Tottenham Hotspur and technical director Johan Lange by extension are ready to green-light an exit for a "key" £60 million player this summer.

Players who could be sold or loaned out by Spurs

A succession of players have already departed N17, either on loan or temporarily, as Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou attempts to rebuild the squad ahead of the Australian's second full season in charge.

Tottenham in constant talks with 149-goal striker who'll cost Levy £20m

He’s been in fine form for years.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Jul 19, 2024

Ryan Sessegnon, Japhet Tanganga, Eric Dier and Ivan Perisic were first out the door at Tottenham, following the expiry of their contracts at N17, with Spurs also electing to terminate Tanguy Ndombele's contract one year before it was due to expire.

The former club-record signing has since joined OGC Nice in Ligue 1, and Wales international defender Joe Rodon soon followed Ndombele. The centre-back put pen to paper on a £10 million move to Leeds, as English sensation Archie Gray moved in the opposite direction for around £40 million.

Son Heung-min

7.30

James Maddison

7.17

Pedro Porro

7.05

Cristian Romero

7.04

Dejan Kulusevski

7.03

Ratings via WhoScored

A few more players could be set to join the aforementioned players in seeking pastures new. Indeed, uncertainty currently surrounds the likes of Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil, with both men scarcely getting a chance under Postecoglou last season.

Meanwhile, both Milan and Borussia Dortmund have been chasing a deal for Emerson Royal, who was forced to play second-fiddle to Pedro Porro for the majority of 2023/24 – or fill in for injured first-teamers in makeshift roles.

There is also the matter of striker Richarlison. The Brazilian, who's reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Arabia and PIF, actually finished last campaign as Tottenham's second-highest goalscorer in all competitions.

He chalked up 12 goals and registered another four assists, largely due to an impressive mid-season purple patch, but Tottenham remain in the market for a prolific new striker to replace Harry Kane regardless. The Lilywhites' rumoured hunt for a centre-forward casts doubt on Richarlison's future, with HITC now providing an update on the 27-year-old.

Lange ready to green-light Tottenham exit for Richarlison

The outlet backs Saudi interest in the former Everton star, and they go one step further by writing that Tottenham are ready to green-light Richarlison's sale this summer.

It's added that they would want £60 million to reach a deal, which is the same price they paid to bring the "key" forward from Goodison Park two years ago. Richarlison has personally told the Saudi Pro League he'd be open to joining one of their clubs as well, so it's a move that could get his approval.

The South American endured a regrettable first full season under Antonio Conte at Spurs, but rediscovered his best form in flashes last season working with Postecoglou.

All in all, Richarlison has racked up 15 goals and eight assists across 66 appearances in all competitions since putting pen to paper on a move from Merseyside.

كشف النادي الأهلي، عن التطورات الصحية للفلسطيني الدولي وسام أبو علي، مهاجم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي، بعد تعرضه للإغماء خلال رحلة العودة من ساحل العاج عقب ملاقاة استاد أبيدجان.

وكان الأهلي، حقق الفوز على استاد أبيدجان الإيفواري بثلاثية مقابل هدف، ضمن منافسات الجولة الخامسة من دور المجموعات ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

طالع.. “الخطيب لا يتأخر”.. عضو مجلس الأهلي يزف نبأ سارًا للجماهير بعد الفوز على استاد أبيدجان

وأوضح أحمد جاب الله، طبيب الفريق، في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي للنادي الأهلي، أن وسام أبو علي خضع لفحوصات طبية عقب العودة من ساحل العاج للاطمئنان فقط، وحالته الصحية لا تدعو لأي قلق، وعاد اللاعب إلى منزله، وسوف يشارك في التدريبات الجماعية غدًا.

وأضاف أن وسام اشتكى من إجهاد وهبوط بسيط بالدورة الدموية، عقب الوصول صباح اليوم إلى مطار القاهرة، وذلك نتيجة للمجهود البدني الكبير الذي بذله اللاعب خلال مباراة الأهلي واستاد أبيدجان، التي أقيمت أمس وسط درجات حرارة ورطوبة مرتفعة، وتم فحصه طبيًّا قبل مغادرة مطار القاهرة.

