Championship &#8211; CaughtOffside

Chelsea’s €40m transfer falls through after major problem finalising contract

Enzo Maresca explains what excites him most about Chelsea’s new €60m man

Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

Piroe joined Leeds last summer from Swansea and scored 13 goals in 45 Championship appearances having scored 19 the season before for the Swans.

Leeds will certainly be looking to Piroe for a better return this season as they look to secure promotion back to the Premier League.

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Man Utd legend furious after managerial debut ends in embarrassment

CJ — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 19:35:57 +0000

Wayne Rooney’s start to life as Plymouth Argyle manager couldn’t have got off to a worse start.

Following mixed spells in charge of Derby County, DC United and Birmingham City, the Manchester United record goalscorer was appointed Plymouth boss in May.

The Pilgrims had a mixed pre-season under Rooney, beating Cheltenham 5-1 either side of a 2-2 draw with Orlando Pirates and a 2-1 loss to Bristol Rovers. However, optimism was still high that the 120-time England international could help further establish them as a Championship side.

But Rooney’s first competitive match in charge of Argyle ended in disaster with Sheffield Wednesday inflicting a 4-0 defeat.

Jamal Lowe opened the scoring in the 35th minute before a 52nd-minute own goal from Brendan Galloway left Plymouth with a mountain to climb. Late strikes from Josh Windass and Michael Smith finished the job at Hillsborough on Sunday.

The defeat understandably left Plymouth fans concerned about the campaign ahead, with some even predicting a swift exit for Rooney.

When Rooney does get the boot, what sane manger would actually want to take the job? #pafc

— argyletweets (@argyletweet) August 11, 2024

Rooney ‘angry’ at Plymouth performance

Wayne Rooney, manager of Plymouth watches the action from the touchline during the pre-season friendly match between Bristol Rovers and Plymouth Argyle at The Memorial Stadium on July 30, 2024 in Bristol, England.

Rooney himself was left both furious and confused by his side’s performance and he didn’t mince his words when reflecting on the match.

“I’m disappointed, angry, surprised,” Rooney told BBC Radio Devon. “I think from everything we’ve seen from the players throughout pre-season today was a surprise to me.

“We knew it was important to try and get through the first 20 minutes and then try and get some composure and some calmness to the game, and we didn’t manage to do that.

“I think the basics of the game today was not good enough and for me that’s not acceptable.

“Whether that’s getting to the ball, tackling, being aggressive and staying with runners — we knew Sheffield Wednesday were one of the best teams in the league last season at crosses and cutbacks and it was four goals from crosses and cutbacks, which we worked a lot on throughout the week, so I’m really disappointed.”

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Leeds United fear losing star forward as Premier League club returns with second bid

CJ — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 16:55:51 +0000

Leeds United are bracing themselves for another push from Brighton for striker Georginio Rutter, according to reports.

Brighton are on the lookout for new options in the final third after they allowed German striker Deniz Undav to make his loan to Stuttgart a permanent transfer.

The Seagulls can currently call upon Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck and talented Irish youngster Evan Ferguson in the No.9 spot, but that trio scored just 20 Premier League goals between them in 2023/24 — four of which were penalties.

According to The Sunday People (via MOT Leeds News), Brighton are considering coming back to the table for Rutter after seeing an initial £30m bid rejected.

Rutter arrived at Leeds from Hoffenheim in January 2023 for a fee that could rise to a club-record £36m (per BBC Sport).

The former France youth international initially struggled to adjust to English football, failing to score in 13 appearances across all competitions at the end of the 2023/24 campaign — including 11 Premier League outings.

However, Rutter performed brilliantly as a second striker last season, notching eight goals and 17 assists in 52 appearances across all competitions, including six goals and 15 assists in 45 Championship games.

Daniel Farke will be praying he can keep hold of Rutter following a summer where Leeds have already seen Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, Glen Kamara and Luis Sinisterra leave for handsome fees, while Wilfried Gnonto continues to be linked with a move away from Elland Road.

