Vesper

MAN UTD IN MARC CUCURELLA LOAN TALKS, EMILE SMITH ROWE TO Chelsea FROM ARSENAL UNLIKELY BEFORE DEADLINE https://www.eurosport.com/football/transfers/2023-2024/man-utd-in-marc-cucurella-loan-talks-emile-smith-rowe-to-Chelsea-from-arsenal-unlikely-before-deadli_sto9770118/story.shtml

pure guess £45-55m

Nottingham Forest launch bid to hijack Premier League rival’s move for Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi https://talksport.com/football/1549852/

The Athletic claim that despite the smoke steaming from links with Cucurella, United have been in contact over Nicolas Tagliafico. Man Utd may be using Marc Cucurella as a smokescreen for a different signing instead Man Utd could spring a late transfer surprise https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1807364/Man-Utd-transfer-news-Marc-Cucurella Who are Manchester United looking to sign at left-back? https://theathletic.com/4814809/2023/08/29/manchester-united-left-back/ Manchester United are exploring short-term deals for left-backs in light of Luke Shaw’s injury, which could keep the 28-year-old out for three months. United are closely guarding the exact nature of Shaw’s muscle problem and the time he may be on the sidelines, but the issue is serious enough for recruitment staff to be weighing up alternatives. Manager Erik ten Hag said it will “take a few weeks” before Tyrell Malacia is back, too, with the defender missing all of pre-season due to an unspecified injury. Ten Hag selected Diogo Dalot at left-back against Nottingham Forest, with mixed results. Dalot is capable in the position but United’s manager would like someone more used to operating on the left. Alvaro Fernandez is an out-and-out left-back and is highly regarded after winning Preston North End’s young player of the year award while on loan last season. Fernandez went away with United on the pre-season tour of the United States, but it would still be a big step up for the 20-year-old to play regularly in the Premier League. United want him to get frequent game time, however, and have been in talks with La Liga side Granada about a loan. United have a small budget, so may end up sticking with Dalot and Fernandez while waiting for Shaw and Malacia to recover, but the club are going through a whole host of names as they try to strike a deal before Friday’s 11pm (BST) deadline. This being United, however, there is every chance discussions go right to the wire. Here are some of the names being spoken about and the chances of them moving to Old Trafford… Marc Cucurella, 25, Chelsea The former Barcelona youth player was tracked by United when he was at Brighton & Hove Albion and he has come into the reckoning in this emergency situation because he is out of favour at Stamford Bridge. Mauricio Pochettino has selected Ben Chilwell at left wing-back and Levi Colwill as left centre-back so far, with Cucurella yet to get any minutes this season. Even left-back Ian Maatsen, 21, has twice come off the bench instead of Cucurella. Chelsea are open to a loan for a player they only signed last summer for £60million ($75.5m), but the dealbreaker could be the fee. It is said Chelsea want a payment of £7m to let Cucurella go for the season, which is a figure United would not countenance. Negotiations are ongoing, however, as outlined in our live transfer blog. Nicolas Tagliafico, 30, Lyon United have been in touch about Tagliafico, a player Ten Hag signed for Ajax in January 2018 and knows well. The club were offered the chance to sign him last summer, but he moved to Lyon for €4.2million (£3.6m; $4.5m) before winning the World Cup with Argentina. He played six matches in Qatar, starting the semi-final and final, and is friends with United centre-back Lisandro Martinez. Lyon are willing to do a deal with United if Tagliafico wants the move but are thought to want a fee or obligation to buy. United are weighing up a formal offer for the Argentine, who turns 31 on Thursday. Fulham are also interested, but Tagliafico is enjoying his time in France. He has started all three of Lyon’s Ligue 1 games this season, scoring one goal. Marcos Alonso, 32, Barcelona Having won the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup with Chelsea, Alonso is the most experienced player in English football on United’s list. Barcelona are open to letting Alonso go, with manager Xavi Hernandez preferring this option to Eric Garcia moving to Girona. Alonso, who has played one La Liga game out of three so far, is in the last year of a contract worth around £170,000 per week. That kind of salary is expected to be too high for United to cover and, in any case, Alonso would prefer a permanent move with a multi-year contract than a loan. Sergio Reguilon, 26, Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham are trying to sell Reguilon and are said to be open to letting him leave on loan without a fee, so long as his wages are covered. One hurdle, however, is his lucrative salary at Tottenham, having moved to the club from Real Madrid in 2020 after a successful loan at Sevilla. Reguilon was excellent against United in Sevilla’s Europa League semi-final in the 2019-20 season and was on the radar at Old Trafford, but United went for Alex Telles instead. Three years on, contact has been made over a potential short-term move. Luke Thomas, 22, Leicester City Thomas may be best known to United fans for scoring a wonder goal at Old Trafford under Brendan Rodgers in May 2021. He is yet to make it off the bench this season because Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca prefers Callum Doyle, 19, as an inverted full-back. Doyle, ostensibly a centre-back, is on loan from Manchester City, where Maresca was assistant to Pep Guardiola. Thomas is a low-cost option and Leicester are willing to agree a six-month loan. During his three seasons as an established member of the first-team squad, he started 44 Premier League games and has typically done well against Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who is yet to score when up against him in three meetings. Ryan Bertrand, 34, Leicester City Another Leicester player at the other end of the spectrum is Bertrand, who is also out of the team under Maresca. The cost of any deal for the former England international would be low. Bertrand, who came through at Chelsea, has 485 career games to his name, predominantly in the Premier League. He only played 11 times in all competitions last season, though.

