Chelsea are set to try and ship out a host of different fringe players over the coming two months, as BlueCo look to trim their wage bill and keep in line with PSR regulations by raising funds.

Enzo Maresca’s side have done excellently to navigate their way around financial roadblocks to strengthen the squad consistently, ever since Clearlake Capital’s takeover of the club three years ago.

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However, if they’re not successful in offloading certain squad members, this task will be made all the more difficult.

Cole Palmer

7.33

Moises Caicedo

7.02

Enzo Fernández

6.95

Nicolas Jackson

6.88

Noni Madueke

6.82

via WhoScored

Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell, who are on a combined salary of around £525,000-per-week, are back at Cobham after their 2024/2025 loan spells at Arsenal and Crystal Palace respectively.

Chelsea will want to find new homes for the England international duo sooner rather than later, and they could be joined by Lesley Ugochukwu, João Félix, David Datro Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka, Armando Broja and Axel Disasi, who are all thought to be on the club’s ‘for sale’ list (The Athletic).

Chelsea could even sell Noni Madueke this summer, despite the Englishman being called one of Maresca’s “best players”, while striker Nicolas Jackson’s future is also up in the air.

There is also the curious case of Renato Veiga, who left Chelsea for Juventus on a loan deal midway through the season, mainly due to his determination to play as a centre-back rather than a full-back in Maresca’s system.

“I had a chat with Renato. I told him playing in the position he’s playing with us, it’s given him the chance to join the national team and created speculation around him, which only happens when you’re playing well,” said Maresca on Veiga’s dissatisfaction in the full-back role earlier this season.

“If there is a player that wants to play in just one position, they are going to struggle. They have to learn to play in different positions because it’s a good thing for the player and the club.”

Renato Veiga "surprised" by Chelsea decision with sale possible

As per journalist Graeme Bailey, after returning from his loan spell at Juve, Veiga was left “very surprised” by Chelsea’s decision to omit him from the Club World Cup squad.

What’s more, it hasn’t been ruled out that the defender could be one of a five-man defensive exodus before deadline day – with Veiga, Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin, Benoit Badiashile and Disasi all on the chopping block.

“It’s a fascinating situation with Veiga, he was very surprised he wasn’t included in the Club World Cup squad,” said Bailey.

“There were indications from Chelsea that he would get a chance in a left-sided centre-back role — but Chelsea have so many centre-backs it’s staggering, and they still want more.

“It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Chalobah, Tosin, Badiashile, Disasi and Veiga could all be sold.

“People keep asking why Chelsea can spend so much money, well, there’s five reasons why PSR isn’t a concern.

“But Veiga had a really good time at Juventus, playing at centre-back. And that’s why he left Chelsea on loan in the first place, he didn’t want to be a left-back, even if he was quite good at it.

“Chelsea were happy with him on the left but he turned up at Stamford Bridge wanting to be a centre-back. Now he’s gone to Juventus, played well, and he thought he’d done enough to warrant a spot at the Club World Cup to prove himself as a centre-back.”

Leeds United are now believed to be right in the mix to complete the signing of an exciting young Premier League player in the summer transfer window.

Who are Leeds trying to sign this summer?

Nikola Krstovic has emerged as a rumoured transfer target for the Whites this summer, with the returning Premier League outfit even reportedly tabling a £29m offer for his services. The Lecce attacker scored 11 goals in 37 Serie A appearances last season, and could add much-needed firepower to Daniel Farke’s squad.

Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz has also been linked with a move to Leeds before next season gets underway, with the Turin giants willing to move him on, despite his quality. He could be a signing of real intent by the Whites, having shone for Aston Villa previously.

Meanwhile, Joe Gomez has been backed to join Leeds if he wants to leave Liverpool this summer, but unfortunately, he has seemingly committed his future to the Reds on Instagram: “It’s been a blessing to be a part of the different dressing rooms and getting to create such special memories over the years with so many great players & staff.

