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Philadelphia Union defender Jakob Glesnes scored an own goal after a bizarre error from goalkeeper Andre Blake in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

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• Glesnes hits 40-yard own goal in San Jose
• Bouncing back-pass bamboozles keeper Blake
• Union fight back for big Champions Cup win

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  With the Champions Cup first leg against Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa scoreless heading towards the half hour mark, the Norwegian fired a 40-yard back-pass to keeper Andre Blake, only for the Jamaican international to bizarrely misjudge the flight of the ball, leaping in the air to meet the pass only for it to bounce tamely past him and into the net.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The bizarre own goal will go down against Glesnes' name in the record books but opinion was split on social media as to who to blame. While Blake copped a lot of the flak, some fans pointed out that playing such a long looping back-pass on a wet and windy night in the Costa Rican capital was running a risk.

  Whoever was to blame, Jim Curtin's side bounced back impressively with a second-half Julian Carranza hat-trick silencing a raucous crowd and giving Union a valuable advantage for the second leg.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR PHILADELPHIA UNION?

  Having fought their way gamely back into the tie, the Union will be hoping for no more gaffes when they host Deportivo Saprissa in the return match at Subaru Park next Wednesday evening.

  The winners will fave five-time winners Pachuca in the second round.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly set his transfer shortlist for the summer window, which will be his first as part-owner of Manchester United.

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• United exposed in Fulham defeat
• Ratcliffe to oversee first window in summer
• Three key positions targeted by INEOS chief

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Devils fell to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Saturday as Alex Iwobi silenced the Old Trafford crowd with his 97th minute winner. The result came just days after minority investor Ratcliffe made some bold claims about knocking Liverpool and Manchester City "off their perch". Since his 27 per cent purchase of the club was confirmed last week, Ratcliffe's first window to make the necessary changes will come in the summer, and reports where the INEOS chief plans to spend his money.

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  Ramus Hojlund was absent from Saturday's defeat through injury and was sorely missed, with Marcus Rashford struggling in a more central position. That deficiency has prompted Ratcliffe to target a new striker to support Hojlund and take some of the pressure off the Dane's shoulders.

  Elsewhere, the right side of defence is reportedly considered a key area. At right-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka is yet to sign an extension on a contract that has just one season remaining, with Diogo Dalot appreciated but often needed to cover on the left side. At right-centre-back, Raphael Varane looks set for a move to Saudi Arabia, and he, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire all see their contracts expire in 2025. Jonny Evans is not seen as a viable long-term option having been signed for cover this term.

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  A supporting striker, right-back and right-sided centre-back are therefore the priorities for Ratcliffe in the coming window, but notes that a midfielder may also be targeted. That move would depend on the fate of Casemiro, who like Varane has attracted attention from the Saudi Pro League.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?

  Tellingly, Ratcliffe's comments about the need to be "world class" never officially endorsed manager Ten Hag. After Saturday's result saw United slip to eight points off fourth, it remains to be seen whether he will be the man to oversee the potential influx of players during Ratcliffe's first transfer window. The likes of Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann have been linked with succeeding the Dutchman at the end of the season.

Reliable journalist Tim Spiers believes Ruben Neves could yet be torn over whether or not to leave Wolves this summer, after hearing his words on Sunday.

The Lowdown: Neves’ final game?

Wanderers were beaten 3-1 away to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, producing a good performance at Anfield on a dramatic final day of the Premier League season.

Neves started in the middle of the park, making his 33rd league appearance in an excellent campaign, in what may end up being his last-ever game for Wanderers.

The 25-year-old has been continually linked with a summer move to Barcelona and his head may have been turned by their interest, with reports even claiming it’s a move that’s ‘destined’ to happen, but Spiers has shared a possible late twist…

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The Latest: Twist in the tale?

Taking to Twitter after the Liverpool game, Spiers said that it could yet be an emotional issue for the player after hearing what he had to say:

“Neves says nothing decided but mentioned twice that careers are short and dreams need to be lived. ‘I don’t know how it’s going to be. If it was my last game it was really important.’ Clearly would be a wrench to leave. His affection for Wolves and the city is genuine.”

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The Verdict: More likely to leave

While it would be heartwarming to see Neves stay on at Molineux beyond this season, it still feels highly likely to he will find another club this summer, likely one that plays in red and blue in Catalonia.