next 3 days for all the big teams in UEFA are going to be crazy so many have left it late

Looks like Slabhead is likely staying with Manure (per Romano video) 🤣

Obituary: Steve Powell https://chelseasupportersgroup.net/2023/08/obituary-steve-powell/ ALLFEATURESFSANEWS Obituary: Steve Powell AdminAugust 30, 20230 CommentsFSA,Steve Powell From the official FSA.Org website: It was with sadness this weekend that we learnt of the death of Steve Powell – longtime supporter activist and friend of the FSA. Born in 1956, Arsenal fan Steve was a former staff member for the Football Supporters’ Federation (one of our predecessor organisations) and founder-member of Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association (AISA). Here FSA chair Malcolm Clarke pays tribute to Steve and his decades of work on behalf of football supporters… Steve worked for the FSF, as was, as development Officer and he was also on the board of Supporters Direct and its vice chair for a number of years, – while also being heavily involved with the Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Organisation, Arsenal Supporters Trust and other football organisations. He was also a keen supporter of Wales. He had friends and contacts all over the world, particularly in South America, and loved watching football in different countries and cultures. He was very knowledgeable about football world-wide and also other sports as well. To take just one small example I remember him educating us about what we could learn from the regulation of Australian Rugby league. He was of course a regular attendee at our annual conferences and used to make the self-deprecating comment that no conference was complete “until the fat gooner has ranted”. He was a very effective orator, and an experienced negotiator, having been a full-time trade union official in his younger days. I particularly remember his great contribution to the “Accord” between the Wimbledon supporters and Milton Keynes Dons FC, which resulted in the return of all the historical records of Wimbledon FC to Merton, including the replica FA Cup, in return for lifting of boycotts. Steve and I spent a day shuttling between the parties, when his skills as both a drafter of documents of agreements and a mediator were used to great effect. Read more: AISA pay tribute to Steve…

more Forest fuckery (that Santos loan looks a disaster)

On the batshittery that is Musiala to Chels I have to LOL at how one, pure bullshit, ridiculous tweet from a proven liar, which as not even directly tweeted, but passed on second hand by some twitter hype merchant (and now picked up and hyped by some of the most dodgy sites out there) has wound up so many one here.

a list of all the names I am still seeing us linked with (all positions, and listed by descending valuation) some are just wild (and some of those are new) Jamal Musiala Randal Kolo Muani Dusan Vlahovic Darwin Núñez Jonathan David Raphinha João Félix Jadon Sancho Jeremie Frimpong Eberechi Eze Ansu Fati Amine Gouiri Emile Smith Rowe Ivan Toney Pedro Gonçalves Pervis Estupiñán Rayan Cherki Jean-Clair Todibo Ferran Torres Marcus Edwards Thiago Almada Gift Orban Bradley Barcola Antonee Robinson

Chelsea changed Romelu Lukaku transfer plans after private talks with Jose Mourinho Jose Mourinho is set to reunite with Romelu Lukaku for a third time, with the Chelsea striker close to sealing a loan move to AS Roma following talks with his old coach https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/Chelsea-romelu-lukaku-transfer-mourinho-30818110 Jose Mourinho played a major role in convincing Romelu Lukaku to accept a new challenge with AS Roma after Chelsea shelved plans to sell the Belgium striker. The Blues lured Lukaku, 30, back to Stamford Bridge for a second spell in the summer of 2021, shelling out a then club-record £97.5million to Inter Milan. But after struggling to impress, Lukaku was shipped back to his former club on loan last year. After seeing talks over permanent deals to Inter and Juventus collapse earlier in the dinow, Lukaku has been left in limbo during the opening weeks of the 2023/24 campaign. However, the former Manchester United forward has now been given a career lifeline by Mourinho. According to The Independent, Mourinho spoke to Lukaku privately in order to persuade him that a transfer to Rome was the right move. Furthermore, the Portuguese coach then sent a delegation to London to thrash out a deal with Chelsea; making it clear they were not to return to Italy without an agreement. Prior to Mourinho and Roma making their interest known, Chelsea were determined to only entertain permanent offers for Lukaku in a bid to recoup a slice of the significant sum they spent to bring him back to the Premier League two years ago. However, a lack of suitors forced the Londoners to soften their stance, with Roma poised to pay a £8m loan fee and cover Lukaku's wages in full as part of the deal. It had been reported last week that Lukaku had not spoken to Chelsea's new head coach Mauricio Pochettino and was training away from the first-team squad. The Blues have already signed Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku this summer and are also understood to be in the market for another forward. Mourinho, who has previously worked with Lukaku before at Chelsea and Manchester United, told The Times last summer that he knew how to get the best out of the Belgium international. Speaking backing in June 2022, Mourinho said of Lukaku: “[In his first spell] at Chelsea, he was still a kid. At Manchester United, he was still developing. At Inter he became the top man. “He became loved - a big love from the supporters, love from teammates, great relations with the coach. He's a big guy, physically so strong, but there is also a kid inside who needs that love, needs that support, needs to feel important.” Lukaku plundered 14 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for Inter Milan last season, laying on a further seven assists.