“I felt it was important to share my thanks to you all for the support throughout the years, it’s always meant the world and I will never take it for granted. A decade in red… and still hungry to keep going.”

Leeds pushing to sign "incredible" Premier League ace

According to a fresh update from Marca [via Sport Witness], Leeds are battling Feyenoord for the signing of Wolves left-back Hugo Bueno this summer. The 22-year-old spent last season loan at the Eredivisie side, and they are now keen on turning his temporary move into a permanent switch.

Bueno could be exactly the type of shrewd squad signing that Leeds are after this summer, coming in and providing squad depth, having proven himself as a solid squad player in the Premier League.

The Spaniard has made 43 appearances in England’s top flight, while former Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs has lauded his impact from a very young age at Molineux.

“Since joining us as a 16-year-old number 10, the work that Hugo and the coaches have put into changing his position, and the acceptance he had of doing that, shows what a good pro he is. To be able to get his head around a new position and develop at the rate he has was incredible.

“Hugo’s one of the huge success stories of the club. Bringing him in from a grassroots team in Spain when he was just 16, and he’s now 21, playing in the Premier League and being a regular Premier League player, it’s testament to everyone involved.”

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Bueno could provide stiff competition for Sam Byram at left-back next season, and given his age, there is no reason why he won’t blossom more as a player as the years pass.

New Rangers manager Russell Martin is willing to sell a “brilliant” player in the summer transfer window, according to a new transfer update.

Martin eyeing first signings as Rangers boss

The Martin era at Ibrox is officially underway, with the former Southampton boss hoping to bring plenty of success back to the club, having had to watch rivals Celtic dominate the Scottish Premiership over the past decade or so.

The 39-year-old is clearly extremely excited to get started, admitting as much soon after his confirmation as Rangers’ next manager: “It’s an incredible feeling. I’m really grateful to the board, to Patrick (Stewart), to Kevin (Thelwell), for their faith in me. It’s been a tough and rigorous process and it’s taken some time, but that’s what you expect when you want to be manager of a club of this stature, size and expectation. I’m desperate to get started and I’m excited about what’s to come.”

It’s now a case of Martin being backed in the transfer market, with the Englishman signing players who he sees as ideal for him, and Southampton midfielder Flynn Downes could reportedly be his first addition. He knows the player well from his spell in charge of Saints, and he could add quality in possession, having completed 90.8% of his passes in the Premier League in 2024/25.

That said, some current Gers players could depart before next season gets underway, and a key update has dropped regarding one individual.

Martin could sell McCauslandAccording toThe Daily Record,Ross McCausland's Rangers future is up in the airbecause Martin is considering listening to offers for him.It is stated that Championship side Cardiff City are the latest club to show an interest in signing him this summer, with the 22-year-old preferring to stay put at Ibrox.

It’s ruthless from Martin, should he dispatch of McCausland in the summer window, considering the Northern Irishman is a talented young player who has been lauded by Lee McCulloch in the past.

“McCausland was absolutely brilliant. Bubbly, has pace, technical first touch. Tremendous. Playing in this cauldron, given the magnitude of this game, he looked full of confidence. I think the fans really took to him. He really gave the stadium a lift.”

However, McCausland was limited to only four starts in the Scottish Premiership last season, suggesting he isn’t seen as a key man moving forward, so the club do have a big decision to make this summer.

The new Lundstram: Martin wants to make £18m star his first Rangers signing

As Russell Martin starts his overhaul of Rangers’ squad, could he sign a “class” midfielder in a deal reminiscent of John Lundstram’s move to Ibrox?

By
Ben Gray

Jun 8, 2025

He only has two years remaining on his current deal, so time is running out before his price tag starts to drop, and if Martin feels like he is an expendable figure, moving him on now makes the most sense.

Now that Rangers have a manager in place, their transfer window activity can begin in earnest.