At 25, he is coming into the absolute peak years of his career and he may simply feel that he has come as far as he can in a Wolves shirt, following five memorable years at the club.

If Neves does leave, he could be remembered as one of the best midfielders to ever play for the club, possessing such wonderful technique and also helping the club return to the Premier League.

In other news, Wolves are reportedly eyeing up a move for an exciting defender. Find out who it is here.

Wolves have joined West Midlands and Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the race to sign former Leicester City and current Rangers left-back Calvin Bassey this summer.

What’s the story?

That’s according to the Daily Record, who claim that as well as Villa, Fulham and Brentford are all keen on acquiring the 22-year-old this summer.

The Nigerian has been a revelation for Rangers since making the move to Ibrox in 2020, playing 65 times for the Glaswegian outfit, including last Wednesday night’s Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and Saturday’s Scottish Cup victory against Hearts.

Now it is believed that Wolves are amongst the frontrunners to sign the defender who may well cost around the £20m mark this summer according to Kenny Miller.

Wolves must sign Bassey

Having earned his stripes with Rangers after failing to make the breakthrough at Leicester, it appears as though Bassey is now ready to play in the Premier League.

The Nigerian never made a senior appearance for Leicester despite playing just shy of 100 games for the Foxes’ youth sides and City’s loss could be their Midlands rivals’ gain.

With Marcal confirmed to depart this summer upon the expiration of his contract, Bruno Lage will certainly be looking to add a left-back to his squad with Jonny currently his only senior option.

In the Europa League this season, Bassey has been a colossal contributor to his side’s run to the final which saw the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Braga and RB Leipzig toppled before a cruel defeat on penalties in the final.

Claimed to be “like van Dijk” as well as being “superb” by Jamie O’Hara on TalkSPORT, the left-back averaged 37.4 passes a match at an 83% accuracy whilst making 61.1 touches.

Defensively, the £6.4k-per-week earner also produced 1.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and 1.6 clearances as well as winning 60% of his duels.

As for Jonny in the Premier League, the Spaniard has averaged slightly fewer touches at 60.3 as well as fewer passes with 32.6 with an 83% accuracy too.

Defensively though, Bassey has recorded the more impressive statistics with the Wolves wing-back providing 0.8 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 0.4 clearances a match.

Lage will be keen to see his side improve on this season and push for a European spot with the West Midlands outfit’s poor run at the end of the season costing them a place in Europe for next season.

Therefore, adding a player of Bassey’s quality will certainly be a must this summer.

AND in other news: Great news: Huge Wolves transfer development emerges; supporters will be ecstatic

Manchester City duo Ko Itakura and Taylor Harwood-Bellis could both leave the club this summer, according to a report from Sky Sports. 

The lowdown: Eternal loanees

Both Ikatura and Harwood-Bellis have spent much of their careers out on loan away from the Etihad in recent times, including the majority of the 2021/22 campaign.

Japan international defender Ikatura signed for City in 2019 but has since had two spells at FC Groningen before joining FC Schalke 04 for the recent season.

Meanwhile, academy graduate Harwood-Bellis has spent time on loan at Blackburn Rovers and Anderlecht but finished the term at Championship outfit Stoke, having joined in January.

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As both are set to return to Manchester for pre-season, their longer-term futures could be in jeopardy.

The latest: Celtic interested

As per Sky Sports, Scottish Premiership champions Celtic are believed to be ‘monitoring’ Manchester City’s 25-year-old Ikatura and 20-year-old Harwood-Bellis.

Both central defenders are on the radar of the Glasgow giants as it’s believed Schalke are struggling to meet a £6million option to buy for the eight-cap Japan ace.

The report confirms at present ‘no contact’ has been made, however, Celtic may look to utilise a ‘good relationship’ with the club in an attempt to sign the City pair.

The verdict: Double departure possible

Allowing the permanent transfer of Ikatura seems the best move for all parties at this stage as the Japanese centre-back approaches three years at the club without so much of a sniff at first-team action under Pep Guardiola.

Signed for just £990,000 from J1-League side Kawasaki Frontale (Transfermarkt), the Citizens will make a profit on their expenditure and as such should be willing to sanction the sale.

The exit of Harwood-Bellis is a more complicated situation, as the starlet hailed for a ‘fantastic’ display against Oxford United in 2019 by Raheem Sterling clearly has a bright future and Guardiola may yet see a pathway to the senior side for the Stockport-born defender.

