🚨 Andoni Iraola to Chelsea or Man Utd latest, Arsenal eye ambitious €100m transfer, Liverpool compete for €90m midfielder, plus wins for Forest & Palace
Today's transfer headlines and news clips from last night's European action...
Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)
Today’s top stories:
Plus don’t miss Christian Falk’s latest column!
Europa & Conference League round-up
Nottingham Forest edge out Aston Villa in close first leg
A penalty from Chris Wood was enough for Nottingham Forest as they secured a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
There’ll still be plenty to play for for Villa in the return fixture at Villa Park, but Wood’s superbly-taken spot-kick was the difference on this occasion, while Forest goalkeeper Stefan Ortega also made a superb save from Ollie Watkins.
Plus watch out for a moment of outrageous skill by Elliot Anderson against Morgan Rogers!
FT Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Crystal Palace have one foot in the final after impressive win
Crystal Palace have a big advantage in their Europa Conference League semi-final after winning 3-1 away to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Eagles took the lead after just 21 seconds as Ismaila Sarr made an immediate impact with a smart finish, and that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Although the home side equalised, Palace were quickly back in front and even broke away to grab a third that makes them the big favourites to reach the final.
FT Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Crystal Palace [Pictures from TNT Sports]
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Arsenal
Arsenal are stepping up their interest in Yan Diomande, with Mikel Arteta pushing for the club to make the RB Leipzig winger a top priority target. (Fichajes)
Arsenal are closing in on the signing of 17-year-old Red Star Belgrade wonderkid Vasilije Kostov in a deal worth an initial €12m, potentially rising to €20m. (Sportinjo)
Myles Lewis-Skelly could leave Arsenal for a fee of around £43m this summer, with Atletico Madrid interested in the talented young England international. (Fichajes)
Mikel Arteta was pictured with Arsenal transfer target Julian Alvarez after Wednesday night’s Champions League semi-final first leg. (Fabrizio Romano)
AC Milan are eyeing up a potential move for Gabriel Jesus, with the Arsenal striker becoming one of their top targets, though it’s not yet clear if he’ll be available. (Gianluca Di Marzio)
An Arsenal winger target could be available for a reduced €35m price this summer - full story here!
This Arsenal star has explained why the team are confident of reaching the Champions League final - full quotes here!
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has provided an update on Julian Alvarez’s fitness for the second leg against Arsenal - full story here!
Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie hit out at a mistake by the referee in the Atletico Madrid game this week - full quotes here!
Barcelona
Barcelona are looking to make a major sale or two this summer, with full-backs Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde currently looking like the main candidates to be offloaded by Deco. (Sport)
Barca are also not ruling out selling star attacking duo Raphinha and Fermin Lopez this summer. (Sport)
Hansi Flick has an agreement in place to sign an extension to his Barcelona contract, with talks to finalise the deal planned for the end of the season. (Mundo Deportivo)
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have held meetings with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer over signing a new contract. (Christian Falk, CF Bayern Insider)
Chelsea
Andoni Iraola is a top target for both Manchester United and Chelsea, but the Blues are currently understood to be further ahead in the running after holding talks with the Bournemouth manager’s representatives. (Mark Brus, CaughtOffside)
Xabi Alonso is open to taking the Chelsea job as long as he’s given a decent amount of ‘control’ in the role. (Simon Phillips)
Chelsea are working hard to hire Porto manager Francesco Farioli, but the Italian tactician is not convinced about managing the Blues. (TEAMtalk)
Nicolas Jackson can leave Chelsea this summer, with the Blues confident they could bank as much as £60m from selling the Senegalese striker permanently. (the Athletic)
Chelsea could look to replace Robert Sanchez with this exciting goalkeeper signing this summer - full story here!
Mauricio Pochettino has revealed the only two signings he was involved in during his time as Chelsea manager. (the Overlap)
Everton
Everton are gearing up for a busy summer as they eye up Arsenal defender Ben White, Chelsea striker Liam Delap, and a return for their former player John Stones, whilst also looking to make Jack Grealish’s loan permanent. (iNews)
Juventus
Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti has personally called Manchester City attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva over joining when he becomes a free agent this summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Juventus have also held talks with the representatives of Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski as they’re confident of reaching an agreement on a free transfer in the coming weeks. (Tuttosport)
Liverpool
Liverpool are one of the clubs interested in the potential transfer of Aurelien Tchouameni, but Real Madrid are likely to give him a new contract. (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is now just one step away from leaving his role to take up a job with Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal. (Nicolo Schira)
Liverpool are considering a slightly risky summer move for the out-of-form Athletic Bilbao and Spain winger Nico Williams. (Fichajes)
Manchester City
Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti has personally called Manchester City attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva over joining when he becomes a free agent this summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Manchester United
Manchester United are one of the clubs interested in the potential transfer of Aurelien Tchouameni, but Real Madrid are likely to give him a new contract. (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Andoni Iraola is a top target for both Manchester United and Chelsea, but the Red Devils have also still not ruled out keeping Michael Carrick for the permanent job. (Mark Brus, CaughtOffside)
Kobbie Mainoo has spoken about why he decided to sign a new Manchester United contract - full quotes here!
Despite interest in Elliot Anderson, Manchester United are keen to avoid a bidding war with Manchester City for the midfielder, who Nottingham Forest value at as much as £120m. (ESPN)
Manchester United are interested in Lille wonderkid midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, but they’re competing with Arsenal, Bayern Munich and other top clubs for his signature. (Abdellah Boulma)
Manchester United are interested in highly-rated young West Ham defender El Hadji Malick Diouf. (the Guardian)
Manchester United could have a clear run at Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba this summer. (Ben Jacobs)
Manchester United have identified this in-form Bundesliga star as a top target for a problem position - more info here!
Real Madrid
Jurgen Klopp is open to a return to management, but is currently not understood to be a candidate for the Real Madrid job. (AS)
Tottenham
Radu Dragusin could be allowed to leave Tottenham for a fee of just €20m this summer, with the defender attracting interest from Bundesliga clubs. (Fanatik)
Tottenham have made their first offer to sign AC Milan midfielder Youssouf Fofana ahead of the summer transfer window. (Gazzetta dello Sport)