Last week, Russell Martin was unveiled as the 20th permanent manager in Rangers’ 153-year history, but he faces a big task to guide the Gers through Champions League qualifying this summer and then, ultimately, aiming to topple their rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

That will all be a tough task, but could Martin land his dream midfield signing early into his tenure in Glasgow?

Rangers' chasing midfield reinforcements

While recruitment as far as new players are concerned hasn’t been Kevin Thelwell’s first priority since heading to Rangers, attention can now finally turn to who could improve the squad at Ibrox.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Well, according to a report by Alan Nixon of the Scottish Sun, Martin would like Rangers to sign midfielder Flynn Downes this summer.

The 26-year-old played for Martin at Swansea and Southampton, initially on loan when the Saints gained promotion from the EFL Championship last year, before he made his move from West Ham to the South Coast permanent a year ago for a reported £18m fee.

That sky-high price tag could prove to be a severe stumbling block, considering Rangers’ record signing of all time is the £12m paid to sign Tore André Flo in 2000, while the highest fee they’ve paid in the modern era is £7.5m for Ryan Kent in 2019.

Nevertheless, after Southampton were instantaneously relegated from the Premier League after just one season back in the top-flight, there could potentially be a fire-sale at St Mary’s, with Downes possibly amongst those sacrificed.

So, could he be reunited with his former manager north of the border?

How Downes compares to Lundstram

Signing English players from down south is certainly not a new strategy for Rangers, with John Lundstram certainly one of the more successful of their imports of the modern era.

After failing to make a senior appearance for Everton, the midfielder, fair to say, was a bit of a journeyman, playing for Doncaster Rovers, Yeovil Town, Leyton Orient across two spells, Blackpool, Scunthorpe United and Oxford United.

He belatedly burst onto the scene at Sheffield United, making 62 Premier League appearances for the Blades, a key figure as Chris Wilder’s team finished ninth in 2019/20 as a newly-promoted club.

Nevertheless, it was only once he got to Glasgow that Lundstram truly found a home.

In total, the midfielder featured over 150 times for Rangers, scoring 11 goals, including the late winner against RB Leipzig that booked the club’s place in the Europa League Final, winning the Scottish Cup and League Cup, starting all three finals.

He ultimately departed for Trabzonspor on a Bosman last summer but, should Downes arrive, Rangers supporters would be hoping he could have a similar impact to that of his compatriot.

Host Dan Woffenden describes Downes as “class”, while Roshane Thomas of the Athletic labels him an excellent passer, also documenting how he ‘thrived under manager Russell Martin’ when the pair were together at Swansea.

Meantime, Chris Beaumont of Total Football Analysis praises the midfielder’s ‘fantastic engine’ and ‘physical presence’, asserting that he is one of the ‘hottest midfield prospects’ in English football.

So, let’s assess his statistics in the EFL Championship from the 2023/24 campaign.

Minutes

2,550

163rd

Completed passes

2,019

29th

Pass completion %

93%

3rd

Short passes completed

1,152

12th

Touches

2,419

50th

It is worth mentioning that statistics from Downes’ season in the second-tier were used due to how generally hopeless Southampton were in the Premier League this season, thereby providing a data set that is uninformative.

Also worth noting that, according to Global Football Ranking, the Championship is the 11th strongest league in the world, compared to the Scottish Premiership down in 43rd, thereby offering a slightly more comparable level.

Thus, what the numbers do underline is that Downes is a high-quality passer, ranked third for pass completion percentage, while more than half of these passes were short, between five and 15 yards.

So, in Martin’s system that prioritises possession, he could be exactly the midfielder Rangers require, potentially having an equally enormous impact at Ibrox to that of Lundstram.