Perhaps a loan move to Celtic could be negotiated as the best option for the four-cap England Under 21 prospect.

In other news… a Sky Sports pundit has backed one of Man City’s first-team stars to put pen to paper on a new contract

Tottenham Hotspur, and by extension transfer chief Fabio Paratici, have opened talks to sign a ‘scary’ player for manager Antonio Conte, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye new defender…

As reliably reported, a central defender is high on Conte’s list of priorities this summer window with the two top targets appearing to be RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol and Inter Milan sensation Alessandro Bastoni (The Athletic).

The latter man in particular is heavily linked with a move to north London and the Premier League with much being made over whether he could be Tottenham’s next summer signing.

If Spurs can’t get their man, Paratici and co may have to turn to other options, with Sport now claiming there has been an interesting development involving Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Latest: Paratici opens talks?

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According to their information, Spurs and by extension their sporting director have ‘turned to’ the entourage of Serie A’s colossal centre-back to ‘start talks’.

Chelsea and Juventus have also made contact with Koulibaly’s representatives, but according to this report, the Senegal star favours a move to Barcelona.

The Verdict: Pull out?

The £183,000-per-week star, labelled ‘scary’ by Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti, certainly holds no shortage of quality.

As per WhoScored, Koulibaly averaged more clearances per 90 than any of his teammates in the Italian top flight over 2021/2022 whilst finishing the season as Napoli’s fourth-best performer in terms of average match rating.

Once valued at a whopping £130 million release clause, if his club wish to make any money, they may have to sell for considerably less this summer as Koulibaly enters the final year of his deal.

Taking all of this into account, a deal for the 30-year-old may actually be worth pursuing given Conte’s love for experienced and proven players.

In other news: Tottenham will now attempt eight-figure agreement to sign ‘incredible’ speedster…find out more here.

The summer transfer window officially opens on Friday and Ross Wilson will be hard at work to bring new players in at Rangers to improve Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad at Ibrox.

The manager will be looking to stamp his own mark on the squad in his second window in charge of the Ibrox giants and has already sanctioned one change to his roster.

The club recently confirmed the sale of Cedric Itten to Young Boys on a permanent deal – reported to be worth £1.5m – and his exit has left a hole for the Gers to fill in the coming months.

Itten was a liability for the Light Blues as he struggled badly for the majority of his time throughout the 2021/22 campaign.

He scored one goal in six Premiership outings for Rangers and failed to deal with the physicality of the league as he lost a whopping 74% of his individual duels. This shows that the striker was bullied by defenders he was unable to hold his own at the top end of the pitch and that is why van Bronckhorst was right to sanction his exit.

It is now down to Wilson to bring in a replacement for the Switzerland international and he can find one in the form of QPR centre-forward Lyndon Dykes.

The Gers were linked with a swoop for the striker in January and must now reignite their interest this summer for him to take Itten’s place in the squad.

Dykes, who joined QPR for £2m, has impressed for club and country in the last two seasons and can offer van Bronckhorst something different at the top end of the pitch.

Kemar Roofe won 0.5 aerial battles per game in the Premiership and Alfredo Morelos did not fare much better with 1.8 per match. Whereas, the Scotland international won 4.8 per game in his first campaign with the London-based club and 4.0 in the season just gone.

Former Celtic striker Darren Jackson once hailed him as “mobile” and his goalscoring record for QPR and Scotland shows that the bulldozer is about more than just winning headers.

Since the start of the 2020/21 season, he has found the back of the net 20 times in the Championship and scored four goals in seven starts for his country in the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Dykes can, therefore, offer a goalscoring threat as well as being a focal point with his ability to win his duels in the air and can be an excellent replacement for Itten, challenging Morelos and Roofe for a starting spot.

AND in other news, Wilson plotting Rangers swoop for “consistent” £5m enforcer, GVB would love him…

Newcastle hope to take ‘decisive’ steps this week in their pursuit of Reims striker Hugo Ekitike, according to two experienced journalists. 

The lowdown

Newcastle have already agreed a deal with Reims, worth an initial €30million (£25.8million), to sign Ekitike.

The move was at a similar stage late in the January transfer window before Ekitike opted to wait until the summer and decide his future then.

The Frenchman is only 19 years old and so will be viewed as a long-term signing, but also someone who can compete with Callum Wilson for a starting spot this season.

