^ ^ Chelsea star’s agent flies in for Barcelona transfer talks ahead of FA Cup final

The Chelsea star is wanted by Barcelona this summer (Picture: Getty Images)

Joao Pedro’s agent has arrived in London for talks with Chelsea with Barcelona eager to sign the Brazil star this summer.

The former Brighton star has emerged as a leading target for the Spanish champions who are looking to sign a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski up top.

Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez was thought to be their preferred target with the Argentina international also admired by Arsenal. But Paris Saint-Germain are now eager to sign the former Manchester City star.

Pedro has enjoyed a superb first season in west London, scoring 20 goals following a £60milliion move last summer.

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But reports in Spain have claimed the 24-year-old would be open to a summer move to the Camp Nou with Chelsea said be demanding a fee of at least €100m.

Barcelona reportedly made contact with Pedro last month with Mundo Deportivo reporting the striker’s agent arrived in London on Friday – on the eve of the Blues’ FA Cup final showdown against Manchester City.

His agent is in town to watch today’s final at Wembley but the report states his intention is to meet with Chelsea to discuss their plans for Pedro. He also plans to meet Barcelona’s sporting director Deco in the coming days to discuss a possible move.

Pedro has scored 20 goals for the Blues this season (Picture: Getty Images)

Chelsea can salvage their season somewhat by lifting the FA Cup this afternoon and are thought to be closing in on Xabi Alonso as their new head coach.

But no European football could be an issue with Jamie Carragher recently suggesting some of their key stars will consider moving on.

Pedro ‘would be open’ to a summer move (Picture: Getty)

‘Chelsea were always winning, they were always in finals and collecting trophies,’ Carragher told The Overlap.

‘Now it’s about building… building for what? This generation of fans expect to win. They are not into this building for the future.

‘I can’t believe the Enzo Fernandez stuff. I think Chelsea have got five or six really brilliant players, really good. Reece James, Moises Caicedo, Fernandez, [Cole] Palmer, Pedro up front.

‘But eventually they will go, “what the f**k is this, I should be playing for a team going for the Champions League”. You can’t keep building.’

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^ ^ Chelsea make shock transfer decision that will help seal Xabi Alonso deal

Chelsea are making progress in their attempts to convince Xabi Alonso to become their next manager
(Credits: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

Chelsea are ready to make a major concession and change the club’s transfer strategy in an attempt to convince Xabi Alonso to become their new manager.

The Blues are on the lookout for Liam Rosenior’s replacement after Enzo Maresca’s successor was sacked last month following a dismal 106-day spell at the helm.

Chelsea have considered the likes of Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Marco Silva as potential alternatives with proven Premier League pedigree one of the key attributes they are said to be looking for in their next boss.

Alonso, however, has emerged as the frontrunner and, according to the Telegraph, unlike many of his predecessors who have worked under the Clearlake regime, the former Real Madrid boss will have a key input on transfers.

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A focus on recruiting young, up and coming talents has proven to be more miss than hit over the course of the last few years and Alonso is likely to request players with more experience if he is to avoid going the same way as the likes of Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino.

While he is unlikely to have a decisive say, his views on potential targets will hold significant weight and, as such, talks are likely to progress rapidly following Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.

‘Things should move quickly after the final,’ a source is quoted as saying.

Xabi Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid earlier this season (Picture: Getty)

‘Chelsea ideally want an agreement with somebody within days, whether that be a few days or 10 days. But it shouldn’t be a long process now.’

Chelsea are willing to overlook Alonso’s failed spell at Real and believe his accomplishments at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won a domestic double and got to a Europa League final, are a more accurate reflection of his potential.

Alonso’s arrival at Stamford Bridge will come as a shock to those who believe he was destined to make an emotional return to Liverpool.

The Reds, however, have given little indication they are ready to part company with Arne Slot despite an abysmal title defence which hit another low last night following a 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa.

