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Liverpool have confirmed that Hugo Ekitike has joined the club in a £69 million deal.
Barcelona have announced the signing of Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United for the upcoming season.
Chelsea's spending looks set to continue as they prepare to bid for Xavi Simons.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich are prepared to make another offer for Liverpool star Luis Diaz.
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22 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak hasn't travelled on their pre-season tour to Singapore.
The Magpies are heading to Asia as they prepare for the upcoming campaign.
However, there will be no Isak in the squad.
The Toon insist this is due to a thigh problem that saw the striker train on his own earlier this week and miss the Celtic game.
However, Eddie Howe indicated after the Toon's 4-0 defeat to Celtic that he had sent Isak home due to the speculation over his future.
Liverpool are keen on recruiting the star striker and were willing to slap down a British transfer record of £120 million.
However, no bid ever came in for Isak, and Liverpool have signed Hugo Ekitike for £69 million.
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23rd Jul 2025, 20:52By Jack Cunningham
talkSPORT understands that Chelsea are advancing in talks to sign Jorrel Hato.
Ajax were looking for over £50 million, but the Blues feel they can get the deal done for less.
The versatile defender has indicated he wants to join Chelsea and move to Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal have also been linked with Hato, but it is Chelsea who are closing in.
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23rd Jul 2025, 19:37By Jack Cunningham
Liverpool have confirmed the arrival of Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee talkSPORT believes to be an initial £69 million, with £10 million in add-ons.
The striker has signed a long-term deal, which is set to be six years, and he will now join the rest of his teammates for pre-season in Hong Kong.
The 23-year-old has passed his medical and becomes the latest signing.
Newcastle United had been interested in Ekitike but quickly dropped that interest when Liverpool entered the race and the player made it clear he wanted to to Anfield.
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23rd Jul 2025, 18:18By Jack Cunningham
Marcus Rashford is speaking to the Spanish press after joining Barcelona on loan for the upcoming season.
The England international is set to wear the number 14 and has taken a huge pay-cut to make the move happen, and he can't wait to get going.
He said: "I want to say thank you [to the fans] for the warm welcome.
It feels like home."
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23rd Jul 2025, 17:53By Jack Cunningham
Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Marcus Rashford from Manchester United on a season-long loan.
The England international has agreed to a huge pay cut to make the move happen, with the LaLiga side paying his full wages.
Rashford becomes the first Englishman since Gary Lineker to play for Barcelona.
The club have also confirmed they have an option to buy him at the end of the loan.
He is set to wear the number 14 shirt, following Thierry Henry and Philippe Coutinho.
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23rd Jul 2025, 17:19By Jack Cunningham
We are expecting Marcus Rashford's loan from Manchester United to Barcelona to be announced this evening.
The England international is set to join the LaLiga giants for the upcoming season.
He's set to take a pay cut of around £8.5 million to ensure the move happens, with Barcelona covering all of his wages.
There is also an option to buy inserted into the deal.
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23rd Jul 2025, 17:03By Jack Cunningham
talkSPORT reporter Ben Jacobs understands that Chelsea are set to submit an offer for Xavi Simons.
The Blues have been locked in talks with the Dutch international over personal terms, and now, an offer is going to be tabeled.
Personal terms are close to being agreed, while Bayern Munich have made an approach.
But the former Paris Saint-Germain star is leaning towards a Premier League move.
Arsenal have monitored Simons, but they are yet to open talks.
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23rd Jul 2025, 15:30By Jack Johnson
Joao Felix is still looking for a club where he can re-find his best form, following a tough spell at Chelsea.
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23rd Jul 2025, 15:01By Jack Johnson
Chelsea have opened talks with RB Leipzig to sign Xavi Simons, talkSPORT understands.
Simons is close to agreeing personal terms, but is also talking to other clubs, with Bayern and Arsenal keen as well.
The 22-year-old is prioritising a move to the Premier League as it stands and could be available for under €70million.
That's despite Leipzig agreeing an €80million fee with PSG in January.
Chelsea want to add another attacker with the expectation that Christopher Nkunku departs.
