run-out during pre-season before making a decision on who will sbegin the season as Liverpool’s No 1. Kloop sees no reason to bring in a new No 1 this summer, despite criticisms being shot at Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius on several occasions last season. And with Danny Ward coming back from a season-long loan at Huddersfield last year, Liverpool boss Klopp reckons his goalkeeper options have never been better. “That’s very comfortable for the manager, three really good goalkeepers,” Klopp told the club’s official website. “It is like it is and nothing is decided, they can all show how good they are. I don’t want to bring doubt so that they start doubting. “They are at a fantastic club and a fantastic football club needs fantastic goalkeepers. We had a really good goalkeeping season. “Yes, it was a little bit difficult for Loris but I’m sure he had his part in the development of Simon, who played a...

Romelu Lukaku passed medicals at Manchester United and is expected to conclude his £75million move to the club on Monday. The former Chelsea player is at the edge of becoming United’s most expensive-ever signing from a rival Premier League club and is thought to have agreed terms on a five-year deal at Old Trafford. But with some questioning the his workrate and whether he is truly a United quality, the striker attracted the wrong kind of headlines over the weekend after he was allegedly arrested in Los Angeles. Nonetheless, the out going Everton man insists he has what it takes to become United’s main man up front and a replacement in terms of the goals scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic last season. “Zlatan did a wonderful job for the club,” Lukaku told   ESPN FC . “He was the main guy at Manchester United, and he’s a guy I really look up to and who I learn from a lot because we share the same agent. “But I’m Romelu Lukaku – I’m not Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I will fill up the...

This is the best gist of the day!         Manchester United are closing in on the signing of a £62million playmaker, while Cristiano Ronaldo has made a decision over his Real Madrid future, according to Monday’s newspapers. MAN UTD CLOSE IN ON REAL PLAYMAKER Manchester United are reportedly deep in talks with Real Madrid over a big-money contract to pen James Rodriguez. The transfer is likely to cost United €70m (£62m), while it will also mean  the Red Devils have beaten Premier League champions Chelsea to the Colombia international. Rodriguez has been a long-term target for United and with Romelu Lukaku’s impending £75m switch from Everton close to being announced, the Old Trafford outfit could sign almost £140m worth of attacking talent in the space of days. However, Real midfielder Luka Modric has warned the 25-year-old that a move to Manchester United would be a step down, according to the report in  The Independent . “It’s certainly not an easy decisio...

Premier League clubs are heading speedily towards financial ruin due to chronic overspending, according to a new report by financial analysts Vysyble. The report claims the long-term implications of those losses could be a sort of breakaway by the league’s biggest clubs and the creation of a European Super League. Titled ‘We’re so Rich it’s Unbelievable’, the document is based on the accounts of all Premier League clubs between 2008/09 and 2015/16, the last season for which data is available. Based on the principle of “economic profit” – the difference between revenue and costs, including the so-called “opportunity of cost” of not doing something else with your money – the report claims Premier League clubs lost £2billion in eight years. One of the report’s co-authors, Roger Bell, said: “Financially, football is failing. Britain’s biggest football clubs are spending much, much more than they are making. “The Premier League, and its executive chairman Richard Scudamore, should be very w...

Manchester United are reportedly set to beat Chelsea to another of their top summer signing targets after agreeing a £35million fee for Monaco star Tiemoue Bakayoko. Having beaten Chelsea to £75m Romelu Lukaku, despite their last minutes efforts to sign their former striker, it would now appear that United have stolen a march over Bakayoko too. The Blues manager Antonio Conte is said to be furious over Chelsea’s inability to grab Lukaku, so much so that the club have decided not to sell midfielder Nemanja Matic to United due to their anger over the Belgium striker’s imminent Old Trafford switch.  However, that decision has forced United to scout elsewhere for a defensive midfielder and they seem to have turned their attentions to former target Bakayoko, according to the report in the  Daily Star . The France international was thought to be close to a move to Stamford Bridge but United have surprisingly leapt to the fore front of the queue for the 22-year-old and look ready to ...

Alexandre Lacazette believes he has all it takes to help boost Arsenal to the Premier League title next season after completing his dream move. The 26-year-old’s protracted transfer from home-town club Lyon was finally confirmed late on Wednesday afternoon, the official announcement made via a series of video clips on Arsenal’s social media channels. While the Gunners would only confirm Lacazette had signed on a “long-term contract, for an undisclosed fee”, it is understood to be a club-record deal which surpasses the £42.4million paid to Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil in 2013 and could end up as high as £52million. Lacazette, 26, scored 37 goals in all competitions last season and becomes Arsenal's second major summer addition following the arrival of left-back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer from Schalke. The player is keen to add a cutting edge to a squad which failed to finish in the top four of the Premier League for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s 20-year reign, although did ...