Liverpool could have sealed their place in next season’s Champions League but it was Villa who got over the line with a handsome victory which provided the perfect send-off for Wednesday’s Europa League final.

Liverpool look set to keep faith with Arne Slot (Picture: Getty)

Slot accepted supporters might not find reason to be optimistic, but he is expecting a better campaign next time around.

‘I can understand at this moment of time that they don’t have a lot of confidence or a lot of feeling that things can be much better next season,’ Slot said.

‘But I think then they are underestimating what a window can do, what a new start can do, and I think we know quite well what to improve.

‘I think one of the things we have to improve is also very, very, very obvious, and I would have preferred not to talk about it here, but you’re actually almost forcing me to.

‘If you miss nine players that can start a game of football, and almost all of them are starters for us or have been for large part of the season, then if you add that to what you can improve in a window and add that to players that are playing for the second season in the Premier League, that will automatically lead to much more.

‘I don’t think the differences are so big, only doing in a few situations the right thing can already have a best massive upwards possibility.’

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^ ^ Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo reveals how close he came to £70million Chelsea transfer

Kobbie Mainoo has turned his Manchester United career around under Michael Carrick (Picture: Getty)

Kobbie Mainoo has confessed he was forced to ‘consider all things’ amid speculation he was ready to quit Manchester United during Ruben Amorim’s ill-fated reign.

The England international look set to be part of the furniture at his boyhood club after making a stunning breakthrough under Erik ten Hag, capped by a winning FA Cup final goal.

Amorim’s appointment as Ten Hag’s successor resulted in a dramatic change of fortunes for the England international who was essentially frozen out to the point whereby his departure looked inevitable.

Napoli emerged as serious contenders to sign the gifted midfielder, while Chelsea were twice heavily linked with a £70million move for the 21-year-old.

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Mainoo has since turned his Old Trafford career around under Michael Carrick, becoming a mainstay in a side that has qualified for the Champions League with room to spare.

A new contract was signed last month and a return to the England fold now looks a distinct possibility ahead of the World Cup.

It is all a far cry from the dark days during the latter stages of the summer January transfer window when he was forced to consider turning his back on United.

Kobbie Mainoo will hope to be back in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad (Picture: Getty)

Asked if it had crossed his mind to move away from Old Trafford, Mainoo was vague but noted that he had ‘considered all things’. 

‘But at the forefront of my mind was always to play for Manchester United and continue to play for this club that I’ve grown up at,’ Mainoo added.

‘Going from playing nearly every game to not playing as often, it’s always going to be difficult and an adjustment.’

Michael Carrick has been key to Kobbie Mainoo’s improved form (Picture: Getty)

‘But I guess it’s part of the game and that was good for me in terms of learning myself, learning the game, what it is, patience. 

‘It’s difficult anytime you’re not playing because I love football and I love to play. So, I feel like I learned things off the pitch in terms of how to schedule my life and how I train and how I work, getting into routines and stuff.

‘And being able to learn from experienced players in the team, and also patience and just working hard.’

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^ ^ Bruno Fernandes admits he wanted Arsenal star to join Manchester United

Bruno Fernandes says he was ‘sad’ to see Declan Rice join Arsenal (FWA)

Bruno Fernandes admits he was ‘really sad’ that Manchester United were unable to sign Declan Rice ahead of Arsenal.

United were in the running to sign Rice before he decided to join Arsenal in a £105 million deal from West Ham in 2023.

Rice has been one of Arsenal’s standout players this season as Mikel Arteta’s side close in on the club’s first Premier League title since 2004, while they also have the chance for a double as they meet Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 30.

Fernandes, meanwhile, has once again been United’s driving force this season and is currently on 19 assists for the campaign, just one behind the all-time record which is jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

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Last week, Fernandes won the Football Writers’ Association’s men’s Footballer of the Year award and edged out Rice by just 28 votes.

In an interview with the FWA, Fernandes paid tribute to Rice and revealed he still keeps in touch with the Arsenal midfielder after they trained together in Portugal three years ago.