وتأهل الأحمر رسميًا إلى دور ربع نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا بعد فوز أولاندو بايراتس على شباب بلوزداد، حيث بات رصيد الأهلي 10 نقاط في المركز الثاني والفريق الجزائري في المركز الثالث برصيد 6 نقاط، مع تبقي مباراة واحدة فقط، في حين أن الفريق الجنوب أفريقي تأهل بعد وصوله لـ 11 نقطة.

MatériaMais Notícias

Precisando de uma vitória no fim de semana contra o Fortaleza para acabar com a sequência negativa das últimas sete rodadas além da busca por sair da zona de rebaixamento no Campeonato Brasileiro, o Sport tem vivido dias de boas notícias.

RelacionadasVídeoMaior concentração é pedida por José Welison contra o FortalezaVídeo22/09/2021SportSport comunica que Thiago Neves não é mais atleta do clubeSport20/09/2021VídeoTécnico do Sport, Gustavo Florentín fala em ‘seguir insistindo’ por quebra de jejumVídeo20/09/2021

>Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS

Além do anúncio de três reforços para o técnico Gustavo Florentín, casos do lateral-direito Jeferson, e dos meio-campistas Nicolás Aguirre e Vander, o avante Tréllez foi liberado pelo Departamento Médico para enfrentar o time cearense, no próximo domingo (26), na Ilha do Retiro.

Tréllez teve uma entorse no tornozelo ocorrida na partida onde o Leão perdeu por 3 a 0 para o Atlético-MG, na última rodada. Entretanto, a avaliação é de que o jogador colombiano teve um bom processo de recuperação e deve estar entre os relacionados para o próximo compromisso.

Além dele, dois dos três reforços recentes tiveram seus vínculos publicados pelo Boletim Informativo Diário (BID) da CBF, casos de Aguirre e Vander, e também são opções para Florentín fazer possíveis alterações na equipe titular.

A powerful batting performance was backed up by a trademark squeeze while bowling as Brisbane Heat were outplayed