Martin could land dream 1st Rangers signing who's "very similar" to Raskin

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Vice-captain calls on England to “throw first punch” in must-win games against Oman and Namibia

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-20241:12

Buttler: Bowling Jacks in powerplay a ‘gut call’

Moeen Ali has called on England to “throw the first punch” and be “ruthless” in their remaining two Group B games as the defending champions aim to keep their T20 World Cup 2024 hopes alive.Saturday’s heavy defeat to Australia left England fourth in Group B, with all sides having played twice, and potentially in a battle to qualify for the Super 8s on net run rate. Having taken just a point from their washed-out opener against Scotland, victories by significant margins over Oman and Namibia may be required if Jos Buttler’s side are to avoid a second ignominious World Cup exit in eight months.Scotland play Oman on Sunday knowing that victory will put them on five points, which is the maximum England can achieve. They will then have the advantage of playing Australia after England complete their group fixtures, thereby knowing exactly what sort of result would be required to put them through.Speaking after a chastening afternoon at Kensington Oval, Moeen said England needed to avoid dwelling on results so far and get back on the front foot – albeit a similar mantra failed to produce a turnaround in India during last year’s failed ODI World Cup defence.”Net run rate is huge and there’s been quite a few tournaments when I’ve missed out on net run rate, so it’s huge,” Moeen said. “If we get the chance in those next two games we’re going to have to win by quite big margins.”We’ve got the team to do that. I know in this World Cup big teams are losing but we’ve got to go into these two games and almost throw the first punch and just keep going from there.Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali must try to turn England’s World Cup around•ICC via Getty Images”When you lose a game, especially [against] Australia, the camp is never positive. But you can’t get too down and go into our shells and say ‘What if this happens?’ We’ve just to be really ruthless in those two games playing our best cricket otherwise we’re going home.”Buttler has been unwilling to talk about the ODI World Cup, where England lost six of their first seven games to crash out in the round-robin stage, during the build-up to the T20 version, but faces would could be a make-or-break week for his captaincy.Moeen, Buttler’s deputy, preferred to draw on the team’s experience at the previous T20 World Cup, in 2022, when England suffered a shock defeat to Ireland during the Super 12s, followed by an abandonment against the hosts, Australia, before winning four games in a row to lift the trophy.”India was different because it’s a different format, you have to play proper cricket, closer to Test matches and your technique is exposed and all that. I think this situation it’s more like when we lost to Ireland in Melbourne and we had to win every game and run rate was important as well then so we can take experience from that.”I think we’re better at T20s, I just think today Australia were better than us. Even in the last World Cup when we won it, we had to win every game so we’re kind of used to this with our backs against the wall. My own personal thing is I don’t care about the 50-over World Cup, that’s done but I think in this World Cup we ca do a lot better.”The first game being rained off is unfortunate and then losing today is not great so we’re going to have to win those next two games.”It’s about being calm and not letting the outside noise or whatever it is affect us. We need to be more aggressive without being reckless, not overthink things and take those two teams down.”

Liverpool defied expectations when winning the Premier League last season, but now that they have been crowned champions and are strengthening in the summer transfer market, the wider lens on Arne Slot’s project will be heightened.

To put it another way, Liverpool have returned to the top of English football but must now prove they can defend their title while challenging for the bigger prizes across other fronts.

Mohamed Salah will no doubt have his eyes on the Champions League, while defeat to Newcastle United in March’s Carabao Cup final will fuel the desire to conquer one of England’s domestic tournaments, for sure.

With Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz already bagged and more yet to come, there are so many reasons to be excited for Liverpool fans right now, even if a number of first-teamers potentially face exits before the 2025/26 season arrives.

Most notably, Ibrahima Konate has rejected Liverpool’s latest contract offer, while Luis Diaz, 28, continues to be at the centre of exit rumours. If the Colombian winger is sold, sporting director Richard Hughes has worked with Slot to determine that Anthony Gordon is the perfect replacement.

Why Liverpool could sign Anthony Gordon

It almost feels like Gordon is fated to play in a Liverpool shirt at some stage of his career. Last summer, the Reds were interested in completing a deal, but for Newcastle’s success in avoiding financial breaches through less damaging means.

