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Ligue 1 and European champions PSG have reportedly set their sights on a key Chelsea star, right after Luis Enrique’s side were dominated by him in the Club World Cup final.

Chelsea in talks to sign £40m "superstar" who'd brilliantly replace Madueke

With Noni Madueke on his way to Arsenal for £52m, Chelsea remain “in contact” to sign one of the Premier League’s “brightest young talents” for £40m.

1 ByBen Gray Jul 15, 2025

Enzo Maresca led the Blues to a triumphant 3-0 win over PSG at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – a result very few on-lookers expected given PSG’s imperiousness in the build up to Sunday’s game.

The French heavyweights won five out of six matches en route to the final, including convincing performances against Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, with the elite European trio all failing to score against them.

Cole Palmer

7.33

Moises Caicedo

7.02

Enzo Fernández

6.95

Nicolas Jackson

6.88

Noni Madueke

6.82

via WhoScored

However, while Enrique managed to shut their previous CWC rivals out, he had no answer for Chelsea’s tactical masterclass.

In what was a real statement performance all-round, Chelsea transitioned from defence to attack in devastatingly effective fashion, with Cole Palmer’s brace and a strike from summer signing Joao Pedro putting the result beyond all doubt before half-time.

Chelsea hoisted the Club World Cup trophy aloft with US president Donald Trump on stage, finally putting an end to their long 2024/2025 campaign, and BlueCo also received a seismic £87.5 million financial windfall via the tournament’s prize money pool.

Attention now turns to 2025/2026 with pre-season for most clubs already starting, with Chelsea having almost no time for any rest ahead of what will be yet another crucial season for Maresca.

Stamford Bridge chiefs are also working to trim their bloated overall squad, which will have a profound effect on any plans to bring in more new recruits (Simon Philips), which they could still do.

Lesley Ugochukwu, João Félix, Renato Veiga, Christopher Nkunku, Armando Broja, Axel Disasi, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka are among the players up for sale at Chelsea right now, and striker Nicolas Jackson could yet follow Noni Madueke out of the exit door.

This comes after Djordje Petrovic sealed a £25 million move to Bournemouth and Mathis Amougou joined Strasbourg in a permanent deal last week, just months after he signed for Chelsea from Saint-Étienne.

PSG prepared to pay £217 million for Chelsea star Cole Palmer

Now, a very bold claim has surfaced from the European media.

According to reports in Spain, PSG are “prepared” to pay £217 million for Chelsea forward Palmer, coming after the England international’s two goals against them secured Chelsea a memorable Club World Cup final win at Enrique’s expense.

Palmer is one of Maresca’s most crucial star men, and has been since his move from Man City in 2023. This definitely isn’t lost on PSG, according to this report, and their alleged potential bid would smash the world-record £200 million fee they paid for Neymar in 2017.

PSG’s sporting directors have apparently “outlined an ambitious plan” to sign Palmer, but they’re set to fall short.

Indeed, unlike many of the surplus players on their books right now, it is believed that £217m might not even be enough to get Palmer, as Chelsea are not considering his departure “under any circumstances”.

The doors are “firmly closed” when it comes to any negotiations, and the 23-year-old is happy at Chelsea as he gears up to spearhead a 25/26 trophy charge.

Arsenal are busy restructuring Mikel Arteta’s squad behind-the-scenes, with a few noteworthy exits anticipated before deadline day on September 1.

Players who could leave Arsenal this summer

Marquinhos, Kieran Tierney, Jorginho and Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand have already left the club, as confirmed by Arsenal.

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Tierney and Oulad M’Hand were named as the departing players via Arsenal’s retained list earlier this month, joining a host of senior and academy players out the door, with Neto and Raheem Sterling also returning to their parent clubs.

Arsenal transfer spending under Arteta (via Sky Sports)	Money on new signings
19/20 – winter	£0
20/21 – summer	£81.5m
20/21 – winter	£900k
21/22 – summer	£156.8m
21/22 – winter	£1.8m
22/23 – summer	£121.5m
22/23 – winter	£59m
23/24 – summer	£208m
23/24 – winter	£0
24/25 – summer	£101.5m
24/25 – winter	£0

Marquinhos signed for Cruzeiro on a permanent deal following his initial loan spell in Brazil, while Jorginho’s contract was terminated before June 30, so he could join Flamengo early and in time for this summer’s Club World Cup.

Thomas Partey is still in talks to extend his Arsenal contract, which is why he wasn’t included in the Gunners’ retained list, but as yet, no agreement has been reached for the Ghanaian’s renewal.

“I think the first thing is where are you happy and where do you feel at home. At the end of the day you’ve been in football, you’ve been in different teams,” said Partey, speaking about his future in an interview with 3Sports this week.

