Rogers picks Chelsea, £117m deal done
Morgan Rogers is not coming. The Aston Villa attacker has chosen Chelsea in a deal worth £117m, a British record fee (1) (3) (5). Xabi Alonso got involved personally to push it through, and David Ornstein confirmed the move Saturday (2) (9). Your club made calls, pushed hard, but Chelsea got it done in 24 hours (9). That stings.
Barcola emerges as alternative
With the Rogers door shut, eyes are turning to PSG winger Bradley Barcola. Arsenal have been linked, though Liverpool are also watching (14). Fabrizio Romano played down immediate movement, but the need for a wide forward has not gone away.
Tzolis deal agreed as Trossard replacement
Christos Tzolis is on his way from Club Brugge to replace Leandro Trossard, who is headed to Beşiktaş for around €18–20m (11) (13). Brugge manager Ivan Leko did not hold back: "This is one fantastic example of somebody who was first coming on the training base, last staying there" (11). The deal is agreed.
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Guimarães pushing for Arsenal move
Keith Wyness, formerly of Everton, says Bruno Guimarães wants the move. "If he decides he wants to go to London and play for Arsenal, which I'm hearing he does, then I think you may see Arsenal make the deal sweet enough that Newcastle will have to accept it" (15). He called Guimarães "the heartbeat of Newcastle" and losing him "absolutely devastating" for them (15).
Arsenal tried to hijack Diomande deal
Arsenal made late calls to hijack Yan Diomande's move to PSG, according to Fabrizio Romano (8). The response from the player's camp was quick, the PSG deal was too far along. It shows the club are active in the centre-back market.
Lacroix and Konsa on the centre-back shortlist
Two more names in the frame: Maxence Lacroix of Crystal Palace and Ezri Konsa of Aston Villa (10). William Saliba's back injury has made centre-back a priority. Lacroix has a connection too, he and Eberechi Eze "spoke a lot about Arsenal" and Lacroix messaged Eze when City went out of a competition, happy because he knew Arsenal was one of Eze's favourite teams (10).
Hart: rest Rice and Saka for bronze match
Joe Hart wants Thomas Tuchel to wrap Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka in cotton wool for England's bronze medal match against France. "There's no point in Declan playing. The players who look genuinely shattered, the last thing they need is to go and slug it out in Miami" (6). England lost their semi-final to Argentina on Saturday night, with Rice fighting illness to be available (6).
Fan reactions
Saka scored a World Cup hat-trick for England, only the fourth player in history to do it, after Harry Kane, Gary Lineker, and Geoff Hurst. And he did it on one hamstring, according to fans watching. Asked what message he had for worried Arsenal supporters, Saka kept it simple: "I'm fit, I'm fit." The mood on the subreddit is a mix of pride and mild panic. Read the thread
