Monday, May 25

• Manchester United have been tipped to sell Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling to free up funds to land Jadon Sancho this summer
• Arsenal chief Mikel Arteta will allow Ainsley Maitland-Niles to be sold this summer because he does not fit into his plans
• Liverpool transfer target Timo Werner has been urged to reject a move to Anfield because he would not be a guaranteed starter

Chelsea warned off Mauro Icardi transfer

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has been warned off signing Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi.

Italian football expert Gabriele Marcotti said: “Look, you can take everything that we’ve said about Inter and put it on hold because everything is pending finding a buyer for Mauro Icardi.

“If PSG decide not to take him up and he comes back the other way, then I think it would be a serious, serious issue for them because then they wouldn’t have the liquidity to do other things.

“So it’s understandable if he’s being linked to other clubs. He does have a tremendous scoring rate.

“I personally don’t think Chelsea would be a good match for them really at all, simply because of Icardi’s style, because of his work rate, because he’s so different to what Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud bring to the table.

“He really is a supply-dependant striker, a very good one, but he’s somebody you need to create chances for.

“That’s very different from someone like Abraham, who’s so busy.

“It wouldn’t make too much sense to me but I’m not surprised that Inter or whatever intermediaries out there are trying to drum up interest Mauro Icardi, because if Paris Saint-Germain don’t keep him around it’s a bit of a disaster for Inter.”

Chelsea ready to raid Premier League rivals

Chelsea could be one of four high-profile Premier League clubs said to be chasing Josh King this summer.

The Bournemouth forward has established himself in the top flight after a number of eye-catching seasons and is now being linked with a move up the table.

King is well-regarded in the Premier League, maintaining a strike-rate of nearly a goal every three games for the Cherries.

And four of the traditional top-six clubs are interested in signing up the 28-year-old, according to Sky Sports.

Manchester United made a £20million bid for King on deadline day in January, although this was rejected so the Red Devils signed Odion Ighalo on loan from Shanghai Shenhua instead.

Meanwhile, the report from Sky Sports points out that Chelsea are also on the lookout for attacking reinforcements this summer.

Boss Frank Lampard is hoping to sign a frontman who can ease the goalscoring burden on Tammy Abraham, with Moussa Dembele, Timo Werner and Victor Osimhen all linked.

Man Utd could sell stars to sign Jadon Sancho

Manchester United have been tipped to sell Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling to free up funds to land Jadon Sancho this summer by European transfer expert Gabriele Marcotti.

“I don’t really buy that,” Marcotti told ESPN FC when asked if United must get rid of Paul Pogba before landing Sancho. “I don’t see those two things as related. Why they should be related.

“Basically, if you look at Manchester United’s numbers over the last few years, if you look at last season, certainly if you look at their spending, if you look at the way they have tried to work on their wage bill, I don’t see why all of a sudden it becomes imperative to sell Pogba so you can bring in Jadon Sancho.

“Bear in mind, we don’t quite know what the transfer market is going to look like, what the numbers are going to look like, how much money it is effectively going to take to bring in Jadon Sancho.

“I think if you are United, there are certain things you want to do, but I think they are going to be just as effective.

“If you can find a home for Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling, both of whom are on loan, both of whose loans expire. Roma would like to keep Smalling, Inter with Alexis a little bit less so.

“But those two guys together, you look at their wages and that is substantially more, for example than what Paul Pogba earns. Plus you get some money back, presumably for Smalling.”

Mikel Arteta gives green light to Arsenal exit

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will allow Ainsley Maitland-Niles to be sold this summer because he does not fit into his plans.

The 22-year-old, who can play in a number of roles, was Unai Emery’s starting right-back at the start of the season.

And he was also the first-choice right-back for Arteta’s first five Premier League matches, though had not seen a minute of top-flight action for nearly two months before the coronavirus-enforced break.

And according to TodoFichajes, Maitland-Niles is free to leave Arsenal because the manager does not have a role for him despite his ability to play in several positions.

The former England youth international is said to already be working on an exit ahead of the summer window.

Timo Werner tipped to snub Liverpool move

Liverpool transfer target Timo Werner has been urged to reject a move to Anfield because he would not be a guaranteed starter.

ESPN FC pundit Alejandro Moreno said: “No [Werner shouldn’t go to Liverpool], because I think that Liverpool has something special going on.

“And if I’m Timo Werner I have to be smart enough and intelligent enough to recognise that ‘you know what? They got something cooking over there that it would be a great thing to be a part of, but the truth of the matter is in order for me to get a chance to play the same way that I play with Leipzig, some things would need to change at Liverpool’ and I don’t think anything is changing when you look at a team that is about to win the Premier League by a thousand points.

“So it would be ridiculous for Jurgen Klopp to somehow force a place for Timo Werner when you have something so special and so productive right there in front of you.”