Alex Malcolm04-Feb-2021

Liam Livingstone brought up a quickfire fifty•Getty Images

A stunning assault from Liam Livingstone and a superb spell from Jason Behrendorff helped Perth Scorchers reach their sixth BBL final with a comfortable win over Brisbane Heat in a rain-affected Challenger at Manuka Oval.Livingstone shook off a relatively lean tournament with some trademark ball-striking in his 77 from just 39 balls, including six mammoth sixes. He revealed that he had spent the morning watching some footage of his best performances for the Scorchers last season in search of some confidence.The Scorchers suffered a blow pre-game with Jason Roy ruled with an ankle injury he suffered playing a warm-up game at training in the days leading up to the Challenger. But Livingstone shared a century opening stand with Cameron Bancroft, who also made an unbeaten half-century coming in for just his seventh game of the tournament. Mitchell Marsh also smashed 49 not out from 28 balls before rain ended the Scorchers innings at 1 for 189 with 11 balls remaining.The Heat were set a revised target of 200 from 18 overs and got off to a rollicking start before Behrendorff removed both Joe Denly and Chris Lynn off the last two balls of the Powerplay. The Scorchers then produced a trademark squeeze to end the Heat’s season. Each of the bowlers, bar Jhye Richardson, picked up multiple wickets. Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed and Andrew Tye finished with two apiece while Aaron Hardie took a career-best bag of 3 for 46. It could have been four or five with the Scorchers’ only blemish a pair of dropped catches.The Scorchers progress to face Sydney Sixers in the final at the SCG on Saturday night, with a chance to claim their fourth BBL title.No Roy, no worries
Roy left a big hole for the Scorchers to fill at the top of the order and they replaced him with Bancroft, who had batted just five times in the tournament and had not opened in his last 21 T20 innings, dating back to BBL 08. The gamble paid off with Bancroft and Livingstone combining for a blistering century stand in just 10 overs. It was Livingstone’s show, but Bancroft played a nice support act. Livingstone was troubled by Xavier Bartlett early, who finally got to bowl three overs straight for the first time in four matches, having been subbed out of the last three. He swung the ball late to beat the Englishman on numerous occasions. But Livingstone feasted on the rest of the attack. He struck five fours and six massive sixes with the Heat repeatedly getting too straight to him. Livingstone raced to 50 off just 27 balls, taking 14 from Mitchell Swepson’s first over and then 27 off Marnus Labuschagne’s second over. The two legspinners, who had loomed as a threat pre-game, got their lengths and speeds wrong and Livingstone clubbed them straight and over midwicket repeatedly.Steketee subbed before rain intervened
With Bartlett bowling three overs upfront, the Heat elected to sub the second-leading wicket-taker in the BBL Mark Steketee for regular X-Factor Morne Morkel, much to the visible frustration of the Heat quick. The Scorchers pulled an unusual move of their own when Livingstone holed out off Swepson with more than eight overs to go. They promoted Marsh above the from duo of Colin Munro and Josh Inglis. The move looked like it may have backfired with Marsh and Bancroft failing to score a boundary for four overs. Swepson ended up with tidy figures of 1 for 26 from four. But when Marsh took the Power Surge it was a masterstroke. He faced 11 of the 12 balls and struck 28 runs, including five fours and a six, off Morkel and Ben Laughlin. Bancroft did reach a half-century off 40 balls via a thick outside edge to third man but there might have been concern in the Scorchers’ dug out that they were leaving a lot of power in the shed as Bancroft struggled to find his timing. But as Bancroft struck his crispest boundary of the night over extra cover, the rain came and ended the Scorchers innings after 18.1 overs.Behrendorff bags Lynn
The Scorchers didn’t have a lot of good match-ups for Lynn given he had made two half-centuries against them this season. Lynn has a superb career record against Richardson and he and Denly collared the BBL’s leading wicket-taker in the third over of the chase, taking 22 to get well ahead of the required rate. Behrendorff had never dismissed Lynn previously but had conceded just 43 from 39 balls in their career match-up. Lynn muscled two boundaries off Behrendorff but also faced four dots as he was cramped for room by the left-armer’s crafty inswing. It would have been five dots and the run-out of Denly had Behrendorff hit with an underarm in his follow-through when Lynn tried to get off strike after another inside edge onto pad. Behrendorff completely deceived Denly with a 105kph slower ball off the second last ball of the Powerplay. Denly and Lynn crossed as the miscue ballooned to the safe hands of Marsh at midwicket. Lynn, without any thought of seeing off the left-armer, tried to launch Behrendorff’s last ball over long-on and was clean bowled by another superb slower ball to leave the Heat in a huge hole.Scorchers squeeze
The Scorchers of old returned with a ruthless bowling display to squeeze the life out of the Heat’s season. Tye and Ahmed bowled back-to-back overs that cost just seven runs. Knockout hero Sam Heazlett could not repeat his heroics holing out off Hardie. Labuschagne also felt the pinch of the required rate and was clean bowled sweeping Ahmed. Hardie and Ahmed repeated the dose in the 10th and 11th as the required rate climbed above 15 runs per over. Jimmy Peirson hit borderline high full toss to deep square leg and Lewis Gregory was trapped plumb trying to sweep Ahmed. The legspinner bowled superbly to finish with 2 for 26, while Hardie finished with 3 for 46, although he had two catches dropped by Livingstone and Tye.

With under a month until the new Premier League campaign gets underway, Arsenal now reportedly need one "final step" to land their first signing of the summer transfer window.

Arsenal transfer news

The Gunners have been in no position to panic this summer, perhaps unlike recent years, with Mikel Arteta's job to simply fine-tune a side who are going in pursuit of a third-time lucky in the Premier League title race. The North London giants challenged Manchester City for a second season running last time out but were once again unable to dethrone Pep Guardiola's winning machine at The Etihad.

