Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca ruled out the possibility of adding injury-plagued Wesley Fofana to his Club World Cup squad as he feels the player is still not ready to play. The defender spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign on the sidelines due to injury and made only 14 appearances for the Blues. He returned to the squad in March but was once again sidelined in April to undergo surgery.
Liverpool have appointed former Wales manager Rob Page as the club's new under-21 team's head coach. Page was sacked by the Football Association of Wales in June last year after Wales failed to qualify for Euro 2024 and then played out a draw against minnows Gibraltar. The 50-year-old has now replaced Reds' long-serving youth coach Barry Lewtas, who left the club this summer after four years.
Chelsea have already recovered the £30 million ($40m) transfer fee they spent to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town by progressing to the round of 16 of the Club World Cup. The Blues finished second in their group, behind Flamengo, with six points from three matches and reached the knockout stage, where they will now lock horns against Portuguese giants Benfica.
Veteran Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller dismissed complaints on excessive heat at the Club World Cup as he cited himself as an example, while stressing that professional footballers must adapt to all conditions. The German forward also dropped a hint on a possible move to the Major League Soccer once his Bayern Munich contract expires this summer.
Benjamin Sesko has teased Arsenal fans with some suggestive social media activity, amid speculation that he could move to north London from RB Leipzig this summer. The 22-year-old Slovenian forward started following the Gunners on Instagram on Wednesday as he dropped a major hint about a possible move to the Premier League giants in the near future.
Manchester United are close to finalising Bryan Mbeumo's transfer from Brentford. The two clubs have already agreed on the initial transfer fee and are now negotiating the add-ons that could take the overall amount of the transfer close to Brentford's £65 million ($87m) valuation of the player. The Bees expect to finalise the details of the transfer soon.
Former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid star Alvaro Morata is all set to leave AC Milan after just one season, as Como sent a proposal to sign the forward. Morata moved to Milan last July but played for just six months at the club before being sent out on a loan deal with an option to buy to Turkish giants Galatasaray, where he won the Super Lig title.
Former England manager Gareth Southgate has responded to criticism from his successor, Thomas Tuchel. The German coach had slammed the Three Lions for 'lacking excitement and hunger' to win Euro 2024. England reached the final of the tournament but lost to Spain, after which Southgate stepped down from the role.