🚨 Xhaka screamer as Leverkusen run riot, Watkins stuns Arsenal, Man Utd star's future, Liverpool loanee decision, & more

Apr 15, 2024

Happy Monday folks and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)

Today’s top stories:

Charles De Ketelaere: “Atalanta have €23m buy option to sign me, it's up to them... I'd be happy to stay here as I'm very happy at the club. Return to AC Milan? It's a top club, of course. But I want to play, I'm 23. I don't want to sit on the bench.”

What a save by Emiliano Martinez! How did Arsenal not score here? FT Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa [Pictures from Sky Sports]
Mikel Arteta on what the defeat means for the title race: “If one result is going to block us, that then we are not strong enough. If you want to win titles, when you have this moment you have to stand up. In any other league in the world if you won the number of games in a row that we did, you would be six or eight points clear. That is not the case here. That is the challenge.”
Arteta with a worrying injury update ahead of the second leg against Bayern Munich: “Martin Odegaard out in the second half? He felt something, he was not able to continue.”
Declan Rice: “It’s not over yet. We’re in an unbelievable position. We’re still ready, we’re still fully focused on what we want to do and what we can achieve. There’s going to be many more twists and turns in the Premier League. Anything can happen.”
Martin Zubimendi transfer to Arsenal to replace the departing Jorginho as he’s targeted by Juventus this summer?

That’s now 19 goals, 10 goals in 32 Premier League games for Ollie Watkins. 26 total goals in all competitions. And what a finish this was to seal the win against Arsenal! FT Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa [Pictures from Sky Sports]

What a sensational strike by Granit Xhaka as Bayer Leverkusen celebrated winning the Bundesliga title in style! FT Bayer Leverkusen 5-0 Werder Bremen [Pictures from Sky Sports]
Xabi Alonso: “This is a very special moment for the club. Winning the Bundesliga for the first time in 120 years is something very special. The players are top. I am very proud of everyone.”
Will Bayer Leverkusen sell some star names after their remarkable title success? Fabrizio Romano has the latest in his exclusive column.

Zinedine Zidane to Bayern Munich? Reports suggest contact has taken place with the former Real Madrid manager.
However, Fabrizio Romano has named the three main candidates for the Bayern job according to his sources.

Eddie Howe to be next Chelsea manager? He’s the latest on a long list of candidates in case Mauricio Pochettino is sacked or steps down, according to Simon Phillips.
Teun Koopmeiners to Chelsea could be a new transfer saga to keep an eye on, according to reports.
Newcastle and Chelsea always considered Lewis Hall deal as permanent, now it's also formally done as all performance-related criteria have been met. Chelsea will receive £28m for the left-back.
Mauricio Pochettino: “Imagine if we’d played in Europe this season, with all the injuries? Oh my goodness! With a squad that is always between 8/10 players missing in every single game... If you add more games, we would struggle a lot.”

Eberechi Eze scored his 7th goal in Premier League in 19 starts for Crystal Palace. It’s also the 7th goal conceded by Liverpool in April. FT Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace [Pictures from Sky Sports]

Mason Greenwood has been linked with Lazio - they looked at him last summer but what about this year? Fabrizio Romano has the latest info in his exclusive column.

Curtis Jones with a shocker of a miss here as Liverpool suffered a potentially significant defeat. FT Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace [Pictures from Sky Sports]
Jurgen Klopp on title race potentially over for his team: “The answer is pretty easy. If we play like that in first half, why would we win the league? Play like second half and we can win games. Win games, be around until the end and we'll see where it takes us.”
Fabio Carvalho is doing fantastic on loan to Hull City as he scored 8 goals in 16 games since he joined Championship side in January. Liverpool are happy with his performances while several clubs are showing interest ahead of summer window, including Italian clubs and others.
Will Carvalho leave on loan or permanently? Liverpool’s next manager could be key to the decision, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column.

What a finish by Alexandre Lacazette in an incredible comeback by Lyon! FT Lyon 4-3 Brest [Pictures from TNT Sports]

Pep Guardiola: “Kyle Walker feels much better, maybe he can help with minutes against Real Madrid because it’s a final. But I don’t want to lose him for a long time… we will decide in the next days.”

What next for the new-look Manchester United board? Fabrizio Romano has some key updates in his column.
Thiago Motta to Manchester United? It’s an option being explored…
Mason Greenwood has been linked with Lazio - they looked at him last summer but what about this year? Fabrizio Romano has the latest info in his exclusive column.
Jeremie Frimpong to Man Utd transfer could also be on the cards this summer, according to reports.
Man United want a new left-back and possibly TWO new centre-backs, says Fabrizio Romano.
Erik ten Hag: “Fans have to be patient? It is up to them but it is the truth. At this moment with all the problems we have we play to our levels. We can play very good and to our levels when everyone is on top form but we have to do it for the whole 90 minutes.”

Eddie Howe confirms Newcastle plan to keep Alexander Isak: “We are trying to build a team here. We need to keep our best players. The elite ones are so difficult to recruit...”
Newcastle and Chelsea always considered Lewis Hall deal as permanent, now it's also formally done as all performance-related criteria have been met. Chelsea will receive £28m for the left-back.

Arda Guler or his agents have currently not asked to leave Real Madrid on loan. No request made at this point of the season, full focus on the final weeks to help the squad then time for the Euros. Talks will take place at the end of the season.

Roma defender Evan Ndicka is currently safe and out of danger after his heart scare. He’s feeling well and in good spirits. Ndicka collapsed on the pitch against Udinese but he’s now conscious, with the squad set to return to Roma shortly.

Werder director Fritz: “Naby Keita found out that he would not be playing vs Leverkusen from the start, he decided not to get on the bus and to go home. We’ll talk to Keita and his agent about the consequences and how to proceed.”