“Then it’s about what is your next objective what do you want to achieve next. You still have to look at all this and at the end of the day we all have a family that needs money, this is our mind.

“We are not getting younger. There are a lot of things where you have to look now with a family, where you want them to be happy. When you are young you just play anywhere.

“I’m an Arsenal fan, I can’t decide anything and just have to leave it to my agent and the club. Me, I just want to enjoy football.”

Until the ink is dry on paper, Partey’s potential exit remains a possibility. According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the African could be joined by both Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Arsenal hold AC Milan meeting over Kiwior and Zinchenko sale

La Gazzetta reporter Marco Guidi says that an emissary from AC Milan travelled to London and held a summit with Arsenal on Tuesday, with both Kiwior and Zinchenko discussed and targeted by the Rossoneri.

The duo, on a combined £208,000-per-week and further down Arteta’s pecking order, are prime candidates to leave north London this summer and Guidi writes that Arsenal could sell Zinchenko for less than £13 million.

Kiwior is also a popular name inside Milan, having impressed alongside William Saliba when Gabriel was out injured, not to mention performing well for Poland at international level.

The 25-year-old is a proven Serie A player from his time at Spezia as well, leaving little wonder Milan are considering Kiwior with Zinchenko as they look to strengthen after a disappointing 24/25 campaign.

Will Newcastle United secure Champions League qualification?

Ahead of the final day of the Premier League season, Eddie Howe’s team are fourth in the table, but not yet assured of Champions League qualification.

The Magpies are above both Chelsea and Aston Villa by virtue of goal difference alone, but victory over Everton at what promises to be a raucous St James’ Park will rubber stamp a top five finish and a return to the Champions League.

Expected to get the job done, Newcastle have already begun plans for the summer transfer window, so do they have an “astonishing” magician, reminiscent of a fan favourite from yesteryear, in their sights?

Hatem Ben Arfa's Newcastle United career

Hatem Ben Arfa arrived on Tyneside from Olympique Marseille, initially on loan, in the summer of 2010, and would depart four years later as a bona fide cult hero.

The Frenchman scored 14 goals and provided 16 assists in 86 appearances for the Magpies, but he was certainly more than just about pure statistics.

Peter McVitie of Goal outlines how he ‘showed flashes of brilliance’ during his time in the North East, without ever showing much ‘consistency’, winning over the Toon Army with ‘some dazzling firepower’ and ‘awesome displays of skill’.

Meantime, Louise Taylor of the Guardian labelled him ‘the sort of footballer fans adore’, praising his ‘exquisite touch… superior vision, perfect balance and elusive movement’, even if then-manager Alan Pardew regularly referred to him as “high maintenance”.

Jean-Baptiste Caillet of Opta’s the Analyst believes Ben Arfa is ‘France’s best dribbler since Zinédine Zidane, which is certainly high praise indeed, but backing it up by noting that only Neymar and Lionel Messi ‘have completed more dribbles per-90’ across Europe’s big-five leagues since Zizou’s retirement in 2006.

So, more than a decade on from Ben Arfa’s departure, could the Newcastle faithful soon have another dribbling winger to get behind?

Newcastle's search for a new forward

According to a recent report by Santi Aouna of Foot Mercato, Newcastle are ‘interested’ in signing Al-Ahli forward Gabri Veiga.

It had been reported by Fabrizio Romano that Veiga is on the verge of joining Porto for around £14m, but Newcastle, who have obvious connections to Saudi Arabia, are hoping to hijack this deal.

Born and raised in Galicia, he broke through at local, boyhood club Celta de Vigo, describing playing for los Celestes as a “dream”, with Sid Lowe of the Guardian documenting his ‘extraordinary’ La Liga form, adding that he ‘is not the stereotypical Spanish midfielder’.

In total, he scored 11 goals and registered five assists in 36 La Liga appearances during the 2022/23 season, including bagging a brace to beat Barcelona at Balaídos on the final day, which would turn out to be his last-ever appearance for the club.

His La Liga statistics from that season were certainly very impressive.

Gabri Veiga 2022/23 La Liga statistics
Statistics	Gabri Veiga	La Liga rank
Minutes	2,294	120th
Goals	11	13th
Goals + assists	15	12th
Shots on target %	46.8%	17th
Shots on target per 90	1.14	15th
Goals – xG	+4.9	1st
Attempted take-ons	75	34th
Take-on success % (min 70 attempted)	54%	7th
Progressive carries	68	40
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com

Given the above, it was expected that Veiga would move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs, but instead, he chose to join Al Ahli, with the Saudi Pro League side paying his €40m release clause, earning a reported €10m a year.

Well, in the Middle East, the Spaniard has scored 12 goals and registered ten assists in 65 appearances, a key figure as Matthias Jaissle’s side won this season’s AFC Champions League Elite, beating Kawasaki Frontale in the final in Jeddah earlier this month.