‘To be honest, I admire him [Rice] a lot, first of all as a person because I knew him from the Algarve when we were training together and everything,’ Fernandes said in an interview with Joel Beya for the FWA.

‘Obviously I knew him already from West Ham and we all knew the qualities he had and I’ve always thought that Rice was a player to play Man United.

Bruno Fernandes says Declan Rice also deserves individual awards for his season with Arsenal (Getty)

‘I was really sad when he chose to go to Arsenal.

‘I didn’t know if it was the opportunity or the chance for him to come to Manchester United, but I always thought he would be a perfect fit for our club, not just for the player he is but for the person he is and professional he showed me and his personality.

‘I think what he has been doing this season is great, it’s a different position, it’s a different style of play. He’s a player that doesn’t need to get, in his position, assists as much, he doesn’t need to score as much because it demands different things, and the way Arsenal plays is different from the way we play, so we can’t compare the players.

‘But what we can say is he has been one of the standout players from the Premier League this season. As I said before, I’m very happy I won it but if Declan had won it, it would be well deserved too because I don’t think there’s a ‘best player’ in the league, it’s just in a season where you have to choose between players and numbers have a lot of weight in the decisions, I think I had a brilliant season and I had that in my game.

‘Obviously for Dec it’s more difficult for him to get that because he plays a little bit deeper. I still think he’s an amazing player and if he had got this award I would have messaged him and said congratulations as I did when he got into the final of the Champions League.’

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^ ^ William Gallas urges Arsenal to ‘replace’ £60m Mikel Arteta signing

Mikel Arteta during Arsenal’s win over West Ham (Picture: Getty)

William Gallas has urged Mikel Arteta to ‘replace’ £60m Arsenal signing Martin Zubimendi ahead of the summer transfer window.

Zubimendi enjoyed a bright start to his Arsenal career after moving to the Emirates Stadium last summer from La Liga side Real Sociedad.

Real Madrid were also in the running to sign the Spain Euros winner and were believed to be ‘gutted’ by his decision to join Arteta at Arsenal.

After a promising start to the season, Zubimendi’s form has largely deserted him during the run-in, so much so he has often found himself out of the team.

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Gary Neville said Zubimendi has been ‘struggling for weeks’ after Arsenal’s win over Newcastle United last month and the Spaniard has only been used from the bench in the last three games.

Gallas believes Arsenal need a player to do the ‘dirty work’ alongside Declan Rice and fears Zubimendi is incapable of performing such a role.

‘Martin Odegaard needs someone behind him to do the dirty work, to run, be ready physically, to challenge, to win the ball and give him the ball,’ Gallas told BetVictor.

Arsenal signed Martin Zubimendi last summer (Picture: Getty)

‘Arsenal already have one player like this, and that’s Declan Rice. But I think they need another player like that in that position, and I don’t think Martin Zubimendi can do that.

‘Someone like Eduardo Camavinga at Real Madrid can do this job in midfield. He would be a good replacement and a great signing for Arsenal.’

While Zubimendi has suffered a dip in form, he may still end his first season at Arsenal by winning a Premier League and Champions League double.

Ex-Arsenal defender William Gallas (Picture: Getty)

The Gunners boast a two-point lead at the top of the table with two games remaining, the first against already-relegated Burnley on Monday night.

Arsenal then visit London rivals Crystal Palace on the final day before preparing for the Champions League final against holders PSG.

Even if Arsenal do become Premier League champions for the first time since 2004, Gallas cannot see his former club ‘dominating’ next season.

‘I don’t think Arsenal will dominate the Premier League or Champions League next season,’ he added.

‘PSG are able to dominate again because Ligue 1 is different to the Premier League, it’s not as physical or mentally demanding.

‘Arsenal haven’t dominated this season either, they let Manchester City back into the title race, and they lost to them twice in the league and in a cup final.

‘I think Mikel Arteta will stay for another season, regardless of what happens, and do is best to win possibly his second Premier League trophy next year.’

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