Alongside Calafiori: Arsenal want PL ace to take Rice to the next level

The ace could arrive at the Emirates alongside the Italian international.

ByEthan Lamb Jul 20, 2024

That's not to say that Arteta won't welcome fresh faces before the end of next month, however, with names such as Nico Williams linked to The Emirates in what would be one of the most impressive deals of the summer. The Athletic Bilbao winger stole the headlines at Euro 2024 as Spain broke English hearts to seal a dominant tournament victory.

Alas, before Williams, the Gunners look set to turn their attention towards a defensive reinforcement. According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have now reached an agreement to sign Riccardo Calafiori in a deal worth a total package of €45m (£38m).

The final step is reportedly the defender's former club, Basel, and current club Bologna over Calafiori's 50% sell-on payment terms.

Following an excellent Euro 2024 campaign, Calafiori is set to get his move and Arsenal are set to get their reinforcement to form what is, on paper, a backline fit for the Premier League crown.

"Tenacious" Calafiori can compete with Saliba and Gabriel

If William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes weren't impressive enough, then the addition of Calafiori could certainly create positive headlines. The Italian will suddenly hand Arteta a wealth of impressive defensive depth and quite the selection headache heading into the new campaign. The Spaniard already proved that he's willing to be ruthless when he dropped Aaron Ramsdale for David Raya last season and Calafiori is now likely to emerge to compete with Saliba and Gabriel.

Progressive Carries

28

16

13

Progressive Passes

96

157

117

Tackles Won

37

26

28

Ball Recoveries

194

213

136

What stands out is Calafiori's all-round ability, whether that be on or off the ball, particularly his ball-carrying skills. Next to Saliba, the Italian could form one of the most impressive ball-playing partnerships in the Premier League.

Described as "tenacious in duels" by Football Talent Scout's Jacek Kulig, Arsenal's summer business has got off to the best start if the "final step" goes through towards securing Calafiori's signature before the start of the Premier League campaign. What's more, the 22-year-old could even go up another level entirely under the guidance of Arteta in North London.

Los Blancos' season is already going down the pan following humiliations in La Liga and the Champions League, and the manager is usually the fall guy

When you're Real Madrid, you only have one of two moods: 'simply the best', or 'total crisis'. After taking their place as 15-time champions of Europe in June, they have drastically drifted into the flames of calamity.

The Spanish giants are already nine points off the pace set by early leaders Barcelona in La Liga – a 4-0 loss at home to their Clasico rivals didn't exactly do them the world of good – and currently sit in the bottom half of the Champions League's new table, behind the likes of Brest, Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb, after losing 3-1 at home to AC Milan on Tuesday.

Nearly every starter at Santiago Bernabeu has faced the brunt of the local media, been scapegoated and dug out for either a lack of quality or commitment to the cause. Now, manager Carlo Ancelotti is starting to feel the heat.

The Italian has won two Champions Leagues since his return to Madrid in 2021 and is heading for GOAT conversations for the next few generations, yet even he is not without fault. There are legitimate questions to put at Ancelotti's door.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Short shelf life

  Outside of an eight-year spell in charge of Milan in the 2000s, Ancelotti has largely operated as a short-term manager, whether by design or accident. In seven of his 11 managerial roles, he lasted just two years, and has tended to bounce around from one super-club to the next.

  Reaching a fourth season in charge of this Madrid side makes this Ancelotti's longest reign in charge of any club other than the Rossoneri. Even after winning the 2013-14 Champions League in his first stint with Los Blancos, he was cast aside a year later when they only narrowly failed to meet expectation. There was no good grace afforded, no sentiment to fall back on.

  History tells us that Ancelotti likely won't have much left in the tank to activate his proverbial second wind, while Madrid are typically not a club who are patient with their managers. The dressing room wouldn't turn on him per se, but it's a results business for Madrid more than any other club and they will act swiftly if things don't pick back up again.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  'Badly organised'

  Ancelotti, at least, is not blind to Madrid's plight. He isn't rocking up to press conferences filled with misplaced bravado and trying to convince the masses that everything is hunky dory, that his side have actually been really, really, unlucky like the last days of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.