Huddersfield have signed Montpellier forward Steve Mounie for an undisclosed club record clause, which is widely reported to be around £11.5million. The 22-year-old Benin international, who has dual French nationality, netted 14 goals in Ligue 1 last season. Town boss David Wagner told the  club’s official website : “I’m delighted that we could sign Steve ahead of the start of pre-season training. He has a very exciting combination of attributes that makes him a very attractive proposition as a young striker.” The player added: “I’m really excited to play at the John Smith’s Stadium.”

Wayne Rooney’s record-breaking career at Old Trafford is under strain and may come an end this week amid reports the club’s record goalscorer has agreed to return to his former club - Everton. Rooney, the club’s record goalscorer with 253 goals from 559 games – is reported to have come to an agreement with a large sum of £250,000 a week contract to return to Goodison Park after 13 years of leaving Everton as an 18-year-old. The 31-year-old have a year left on his current £300,000 a week contract, but the move to join the Toffees will literally be all getting more playing time. The United captain only featured in 39 matches last season, many of which were from the substitutes bench, and has been deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford. Rooney left Everton for Manchester United in 2004 but his love for the club is unconditional and the Toffees boss Ronald Koeman has offered him a first-team spot at Goodison Park. Wayne Rooney: The day he scored that goal against Arsenal United hav...

Alexandre Lacazette has reportedly completed a medical at Arsenal’s training ground on Tuesday ahead of his move from Lyon. The France international is expected to pen a five-year deal at the Emirates Stadium after Arsenal agreed a club-record deal with the French outfit which could rise to £52m over the course of his contract. Lacazette had verbally agreed to join Atletico Madrid this summer but that deal could not pull through last month after Atletico was handed transfer ban until January was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Gunners' opening bid of £39m was warded off last month, but Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had confirmed a deal was likely to be pull through after the sides met on a fee that would eclipse the £42.5m they paid Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil in 2013. The 26-year-old had once stated that he would only move to a club who are playing in the Champions League but as it is right now, the player looks to have done a U-turn on those comments ahead his ...

Benfica striker Raul Jimenez has refused to rule out any possible move to the Premier League this summer, with Liverpool and West Ham both showing an interest in him.  There are reports coming out of Portugal which claim that Jimenez has refused to ‘close the doors’ on his future, with the Mexican set to receive a substantial “financial offer” from an unspecified English club.  Liverpool and West Ham have been listed as potential buyers for the 26-year-old, who has scored 12 times in 54 appearances for his country, according to the report in  The Independent . When asked about a possible switch to England’s top flight, Jimenez said: “The Premier League is a great league, but you have to wait. “I don’t close any doors and we’ll see what happens. I’m still at Benfica. Now, I’m going to have a good vacation then go back to work with everything. “I saw the [transfer rumour] came out but I don’t know anything. I was concentrating on the national team. I have a date to return t...

France defender Florian Lejeune has explained his move to Newcastle after completing a £8.7million switch from Eibar. The 26-year-old central defender was on Tyneside on Monday to undergo a medical and the Magpies confirmed early on Tuesday morning that he had become manager Rafael Benitez second summer signing on a contract to the summer of 2022. A club statement said: “Defender Florian Lejeune has become Newcastle United’s second signing of the summer transfer window after joining from SD Eibar. “Twenty-six-year-old Lejeune has put pen to paper on a five-year-deal with the Magpies, which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2022.” Paris-born Lejeune becomes Benitez’s second summer signing following the permanent capture of Chelsea winger Christian Atsu, who played his part in last season’s promotion back to the Premier League during a loan spell. After cutting his teeth in French football, he moved to Spanish side Villarreal in 2011 and was picked up by Manchester City durin...

Let's what today's (Tuesday) papers holds for us.  Manchester United look are waiting to get the go sign to swoop a Leicester star, while Everton are planning moves for two forwards as they hope to continue their summer recruitment drive   LEICESTER READY TO SANCTION SCHMEICHEL MOVE TO MANCHESTER UNITED Leicester City could agree to Kasper Schmeichel's move to Manchester United – if only they can tie up a deal for Croatia keeper Lovre Kalinic first. United are on the hunt for a potential replacement for David De Gea, who despite all the denials, is still expected to pen for Real Madrid this summer. United were connected with Joe Hart on Monday, but a move for Schmeichel – whose father, Peter is an Old Trafford legend – would make a lot of sense.  But first things first, the Foxes must his place and  The Sun  claims they have lodged £18million for the 6ft 7ins Gent keeper. However, the Belgians are keen to keep their keeper and have stated it may cost close to £2...