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Leeds table official bid to sign towering Chelsea centre-back

Magnus Eriksen — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 12:12:09 +0000

Leeds United have reportedly made an official transfer bid for talented young Chelsea defender Bashir Humphreys.

The 21-year-old has recently shone in a loan spell in the Championship with Swansea City, and it seems he’s now being lined up for another spell in English football’s second tier.

Reports claim Chelsea are now keen to sell Humphreys permanently, and it’s clear Leeds are willing to try their luck with a move after tabling an offer to the Blues, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Leeds have money to spend to help fund their promotion push, with big money made from the sales of Archie Gray to Tottenham and Crysencio Summerville to West Ham.

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Humphreys doesn’t look likely to break into this big and competitive Chelsea squad any time soon, so a permanent exit could suit him well.

Leeds also looks like a good club for him to continue his development, as he should get the chance to become a key part of their team and help potentially get the Yorkshire club back into the Premier League.

Chelsea have sold Conor Gallagher this summer and also look ready to offload Trevoh Chalobah, so another sale like Humphreys would mean another opportunity to make pure profit from the sale of an academy player.

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Liverpool talent to reject 12 Championship clubs to reunite with Pep Lijnders

Darren Looney — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 10:12:24 +0000

Liverpool youngster Bobby Clark is closing in on a permanent move to RB Salzburg as the two clubs are close to agreeing a deal for the midfielder.

The original plan for the 19-year-old ahead of the 2024/25 campaign was to offer Clark a new deal at Liverpool before allowing the youngster to leave on loan to gain some experience, however, things seem to have changed.

According to DAVEOCKOP, RB Salzburg are closing in on a deal for Clark as former Liverpool coaches Pep Lijnders and Vitor Matos are extremely keen to work with the player again.

Last season was the midfielder’s biggest at Anfield as he was one of a group of youngsters who helped Jurgen Klopp through a tough period at the start of 2024.

The 19-year-old would come on in several Premier League games and was one of the young talents that helped beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.

The upcoming campaign is a big one for Clark’s development and with the midfielder having a strong relationship with Lijnders, there is belief that under the former Reds coach, the player can reach his full potential.

Liverpool’s Bobby Clark is closing in on a permanent move to RB Salzburg

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Liverpool’s Bobby Clark set to reject up to 12 Championship clubs

With Clark set to move to Austria this summer, DAVEOCKOP states that it will result in the youngster rejecting up to 12 Championship teams. Bristol City, Portsmouth, and Norwich are believed to be among them, which makes the Englishman’s decision to leave his home country even more impressive.

The decision to go to Salzburg will be the right one for Clark’s career as it will be an experience living away from home comforts and playing for the Austrian side allows him to compete in the UEFA Champions League this season.

Along with Lijnders being there, that will play a big part in the 19-year-old’s decision, as Liverpool prepare to part ways with one of their more talented youngsters.

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Manchester United open to two alternatives to Manuel Ugarte transfer

Mark Brus — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 09:38:30 +0000

Manchester United are reportedly open to two other potential midfield transfer targets alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte, who may be too expensive.

According to Fabrizio Romano on his YouTube channel, Man Utd are not willing to pay crazy money to PSG for Ugarte, even if he remains their preferred target, with cheaper options such as Burnley’s Sander Berge and former loanee Sofyan Amrabat also under consideration.

Ugarte looks ideal for United and may be realistically available this summer due to there being so much competition for places in Luis Enrique’s PSG midfield, though the Uruguay international surely won’t come cheap due to only just joining the Ligue 1 giants a year ago.

Berge could be a decent alternative after often performing well in the Premier League, even if he’s not exactly the kind of player you’d rank as one of the best in Europe.

Manuel Ugarte has been a top target for Manchester United

Likewise, Amrabat showed some promise towards the end of his loan spell at Old Trafford last season after initially making a quiet start to life at the club.

Ugarte transfer: Can Man United reach an agreement for their top target?

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside recently, Jonathan Johnson explained the various moving parts in the Ugarte situation and what PSG’s plans might be for the Uruguay international.