  Speaking after their most recent loss to Milan, Ancelotti said: "I don't think it's unfair that they question me, I think it's normal. When the team doesn't perform, the coach has the responsibility. We don't defend well. We're badly organised. Yes, we should be worried… This is not an individual problem."

  Performances have been ropey all season long, and if anything, Madrid are a tad fortunate to not be in an even worse position. Late goals and inexplicable collapses from opponents (looking at , Borussia Dortmund) have papered over the cracks of a team that has lost its way and diminishing its own sparkle.

  If Ancelotti isn't even bringing the vibes to the table, then he will quickly grow redundant in this new age of the club. It's not only the results that need improving upon.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Doomed to fail?

  You know those old Madrid teams featuring the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Michael Owen, Raul and so many more? They didn't win as many trophies as you'd believe.

  After success in the 2001-02 Champions League, Los Blancos won only a single domestic or European title over the next five years. Champions League club were routinely dumped out in the last 16 and fell way behind Barcelona on home soil.

  Florentino Perez, for as much as he is a sporting and marketing genius today, struggled to build a balanced enough team to suit his superstars. They would still combine for moments of brilliance and pictures of these legends together are fawned over to this day, but they were not the best Madrid teams of this century. Sounds all too familiar a tale, right?

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  Underperforming superstars

  When so many key players are failing to hit their usual levels, the blame tends to be on the manager. Ancelotti's extra problem is that nothing – from tactics to personnel to injuries – seems to be working in his favour.

  Kylian Mbappe has been the centre of attention since his free summer transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. A return of eight goals and two assists in 15 matches across all competitions isn't awful, though if he has ambitions of winning the Ballon d'Or and continuing Madrid's rich history of winning the biggest honours, then that's not enough. That's before you even begin to question his negative impact on the team's chemistry and his unsuitability as a lone striker.

  Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham, fresh from scoring 23 in his first season at the Bernabeu, is without a goal through 12 games this term. But again, he's an example of an out-of-form player who's struggling regardless of what the stats are saying. Goals are drying up across the team even beyond the main attractions.

  The retirement of Toni Kroos has also proven difficult for Madrid to navigate. It's abundantly obvious that Aurelien Tchouameni is not ready to control a midfield alone, and Ancelotti overlooking his France team-mate Eduardo Camavinga is a story gathering momentum in the European press.

Raphinha has been on fire this season under Hansi Flick and a new stat has shown that the Brazilian has bettered a Lionel Messi record for the club.

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Raphinha on fire for Barcelona under Hansi FlickSurpasses Messi Champions League recordFirst to score eight goals in CL in a calendar year since 2019Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Raphinha has transformed his Barcelona career after a rather mediocre start to life at the Catalan club following his big-money move away from Leeds United. Starting early this year, the Brazilian has become the star focal point for the club as an outright left-winger alongside Robert Lewandowski and wonderkid Lamine Yamal. Raphinha scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich last month to showcase his fiery form and a stat has put into context how impressive the 26-year-old has been.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Since the start of 2024, Raphinha has provided 12 goal contributions in eight Champions League matches, including three goals against Paris Saint-Germain last season and his spectacular hat trick against Bayern this season. The Brazilian has accumulated 1.73 goal contributions per 90 minutes over the course of the year bettering Messi's record of 1.67 in 2016, and 1.56 in 2008.

AFPDID YOU KNOW?

As per OneFootball, Raphinha has also equalled another Messi record with his goal against Crvena zvezda as he has now scored eight Champions League goals for Barcelona in 2024, the most for a Barcelona player in the competition in a calendar year since Lionel Messi in 2019, who also got eight

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WHAT NEXT FOR RAPHINHA?

Barcelona still have two more Champions League clashes until the end of 2024, so Raphinha will have the chance to add to his tally for the year. Barcelona will return to European action after the international break when they Brest on November 27, before facing Borussia Dortmund on December 12.

