🚨 Tuchel's FURY, Brentford's Toney replacement, Ronaldo's landmark goal, Trent injured, Glasner to Palace, Man United want Ashworth and more

Feb 15, 2024

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Today’s top stories:

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of 2024 in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday night. It meant the Portuguese ace has now scored at least once in every year from 2002 to 2024. The match was also the 1000th of his career [pictures from D.SMART]

There are conflicting reports on Frenkie de Jong’s future but Fabrizio Romano has the latest.
Barcelona will try to bring in two midfielders this summer [Mundo Deportivo]

Zero shots on target tonight for Bayern against Lazio in Wednesday night’s Champions League game. This follows just one shot on target in their defeat vs Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend. Bayern have also lost the first leg of UCL Round of 16 for the first time in 11 seasons.
Thomas Tuchel asked about his future: “No, I’m not worried about my future or the potential sack. We did everything to lose this match… it was in our hands. At a certain point we stopped believing, I’ve no idea why. There were many individual mistakes.”

Harry Kane: “It's been a tough week. The second half was disappointing. We came out with less energy and less confidence. We're still in this, they come to Munich in a few weeks. We have to look forward and try to turn our momentum around.”
FC Bayern statement. “We condemn all the horrible racist messages and comments towards Dayot Upamecano. Who’s writing such things is not a real Bayern fan. We are with you, Upa!”

Brentford will pay fee in excess of £30m with add-ons to sign Igor Thiago from Club Brugge. Thiago has 18 goal involvements in the Jupiler Pro League this term (16G, 2A). Five-year deal valid from July 1 until June 2029.

Thomas Frank on Igor Thiago to Brentford: “I’m very pleased that we have been proactive as a club. We are ahead of the curve. We have signed a key player for a key position. Thiago is a very exciting striker who fits the role in our team. There’s big potential.”
Igor Thiago joined Club Brugge in June 2023 for less than €8m plus sell-on clause. Eight months later, the Brazilian striker signs at Brentford for a fee in excess of £30m. Former club Ludogorets are set to receive big money from their sell-on clause. Could this be Ivan Toney’s replacement?

PSG vs Real Sociedad: A 44th goal in his 68th Champions League game from Kylian Mbappé set PSG on their way to a 2-0 first leg victory over La Real. Bradley Barcola added a stunning second, his first ever goal in the competition [pictures from TNT Sports].

Lazio vs Bayern Munich: Thomas Tuchel is under pressure after Bayern failed to register a shot on target on their match against Lazio. The Serie A side won the first leg 1-0 thanks to Ciro Immobile’s 69th minute goal from the penalty spot [pictures from TNT Sports].
Fabrizio Romano has only one team in mind to win this season’s Champions League.

Xavi Alonso has been tipped to replace Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea [Emmanuel Petit]
Antonio Conte reveals: “After my first season at Chelsea we spoke with Romelu Lukaku and Virgil van Dijk. I think with those two important players we could have changed the situation. After the first season, we could have become dominant in England… For me, to celebrate fourth place was strange. At the end of the final game vs Norwich, I called my staff — I said pay attention, don’t be used to celebrating a Champions League place. I’m used to winning, not to celebrate 4th place.”

Crystal Palace are expected to part ways with Roy Hodgson after very positive talks with Oliver Glasner. Glasner wants the job, more to follow on contract and details today.

Liverpool to compete with title rivals for €50m midfielder [Calciomercato]
Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to be out again for a few weeks after he was rushed back by Liverpool and aggravated his current injury. He will miss the Carabao Cup final vs Chelsea as a result.

Phil Foden believes he’s playing his best football for the club [Man City].
Pep Guardiola: “Kevin de Bruyne is getting better, like good wine. He’s maybe a Brunello di Montalcino or Sassicaia. He’s returned very fresh in his body but also in his mind. His contribution is always special, Kevin is special.”

Harry Maguire: “We always knew goals were going to come from Højlund because he's an exceptional talent. This club has built a philosophy where young players get chances, and if you take your chance, you stay in the team, and this manager has proved that.”
Tottenham submit a €60m offer for Man United target [Jijantes via SportWitness]
Manchester United have been working on Dan Ashworth’s appointment for weeks and he's always been the top target for INEOS. The club will make a formal approach after initial talks went in a positive direction... but it will depend on Newcastle.

Antonio Conte turned down a move to Napoli last year but rumours have resurfaced. What’s the latest? Fabrizio Romano has more.
Sudakov taken off of Napoli list [Football Italia]

Emil Krafth has signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at Newcastle until summer 2025.
Alan Shearer gives his verdict on Jose Mourinho replacing Eddie Howe [The Rest is Football]

Mbappé: “We’ve been able to score (against Real Sociedad) in the key moments, so we’re so happy with this first leg. There’s still work to do. We should’ve done better in the first half but it’s part of the process.”
Kylian Mbappé was apparently offered to Arsenal and Liverpool earlier this season. Fabrizio Romano breaks down the rumours.

Íñigo Pérez has been appointed as new Rayo Vallecano head coach replacing Francisco.

Ancelotti: "Tchouaméni is spectacular at centre-back, he's super smart. I told Aurelien that he played there because it was an emergency. Now I have to find another excuse to play him there... let's see."
Toni Kroos: “From what I’ve seen, Éder Militão is on a really good path. I think we’ll see Militão this season, he’s working with the ball already. Courtois? I don’t know, I’m not able to predict return schedule for a goalkeeper as it’s different.”

Brazilian side Criciúma have agreed a pre-contract to sign Yannick Bolasie. Deal in place, waiting for details to be checked and then time to travel to Brazil next week if all goes to plan.