HEADLINES ██████████████

📌📌Harry Kane determined to join Manchester City

📌📌‘Xhaka is staying at Arsenal’ – Arteta confirms Roma move is off

📌📌Real Madrid’s Odriozola tests positive for coronavirus

📌📌Leeds interested in Traore deal as Wolves place £30m pricetag on winger

📌📌Nagelsmann ‘confident’ Goretzka will extend Bayern Munich contract

📌📌Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Moukoko reveals he wanted to quit football

📌📌Germany will not repeat Hummels & Muller saga, insists Flick

📌📌Aston Villa confirm Leon Bailey transfer agreement

📌📌Barcelona ‘fed up’ with Ilaix Moriba contract demands

📌📌Saul Niguez’s representatives to fly to England to negotiate Man Utd move

📌📌Gary Cahill confirms departure from Crystal Palace

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RESULTS AND FIXTURES

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📌📌 WEEKEND’S RESULTS

🌏🌏Olympics Men – Quarter-finals
FT Spain 5 – 2 Côte d’Ivoire

FT Japan 0 – 0 New Zealand (PK 4-2)

FT Brazil 1 – 0 Egypt

FT Korea Republic 3 – 6 Mexico

🌏🌏Concacaf – Gold Cup Final
FT United States 1 – 0 Mexico

NB: USA win Gold Cup for the 7th time

🇫🇷🇫🇷France – Trophée des Champions
FT Lille 1 – 0 PSG

🌏🌏Pre-season friendly Matches
FT Stuttgart 0-3 Barcelona

FT Manchester City 4-0 Barnsley

FT Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

FT Coventry City 1-2 Wolves

FT Monza 1-2 Juventus

FT Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Bologna

FT Sevilla 0-0 AS Roma 0-0

FT Nice 1-1 AC Milan

FT Bayern Munich 0-3 Napoli

FT Atletico Madrid 2-1 Wolfsburg

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🚩🚩FIXTURES TODAY
📆📆2ND AUGUST 2021
⏰⏰TIME IN GMT

🌍🌍Olympics – Women Semi-finals
United States 08 : 00 Canada

Australia 11 : 00 Sweden

██████████████ *SPANISH PAPERS*

✍️✍️Lionel Messi was expected to reports at Barcelona training on 2nd August but according to Mundo Deportivo, Messi isn’t expected to join training on August 2nd. The Argentine forward won’t reappear at the Ciutat Esportiva before he signs a new deal.

✍️✍️Barcelona star Gerard Pique is confident Lionel Messi will agree a new contract at the Camp Nou this summer.

✍️✍️Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman is delighted by the preseason form of key pair Antoine Griezmann and Memphis Depay after their 3-0 victory over Stuttgart.

✍️✍️Joan Laporta greeted the Barcelona squad at the team hotel in Germany following their 3-0 victory at Stuttgart on Sunday.

✍️✍️Real Madrid are looking to extend Karim Benzema’s contract and are set to offer the French international an extension until June 2023.

✍️✍️Real Madrid outcast Luka Jovic has failed to convince Carlo Ancelotti, and the club is pushing hard to offload him in the next few weeks.

✍️✍️Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho are likely to stay at Barça this season. Koeman counts on both players. After Leo Messi, they are the highest paid players in the squad.

✍️✍️The entourage of Miralem Pjanić has contacted Juventus to try and accelerate his possible signing. The Italian side must now decide what to do with this message.

✍️✍️Real Madrid confirm that defender Álvaro Odriozola has tested positive for Covid-19.

✍️✍️Samuel Umtiti has agreed to leave Barcelona on loan, but only to a club that either plays in the Champions League or has the chance of winning a title.

✍️✍️Real Madrid could revisit their previous interest in Villarreal defender Pau Torres ahead of the 2021/22 La Liga season.

✍️✍️Sevilla could swoop for Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez if Jules Kounde moves on this month.

✍️✍️Lille want to sign Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Ivo Grbić, according to Matteo Moretto. *FRENCH PAPERS*

✍️✍️Mauricio Pochettino has lost 8 of his 35 matches as PSG manager – a 22.9% loss rate – the worst for a coach in the QSI era.

✍️✍️According to French outlet L’Equipe, Lille have named a price tag of €35 million for Liverpool target Renato Sanches.

✍️✍️Hugo Lloris had taken exception to not being made aware of Karim Benzema’s return to the French team in advance, and is due a discussion with Didier Deschamps in the next international break.

✍️✍️Lyon have made an enquiry for Euro 2020 winner and Chelsea full-back Emerson Palmieri, according to Foot Mercato. *GERMAN PAPERS*

✍️✍️Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller have undergone their performance tests at Säbener Straße yesterday. The trio will join the rest of the team in training today.

✍️✍️New Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann is ‘confident’ that Leon Goretzka will sign a new contract despite interest from Manchester United. 

✍️✍️Negotiations between Bayern and Anderlecht for Joshua Zirkzee have picked up speed today. A loan deal without option to buy is realistic and could be closed this week.

✍️✍️Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen have reached an agreement for the transfer of Leon Bailey, subject to finalising personal terms & passing a medical. *ITALIAN PAPERS*

✍️✍️Luciano Spalletti feels Napoli are ‘on the right track’ after their remarkable 3-0 pre-season friendly win away to Bayern Munich.