Now ready to return to Europe, could he be on his way to Tyneside?

Mak Pakhei of Total Football Analysis praises Veiga’s ‘awareness to play the ball forward’ as well as his ability to take on opponents in the middle third of the pitch, a trait associated with Ben Arfa from his time at St James’ Park.

Journalist António Mango believes he possesses “astonishing technical ability”, while Thomas Hammond simply labels him a “quality player with bags of potential”.

So, it is very clear that the Spaniard is a flamboyant, highly-talented midfielder who, at 22 years old, still has room for development, underlining that he would be both an excellent and exciting signing for Newcastle supporters.

Newcastle make approach for £25m ace and Howe's already revealed his thoughts

He could be an ideal addition for Eddie Howe.

By
Henry Jackson

May 23, 2025

Manchester City will be hoping to claim the FA Cup for the third time under Pep Guardiola this season. It might not make up for a truly dismal campaign in the Premier League and Champions League, but it might offer some solace heading into the summer.

Results and form have improved over the previous few months. Guardiola did go big in the winter transfer window, splashing out around £190m on several signings. Given how well some of them have settled, this could prove to be a masterstroke ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

The likes of Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Nico Gonzalez have settled in nicely at City and could take the club into a new era from this summer onwards.

There is still plenty of work to be done to this squad, however, especially with the news that Kevin De Bruyne will depart after 11 years once the season is complete.

City will find it hard to replace a player who registered 284 goal contributions across 417 matches for the club. But that is the challenge awaiting Guardiola.

Elsewhere, he will also be keen to add some more attacking firepower to his first-team squad. Could this involve raiding one of the best teams in Europe this season?

Manchester City eyeing move for PSG starlet

According to TEAMtalk, City are considering a stunning move for Paris Saint-Germain starlet Desire Doue this summer in a bid to bolster their attacking options.

Manchester United are another Premier League side who are keen on securing his signature, while Chelsea and Arsenal, who both tried to sign him before his move to PSG, may well reignite their interest in the player.

Guardiola is an admirer of the teenager and has even sent scouts to monitor his performances for PSG over the previous few months. It appears as though he has been impressed, and this could lead to a bid being made this summer.

The French side will not be keen to lose him and will only listen to offers of €100m (£85m) or above for Doue.

There is no doubt that PSG’s youngster is one of the most talented teenagers on the continent at this moment in time. Signing him this summer could potentially be as transformative a signing as when Erling Haaland made the move from Borussia Dortmund to City back in 2022.

Erling Haaland has been one of City’s best-ever signings

Haaland was one of the most in-demand centre-forwards in the world before his move to England. After scoring 86 goals in just 89 matches for the German side, City won the race for his signature, paying a reported fee of £51.2m for the Norwegian forward.

This has turned out to be a massive bargain. At the time of writing, Haaland has netted 120 goals across 138 appearances for Guardiola, and his signing led to the most impressive season in City’s history.

Indeed, the club won a treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League during the 2022/23 season, finally claiming glory in Europe’s premier club competition.

Haaland’s 52 goals in all competitions went a long way to the club achieving this feat, and the striker also helped propel them to a record fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.

Of course, he isn’t easy on the eye and perhaps lacks the work rate of others in the team, but his record in the final third is second to none.

Despite enduring his least productive spell this season since joining, he still ranks in the top 6% for goals (0.76) per 90 and in the top 4% for shots on target (1.96) per 90 when compared to his peers in the Premier League.

A move for Doue may well get Haaland back to his devastating best ahead of next season, no doubt about that.

Why Manchester City should sign Desire Doue

It is no secret that Guardiola has had plenty of issues on the left flank this season. Jack Grealish has scored just three goals all season when being deployed out wide. Jeremy Doku has also struggled at times, netting six goals throughout the entire season, starting just 19 games in all competitions.

Doue would add something different to this area. Indeed, for PSG this term, the youngster has registered 25 goal involvements – 13 goals and 12 assists – which have helped power the club to another Ligue 1 title and a Champions League semi-final.

Desire Doué’s stats for PSG this season
Metric	Champions League	Ligue 1
Goals	3	6
Assists	2	6
Big chances created	4	16
Shots per game	1.8	1.9
Key passes per game	0.9	1.9
Via Sofascore

The future is bright for the Frenchman, and his move to PSG has helped showcase his talents.

He was praised heavily by respected analyst Ben Mattinson earlier this year, who said of the youngster: “Absolute genius and freak profile. Look how comfortable he is in all these different zones. How he can create something out of nothing.”

