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Luis Enrique denied he was punishing Kylian Mbappe by subbing him at half-time at Monaco, as he reacted to the Paris Saint-Germain star's behaviour.

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Mbappe subbed at half-timeEnrique denied trying to punish himPSG drew 0-0 with Mbappe in the standsWHAT HAPPENED?

The Spanish coach had withdrawn Mbappe at half-time, replacing him with Randal Kolo Muani, in the second successive game the French star had been substituted with the scores level. Following his substitution, Mbappe was then seen out of his kit and sat relaxing in the stands instead of alongside his team-mates on the bench. Luis Enrique denied there was a rift between himself and Mbappe after the game.

Advertisement(C)Getty imagesWHAT ENRIQUE SAID

After the game, the coach told reporters: “Is this a punishment for Mbappe? My answer is the one I gave. Sooner or later, we have to that we get used to playing without him. It’s my philosophy to think about what's best for the team. I don’t want to argue. It’s my decision.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Substituting Mbappe early in a game once is considered surprising, let alone twice, so it naturally raised eyebrows when that decision was made. With Mbappe set to leave PSG to join Real Madrid in the summer, it is understandable that Luis Enrique may only want players that are 100 percent committed to the team playing for his side – whether that can be deemed as a punishment or not is ambiguous.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ENRIQUE?

Like the coach said, he has to prepare his team to be able to play without Mbappe. The loss of one of the world's best players would impact any club, and PSG have to be ready to replace the Frenchman with either existing players or via the transfer market. Either way, Mbappe won't be there.

Celtic will tie up a deal for Jota ‘as soon as possible’, BBC pundit Alan Hutton has told Football Insider. 

The lowdown

Jota, who’s owned by Primeira Liga outfit Benfica, is coming to the end of his season-long loan spell at Celtic.

The Hoops, who clinched the Scottish Premiership title in midweek, conclude their campaign at home to Motherwell on Saturday.

But the 23-year-old could yet join long term, with Ange Postecoglou’s side able to trigger a £6.7million purchase option under the terms of the agreement.

Celtic also have a decision to make over Cameron Carter-Vickers, whose parent club is Tottenham Hotspur. He would cost an initial £6million, potentially rising to £10million.

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The latest

Hutton, a commentator for BBC Sport, says Jota can continue build on an ‘incredible’ first season at Parkhead.

He tells FI that Jota is a favourite among the Hoops faithful and that he has stood up to the pressure admirably.

“Jota’s only 23-years-old, he’s still developing. He’s probably only going to get better, I think he can get better.

“What he’s done this season has been incredible, for him to come from his parent club, where he’s not really been playing.

“Benfica are a big club in their own right but to come to another club where there’s a lot of pressure, to perform at such a young age, he’s stood up to that task.

“Jota’s that player fans want to see. He’s exciting, he takes people on, he makes things happen, he scores goals and ticks all the boxes.”

Hutton expects Celtic to activate their option to buy swiftly to avoid any uncertainty.

“So for £6.7million, I would expect them to do that as soon as possible. That means he is settled as a player and all the Celtic fans are happy. He can then just concentrate solely on his football moving forward.”

The verdict

It should be stressed that £6.7million isn’t small change for Celtic. That outlay would make Jota the eighth-biggest signing in the club’s history.

But significantly, the club are due to reap the financial rewards of qualifying for the Champions League group stage for winning the SPFL. In the circumstances, then, it’s a no-brainer for the club.

Jota leads the way in the Celtic squad for overall goal involvements (24, four clear of Liel Abada), assists (12, three clear of Tom Rogic) and is second only to Kyogo Furuhashi (15) for goals (12).

Pundit Marvin Batley has billed him as a striker’s ‘dream’, while Postecogolou has dubbed him ‘unbelievable’.

If no option to buy had been agreed last summer, then Benfica would surely have been demanding more than £6.7million off the back of a season like this.

In other news, a Celtic transfer target has emerged.

Manchester United have once again been name-checked with an interest in Feyenoord defender Tyrell Malacia.

The Lowdown: £20m deal?

The 22-year-old left-back appears to be on Erik ten Hag’s radar ahead of his first transfer window as United boss. Malacia, known as a ‘pitbull’ for his tackling technique, has made 134 appearances for the Dutch side – 48 of which have come during the 2021/22 season.

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Reports at the beginning of the month suggested that the Netherlands international was set to make the move to Old Trafford in a deal worth £20m, and his name and the Red Devils have again come up in conversation.

The Latest: Name-checked again

Sports Witness relayed an update from French outlet But! regarding Malacia on Friday.

They claimed that Lyon and United are both keen on the £20m man’s services, adding that he has drawn interest from ‘Ten Hag’s version’ at Old Trafford.