✍️✍️Former AC Milan star Andriy Shevchenko has left his position as the head coach of Ukraine, just weeks after guiding his country to the quarter finals of Euro 2020.

✍️✍️Nice coach Christophe Galtier praised AC Milan forward Olivier Giroud’s strength in the air after the France international scored in a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

✍️✍️Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta rules out Granit Xhaka’s move to Roma: ‘He is going to stay with us.’

✍️✍️Cristian Romero will reportedly inform Atalanta today that he want’s to join Tottenham this summer as he feels its ‘an opportunity he can’t miss’.

✍️✍️Bologna have officially announced Marko Arnautovic’s arrival from Shanghai Port after anticipating the news with a funny video.

✍️✍️Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has reportedly entered talks with Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

✍️✍️Inter Milan expect to have the full squad back in training today and Christian Eriksen will arrive in Milan in the middle of this week.

✍️✍️TottenhamHotspur and Juventus are reportedly interested in Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic, who could move away from the Artemio Franchi this summer.

✍️✍️Fabrizio Romano confirms that Juventus are now set to sign Kaio Jorge, who can indeed arrive in Italy this week.

✍️✍️Inter have made their demand very clear for Lautaro Martinez and have rejected Arsenal’s offer of an Alexandre Lacazette swap deal, report La Gazzetta dello Sport.

✍️✍️Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has confirmed that Josip Ilicic has asked to leave the club and he’s already on the lookout for a new team for next season.

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BRITISH EXPRESS

███████████████ *MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS*

✒️✒️Manchester City will end their pursuit of Tottenham striker Harry Kane, if they sign England team-mate Jack Grealish from Aston Villa.

✒️✒️Manchester City ‘want Jack Grealish to tell Aston Villa that he wants to leave this summer’ when he returns to pre-season training Today.

✒️✒️Manchester United have already started putting plans in place to replace Paul Pogba if he leaves Old Trafford this summer with Saul Niguez at the top of a three-man list of possibilities.

✒️✒️Representatives of Atletico Madrid and Spain midfielder Saul Niguez will fly to England on Monday to discuss a move to the Premier League, with Manchester United and Liverpool leading the chase for the 26-year-old.

✒️✒️Manchester United are to open talks over a new contract for defender Luke Shaw. The 26-year-old’s deal runs out in 2023 and United want to reward his upturn in form which saw him star for England at Euro 2020.

✒️✒️Manchester City’s £200m pursuit of Harry Kane and Jack Grealish has coincided with talks over Raheem Sterling’s new contract failing to progress.

✒️✒️Harry Kane will hold talks with Tottenham next week and insist he wants to join Jack Grealish by signing for Manchester City. *LONDON EVENING STANDARD*

✒️✒️Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira is going back to Arsenal with a bid for winger Reiss Nelson.

✒️✒️Aston Villa will consider moving for Norwich City’s attacking midfielder Todd Cantwell if Jack Grealish departs for Manchester City.

✒️✒️Crystal Palace want to sign English forward Ademola Lookman from RB Leipzig on loan, but will likely face competition from Burnley and Watford for the 23-year-old. *BRITISH MIRROR*

✒️✒️Atletico Madrid have moved ahead of Arsenal in the race to sign Inter Milan’s 23-year-old Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez, who is valued at around 90m euros (£76.8m).

✒️✒️Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez, has been told he does not feature in manager Rafael Benitez’s plans at Everton and is free to leave if the club receives a suitable offer.

✒️✒️Wolves have expressed an interest in signing Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey from Juventus, although the 30-year-old is not convinced by a move to Molineux. *LIVERPOOL ECHO*

✒️✒️Jamie Carragher has warned that Virgil van Dijk’s return doesn’t mean Liverpool will “automatically win the league again” *BRITISH MAIL*

✒️✒️Tottenham have had a £43m bid for 23-year-old Argentina defender Cristian Romero accepted by Atalanta.

✒️✒️Leeds are interested in signing Spain winger Adama Troare from Wolves, with the 25-year-old valued at about £30m.

✒️✒️Tottenham, managed by former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, are also considering a move for Traore. *LONDON FOOTBALL*

✒️✒️Arsenal have been dealt a blow ahead of the new season with Mikel Arteta admitting that the injury Thomas Partey sustained against Chelsea ‘does not look good’. Midfielder Partey sustained an ankle injury in the first half against of Sunday’s 2-1 friendly defeat to the Blues following a collision with Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

✒️✒️Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel insists Ruben Loftus-Cheek can ‘decide his own future’. Loftus-Cheek spent last season on loan at Fulham as they were relegated from the Premier League.

✒️✒️Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed midfielder Granit Xhaka will not be leaving the club this summer.

✒️✒️West Ham remain in talks with Chelsea over 26-year-old France defender Kurt Zouma but are struggling to reach an agreement, with Fiorentina’s Serbia international Nikola Milenkovic an alternative option.

✒️✒️The agent of Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez has held talks with Sevilla, with the 25-year-old Colombian seen as a potential replacement for France international Jules Kounde who has been linked with Chelsea.