Brisbane Heat survived a late onslaught from Mitchell Marsh to book their place in the BBL finals for the first time in four seasons. Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Swepson shared five wickets to spark a rare Perth Scorchers collapse before Marsh threatened a huge turnaround with 54 off 26 balls.As has often been the case, the Heat had been set on their way by a blistering half-century by Chris Lynn, before overcoming a mid-innings wobble through a stand of 56 in six overs between Labuschagne and Lewis Gregory. Jhye Richardson and Fawad Ahmed had 96 taken off their eight overs as they both suffered rare expensive outings.The Scorchers were solidly out of the blocks in the chase as the dynamic pair of Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone opened with a stand of 53 but the game changed after Livingstone missed a wild back at Swepson. However, what appeared a nailed-on Heat victory turned into a nerve-jangling finish with 17 needed off the last over then 10 off three balls but Ben Laughlin was able to close it out.Lynn’s valuable early chargeLynn has reached double figures in every innings this season with a top score of 69 but it often feels like he leaves a few runs in the middle. That was again the case here when he charged to a 24-ball fifty, which included a monstrous six over cover against the bowler of the tournament Richardson, but then fell the next delivery he faced. However, the innings, which also included back-to-back sixes off Ahmed who conceded his most expensive T20 figures, had put the Heat on track for a strong ten-over score – which ended up being 2 for 96 – that would later enable them to secure the crucial Bash Boost point.The rebuildImmediately after the mid-innings point, which also saw the Heat use their X-Factor to bring in Jack Wildermuth for Xavier Bartlett, they suffered a wobble. Joe Denly was superbly caught by Marsh and in the next over Joe Burns edged Jason Behrendorff behind as 2 for 96 became 4 for 100. Three overs passed without a boundary and it appeared the Heat were floundering, but they were put back on track when Labuschagne and Gregory took 19 off Behrendorff’s last over to dent what had been exceptional figures. While Labuschagne had been something of an anchor (while maintaining a strike-rate over 100) Gregory provided the major impetus with 36 off 22 balls although the Heat stalled again when the Power Surge, bowled by Richardson and AJ Tye, went for just 11.Legspin secures vital pointBoth Scorchers openers were given lives off consecutive balls in the third over and after Livingstone was defeated by a delivery from Swepson that barely bounced it appeared Roy was given another life when he inside-edged Laughlin although the appeal for the keeper was muted. However, overs six to ten, sent down by a combination of Swepson, Laughlin and Labuschagne, only cost 18 runs with Labuschagne claiming his first when Colin Munro top edged a reverse sweep that was well caught by Swepson coming in from deep point. Swepson then completed his spell by removing Roy and when Labuschagne struck twice in four balls in his third – the second a delivery that skidded on to defeat Ashton Turner – the game looked over.Marsh makes Heat nervousWhen the Scorchers called the Power Surge they needed 81 off 30 balls and Labuschagne was given his final over inside the fielding restrictions. He looked a potentially costly move when Marsh took 14 off three balls and overall 31 runs came from the Surge to leave the Scorchers needing 51 off the last three overs. Laughlin then went for 17 as Marsh continued to take advantage of a short leg-side boundary and the Heat dugout started to shuffle uneasily. They could have sealed the game in the penultimate over but Max Bryant shelled Marsh at deep square leg then the next ball went for six. Needing 17 off the last was within Marsh’s wheelhouse, but with nine required off the last two balls – or eight for Super Over – Marsh could not find the boundary against a yorker and a low full toss. With that, two spots in the finals remained up for grabs.

Italian heavyweights AC Milan have been hot on the heels of Chelsea flop Romelu Lukaku, but it now appears they've set their sights on another one of Enzo Maresca's players.

Milan in talks to sign Lukaku who has given the green light to join

The Belgium international, on a reported £325,000 per week, will unfortunately go down as one of the club's biggest transfer mistakes in recent memory.

"Quality" forward wants to leave Chelsea as Premier League side open talks

Negotiations are ongoing over a deal.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jun 28, 2024

Chelsea paid around £98 million to re-sign Lukaku from Inter Milan in 2021, but things really haven't worked out.

