🚨 Man Utd's CRAZY comeback, new Liverpool deal confirmed, Arsenal eye PSG star, Rice rattles Bellingham & more

Apr 18, 2025

Good morning everyone and welcome to your *FREE* Friday edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)

Today’s top stories:

Ousmane Dembele to Arsenal? Source suggest the Gunners are seriously looking at the in-form PSG star!
Bukayo Saka: “We can beat the best teams in Europe at home and away, you can see that. I like to believe that we can WIN the Champions League. I think we can.”
Declan Rice: “I sensed it when I signed for Arsenal that we were on an upwards trajectory. I feel we can do special things in the next years, with this coach and this mix of players.”
Rice clearly had Jude Bellingham rattled at the Bernabeu! Read more insight from Charles Watts here.
Dean Huijsen to Arsenal? Charles Watts shares his latest info in his exclusive column.
Rafael Leao has been linked with Arsenal - Charles Watts takes a closer look at the story in his latest exclusive column.

Nico Williams with a fine header here as Athletic Bilbao knocked out Rangers and set up a Europa League semi-final tie against Manchester United! FT Athletic Bilbao 2-0 Rangers (2-0 on aggregate) [Pictures from TNT Sports]

Antoine Griezmann is set to stay at Atletico Madrid despite receiving approaches from MLS giants LAFC. Contract until June 2027 for Griezmann with the player’s salary due to be progressively reduced in 2026 and then 2027. A verbal agreement is already in place.

Lionel Messi: “I had the intention of returning to Barcelona and being able to go back to a place I always wanted to be, but it was NOT possible again. After that, it became a family decision. The fact that we won the World Cup also had a big impact. I was clear that I didn’t want to be at another team in Europe, I didn’t want to go to any of them.”
Messi: “It’s impressive what Lamine Yamal shows… he’s already been a Euro champion with Spain. He’s still only 17, he’s in a growth process, and he’ll continue to grow as a player and add things to his game, just like I did. He has incredible qualities and he’s already one of the best players in the world.”

Not a great night for Chelsea, but Marc Cucurella finished well here after good play by Jadon Sancho and the Blues are still through to the next round of the Europa Conference League. FT Chelsea 1-2 Legia Warsaw (4-2 on aggregate) [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Reece James on Chelsea fans booing: “I understand the frustration to be honest. I understand that fans come to games to see excitement, to see goals. Today, we were frustrating to watch but we remain focussed and we still stick together and look forward to achieving what we want together.”
Jorrel Hato Chelsea transfer talks have taken place as the Blues step up their pursuit of the highly-rated young Ajax defender!

Fabrizio Romano: “Understand Inter are in advanced talks with Luis Henrique over personal terms, he’s keen on joining Inter. Inter and Olympique Marseille are in talks with initial gap in valuation around €10m for total package requested around €30/35m. FC Bayern are also interested.”

Virgil van Dijk’s new Liverpool contract has finally been made official!
Van Dijk on signing new deal: “The future here I think it’s exciting… it’s exciting for what’s coming.”
Van Dijk: “Liverpool is the place for me to be, to spend my best years, be successful with the club as we have been over the years and hopefully the future as well. I love everything that embodies Liverpool, and on to many more.”
Reports claim Chelsea explored Van Dijk transfer, but it was always clear that his preference was to stay at Anfield.
Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool looks like one to watch for the summer as the Reds look for a replacement for Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool look to be in ‘pole position’ for the signing of this exciting Premier League star - full story here!

A fine finish here by Rayan Cherki as Lyon stunned Old Trafford, though their comeback wasn’t enough in the end. FT Man Utd 5-4 Lyon (7-6 on aggregate) [Pictures from TNT Sports]

What a moment as Harry Maguire capped an absolutely incredible late comeback by Manchester United against Lyon as they scraped into the Europa League semi-finals! FT Man Utd 5-4 Lyon (7-6 on aggregate) [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Ruben Amorim on fans leaving early: “It was a great night – 4-2 with one more player you think it’s over, but here it is never over. I felt here everything is possible. I feel for the people who had to leave at 4-2 because of the traffic, they will be gutted.”
Amorim: “We put Harry Maguire up there because he’s the guy who can score a header.”
Joshua Zirkzee: “To all the fans who left when we were down… look at this.”
Leny Yoro: “To be fair, I don’t understand what just happened! We’re Manchester United. We need to believe.”
Rasmus Hojlund transfer update emerges, with Manchester United’s asking price and interested clubs being revealed…

Fede Valverde on the Arsenal defeat: “Only one word to say: sorry. Thanks to our fans for supporting and believing until the very end.”
Vinicius Junior: “Real Madrid will be back, as always. Thanks for your support. We need to be together for the final weeks of the season. There are still titles we can win… always together with this team, this club until the very end. Hala Madrid! Congrats to Arsenal.”
Jude Bellingham: “Simply didn’t live up to the expectations of this club in either of the games. Sorry Madridistas. We understand how much these nights and this competition means to you. There’s still opportunities to save this season but it’s only possible by staying together. Real Madrid will be back!”
Thibaut Courtois: “We crossed too much… we should create more collective plays. We tried to cross a lot but then with all those crosses, Arsenal have tall players and we don’t have a Joselu…”

What a vital piece of defending this was by Micky van de Ven as Tottenham earned an impressive 1-0 win to progress to the Europa League semi-finals! FT Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 on aggregate) [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Could Tottenham be about to re-sign one of their former players on a free transfer this summer? Full story here!