“Ugarte to United seems to have gathered pace quite significantly and it’s not too surprising. I think Ugarte is tailor-made for the Premier League and I think the drop-off from Casemiro in the season just gone means it’s normal United would be looking for a profile like that to replace him,” Johnson said a few weeks ago.

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“It’s a critical moment as well because if this drags on and Ugarte finds himself out of favour with Enrique at the start of the new season with PSG, it will become that much harder for them to command the kind of fee they’ll want, and perhaps even half what they paid for him 12 months ago. If he goes now, PSG won’t make as much of a loss.”

This surely plays into United’s hands, so it looks like this will surely remain one to watch as the window nears its conclusion.

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Kris Boyd urges Leeds to sign 28-year-old goal machine after Portsmouth draw

Charlie Patrick — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 23:13:34 +0000

Kris Boyd believes Leeds should go and sign Blackburn Rovers attacker Sammie Szmodics after Mateo Joseph failed to impress against Portsmouth.

Having failed to win promotion last season after losing the play-off final to Southampton, Leeds kicked off the new campaign in chaotic fashion against Pompey.

Daniel Farke’s side required a 95th minute penalty from Brenden Aaronson to rescue a 3-3 draw at Elland Road.

Boyd urges Leeds to sign Szmodics

It’s been a difficult summer for Leeds, who have lost Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville to Tottenham and West Ham respectively.

Those departures have seen the Whites lose a lot of quality from the their squad, and there’s still a chance more players could leave with Wilfried Gnonto attracting interest from Premier League clubs.

However, Leeds do have a considerable budget to spend in the window on reinforcements and it’s important they spend it wisely and get the right players in.

Szmodics was the top scorer in the Championship last season.

Ex-Rangers striker Boyd thought Leeds lacked a goal threat through the middle and urged them to reinvest some of the money they have made on Szmodics, who was the top scorer in the Championship last season with 27 goals.

“He (Summerville) is (a miss) but if you look at what? Kamara’s left, Summerville, Archie Gray’s left, you go right through the list, they’ve got money there why don’t you go and get a striker?, he told Sky Sports Soccer Saturday

“You’ve got someone there, Sammie Smodzics, who’s scored the goals for Blackburn last year, can you go and get him?

“Because they created loads of opportunities but they never looked like scoring and it was all from (Willy) Gnonto or Dan James the good work from them. (Jayden) Bogle got forward, Junior Firpo got forward, they put balls in the box but Joseph in the middle huffed and puffed but there wasn’t anything really there.”

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Szmodics had attracted interest from Ipswich earlier in the window and Blackburn will be desperately hoping they can keep hold of their star man, who scored in their 4-2 win against Derby on Friday.

It’s certainly not time to panic after just one game but the addition of a proven goalscorer like Szmodics would be a huge plus and could be the difference between going up automatically or being in the play-offs.

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Leeds linked with a move for 21-year-old Crystal Palace winger

Saikat Chatterjee — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 13:27:55 +0000

Crystal Palace attacking sensation Jesurun Rak-Sakyi unlikely to join Leeds United.

Despite all their efforts and a third-place finish in the EFL Championship last season, Leeds United couldn’t secure an immediate return to the Premier League. It has resulted in a massive financial blow and they have already lost arguably their most important player from last season, Crysencio Summerville.

The Yorkshire-based club did identify Jesurun Rak-Sakyi as a potential replacement and as per reports, they had agreed on a deal with Crystal Palace for his transfer. But, according to Yorkshire Evening Post via Leeds United News, Daniel Farke’s team are all set to drop their interest in the 21-year-old Crystal Palace winger.

Summerville contributed towards 31 goals last season. He was their go-to man in the final third of the pitch and bringing in a replacement for him is the most important piece of business Leeds need to take care of before the end of the window. They identified Rak-Sakyi as an ideal option to bolster their attack and according to reports, the Whites were one of the three clubs to have agreed terms with the Eagles for the services of the English youth international.