The 31-year-old has been sent on various loan spells back to Serie A since putting pen to paper on his £19m-a-year contract at Stamford Bridge, spending the 2022/23 season on a temporary return to Inter before signing on loan for Roma last campaign.

Romelu Lukaku's stats for Roma in all competitions last season
Appearances	47
Goals	21
Assists	4
Yellow cards	5
Red cards	1
Minutes played	3,910
(via Transfermarkt)

Lukaku totalled 23 Serie A goals across his spells at Inter and Roma, though, perhaps indicating the Italian top flight is his spiritual home. Before his move back to Chelsea three years ago, the striker's 24 goals and 11 assists propelled Inter to a 2021/22 Scudetto triumph under Antonio Conte, but his ties to the Nerazzurri haven't stopped Milan from taking a firm interest.

Indeed, Paulo Fonseca's side are believed to be in negotiations over signing Lukaku right now. Various reports from Italy this week, including Sky Italia, back Milan's interest in the former Everton star.

Newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport even claimed that Lukaku has given his green-light to join Milan. Meanwhile, Sky stated that Milan are in talks with Chelsea and pushing to seal a loan deal for Lukaku.

The Rossoneri and Chelsea have enjoyed a fruitful business relationship in recent years, with Olivier Giroud, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fikayo Tomori all swapping Stamford Bridge for the San Siro since 2021.

Amid Milan's talks over Lukaku, it appears they want to prise away another Chelsea player as well, and add to their growing list of ex-Blues.

AC Milan open talks to sign Carney Chukwuemeka

Sky Italia reporter and transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio says Carney Chukwuemeka is now a target for them.

Milan have opened talks to sign Chukwuemeka from Chelsea, according to Di Marzio, and they're attempting to agree a loan with the obligation to buy. The £100,000-per-week midfielder was signed from Aston Villa in a deal worth around £20 million in 2022, going on to make 27 appearances for the club since then.

The 20-year-old, despite not being given much of a chance since his transfer from the Midlands, has been praised for his quality – with Paul Merson even tipping him to be an "absolute star".

"He will be an absolute star," said Merson on Chukwuemeka during his time at Villa Park.

"He glides across the pitch. He is a nice size. He gets on the ball. He looks for it and makes runs without the ball. I think Villa fans going away will definitely be talking about him.”

“If what I have heard about the episode is true, it is indeed shocking and disheartening”

12-Jan-2021Former India seamer Irfan Pathan threw his weight behind Deepak Hooda after the player stormed out of Baroda camp alleging misbehaviour by captain Krunal Pandya, saying such incidents can have “adverse effects” on a player.Hooda, who has played 46 first-class matches, was miffed at the behaviour of Pandya, who has also represented India, during the recent camp for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.”During the difficult times of this pandemic wherein mental health of a player is of utmost importance as they have to stay in a bio-bubble as well as keep themselves focused on the game, such incidents may have adverse effects on a player and should be avoided,” Pathan said in a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday.Expressing shock over the incident involving the two players ahead of the tournament, Pathan urged the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) to look into the matter. “Requesting all the members of the BCA to look into this and condemn such actions since they are not good for the game of cricket,” he said.Pathan, who played 29 Tests and 120 ODIs, also slammed the BCA for “overlooking” promising players.”Being an ex-captain of Baroda and having mentored many youngsters, I understand how important it is to have a harmonious environment where players can feel safe, play freely and give their best for the team,” he said. “If what I have heard about the Deepak Hooda episode is true, it is indeed shocking and disheartening. No player should be treated like this.”Pathan, who was part of the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team, spoke about young players being overlooked by BCA despite performing in recent years.”In the recent past, there have been episodes wherein the deserving young talents who have performed well and are under the age of 30 have been overlooked for selection,” he said. “Also, the likes of Aditya Waghmode, who was the highest run-scorer for the Baroda team in the last season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 364 runs and Swapnil Singh, who had all-round performance, scoring 216 runs and took 10 wickets, were overlooked.”