FULHAM GO ALL-OUT IN MILE RACE
FULHAM are keen on Arsenal starlet Emile Smith Rowe.
The newly-promoted club want to take the 20-year-old prospect on a seasonlong loan in the hope of offering him regular Premier League games.
Arsenal have already knocked back an inquiry from Monaco to try and sign the forward (right) who was part of the England Under-17 World Cup-winning squad in 2017.
Smith Rowe went on loan to Huddersfield last season but it remains to be seen whether the Gunners will to him go out again this term, with Crystal Palace and Leeds having also shown interest.
Fulham appear to be pushing hardest as they look to try and bolster their squad following promotion to the top flight.
Bielsa’s record £27m hot Rod
LEEDS have hailed their new £27million record signing Rodrigo as “world-class”.
The Spanish striker (above), 29, completed his medical yesterday and has flown to England to meet head coach Marcelo Bielsa and sign for his club.
Director of football Victor Orta, who handled negotiations with Valencia, said: “We think he’s of world-class standing.”
Sam Greenwood’s switch from Arsenal for an initial £1.5m is also being finalised.
SHEFFIELD UNITED want to swap Callum Robinson for West Brom striker Oli Burke. Burke, 23, can leave Albion having failed to live up to his £15million price tag since joining from RB Leipzig in 2017.
Robinson, 25, scored three goals on loan at the Baggies during last term’s promotion-winning campaign.
LIONEL MESSI is winning the hearts and minds of Barcelona’s fans in a fastescalating Nou Camp power struggle.
The Argentina superstar, 33, has shocked the football world by demanding to leave the club where he has spent the last 20 years and established himself as one of the greatest players of all time.
Messi is already being courted by the biggest clubs in the world with Manchester City his preferred destination and Paris Saint-Germain also in the running. His advisers are discussing potential transfers this summer with Inter Milan also keen.
This is as close as he has ever come to leaving. But that may only be half the story as two-thirds of fans in a poll conducted by Catalan radio station RAC1 said they should hold a presidential election and convince him to stay. And at the centre of the storm is current president Josep Maria Bartomeu, with supporters demanding he quits for his part in Barca’s decline and Messi’s disillusionment.
“Bartomeu, resign” fans chanted after they congregated outside the Nou Camp in protest because they blame him for not rebuilding the Barcelona squad after the vintage days of Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
It would appear Barca is not big enough for both of them and the club is desperately trying to convince him to change his mind with the hope he will report for the start of pre-season training this weekend.
Messi has demanded to be allowed to leave for free this summer because of a clause in his latest contract, while Barcelona are threatening legal action as the bitterness spirals out of control.
But behind the public row is a frustration on Messi’s part that Barcelona are no longer serious players in the Champions League, they failed to win a trophy this season for the first time in 12 years.
Messi wants to finish his career by winning more silverware – not with a whimper. So Bartomeu must do something drastic or quit because the fans simply will not stand for Messi leaving.
And one of the presidential candidates in the forthcoming club elections, Victor Font, insists that Messi will only stay if Bartomeu goes.
Font, speaking to Onda Cero radio, said: “If there is any option for Messi to stay, no matter how small, it goes through the resignation of Bartomeu.” Do not be surprised if Messi ends up staying and proving who is the real boss at the Nou Camp.