Liverpool are well stocked on the left flank, but if Diaz is sold – Bayern Munich are the latest club to express an interest in the 28-year-old – a move could be revisited for the man who left the Anfield academy when he was just 11 years old.

Recent reports suggest Liverpool would need to cough up around £75m for the Three Lions star, but, aged 24, this could be a worthwhile investment for a tenacious and electric forward.

Such a move, as stated, hinges on Diaz leaving, and the same could be said at number nine, for Darwin Nunez has failed to bring it together under Slot’s wing and is heading for the door.

Alas, Nunez is set to leave. Napoli are set for crunch talks with Liverpool over the Uruguayan striker, paving the way for a superstar to head down the opposite direction.

Liverpool launch bid for striker

According to French journalist Sebastien Vidal, Liverpool have launched an official bid Napoli’s way for Victor Osimhen, who is back from a season-long loan with Galatasaray and expected to leave the club this summer.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Expand Collapse

Despite Osimhen being one of the best strikers in the world, he fell out with the Serie A side, and there is no route back. The Italian champions, despite their stance, are unwilling to budge on their £64m valuation.

Well, in that case, Liverpool have offered Nunez and Federico Chiesa, both of whom are coveted by the Neapolitans, as makeweights, additionally putting £17m into the package.

Manchester United, Gala and Saudi Arabian clubs also linger in the race.

Why Liverpool should sign Victor Osimhen

We all know that FSG’s dream target is Alexander Isak, who was actually declared “the best striker in the world” last season by analyst Raj Chohan, but the Sweden star is understood to have been valued at £200m, an extortionate fee.

Osimhen, 26, would be a fantastic alternative, having proven himself across a number of years as being one of the most prolific marksmen on the continent and a trophy winner besides.

For sure, he probably didn’t envisage a season in the Turkish Super Lig this time 12 months ago, but the Nigeria international made the most of his season, scoring 37 goals across 41 outings, winning the league title and maintaining comparative prolificness across the span of his career.

Praised for his “world-class” finishing ability by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley, Osimhen would certainly prove an upgrade on Nunez, and indeed could be the perfect Isak alternative, for he is athletic and mobile too.

Victor Osimhen – Career Stats by Club

Club

Apps

Goals

Assists

Napoli

133

76

18

Galatasaray

41

37

8

Lille

38

18

6

Charleroi

36

20

4

Wolfsburg

16

0

0

Stats via Transfermarkt

Of course, Osimhen no doubt misses that almost telepathic connection with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at Napoli, the Georgian winger leaving Italy to sign for Paris Saint-Germain for £59m in January, but he could find a dance partner of a similar style in Gordon.

The pacy winger called himself a “nightmare for anyone” he comes up against last summer on England duty, having also averaged 1.1 dribbles and 4.4 successful duels per Premier League match last term, as per Sofascore.

With six goals and five assists to his name across the recent league term, there’s no question Gordon regressed after his incredible 2023/24 campaign, notching 26 top-flight goal contributions and earning Newcastle’s Player of the Year award.

One year ago, Dieter Hamann even went as far as to claim that Gordon would be the better pick for the Reds than Kvaratskhelia, directing praise toward the Englishman’s tried-and-tested record in England’s top flight; many talented players have struggled to adapt to the pace and physicality of the British game before.

He said, “It’s very hard to pick between Gordon and Kvaratskhelia. I don’t think there’s an awful lot between the players.”

Osimhen built quite the reputation with the silky winger, and we might be having a different conversation had Liverpool furthered their interest in the Georgian back in January, before he moved to Paris.

Alas, that door has closed. But no matter. If a dynamic and powerful centre-forward in Osimhen can be paired with a rising star in Gordon, Slot may well have the dream strikeforce to lead Liverpool to glory for many years to come.

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