Arguably the most in-demand teenager in world football, Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham reportedly has Real Madrid as his preferred destination.
Bellingham, who only turned 19 in June, has already racked up 68 Bundesliga appearances and 18 Champions League games since arriving from Birmingham City ahead of the 2020-21 season. He has scored in both of his Champions League games this campaign, including one against Manchester City.
While he has already been awarded 15 senior international caps for England, and is preparing for his first World Cup, Spain's El Chiringuito TV has made the shocking claim that Bellingham will shun the Premier League altogether and head to Madrid.
TOP STORY – SPANISH MEDIA BELIEVES BELLINGHAM HAS CHOSEN REAL MADRID
It has been strongly suggested this will be Bellingham's last season with Dortmund, with Liverpool being consistently linked through this past transfer window, and even querying to see if he would be available in January.
His status as one of England's top teenagers has guaranteed the interest of all of the Premier League's top sides, although a report from The Athletic UK claims Dortmund will hold firm at an asking price of €150million, leaving few with the capabilities to get a deal done.
One team guaranteed to have the required spending power are Spanish giants Madrid, and while his popularity in England is already locked in due to his international status, it might be a case of believing his best chance of becoming a truly transcendent star in the game is to do it at one of the traditional powerhouse clubs.
With that being said, Liverpool have been proactive in their chase of Bellingham, and both they and Manchester City boast the necessary level of worldwide fame, recent success and deep pockets to convince any budding superstar that they are the right choice.
ROUND-UP
– Sport is reporting Barcelona's Sergio Busquets will head to MLS and join Inter Miami at the end of the season.
– According to Calciomercato, Milan will make a move for Salzburg striker Noah Okafor in January as their forward depth has been impacted through injuries.
– Sports Today claims Juventus have been in contact with Tottenham's Antonio Conte as they weigh up potentially parting ways with Massimiliano Allegri, with Conte said to be open to the idea after this season.
– Arsenal are being linked with 24-year-old Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli, who has reportedly not impressed Allegri since arriving from Sassuolo, according to Calciomercato.
– L'Equipe is reporting that Ousmane Dembele – who was signed for a base fee of €105m in 2017 – has a €50m release clause in his new contract that will be active at the end of the season, with Dembele set to receive half of that €50m if a deal gets done to compensate him for accepting no signing bonus.
Arteta: Arsenal must 'earn the right' to beat Fulham
Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal must "earn the right" to beat Fulham in the Premier League London derby at Craven Cottage.
The Gunners, who are third in the table and only behind Chelsea on goal difference, have momentum following their 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday, stretching their winning streak across all competitions to four matches.
Arsenal have bounced back brilliantly after a run of three matches without victory, though they were beaten 2-1 by Fulham in this fixture last season.
And Arteta is wary of the Cottagers as a result.
"We want to have the right to win games," the Spaniard said following the win over United. "If we perform the way we perform right now, we are going to win a lot of games.
"But now, it is about Fulham, we have to go there, and we know the experience of last season.
"We're going to have to prepare really well to earn the right to win there and continue to do that. The rest, we don't know.
"The will to win is there. We have won four in a row, but it doesn't matter. We have to go to Fulham now and be better than them to try to win the game.
"It's a crazy schedule, we're going to need everybody and, mentally, be very strong because you're going to have to go through those moments."
Fulham returned to winning ways on Thursday with a 3-1 victory over Brighton lifting them to sixth place.
Alex Iwobi scored a brace against the Seagulls - only his second double in 267 Premier League appearances - and the former Arsenal midfielder highlighted his desire to get on the scoresheet more often, ahead of facing his former club.
"We wanted to get a win on the board [against Brighton] after our last game against Spurs [1-1 draw]," he said. "[There is] no better place to do it than at our place.
"I should be getting more goals, but it was good to get them for the team.
"We see the ability [of the team] in training. This performance [against Brighton] gives us a boost going into Arsenal, who are on a good run at the moment."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham - Harry Wilson
The Wales international netted just once in his first 21 Premier League London derby appearances for Fulham.
However, he has scored three goals in his last three such matches, and he is one the Gunners have to keep an eye on.
Arsenal - Bukayo Saka
Saka has been involved in 14 goals in his last 14 London derby matches in the Premier League (seven goals, seven assists).
The England international's tally of 17 assists in such games is beaten only by Cesc Fabregas (24), Dennis Bergkamp (23) and Frank Lampard (18).
MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN
Since losing 2-1 to Fulham in the corresponding match last season, Arsenal have won seven of their last eight Premier League London derbies.
After netting five times at West Ham last weekend, the Gunners have scored five or more goals in five different away matches in all competitions in 2024. They are aiming to become the first English top-flight side to do so six times in a single calendar year.
Arsenal have also found the net in each of their last 18 Premier League showdowns with Fulham, stretching back to a goalless draw in February 2009.