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Jesurun Rak-Sakyi unlikely to move

But, a report from Yorkshire Evening Post suggests Rak-Sakyi is unlikely to make the move to Leeds. The Championship outfit are all set to drop their interest in his services as they can’t guarantee him enough game time from the start because of the existing options in their squad.

Since the 21-year-old is not considered an important part of Crystal Palace’s first-team, they are willing to negotiate his departure. But, he won’t be moving to Leeds. At this point, Sheffield United are front-runners for his services and it won’t be a surprise if he ends up joining them before the end of the window.

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Leeds strike deal to sign attacker but face nervous wait for his decision

Charlie Patrick — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 23:17:03 +0000

Leeds have agreed a deal with Crystal Palace to sign winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on loan but fellow Championship clubs Sheffield United and Hull City remain in the race according to Sky Sports.

The 21-year-old made just eight appearances in all competitions for the Eagles last season as they enjoyed a resurgence over the second half of the campaign under Oliver Glasner and secured a top half finish.

Rak-Sakyi, who is under contract until 2027 was left out of the Palace squad for their tour pre-season tour of America and it’s almost certain his short term future lies away from Selhurst Park.

Leeds agree terms for Rak-Sakyi loan

Rak-Sakyi has been at Palace since the age of 16 and he’s come through the ranks to feature for the first team.

However, regular minutes in the first team have been few and far between for the winger and with the signings of Daichi Kamada and Ismaila Sarr it pushes him further down the pecking order.

Palace reportedly want to send Rak-Sakyi out on loan to play regular football and have earmarked the Championship as their preferred destination.

Sky Sports have reported that Leeds, Sheffield United and Hull City have all agreed season long loan deals with Palace, but the player has yet to decide who he wants to join.

Rak-Sakyi is expected to spend the coming season on loan in the Championship.

Leeds are in need of reinforcements in the wide areas after losing Crysencio Summerville to West Ham and Daniel Farke will desperately be hoping he can guide the club to promotion next season, having lost to Southampton in the play-off final.

Although Rak-Sakyi hasn’t played in the Championship before he had a successful loan spell with Charlton in League One during the 2022/2023 campaign, scoring 15 goals and providing eight assists in 43 appearances.

The Whites have got money to spend following the sales of Summerville and Archie Gray, but it’s important they spend it wisely.

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A move for Rak-Sakyi makes sense as it’s financially viable and it’s one of those low risk high reward type of moves.

Leeds host Portsmouth on Saturday lunchtime in their opening game of the season and they will very much hope it’s second time lucky in regards to promotion.

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Aston Villa agree deal to sign exciting English striker

Charlie Patrick — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 20:37:08 +0000

Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign England under-17 international Mason Cotcher from Sunderland according to Fabrizio Romano.

It’s been a busy summer at Villa Park with a number of new signings coming through the door as the club look to strengthen their squad ahead of Champions League football next season.

The likes of Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Ross Barkey and Jaden Philogene have all come in whilst club record signing Moussa Diaby has departed for Saudi side Al-Ittihad.

Aston Villa close in on Mason Cotcher signing

It’s not all about the first team at Villa and they are also looking to strengthen their academy and make signings for the future.

Romano has reported that they have agreed a deal with Sunderland for 17-year-old striker Cotcher who will sign a contract at Villa Park until 2027.

He took to X.com and said:

“Understand Aston Villa have now agreed on deal to sign England U17 striker Mason Cotcher from Sunderland. Contract until June 2027 to be signed today at #AVFC.”

?? Understand Aston Villa have now agreed on deal to sign England U17 striker Mason Cotcher from Sunderland.

Contract until June 2027 to be signed today at #AVFC. pic.twitter.com/6yl7OLxYmP

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 9, 2024

Sunderland will be compensated when Cotcher signs his first professional contract because of their role in his development.

Cotcher, who has two caps for England’s under-17s made six appearances in the under-18 Premier League last season, scoring three goals, whilst he also made one appearance in the Premier League 2.

In total the 17-year-old has made 27 appearances for Sunderland under-18s, scoring nine goals, and he’s also featured in the youth teams at Manchester United, Arsenal and Leeds.

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