Manchester United are reportedly planning to offer £100million for a Newcastle star if they win the Europa League, in a huge transfer move.

United have not been good in essentially any competition but the Europa League this season. They’re 16th in the Premier League, crashed out in the fifth round of the FA Cup, and lost to Tottenham in the League Cup quarter-finals.

That Spurs are the side they will face in the Europa League final – after an admittedly impressive semi-final performance – may not bode well, then, as the north Londoners have also won both Premier League meetings between the clubs this term.

But there is a lot riding on the European triumph. The winners of the competition get north of £10million, and for United, that could go towards a big transfer.

According to Corriere dello Sport, they plan to rival Juventus for Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, and will reportedly lodge an offer of £100million for the Italian, provided they win the competition.

It’s believed Tonali is liked by high-ranking officials at United, so pursuit of the midfielder could go ahead if they have the relevant funds.

However, a report from FourFourTwo suggests that the Red Devils’ attention is in fact not on the Newcastle man, and they will instead look at cheaper options in the summer.

It would seem unlikely, anyway, that Tonali would ditch Newcastle for United. Both clubs may have Champions League next season, but upon this season’s evidence – currently third in the Premier League – they’ll be much more competitive in England than 16th-placed United.

The Magpies also won the League Cup this season, proving they can indeed compete for big honours. Champions League qualification is important to Tonali, but with Newcastle third, it seems likely they’ll be there.

“We need to keep pushing because the Champions League is so difficult. Every game matters, every point matters now,” he said recently.

“We need to play game for game. Now we need to work, rest and work for Arsenal. We need to play the same as [against Chelsea]. We need to play to win every game and play the Champions League again next season.”

Football365.com

Manchester City want to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz. So do Bayern Munich.

In a normal summer, football’s most in-demand stars will take their time before deciding on their next destination.

They will go on holiday, switch off, and then return to assess their options. Time is a useful negotiating tactic from a player’s perspective and stock can rise without kicking a ball. Alternatively, time can allow a player to shine in a summer tournament and their value rockets in the short break before the start of the new campaign.

2025 is not a normal summer, however. For the first time a huge new club tournament in June and July will rip up the normal conventions of the transfer market – FIFA have already changed long-established contract rules and opened a temporary transfer window to allow changes to squads in time for the Club World Cup.

That means clubs like Manchester City must decide whether to do business before going to the US to defend their world title, or after – without a pre-season.

Take Florian Wirtz, for example. The FIFA rule changes mean City could theoretically sign Wirtz, register him before the tournament, and use the games in the USA to blood their new signing and give him valuable training time under Pep Guardiola. If he is going to sign, he would be a huge asset to the Club World Cup bid.

Bayern Munich have the same idea, however, with reports in Germany this week suggesting they have opened talks with Bayer Leverkusen over the in-demand midfielder. And Leverkusen haven’t given up hope of keeping their star man.

City are in the race to sign Wirtz and hope to win that particular battle. Real Madrid may also become more relevant if and when Xabi Alonso is confirmed as their new manager. All three contenders are in the Club World Cup – so maybe Wirtz will be in the USA one way or another.

The obvious priority for City will be to sign Wirtz and secure their Kevin De Bruyne replacement before flying out to the States. City like doing their big business early in transfer windows such as when they quietly announced Erling Haaland before the 2022 window even opened.

On the few occasions they have waited to sign a top target, it has been a calculated move – Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol come to mind. They may not get that luxury with Wirtz, who seemingly has his pick of the top Club World Cup contenders.

If City win the race, they have a world-class talent on their hands to boost their world title chances. If they don’t, they have time to switch attention to other targets without having to rush later in the summer.

It is a transfer ‘saga’ that will benefit everybody if it doesn’t drag on.

Manchestereveningnews.co.uk

The Gunners defenders are the first choice centre-backs under Mikel Arteta

It is another season of coming so close for Arsenal. Victory over Newcastle United at the weekend would confirm second-place in the Premier League – barring a massive final day goal swing.

It would be the third season in a row that the Gunners have finished as runners-up, having been the closest challengers to Manchester City in each of the last two seasons.

This time it was Liverpool who beat them to the title, although the Reds are 15 points clear of Mikel Arteta’s men, so they were hardly pipped to the crown.

Arsenal did reach the semi-finals of the Champions League – one stage better than last season – but Arteta has admitted that his side have gone backwards in the Premier League.

Speaking last week he said: “In the Premier League we’ve gone a step backwards. With the points that we have created it’s clear that we haven’t done as good as last season, that’s obvious. Yeah, for sure in the Champions League we have because we’ve done better than last season but not what we want because we want to win it.

“For sure it has hurt, if it doesn’t hurt then it means you don’t love winning as much as I do that’s for sure. But you need to understand as well certain things that happened to understand.”

The Gunners face a busy summer transfer window, with a striker the biggest priority given injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus this season that hit them hard at the worst possible time.

But keeping hold of their best players is also crucial.

There have been reports circling that French defender William Saliba is keen to get assurances that north London is the place for him to win silverware in the not too distant future. Real Madrid have persistently been linked with signing the 24-year-old, who will be entering the final two years of his current contract at the Emirates Stadium.

Saliba has become one of the best defenders in the Premier League and Arsenal will need to keep hold of him to have any chance of winning the Premier League next season.

He has built up a good partnership with Brazilian Gabriel Magalhaes, but there are question marks over his future in north London too.

Gabriel has reportedly had an offer from Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr that would triple his Arsenal salary, and reports state that he would be open to a move at some point in his career. He, like Saliba, has two years left on his contract.

The nightmare scenario for Arteta and Arsenal would be both leaving in the same transfer window. That being said, with both entering the final two years of their contracts with the Gunners, this is the optimum time to sell for Arsenal to get the most money.

Football.london