The latest

Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano tweeted on Monday evening that ‘Newcastle now hope to get the deal done this week’.

They’ve initiated ‘new contact with his agent’ and ‘all parties [are] now confident’ that the completion of the move is imminent.

Meanwhile, Rudy Galetti shares an update from ‘sources close to NUFC’, who believe ‘this week could be decisive for the final move for Ekitike’.

The verdict

Newcastle can be excited if they get this signing over the line.

Ekitike scored ten Ligue 1 goals in 23 appearances as a teenager last season, averaging one every 123 minutes.

Only two players under the age of 20 in Europe’s top five leagues – Arnaud Kalimuendo of Lens and Bukayo Saka of Arsenal – found the net more often in 2021/22.

Journalist Lee Davey, who has often covered the French top-flight, has billed Ekitike as ‘a hell of a player’ and reckons he ‘could be one of the signings of the summer’.

In other news, Newcastle and Dan Ashworth are hoping to close this deal.

Aberdeen are now demanding Liverpool pay £10million for the services of right-back Calvin Ramsay, as the transfer saga continues to rumble on.

The Lowdown: Deal close?

The 18-year-old has emerged as one of the Reds’ main summer transfer targets alongside Darwin Nunez, with the defender arguably one of the most exciting young players in the Scottish Premiership.

Ramsay, known as a ‘massive’ prospect, has already got nine assists to his name in an Aberdeen shirt, catching the eye with his Trent Alexander-Arnold-esque quality down the right flank.

After previous reports had suggested a deal for the young Scot to follow Nunez to Merseyside was as good as done, Sky Sports have now revealed a late twist as the Dons up their demands.

The Latest: Twist in the tale

According to Sky Sports pair Anthony Joseph and Vinny O’Connor, the Scottish side now want £10million for one of their most prized assets signature.

They want £5million as an upfront amount and then will demand the same amount in add-ons as part of the deal.

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The Verdict:  Worth the money?

While £10million is a large amount for an 18-year-old, Liverpool clearly see him as a great understudy to Alexander-Arnold, so perhaps it’s time they simply stump up the cash.

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The hope is that the Reds can work their usual transfer magic and knock the asking price down a little, but if the add-ons that take the deal to £10m are met then that presumably means the player has been a big hit anyway.

Ramsay is someone who has been described as ‘elite’ prospect by Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack, and he would be a long-term investment with huge potential and possibly even sell-on value down the line too.

In other news, a fresh Liverpool transfer rumour has emerged. Read more here.

Manchester City ended their latest Premier League campaign with the joint-best defensive record in the division.

In their 38 league games, the Citizens conceded 26 goals in total, the same number as Liverpool in second place.

As well as helping Pep Guardiola’s side secure this impressive feat, a number of City’s defenders also made themselves useful attacking figures as well.

Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte racked up a combined total of seven goals and nine assists between them in the league last season.

Now that the summer transfer window has opened for business, it seems as though the Manchester club have been linked with another defender who has proven to be a useful attacking threat as well.

Earlier this month, the Premier League champions were linked with a move to sign Hoffenheim left-back David Raum.

After scoring six goals and providing 23 assists in 99 senior appearances for Greuther Furth, the full-back joined Hoffenheim last summer.

Throughout his debut season there, the 24-year-old, who has been described as a player that has a “great engine” by Jan Aage Fjortoft found the net three times and delivered 13 assists in 32 Bundesliga appearances.

To further highlight how impressive he was in an attacking sense, no other player at his current club made as many crosses (182), successful dribbles (31) or shot-creating actions (128) as the £18m-rated full-back did.
His overall performances earned him a solid season rating of 7.11/10, making him the highest-rated player at Hoffenheim according to WhoScored.
According to FBref, one recognisable name that has been included on a list of similar players to Raum is Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Given how he has scored 12 goals and provided 62 assists in 225 senior appearances for the Merseyside club, the opportunity to land their own version of the England international in the shape of Raum could be an exciting prospect for City and Guardiola going forward.
However, given how important he has been for his new club, it would be safe to assume that they would be reluctant to let him leave this summer.
This is where City’s track record of splashing out significant sums of money, particularly on defenders, in the past, could come in handy on this occasion.

In other news: Man City eyeing swoop for “unbelievable” £31.5m-rated “animal”, Pep would love him