Bayern are the clear 2nd favourite (after Citeh) to win the CL this season ZERO chance he is leaving

another potentially great young RB option off the board still out there: Arnau Martínez

Bambi needs to help fund the €120-140m + that the Bavarians will demand

Sporting would have been great, their manager, Rúben Amorim, is great at developing young players, and they only have one CMF on their entire Sr roster, and he is hardly some powerhouse: I do not understand why the board doesn't take these things into consideration ffs, if little amatueur me can instantly see this, I do not see how all these supposedly brilliant footballing minds cannot

this fucks Santos on loan at Forest, grrrrr

if there is a telly stream anywhere on the planet, I will hopefully find it

Mohamed Salah 'to play final Liverpool game today' as 'medical booked' ahead of Saudi move Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will reportedly be leaving the club after Sunday's match against Newcastle. https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1806481/Liverpool-transfer-news-Mohamed-Salah-Saudi-Arabia Mohamed Salah will play his final Liverpool match today before leaving the club, according to sensational reports from Saudi Arabia. It is claimed the Egyptian will leave to undergo a medical and complete a move to Al-Ittihad after the Reds' Premier League game at Newcastle. Liverpool have already sold two players to the Saudi Pro League this summer. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were both allowed to make mega-money moves away from Merseyside. And it looks like Salah could shortly follow them through the Anfield exit door. Saudi Arabian sports channel Riyadiyatv claims the winger will complete a move to Al-Ittihad. It is reported that Salah will play for Liverpool in their game at St James' Park before flying to Dubai to undergo a medical. Al-Ittihad stepped up their interest in Salah this week and now appear to be close to securing a deal. This latest development comes after reports from Sport Italia that Salah had informed Liverpool he would like to make the move to the Saudi Pro League. Al-Ittihad are claimed to have put an offer on the table of more than £79million for the 31-year-old. The report says Al-Ittihad imposed their own deadline of Monday to discover whether a deal for Salah was possible. It is looking increasingly likely that they are set to be successful in their pursuit. Losing Salah at this point in the transfer window would be a monumental blow for Liverpool. The forward has scored an incredible 187 goals for the club in 307 appearances since joining from Roma in 2017. Salah has been instrumental in Jurgen Klopp's success of winning a Premier League title, the Champions League and reaching two further finals in Europe's elite club competition. Klopp had shut down any speculation over Salah leaving at his press conference on Friday. The German said there had been no official interest as of yet and that Salah was 100 per cent committed to Liverpool. Klopp said: "It's difficult to talk about media stories as there's nothing to talk about from our point of view. "Mo Salah is a Liverpool player. There's nothing there. If there was something the answer would be no [he's not for sale]." "My life philosophy is I think about a problem when I have it. At the moment, there's nothing. I said already if there is something, the answer would be no. [He is] 100 per cent [committed]."

Chelsea told only 'immoral offer' would be accepted as Pochettino eyes new target Chelsea are reportedly hoping to make more signings before Friday's deadline. https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1807298/Chelsea-Mauricio-Pochettino-Premier-League-transfer-news Chelsea will need to submit an 'immoral offer' if they wish to sign Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremie Frimpong before Friday's transfer deadline, according to reports. The Blues have already welcomed 10 new faces this summer but Mauricio Pochettino is still believed to be keen on making further signings. Frimpong has been linked with a move to the Premier League for quite some time, having excelled in Germany since leaving Celtic two years ago. His performances in the Bundesliga and in Europe Any attempt to land Frimpong for a cut-price figure would appear to be a non-starter, although it remains to be seen exactly what Leverkusen would be looking for in exchange for his signature. He would certainly be a shrewd signing at right-back in the absence of James, who has struggled with plenty of injuries over the years. Manchester United have also been linked with a potential move for Frimpong, with Sky Germany reporting that positive discussions were held between the two parties earlier this month. Only time will tell if the Red Devils will look to secure a late move for the 22-year-old, although Chelsea appear to be his most likely suitors as things stand. Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Tuesday that Chelsea will be looking to pounce if the right opportunities arise in the market before Friday's deadline. However, he was quick to insist that he is happy with his squad and wwould not be too disappointed if no further signings are made "At the moment, all the players in our squad are in our plan," said the Chelsea boss. "I know the club is working hard to finish our business. Can something happen? Maybe yes. At the moment I am only working and letting the club deliver what we want."

Fulham knock out Spuds on pens

multiple knee surgeries, etc