Muniz on Atalanta's striker shortlist
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Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Arsenal transfer news: Viktor Gyokeres 'mess' revealed as Premier League rivals eye star
Arsenal have made six new signings so far this summer and there could be even more new additions before the transfer window slams shut Arsenal have enjoyed a busy summer so far as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his squad ahead of another Premier League title challenge. Arsenal have finished second for the past three seasons and are desperate to win the league for the first time since 2004. The Gunners have already signed six new players, with Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga all making the move to the Emirates. There have also been several departures, with Nuno Tavares and Marquinhos sold to Lazio and Cruzeiro respectively and Jorginho, Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey leaving after their contracts expired. Takehiro Tomiyasu has also been released after an agreement was reached to terminate his deal a year early. However, plenty more incomings and outgoings are expected before the transfer window slams shut. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at all the latest transfer news and rumours from in and around the Emirates... Fulham eye Zinchenko Fulham are considering a move for Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko this summer, according to reports. Zinchenko struggled for game time last season, managing just eight starts across all competitions with Mikel Arteta preferring the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber ahead of him. It is claimed that Arsenal value Zinchenko at around £15m and Fulham have already 'entered into talks with the player's camp'. However, AC Milan are also said to be interested in the 28-year-old. Gyokeres "mess" Jonathan Chalkias, who works alongside Viktor Gyokeres' agent Hasan Cetinkaya, has lifted the lid on the striker's protracted move to Arsenal. He told Swedish network WTV: "It was a mess. There was a gentleman's agreement with the previous sporting director. If Hugo Viana were still at Sporting, the deal would have been done in an hour. Everything was written, we didn't have time to start a legal battle. "I don't understand how a player who scored so many goals and won three trophies didn't deserve more respect. The sacrifices we made were the turning point for the deal to happen. They offered Gyokeres to Real Madrid, they even made headlines with Man United, but there was a commitment with Arsenal. "Viktor always trusted Hasan Cetinkaya's project: they agreed to move to a league with less exposure, like the Portuguese, to win titles and return to the Premier League. At the time, there were already seven Premier League clubs interested." Odegaard hails Gyokeres Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is "really excited" by the signing of Viktor Gyokeres, branding the striker a "very complete player". "I think you've all seen what he's done in his career so far, especially the last season at Sporting, the numbers speak for themselves," Odegaard said when asked about Gyokeres. "He's a very complete player. He's physical, strong, fast, good finisher and intelligent as well. "I think he's a very complete striker and you can also see the hunger, the energy he brings. I'm really excited to have him with the team. He's only trained a few times, but you can already see the quality, the energy and the willingness."
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Tottenham in talks to sign João Palhinha on loan from Bayern
Tottenham are hopeful of signing João Palhinha on loan after opening talks with Bayern Munich over the Portugal midfielder. Palhinha, who joined Bayern from Fulham last summer in a deal worth up to £47.4m, is understood to be keen to return to the Premier League having rarely featured under Vincent Kompany. He is wanted by the new Spurs manager, Thomas Frank, to provide extra options in central midfield, with talks over a deal for the 30-year-old continuing. It appears likely Bayern will sanction Palhinha's departure, although it remains to be seen whether any deal would include an option or obligation to make the deal permanent. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Tottenham beat Arsenal 1-0 in a pre-season friendly at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium on Thursday in the first north London derby to be played overseas thanks to a long-range strike from Pape Matar Sarr. Signing Palhinha would undoubtedly provide much-needed experience in central midfield given he made almost 80 appearances in the Premier League during his two seasons at Fulham after joining from Sporting. Spurs have signed Mathys Tel from Bayern this summer for around £30m after the Frenchman spent the second half of last season on loan in north London. They have also added Mohammed Kudus from West Ham, but failed in their pursuit of Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Louis Rees-Zammit returns to rugby after bringing NFL quest to end
Louis Rees-Zammit will return to rugby this summer, ending his quest to make it in the NFL with immediate effect. The Times understands that Rees-Zammit has not yet signed a contract with a rugby club, but this announcement will have put several on alert. 'It was a great experience, but he's coming back to his real sport,' a source said. Rees-Zammit traded rugby for American football in January 2024, before that year's Six Nations, when he left the Gallagher Prem side Gloucester and joined the NFL's International Player Pathway scheme. He signed for the Kansas City Chiefs to play as a running back in March last year and made a handful of appearances in pre-season, but was released during the summer. The Jacksonville Jaguars picked Rees-Zammit up in August 2024, where he was listed as a wide receiver, but he failed to play a full-blown NFL match. On Thursday he announced he would be quitting American football to return to rugby. 'It's been a great experience but it's time to come home,' Rees-Zammit wrote on social media. 'I've decided that this is the best time to make this decision to give myself time to get everything in place for next season. There's only one thing that's on my mind, that's coming back to rugby and doing what I do best. I can't explain how excited I am!' The Welshman is still only 24 years old, is able to sign for any team across the world and will be eligible to play for his country. Any Welsh player with fewer than 25 caps is ineligible for international selection if they play outside of the country but Rees-Zammit won 32 Wales caps before he left rugby. That means the new Wales head coach, Steve Tandy, would be able to select Rees-Zammit for November's Autumn Nations Series matches against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. Despite not playing the sport for almost 18 months, Rees-Zammit will be in high demand from rugby clubs across Europe. Before he left Gloucester, Rees-Zammit earned about £225,000 a year. Some top clubs in the Prem may find it difficult to sign him at this late stage and fit his salary into the £6.4million cap, but not all teams pay up to the top limit. Racing 92, the French Top 14 side, were interested in signing Rees-Zammit before he left rugby. Clubs in France have more money to play with, as their cap sits at £9.25million (€10.7million). Rees-Zammit started his youth career at Cardiff Rugby, as his family lives in the capital city, but moved to Hartpury College across the border when he was 16, as he felt he would have more success developing a rugby career there. During the 2018-19 season he became Gloucester's youngest ever league player at 18 years 70 days, and then the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the league in December 2019. In 2021 he was part of the British & Irish Lions squad that toured South Africa, but did not play in a Test match against the Springboks. That year he was part of the Welsh side that won the Six Nations title. His final match for Wales was the 2023 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina in Marseille, a 29-17 defeat. Rees-Zammit always intended to come back to rugby within the next year to try to make the 2027 World Cup. Rees-Zammit was part of the Jaguars' 17-man practice squad last season, but was not elevated to the main roster to play. Practice squad players can be elevated up to three times during a season but the former rugby star was not called upon. He suffered a back injury this summer, which scuppered his chances of making the early pre-season fixtures in August. Speaking earlier this year Rees-Zammit said: 'International players get probably two to three years to make it in the NFL. So I wanted to do it at a time where I maybe could come back to rugby. I'm 24 now, probably got one to two more years to try and make it depending on how this year goes. I'll be 25, 26 when I go back to rugby. I like to think I can still play at the highest level.'