The Verdict: Who goes?

Should Malacia make the move to Manchester, Ten Hag would have three left-backs on the books ahead of his first season.

As we know, both Luke Shaw and Alex Telles are already on the books at Old Trafford. Shaw is out of contract in 2023 and Telles 2024, so you’d expect that one of the two could well depart if Malacia comes in.

The Englishman has had a number of injury issues this season, while Telles has been criticised for his displays in recent weeks, so it will be interesting to see what Ten Hag decides over the coming months.

In other news: Sky Sports: Ten Hag working on big free transfer after Man Utd meeting; agent now in England. 

Although there may appear little to play for for Crystal Palace in the final week of the Premier League season, Patrick Vieira’s men head into Thursday’s clash at Goodison Park with lingering ambitions of securing a top-half finish.

That would represent a promising debut campaign at the helm for the former Arsenal captain, although his side will be faced with an Everton team that are desperate to retain their top-flight status, with the Toffees knowing that a win will confirm their safety.

On recent evidence, the odds will be in the visitors’ favour, however, with the south Londoners having already won twice in this fixture this season, notably running out comfortable 4-0 winners in the FA Cup quarter-final meeting at Selhurst Park just a few months ago.

Looking to make it three from three against the Merseysiders, one man whom Vieira should call upon is former Leicester City star Jeffrey Schlupp, with the Ghanian having made a vital impact off the bench at the weekend to nick a point away at Villa Park.

Just three minutes after entering the fray as a late substitute against Steven Gerrard’s side, the versatile midfielder reacted quickest to a Marc Guehi flick on to instinctively prod home past Emi Martinez, netting his fourth league goal of the campaign – his joint-best top-flight record.

Previously dubbed “underrated” by former boss Roy Hodgson, the 20-cap international has so often flown under the radar for the Eagles, although has seemingly done enough of late to warrant a starting berth this evening.

Formerly a title winner with Leicester, the £7.2m-rated speedster has proven an invaluable asset for his new boss this term, slotting in as part of the forward line but also as a dynamic, midfield presence.

The club’s £60k-per-week unsung hero has performed favourably among his fellow midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues, ranking in the top 4% for blocks made, as well as in the top 7% for dribbles completed and 8% for touches in the attacking penalty area, illustrating his value at both ends of the pitch.

The 29-year-old – who has been labelled “quite incredible” by Hogdson – is out of contract this summer, however, with the remaining two fixtures potentially offering him the chance to stake his claim for a new deal.

On his form this term, the one-time Brentford loanee – who is the seventh-best performing player in the Palace squad this season – deserves both a start tonight and a contract extension, with it difficult to replace such a flexible and versatile asset.

AND in other news: Vieira now heading for 1st summer transfer disaster, Palace supporters will be gutted

Manchester City have shown over the years that they are not shy when it comes to signing players from their fellow Premier League clubs.

While the Citizens have a number of players currently in their squad that have been brought in from other top flight sides such as Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling among others, they’ve also done the same throughout previous stages of their history.

One player, in particular, that fits that bill is Gareth Barry, who the Manchester club signed from Aston Villa back in 2009 in a deal worth £12m.

During his time at the Etihad Stadium, the midfielder made 175 appearances in total across all competitions, scoring eight goals, providing 18 assists and winning an FA Cup and Premier League title in the process.

After leaving the club in 2014, it seems as though now, eight years later, City could find themselves getting a new version of the midfielder this summer.

Earlier this month, the Citizens were linked with a move for Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who reportedly has a price tag of £60m.

Having worked his way through Leeds’ youth ranks, as Barry did at Villa, Phillips has made 234 appearances for the Yorkshire club across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and delivering 13 assists along the way.

In terms of Phillips being City’s and Pep Guardiola’s modern version of Barry, the former City title winner was described in The Guardian as “a technically gifted player with an eye for a pass and an ability to anticipate danger”.

That is along the same lines of the praise that Andrea Pirlo gave the Leeds star by saying that he was a “rock” in midfield for England during their Euro 2020 campaign, whilst also showing his technical passing ability by setting up Sterling’s winning goal against Croatia.

Having made a total of 139 tackles across the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Premier League seasons for Leeds, this highlights how much of a tough midfield opponent he can be and backs up what the former Juventus player and manager said about him.

The 26-year-old also found himself on the receiving end of praise for his international performances by former England manager Fabio Capello who called him a “phenomenal” player.

This shows that the England international has experience of playing with the likes of Sterling, Grealish, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker, which may make it easier for him to settle in at City if he does join them this summer.

