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ERLING HAALAND has decided that Real Madrid is his preferred destination, according to reports in Spain.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi could be offered a Barcelona contract that would see him continue to be paid by the club for the rest of his life.
And David Luiz has undergone successful knee surgery, Arsenal have confirmed.
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Stay up to date with all the latest football news in our rolling blog…
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PEP IN DORTMUND DIG
Pep Guardiola has taken a swipe at Champions League rivals Dortmund over the amount they pay agents.
The Bundesliga giants visit Manchester City in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, with striker Erling Haaland set to start.
The Germans paid RB Salzburg £18.5million when they signed Haaland in December 2019 — but also shelled out £13m to agent Mino Raiola.
Former Bayern Munich boss Pep said: “If one person knows in this city about Borussia Dortmund, it is me.
“I will not find one single player at Borussia Dortmund without quality.
“They spent a lot of money on young, young players and also pay a lot of money to the agents to bring these players there because they have an incredible quality.”
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JADON’S CITY REUNION IN DOUBT
Borussia Dortmund are sweating over the fitness of Jadon Sancho ahead of the Champions League quarter-final with Manchester City.
The winger, 21, has missed the last four Bundesliga games as well as England’s World Cup qualifiers due to a muscle injury.
Jadon Sancho is a big doubt for this month’s tie with Manchester City Time is running out for a return to action with the first leg at the Etihad on Tuesday.
Sancho is yet to face his old club having left for Germany in 2017.
And his chances of making the reunion are in major doubt after he was unable to train on Sunday.
According to Dortmund daily Ruhr Nachrichten, the player is also likely to miss the return game on April 14.
Borussia interim boss Edin Terzic had raised fans’ hopes that Sancho would be available when discussing his recovery last week.
He said: “With Jadon, we hope that the situation with him will change in the next seven to ten days.”
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GUNNERS ‘MIGHT NEED TO SELL SAKA’
Bukayo Saka might have to be sold to fund an Arsenal spree this summer.
That’s the claim from some reports tonight, with the England wideman valued at around £100 million.
Versatile Saka, 19, has been a standout performer this season and is rated one of the players that boss Mikel Arteta most wants to keep.
But football.london suggest Arteta might face some harsh decisions if he really hopes to spend a huge shark-up in the next transfer window.
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BAILLY OUT WITH COVID-19
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tonight revealed Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly will be out “a little while” after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Ivory Coast star, 26, is said to be still out of the country due to contracting the coronavirus.
Bailly was already struggling to break up Harry Maguire’s defensive partnership with Victor Lindelof, having been troubled with injuries this season.
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OLE: FIREWORKS HAVE TO BE LIT IN 2ND HALF
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted United struggled for “rhythm” after the international break in their 2-1 comeback win over Brighton and claimed: “Maybe the fireworks have to be lit at half-time.”
Solskjaer is also sweating on a possible injury for his England forward Rashford, who went off late on and headed straight down the tunnel.
The Norwegian told the BBC: “I thought we started well but when they scored, after that we couldn’t find our rhythm again.
“Second half we played some good stuff. More runs in behind, more movement, better movement.
“Sometimes after international breaks it takes time – and then maybe the fireworks have to be lit at half-time.
“Mason Greenwood needs to add those goals to his tally because we know how wonderful a talent he is.”
And of Rashford, Solskjaer added: “You just hope he can recover from it. He had to come off, but he’s a tough one.”
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RASHFORD STRAIGHT DOWN TUNNEL
Marcus Rashford appeared to limp down the tunnel after he was subbed off against Brighton.
The striker had not played since March 18 and was left out of the England squad having missed the previous three games for Manchester United.
He was deemed fit enough to play against Brighton and even bagged an equaliser – providing a neat finish into the far corner after being put through by Bruno Fernandes.
But less than ten minutes after that goal Rashford was heading down the tunnel.
He appeared to be grimacing, although it is not yet clear if he has picked up another injury or was just taken off as a precaution.
United had fallen a goal behind after former academy graduate Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for Brighon.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side struggled to get in the first half but were better after the break.
It was substitute Mason Greenwood who finally set United on their way to three points.
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FT: MAN UTD 2 BRIGHTON 1
United moved four points clear in second place after Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood overturned Danny Welbeck’s early opener.
For all the reaction click on our match blog HERE.
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CATS CAN GET THE CREAM
Black Cats owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is itching to spend if they go up, REPORTS ALAN NIXON.
Contacts close to Louis-Dreyfus in France reveal that he has earmarked £60million for new faces for Sunderland.
But that cash will NOT be spent all at once.
The 23-year-old vowed to rebuild Sunderland earlier this year after slamming his predecessors for “asset-stripping” the League One club.
Heir to an estimated £4billion fortune, the new Black Cats owner acquired a majority stake from Stewart Donald back in February.
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THE BUK STOPS WITH SIX GUNNERS
Only six Arsenal players will be safe from Mikel Arteta’s summer purge, reports say.
Arteta’s desire for a huge shake-up was underlined by Saturday’s 3-0 home loss to Liverpool
The Daily Star claims the safe six are: England wideman Bukayo Saka, 19, left-back Kieran Tierney, Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard, Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli, plus 2020…
Read more at this link (News Source).
