What the papers say

Brentford would be willing to let England striker Ivan Toney leave the club if their £60million valuation is met, the Sunday Mirror reports.

The same paper also states that Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham are monitoring Paris St Germain winger Ousmane Dembele, despite the France international moving from Barcelona to Ligue 1 in the summer.

The Sunday Express reports that Delle Alli is still attracting significant interest, with Everton attempting to renegotiate terms for the 27-year-old former England midfielder’s transfer from Tottenham.

Social media round-up

Lionel Messi has hinted where his next destination lies after Inter Miami

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT)

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Fabrizio Romano has claimed on that Arsenal are confident of signing Ben White from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer transfer window. The well-known and well-respected journalist has reported that the Gunners are working on a deal with Premier League rivals Brighton to complete a move for the 23-year-old defender.

Romano, who works for SkySport and The Guardian, has reported that White, who can also play as a right-back or as a midfielder, has already agreed personal terms with Arsenal. The former Leeds United loanee is part of the England team at the ongoing European Championship.

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1412806124278063107

White did well during his loan spell at Leeds from Brighton in the 2019-20 season. The English youngster helped th…

Mikel Arteta believes Basque food is the secret behind the success of a string of managers from the region.

The Arsenal manager is one of a number of coaches born in the area of northern Spain to make a name for himself on the touchline.

He will come up against another on Saturday in the shape of Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, a former childhood team-mate of Arteta.

Aston Villa’s Unai Emery was also born in the Basque Country – as were Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso and former Wolves, Spain and Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui.

Now Arteta has discussed why he feels such a small area is responsible for creating such success.

“The food! We have the best food in the world. The best restaurants by square metre, the most beautiful city,” …

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 7/10 @

Knowing that they can secure a European finish on Friday night, Roma will make the trip to the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Friday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Torino might have only just held onto their Serie A status last season, the Bulls have really shown a host of improvements this time around. Gaining plenty of plaudits from across Italy throughout the 2021/22 campaign, Head Coach Ivan Jurić knows that his side are sat in pole position to clinch a top-half finish. Last seen over the weekend when putting in another gritty display as they picked up a 1-0 win away at Verona, the Granata have lost just one of their last eight matchups, a run that stems all the way back to March 18th. However, despite manag…

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is well past his best, according to former France head coach Raymond Domenech.

Messi, who is hoping to lead Barca to a famous comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, is nothing like the player he was at his peak in the eyes of Domenech.

The Argentina international and his team-mates face a massive task on Wednesday, with PSG 4-0 up ahead of the return match at Camp Nou.

And Domenech, an ex-PSG player, feels the job is beyond Messi s men, particularly with Barca s talisman now apparently a fading force.

It is a collective sport and one player is not capable of winning a match on his own, Domenech wrote in L Equipe.

The image that remains from the first leg is Pres…

Sean Dyche has targeted an upset against Chelsea to kick-start Burnley s first season back in the Premier League.

The newly promoted Turf Moor outfit must wait until Monday to get their top-flight campaign under way and will be hoping to perform better than 2009-10, when they were relegated back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Manager Dyche, whose side are among the favourites to go down, insists every fixture this season will be tough, but is looking forward to playing host to Jose Mourinho s Chelsea.

It s a double-edged sword really, I mean which teams do you get in the Premier League where you think that’s going to be an easy one? he said.

I don t think there is such a thing and we ve got to play them all at some point, the player…

Mesut Ozil believes Sergio Ramos record of scoring key goals for Real Madrid makes him one of the best central defenders in history.

Ramos will lead Madrid out against Juventus in the Champions League final on Saturday, having netted in their 2014 and 2016 triumphs.

Ozil, who played alongside the Spain international at Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013, believes the Madrid man s attitude makes him the player he is.

[Important goals are] what characterises him, Ozil told Arsenal Player. He s not one of the best central defenders in the world, or in the history of football, for no reason.

He just wants to be successful and you see on the pitch that he never gives up, right until the last second where some players might say: Oh, it s over.

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Ivory Coast have named Michel Dussuyer as their new head coach on a two-year deal.

The Africa Cup of Nations champions have been on the hunt for a new boss since May after Herve Renard departed to take over at Ligue 1 side Lille.

Dussuyer was named as part of a five-man shortlist that was whittled down from 59 last month, and he has penned a contract until 2017 with the option for a further two years.

The Frenchman is no stranger to African football having had three separate spells as Guinea coach, while also taking charge of Benin between 2008 and 2010.

He has also previously served for Ivory Coast, as an assistant coach to Henri Michel.

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Coach Roger Scmidt says reaching the UEFA Champions League last eight would be a dream for Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen are dreaming of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals according to Roger Schmidt, after their 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid.

The Bundesliga outfit have not been past the last 16 of Europe s elite club competition since reaching the final in 2001-02, but moved a step closer on Wednesday.

Hakan Calhanoglu s second-half goal separated the two sides at the BayArena, while goalkeeper Bernd Leno kept Atletico at bay on their few attacks.

Victory leaves Schmidt s side needing to avoid defeat in Spain to book their place in the next round.

You could tell how much we looked forward to playing Champions League today, said Schmidt.…

Market: CRB win

Odds: 2/3 @

In what is a must-win showdown at the foot of the Serie B standings, CRB will welcome Brusque to the Rei Pele in the early hours of Tuesday.

Starting with the hosts, managing to make a crucial return to winning ways last week as they snatched a 1-0 victory at home against Guarani, CRB will be desperate to use that performance as a platform to build on. Still at the heart of a relegation scrap and struggling to find any real stability since opening up the 2024 campaign, the Alagoas-based outfit will be looking to collect consecutive Serie B wins for the first time since way back in September. However, pencilled in as a standout contender in the early hours of Tuesday, Daniel Paulista’s men will take plenty of solace from their contin…