In other news: Imagine him & Grealish: Pep can form deadly MCFC duo by signing “refreshing” £30m star

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Darwin Nunez to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a recent report by Football Transfers, who claim that Fabio Paratici has already made contact with the Benfica centre-forward’s representatives regarding a move for the 22-year-old – with the Portuguese outfit reported to be willing to part with the Uruguay international for a figure in the region of £68m this summer.

The report goes on to state that Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also keeping a very close eye on the situation of the striker ahead of a potential swoop of their own in the coming months.

Van Dijk’s worst nightmare

Considering the quite extraordinary season Nunez enjoyed in 2021/22, it is easy to see why Paratici appears keen to secure a deal to bring the centre-forward to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

Indeed, over his 28 Liga Portugal appearances this term, the £49.5m-rated talent was in devastating form for Benfica, scoring a league-high 26 goals, registering four assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 3.0 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 1.4 dribbles per game.

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These returns saw the 22-year-old average a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.48, ranking him as the joint third-best player in the top flight of Portuguese football.

The £31k-per-week forward who Keifer MacDonald dubbed the “complete package” also highly impressed over his ten Champions League appearances, scoring six goals against the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Liverpool, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.06.

The Uruguayan’s performances over the two-legged quarter-final with Jurgen Klopp’s side particularly caught the eye, with the striker’s displays leading Virgil van Dijk to claim that the former Penarol starlet is one of the top five players he has ever faced.

When asked who were the most difficult opponents he has played against, the Netherlands international stated:

“[Sergio] Aguero was obviously unbelievable. [Lionel] Messi, arguably the best player in the history of football in my opinion. [Kylian] Mbappe is different, quick… [Erling] Haaland and also Darwin. He’s a bit similar – very direct, quick, tall, strong and it’s quite difficult to play against him.”

As such, considering his undoubted ability, his potential for future growth and his extremely reasonable £68m price tag, Paratici simply must do everything he can to win the race for Nunez this summer, as, if the 22-year-old can give a player as talented as Van Dijk nightmares, this will certainly be the case for every other defender in the English top-flight next season.

AND in other news: “I understand…”: Alasdair Gold drops huge Spurs transfer claim supporters will love

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a move to bring Borna Sosa to the Premier League in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Christian Falk (via Barca Universal), with the German journalist revealing that the left-back looks likely to leave Stuttgart in the coming months, with Tottenham, Chelsea and Barcelona all mentioned as being keen on a move for the 24-year-old.

The transfer insider went on to suggest that Julian Nagelsmann is also interested in signing the Croatia international for Bayern Munich. However, the Bundesliga champions’ hierarchy are not thought to be keen on the former Dinamo Zagreb starlet, who is reported to be available for around €25m (£21m) this summer.

The next David Beckham

Fabio Paratici recently completed a deal to bring left wing-back Ivan Perisic to north London, while Antonio Conte already possesses the options of Sergio Reguilon and Ryan Sessegnon in that position.

However, with the former being linked with a move away from Tottenham this summer and the latter having struggled with injuries, it is not difficult to see why Spurs would be keen on a move for Sosa ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

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Indeed, over his 28 Bundesliga appearances this season, the £18m-rated talent posed a constant threat on Stuttgart’s left flank. He scored one goal, registered eight assists and created nine big chances for his team-mates, along with making 2.2 key passes and 2.5 crosses and completing 1.3 dribbles per game.

These metrics saw the £15k-per-week left-footer average a remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.26, ranking him not only as Pellegrino Matarazzo’s best performer in the league but also as the joint 13th-best player in the entire division.

Indeed, so impressive was Sosa’s delivery over the course of the campaign that Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat went as far as to compare the 24-year-old to David Beckham, stating of the Croatian last month: “Borna’s said himself that David Beckham is his role model, and I think he has the same qualities.”

As such, should the player who Matarazzo claimed has “huge potential” and Mislintat labelled a “weapon” indeed be available for a figure in the region of £21m this summer, it would appear highly advisable for Paratici to sanction a swoop for the Stuttgart sensation.

Sosa would certainly look to be an upgrade on both Reguilon and Sessegnon – who managed five Premier League assists between them in 2021/22 – at left wing-back.

AND in other news: Conte could land his next Perisic as Spurs now plot bid for “unstoppable” £17m “beast”

Celtic could be set to miss out on signing reported transfer target Ola Solbakken this summer.

What’s the news?

According to a recent tweet from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Norwegian is a “top target” for Italian club AS Roma this summer. The journalist also added that “negotiations are progressing” between Roma and Bodo/Glimt behind the scenes over the potential transfer switch.

The winger joined his current club in January 2020 from fellow Norwegian club Ranheim IL. Since then, the 23-year-old has gone on to make 72 appearances in total for Bodo/Glimt across all competitions, scoring 17 goals and delivering 18 assists along the way.

