🚨 Ten Hag clarifies striker transfer call, Kounde could be persuaded to leave Barcelona, Kroos' big Real Madrid decision, all the Euro draws, Jurrien Timber update and more
Today's round-up, featuring Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and more!
Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing, brought to you ad-free and straight to your inbox as always. Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy! :-)
Today’s top stories:
Chelsea could persuade Barcelona to sell Jules Kounde this summer…
Plus more from Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid and more
Al Ahli
Gabri Veiga has had a medical consult over his ankle injury. The good news is no surgery is required and the injury isn’t as bad as everyone first thought. He’ll still be out of action for around eight to 10 weeks but it’s good news for the Spanish midfielder and Al Ahli.
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta’s injury update on Jurrien Timber: “I really hope that Jurrien Timber will be back before the end of the season. He’s doing really well. He’s been around some players on the pitch and he is going to start to do some bits with us in the next week or so.”
Aston Villa
Unai Emery has been the subject of links to Bayern Munich, but he remains 100% committed to his role with Aston Villa as things currently stand.
Barcelona
Chelsea could change Barcelona’s mind on selling Jules Kounde in the summer [Matteo Moretto]
Xavi wants Ronaldo Araújo to stay at Barcelona: “For me there is no doubt, Araújo has to be the present and future of Barcelona. He’s a fundamental piece of the club and already a captain. He must be part of Barça, always.”
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich may hold the advantage over Liverpool when it comes to securing Xabi Alonso’s services at the end of the season. Christian Falk reveals all in his exclusive deep dive here.
Thomas Tuchel’s exit at the end of the season means that Matthijs de Ligt’s situation is set to be assessed again ahead of a new manager coming to Munich. De Ligt isn’t finding it easy under Tuchel and he wants more minutes on the pitch. There are clubs keeping an eye on De Ligt across Europe, including PSG and Premier League clubs who could be tempted in the summer.
Tuchel on Bayern’s struggles of late: “We are unhappy with the way we're playing and with the three recent defeats. If the coach was the only one to blame I wouldn't be sitting here today. But I take responsibility. The development of our game, the results, are not there as I imagine.”
Tuchel waves off problems with Joshua Kimmich: “Josh is an extremely important player, a leader. I think Josh hasn't been in top form in the last few games either. I'm disappointed in myself and in how we're playing at the moment. But I'm not disappointed in the players.”
Chelsea
Mauricio Pochettino says there might be a chance for Thiago Silva: “Thiago Silva has the chance to start the final. Tomorrow we will see if he can be involved.”
What can Chelsea fans expect ahead of the Carabao Cup final? Si Phillips Talks Chelsea previews the event in FULL
Fabrizio Romano has shared his thoughts on the upcoming final at Wembley, advising Chelsea to keep a close eye on one Liverpool player
Europa Conference League draw
Servette - Viktoria Plzen
Ajax - Aston Villa
Molde FK - Club Brugge
Union St. Gilloise - Fenerbahçe
Dinamo Zagreb - PAOK
Sturm Graz - Lille
Maccabi Haifa - Fiorentina
Olympiacos - Maccabi Tel Aviv
Europa League draw
Sparta Prague - Liverpool
Olympique Marseille - Villarreal
AS Roma - Brighton
Benfica - Rangers
Freiburg - West Ham
Sporting - Atalanta
AC Milan - Slavia Prague
Qarabag - Bayer Leverkusen
Lazio
Lazio agree a contract extension for Ivan Provedel running until the summer of 2027 [sslazio.it].
Liverpool
Liverpool secured a dramatic second-half comeback against Luton Town in the Premier League, with Harvey Elliott registering the final goal of the game [pictures from LFCTV].
Pep Lijnders injury update: “Alisson, Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones are expected to be out until after the March international break. Szoboszlai, Nunez and Salah for the final? We have to really see. We have two more days, we will check.”
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has clarified concerns over Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness: “He's not injured. I don't know if he's 100% but I think we took a good decision not to take a risk. We took a decision as he did not feel comfortable, but he's ok.”
Manchester United
Manchester United’s summer shopping spree could see them go hunting in the Bundesliga for multiple new signings. Christian Falk has all the details of the Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen stars United are watching in his exclusive update here.
Red Devils coach Eric Ramsay is understood to be joining Minnesota United as their next head coach - he signed the contract yesterday. He will leave United in March (after the next two games) following talks with the club over timing and will become the youngest (32) MLS coach in history.
Bad news for United: Rasmus Hojlund picked up a muscle injury. Manchester United have confirmed he’ll be injured for two to three weeks.
Head coach Erik ten Hag promises more is to come from his United side in partnership with INEOS: “I'm 19 months in and I see we are going in the right direction. You see the team coming, the squad developing. We will be strong, and we will be even stronger when we add to this squad even more qualities.
“For sure INEOS will not bring in players who the manager doesn’t want, because that will not work. We’ll work there together, with suggestions, bringing players in and discussing. That’s the way they want to work.”
Manchester United tried to bring in another striker following news of Anthony Martial’s injury, but Erik ten Hag confirmed compliance with FFP prevented the club from making a move in January.
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall’s £30m buy clause from Chelsea and the possibility of triggering it: “He's getting closer with every game. I'm not on top of that on a daily basis but it’s closer.”
Real Madrid
Real Madrid really want Toni Kroos to stay. They want to extend him another year in Madrid and have a formal contract proposal ready to go. It’s up to Toni to decide what he wants to do, though his return to the German national side for the Euros is already a positive indication.
Joselu will be on the sidelines for roughly three weeks with bone edema in the right ankle. Real Madrid know he’ll be totally ready after the international break but hope he could return sooner.
Torino
Torino director Davide Vagnati on approaches for Raoul Bellanova: “We've received approaches from foreign clubs in January for Raoul Bellanova, but he's a key player for us.”
The former Inter fullback is being monitored by a number of European clubs. He could get a call-up to the Italian national team for the next international break thanks to his great club form.
The Debrief Podcast
Kylian Mbappe is going to leave PSG at the end of the season, it has already been confirmed. Angus Scott and Ben Jacobs are joined by French football expert Jonathan Johnson to go into detail about Mbappe’s decision and what comes next with Real Madrid. Fabrizio Romano is back is back in his normal spot to talk all about Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich, plus some important updates for Arsenal.