Premier League clubs are already looking to buy - while Man United look to slowly sell

INEOS still confident despite Qatar reports

The last few days have been characterised by sudden reports that make it sound like Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim-fronted bid is close to victory in the Manchester United sale process, but that has baffled many of this involved since they were still insisting up to Friday morning that talks with all parties are ongoing. It sums up what has been a frustrating period for everyone - right up to the Glazers. They haven’t actually got the figure they want and there is a widespread belief the “game” here is to get Qatar to up their bid. INEOS nevertheless remain confident of securing the club, as the process could yet go on for months.

Arsenal make big midfield plans

Despite intriguingly timed leaks that Manchester City are in for Declan Rice, the expectation is still that he will go to Arsenal. He wants to stay in London. He is deeply impressed by Mikel Arteta’s approach. All that remains is the structure of the deal, as reported in this newsletter last week. If that happens, Rice could well line up alongside Romeo Lavia. Arsenal are seen as considerable favourites for his signature too, amid even stronger competition. It remains to be seen where that leaves Moises Caicedo. Arsenal are still interested but residual tension with Brighton from the attempt at a January purchase has meant they are also looking elsewhere. Either way, City aren’t currently seen as serious contenders for Rice, because Pep Guardiola has other areas of his squad he wants to improve.

Low offers to Leicester could spark high-energy summer

West Ham United are meanwhile looking to Manchester United’s Scott McTominay as a potential replacement for Rice, although they face considerable competition from Newcastle United. Eddie Howe evidently wants to seriously boost his midfield, as there has been contact with Leicester City over James Maddison. The price the recently relegated club want is around £80m, however, which is over £30m more than both Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur thought they might be able to get him for. Maddison’s current preference is to move to London for family reasons but that is obviously changeable depending on the circumstances. Many are expecting this summer to be especially chaotic as so many teams want to significantly strengthen. It may even beat previous records.

Southgate keeps Grealish thoughts private - unlike those celebrations

The England squad have been sharing as many images and memes about Jack Grealish as everyone else and there were a few requests to see his eyes when he joined up with the national squad. While that has been almost constant discussion, Gareth Southgate was unwilling to add to it. He was repeatedly asked about his playmaker in the press conference before the Malta match but refused to directly discuss, just pointing to how he will only have such chats “in private”. Southgate did say “there is a line” as regards celebrations and many have taken that to mean he isn’t all that happy with the extent of the festivities led by Grealish.

Another unexpected move from Serie A's champions

Having surprised most of football with the sensational nature of their brilliant title win, Napoli have now surprised them again, albeit for a much more underwhelming reason. Rudi Garcia is generally seen as a deeply uninspired choice to succeed Luciano Spalletti. It also disappointed a lot of very good managers, since many were vying for this job. The only caveat is that many were questioning Napoli in a similar way last season. The club’s own supporters doubted Spalletti. Perhaps Aurelio De Laurentiis can keep defying conventional wisdoms.

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Miguel's Dispatches

The newsletter reaches you today from Malta, which is a lot more serene than where we were for last week’s. Istanbul is one of the great cities but the Ataturk just shouldn’t be staging major matches. It was a fiasco from hours before the Champions League final to hours after it, with such poor logistics around the stadium. The most frustrating aspect is that should have long been obvious, given there are only two access routes for a ground over 20km from the city centre. One is a narrow road and the other is a metro, with both overcapacity from about 5pm for a 10pm kick-off. There has still been no official statement from Uefa.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I had always been aware of interest from England, so that was pretty normal. But it was a bit of a surprise when Dad sat me down and told me about Madrid. I got goosebumps, my heart was close to stopping. It’s just something you don’t expect, to be able to play for a team like this. So when it actually manifests itself, it’s an amazing feeling."

Jude Bellingham on joining Real Madrid

There are 14 English players who have won one of the other four major leagues (Italy, Spain, Germany, France). Name them!

(You can find out the answers here. The answer page will be updated weekly and contains answers from previous newsletters, too)

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