However, Fulham are unbeaten in their last eight league London derbies (W4 D4), their longest such run since a run of nine between February 2000 and September 2001, a streak that was ended by a 3-1 home loss to Arsenal.
Fulham boss Marco Silva has won four of his 10 previous meetings with Arsenal across all competitions (D1 L5) with each victory coming with a different team (Olympiakos, Watford, Everton, Fulham) – he could win back-to-back games against the Gunners for the first time.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham - 18.5%
Arsenal - 61.3%
Draw - 20.2%
Misfiring Mbappe vows to respond as Real Madrid brace for Girona clash
Kylian Mbappe is firmly under the spotlight after missing his second penalty in a week, but he has vowed to bounce back.
Real Madrid travel to Girona on Saturday to face last year's surprise package in LaLiga.
Madrid were left licking their wounds after a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, their fourth defeat in the last seven games in all competitions.
Los Blancos, who are missing a host of players through injury including talisman Vinicius Junior, missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on leaders Barcelona, who they trail by four points with a game in hand.
Their absentee list also includes Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, the latter two out for the season with ACL tears, but perhaps Madrid's biggest concern has been the form of Mbappe.
The France captain and World Cup winner arrived from Paris St Germain with sky-high expectations to boost an already stellar squad, but so far struggled to settle, looking tentative and out of sync with the rest of the team.
While he has scored 10 goals in all competitions, his all-round game has often been poor, and he was out of sorts again against Bilbao.
His penalty miss was a tame effort that made it easy for goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala to palm away; almost a carbon copy of the spot-kick he missed the previous week in Madrid's Champions League loss to Liverpool.
Ancelotti admitted after the game that Mbappe was not in his best form and the France captain vowed to react.
"Bad result. A big mistake in a match where every detail counts. I take full responsibility for it. A difficult moment but it's the best time to change this situation and show who I am," Mbappe posted on Instagram.
After a stuttering start to the season, Girona have picked up form. They are on a four-game unbeaten run in the league and are eighth in the LaLiga standings on 22 points.
Yet their growing optimism suffered a blow on Wednesday as they were shocked in a 4-3 penalty-shootout defeat in the Copa del Rey by 10-man fourth-division side Logrones, who knocked them out in the second round.
Madrid have won their last two meetings with Girona in LaLiga, keeping clean sheets in both, and can make it three wins in a row against the Catalan side for the first time in the top flight.
Tottenham shot themselves in the foot, says Postecoglou after Bournemouth loss
Ange Postecoglou claimed Tottenham were masters of their own downfall in their 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Dean Huijsen headed home the only goal of the game from a corner in the 17th minute to inflict a sixth defeat of the season on Postecoglou's Spurs, who ended with an xG of only 0.58 despite having more than 65% possession.
Indeed, Bournemouth had 21 shots and saw two goals disallowed for offside, albeit Spurs also had a would-be equaliser ruled out when Son Heung-min was flagged.
But after his team followed up a disappointing home draw against Fulham with a toothless display on the south coast, Postecoglou did not hide his frustration.
"It is not good enough. We again fell into the trap of starting the game really well, we were in control, and then we conceded a really poor goal," Postecoglou told Amazon Prime, after a defeat that pushed Tottenham into 10th place with 20 points from 14 games.
"Then we kind of lost our way a little bit and allowed Bournemouth to play the game that they wanted to. We had our moments in the second half, but we could not get a goal.
"I don't know if they had more urgency, but we have this sort of propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot when we should be controlling games."
Bournemouth, meanwhile, climbed into the top half of the table with their fourth win in five matches at the Vitality Stadium.
"Bournemouth are hard to beat here and what you should not do is give them a goal that gives them the momentum they need," the Tottenham head coach said.
Spurs will next face second-placed Chelsea, who are unbeaten in their last six league games, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
"They are all big games coming up. We have to get ourselves out of the space we are in at the minute where we can't get a real grip on the season," Postecoglou said.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was full of praise for 19-year-old Huijsen, who had made his third league start of the season in place of Marcos Senesi.
"He was very, very good defensively and he got the goal. Obviously, we can use his height in the set plays. He is confident on the ball too. He is good news for us," said the Spanish tactician.
"He needs and is demanding opportunities and I think he will get them more now. Marco [Senesi] is injured, so he will get the chance more and more. It is good for us that he has found the level."
Huijsen became Bournemouth’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the Premier League at 19 years and 235 days and the third-youngest Spaniard, after Cesc Fabregas and Stefan Bajcetic.
"Our defensive performance was most pleasing. We did not give them many chances at all. Everyone defensively was very good," Iraola said.
"Luckily we finished the job, but there were moments when we thought that if we did not kill them they would punish us," he added.
Bournemouth are next in action against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday.
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