Taking this into account, it’s easy to see why Celtic were linked with a move for him and why Roma are reportedly in talks to add him to their ranks.

Bad news for Celtic

With 19 appearances to his name this season, the attacker has found the net eight times and provided five assists in the process.

Having netted three goals in four games against Jose Mourinho’s side, along with scoring one goal and supplying one assist in two matches against the Hoops in the Europa Conference League, this will have given both clubs a good look at the player and his talent.

Given the clear attacking talent he has and the versatility to be able to play on both the left and right flanks, it would certainly be bad news for Celtic if they let the player slip out of their grasp and sign for Roma this summer.

As the winger was linked with a move to Parkhead as a contingency plan if they were not able to secure a permanent transfer deal for on-loan attacker Jota, Solbakken’s potential move to Italy would ramp up the pressure on the Bhoys to make sure that they secure the Portuguese star’s signature.

If Celtic are keen to sign the Bodo/Glimt deynamo, then they should be doing all they can to make sure they rival the Europa Conference League holders and get him to make a move to Glasgow instead of Rome.

If not, they will then just have to move on and focus on other attacking targets that they may have in their sights.

In other news: Celtic now eye move for 19-year-old “breath of fresh air”, he could be their new Scott Brown

Liverpool have been heavily linked with securing a deal for Darwin Nunez, and now a new update has been revealed on the next steps in the club’s pursuit of the player.

What’s the latest?

According to Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, Liverpool have now agreed on personal terms with Nunez.

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Taking to his Twitter account the journalist claimed:

“Liverpool close to reach an agreement with Benfica for striker Darwin Nunez. Agreement on personal terms.”

Longari then further followed up with another tweet stating: “Confirmed by some other reliable sources: Darwin Nunez has a total agreement with Liverpool on personal terms (2027). First offer from LFC to Benfica to find a total agreement.

“Darwin Nunez never been so close to Liverpool.”

Klopp will be delighted

With the unexpected news that Sadio Mane wants to Liverpool this summer, Jurgen Klopp will surely be delighted that FSG are making the right moves to replace the Senegalese winger’s massive goal contributions ahead of next season with Nunez proving to be more than capable of bagging crucial goals.

The Uruguayan striker scored 34 goals and contributed four assists in all competitions from his striker role for Portuguese giants Benfica this season, but it is the importance of some of his strikes specifically that make him a game-changer like his potential predecessor Mane.

In the Champions League, Nunez was the catalyst in his team’s progression through the prestigious European competition that landed Benfica their first quarter-final since 2016.

The 22-year-old scored big goals in big games against some of the most elite clubs in the tournament with two goals against Barcelona, a goal versus both Bayern Munich and Ajax, and two strikes over the quarter-final tie with Liverpool.

That said, despite his hard work was unable to knock out the Merseyside club and crashed out of the competition at Anfield.

Klopp spoke out on his admiration for the young goal machine in a Champions League press conference, saying (via Metro):

“Really good, really good. I knew it before but he played pretty much in front of me. Physically strong, quick, was calm with his finish. Really good. If he stays healthy, it’s a big career ahead of him.”

Following the comments from the German coach, Nunez probably would never have imagined he would become a target and potential player for the six-time Champions League winners and now he could sign a record-breaking deal reported to be worth €100m (£85.5m) making him the most expensive signing ever for the Reds.

AND in other news: Liverpool trying to sign £102m-rated “game-changer” as well as Nunez, he’s Mane 2.0

Newcastle United are reportedly now in the mix to sign Lisandro Martinez this summer.

The Lowdown: Centre-back wanted

The St. James’ Park outfit are reportedly in a ‘strong position’ to sign central defender Sven Botman from Lille, but with interest from Serie A champions and UEFA Champions League qualifiers AC Milan as well, it may still be a difficult deal to get done.

Thus, they may have to look at other targets in the centre-back position, and a few new names have now been cropping up.

The Latest: Martinez interest

As per 90min, the Magpies are now in the mix to sign Martinez from Ajax, although Arsenal are the favourites at this moment in time.

Nonetheless, they are thought to be keeping a close eye on his situation, as are Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona and Inter Milan.

The Verdict: Botman alternative

Martinez would certainly be a good alternative to Botman, should they not be able to get that deal over the line.

Nicknamed the ‘butcher of Amsterdam’ for the way he battles at the back, the Argentina international is not afraid to get stuck in, but is also comfortable at playing out from the back.

Only his teammate Daley Blind (83.2) made more passes per match than him (81.8) in the Eredivisie last season (WhoScored), and so the £28.8m-rated defender would slot in nicely under Eddie Howe.

In other news, find out who is now ‘set to leave’ NUFC here!