The German champions are not ruling out a bid for him despite knowing he is keen on a Premier League switch.
Simons has made 76 appearances for Leipzig, scoring 21 times and can be used as an attacking midfielder or on either flank, which is viewed as appealing by Chelsea.
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23rd Jul 2025, 14:15By Jack Johnson
Chelsea are advancing in their move to sign Ajax starlet Jorrel Hato, with club-to-club talks underway.
talkSPORT reported last week that negotiations had begun between the Blues and Hato as they eye a left-sided defender.
Personal terms are not expected to be a problem.
The 19-year-old is high on Chelsea's list of targets this summer and has also been on the radar of Liverpool.
He spoke about the impact losing Alexander Isak could have on the club and whether Yoane Wissa can step up should he join.
Isak has been linked to an exit after being sent home from a pre-season camp, while a new offer for Wissa is being prepared.
"If you got the majority of Newcastle fans on, they'd be saying we want to keep Isak, we need to pay him the money," he said.
"Are you going to find another Isak?
"I am happy of course and even happier now that we have gone into the final."
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22nd Jul 2025, 22:22By Jake Lambourne
Former Watford goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been banned from football for two months.
The 25-year-old - now at Udinese - has been found guilty by Italian football authorities of illegal betting.
Things could have been worse for Okoye, who featured twice for the Hornets in the 2022/23 season.
The 18-cap Nigeria international has avoided a four-year ban for sporting fraud.
The incident is alleged to have occurred on March 11, 2024, during Udinese's clash with Lazio, where he received a yellow card in the 64th minute for time-wasting with his side 2-1 up.
Okoye's ban will commence on August 18, which will see him miss six Serie A matches.
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22nd Jul 2025, 20:16By Jake Lambourne
Wolves have reportedly been beaten to the signing of Marc Pubill by Atletico Madrid.
talkSPORT understands that the Molineux outfit were keen to secure the Almeria defender's services for a fee of around £13million.
But LaLiga giants Atletico appear to have won the race.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano have said that Diego Simeone's side have hijacked Wolves' transfer.
It has been said that a five-year deal has been agreed for Pubill in a £17.3m fee.
Almeria will also reportedly boast a 15 per cent sell-on clause.
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22nd Jul 2025, 16:57By Joe Brophy
West Ham have been offered the chance to sign Callum Wilson.
The 33-year-old is still waiting for the call from a new club after leaving Newcastle at the end of his contract.
Leeds were believed to be a top contender to sign the striker, but he could have another route available to stay in the Premier League should West Ham be interested.
Wilson’s agent, Will Salthouse, has a close relationship with David Sullivan and he has approached the Hammers owner over a possible move for the free agent.
Wilson spent five years at Newcastle, who paid £20million to sign him from Bournemouth in 2020.
The frontman managed 49 goals and 11 assists in 130 appearances for the Magpies and an overall tally of 88 goals and 25 assists in 239 Premier League games.
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22nd Jul 2025, 16:39By Joe Brophy
Newcastle are set to make an opening bid for Yoane Wissa in excess of £30million, talkSPORT understands.
Spurs are also keen, but Brentford would rather keep Wissa, and quoted Nottingham Forest £50m.
Wissa, who is pushing for a move, has left the Bees' pre-season tour of Portugal.
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22nd Jul 2025, 16:10By Joe Brophy
Chelsea believe Nicolas Jackson is worth more than the deal Liverpool have agreed for Hugo Ekitike should the striker leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Reds have agreed a package with a total of £79m for the Eintracht Frankfurt hitman - £69m up front and £10m in add-ons.
In response, talkSPORT understands Chelsea have set an asking price of at least £70m and £10m in add-ons for Jackson, who is a target for Manchester United and Aston Villa.
The Blues think Jackson is worth more than Ekitike given his Premier League goalscoring record.
Jackson has netted 24 goals across two seasons in the English top flight, but his future at Chelsea is in doubt following the summer arrivals of striker duo Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.
Ekitike has scored 19 Bundesliga goals in the same time period, although he is a year younger than the Blues forward.
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