Genius indeed. When compared to his peers in Europe’s top five leagues, Doue ranks in the top 11% for shot-creating actions (5.24), and in the top 8% for progressive passes (6.67), progressive carries (5.69) and successful take-ons (3.01) per 90 in the previous 365 days.

These statistics highlight just how effective the teenager is in the final third, and he has proven so during his first season at PSG.

Many players of his age might have struggled to cope with the demands of leading the club to a maiden Champions League trophy, but Doue has been sensational.

This will also give Guardiola plenty of confidence that the youngster could sparkle for City should he make the move to England this summer.

Marmoush has offered some dynamism to the club’s attacking output in recent months, but bringing in a talent like Doue could take City back to the summit of the Premier League table.

They will have to break the bank to sign him, but there is no doubt a move for the French teen sensation could turn out to be their most important signing since Haaland arrived three years ago.

Forget McAtee: Man City's "best academy player" can replace De Bruyne

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By
Ben Gray

Apr 24, 2025

Nottingham Forest have exceeded the expectations set by everyone ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season, with Champions League football firmly on the cards.

Nuno Espírito Santo has masterminded the Reds to third place in England’s top flight, boasting a five-point gap to sixth place with just seven league outings remaining.

The thought of welcoming Europe’s elite to the City Ground was a distant dream for supporters after two near-misses with relegation after promotion, but such hopes could come to fruition in the coming months.

However, if they are to be competitive in Europe and the Premier League next season, additions are desperately needed, handing Nuno the squad depth to rotate when needed.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis has wasted no time in targeting reinforcements for 2025/26, with one name remerging on their shortlist after previous interest in his signature last summer.

Nottingham Forest plot move for £40m talisman this summer

According to TBR, Forest are plotting a summer move for Evanilson after his impressive debut campaign in the Premier League with Bournemouth.

The Brazilian, who joined the Cherries for £40m last summer, has scored 11 goals in 27 appearances across all competitions, sitting as their second top scorer behind Justin Kluivert.

It’s not the first time the Reds have targeted the 25-year-old, after being firmly in the race for his signature just under 12 months ago before his subsequent move to the Vitality.

The report claims that Newcastle and Aston Villa are also in the race for Evanilson’s signature, with Nuno looking for reinforcements whilst also trying to move Taiwo Awoniyi on this window.

It’s unclear whether Andoni Iraola’s side would be open to parting ways with their star striker, but he could provide an alternative to one other forward currently on Marinakis’ radar.

Why Evanilson would be the perfect Gyokeres alternative

As a result of their impressive form, Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres has emerged on Forest’s radar, with the Portuguese side demanding £60m to part with their star man.

The Swedish international has been in incredible goalscoring form since his move from Coventry City back in the summer of 2023, registering 87 goals in his 94 appearances.

However, despite their interest, the Reds aren’t alone in their pursuit of the 26-year-old this summer, with Arsenal and Manchester United also in the race for the forward.

Given the nature of the clubs also keen on the talisman, the Forest hierarchy could turn their attention to Evanilson in the coming months, with the Cherries attacker a more than capable alternative.

When comparing his figures with Gyokeres from the ongoing campaign, he’s managed to match or better the Swede in numerous key areas, highlighting how much of an impressive addition he would be.

How Evanilson compares to Gyokeres in 2024/25 so far

Statistics (per 90)

Evanilson

Gyokeres

Games played

25

27

Goals & assists

9

37

Shot-on-target accuracy

49%

40%

Shots on target per 90

1.5

1.3

Take-on success

32%

27%

Fouls won

2.1

1.6

Aerials won

38%

30%

Stats via FBref

The “world-class” Cherries ace, as dubbed by content creator Kirk Tovey, may have registered fewer combined goals and assists than Gyokeres, but has managed more shots on target per 90 at a higher accuracy rate – showcasing his accuracy in the final third.

He’s also completed more of the take-ons he’s attempted, whilst also winning more of the aerial duels he’s contested, offering a more all-round centre-forward option than the Sporting star.

Whilst the Swedish international undoubtedly remains as many of the supporter’s first-choice attacking signing this summer, a deal for Evanilson would be just as impressive as seen by the numbers procured this year.

Investment will be needed in various areas of the first-team squad throughout the upcoming window, with funds needed elsewhere, potentially leading the Reds to pursue a move for the Brazilian sensation.

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Alan Gardner is joined by Andrew Miller and Matt Roller to debrief on the Hundred and preview England’s upcoming white-ball series with South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2025After a month of the Hundred, it’s time to get back on the international treadmill as England take on South Africa in ODI and T20I series. On the latest Switch Hit, Alan Gardner is joined by Andrew Miller and Matt Roller to help get you back up to speed. Topics for discussion include Sonny Baker’s impending debut, Jamie Overton ruling himself out of Ashes contention, and “the end of the beginning” of the Hundred.