Palace's Ozoh returns to Derby on season-long loan
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Metro
15 minutes ago
- Metro
Eberechi Eze release clause set to expire today with Arsenal interested in move
Eberechi Eze's £68m release clause is set to expire today with Arsenal still interested in a move for the Crystal Palace star, according to reports. Eze, strongly linked with Arsenal, has indicated he is keen on a move to the Emirates and agreeing personal terms is unlikely to be a significant issue. But Arsenal and Palace have been unable to agree on a transfer fee – with the Gunners hoping to strike a deal below Palace's asking price for Eze. The BBC reports that Eze's £68m release clause expires today (August 1) – two weeks before the new Premier League season begins on August 15. Arsenal believe Palace will be open to negotiating a lower price later in the summer transfer window to avoid Eze entering the final year of his deal. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Eze has established himself as one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League, helping Palace clinch a historic FA Cup trophy last term. The 27-year-old has played a total of 167 games for Palace to date, conjuring up 40 goals and 28 assists for the south London club. Analysis from Sports Editor James Goldman… It was almost impressive that after spending nearly £200m on new blood that the Gunners looked so distinctly recognisable in their 1-0 pre-season defeat to Tottenham on Thursday. A lack of invention and reliance on Bukayo Saka, allied to the traditional Gabriel Martinelli off, Leandro Trossard on substitution had fans despairing. It's obvious why Arsenal supporters are crying out for Eberechi Eze. It's thought that Arsenal are looking to sell a forward before making a formal move for Eze. The north Londoners still have plenty of time to get a deal over the line with the summer transfer window remaining open until September 1. Arsenal feel Eze's best position is when he operates as a No.10 but also view him as a versatile attacking player who can be deployed on the left. Palace manager Oliver Glasner is hopeful Eze will not join Arsenal this summer, as he took aim at the Eagles' lack of transfer activity. More Trending Speaking to local newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Glasner said: 'Even though all the players are still here, we haven't made the most of the transfer window so far 'I was promised that we would be more active and bring in the new players earlier this year. 'As of now, I have 17 outfield players. I hope we don't lose any more. If that happens and we get four new ones on deadline day like last year, another false start is possible.' It should be noted that Palace chairman Steve Parish has currently shown no indication he would be open to negotiating a lower price for Eze. MORE: Ruben Amorim prefers Ollie Watkins – but Man Utd make Benjamin Sesko No.1 target MORE: Thomas Frank sends message to Christian Norgaard over £15m Arsenal transfer MORE: Tottenham open talks to sign £43m Manchester United target
Daily Mirror
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Florian Wirtz lands iconic Liverpool shirt number after furious 'respect' outburst
Premier League champions Liverpool unveiled their kit for the 2025/26 season on Friday with German midfielder Florian Wirtz among the players to be handed a new squad number in the process Florian Wirtz will claim Liverpool' s iconic No 7 shirt with his favoured No 10 already taken. The German midfielder was signed for a fee that could reach £116m from Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer. Even before arriving at Anfield, there was already drama over the squad number that he would don on Merseyside. It was suggested that Wirtz was keen to wear the No 10 shirt. The issue? That number is currently occupied by Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. A frustrated Wirtz took to social media to debunk those claims. Writing on his Instagram story, the Germany star wrote: 'Who says I want the 10. I respect players. Don't believe everything what's written." While Wirtz will not be donning the same number he wore at Leverkusen, the 22-year-old has landed another iconic number following the unveiling of Liverpool's new home kit from Adidas. He will wear the No 7 throughout the coming season, with the shirt having been left vacant following Luis Diaz 's move to German giants Bayern Munich. Ironically, Wirtz actually played a huge role in the winger's switch to the Bundesliga. Speaking at his Bayern unveiling, Diaz said: "I know what kind of football is played here. 'Florian told me that the Bundesliga has a high intensity, comparable to the Premier League. The stadiums are always full. Florian wished me a lot of luck.' Away from Diaz, Wirtz follows in the name of a whole host of iconic Liverpool players to wear the shirt. Steve McManaman, Peter Beardsley, Luis Suarez and Harry Kewell are among the former Reds stars to have claimed the number during their careers at Anfield. Liverpool fans have since taken to social media to hail the decision to give Wirtz the number seven. One fan said: 'Wirtz 7 just looks right,' while another added: 'Wirtz 7 just looks so good.' Will Liverpool win the Premier League title this season? Share your thoughts in the comments below Other supporters are expecting big things from Wirtz with the number on his back. Another fan said: 'Flo Wirtz takes on the iconic Liverpool No.7 shirt. Once worn by Keegan, Dalglish, Beardsley, McManaman, Kewell, Smicer, Suarez, Milner, legacy continues..' A final supporter added: 'Wirtz given the iconic number 7 to take us to glory and win our seventh UCL.' Wirtz will certainly hope to enjoy a positive start to life with his new squad number. Following a friendly with Spanish side Athletic Bilbao, he then has the chance to secure a debut trophy in the Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace. Liverpool then get their Premier League season underway against Bournemouth.
BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Let them try' - Laird happy Birmingham are targets
"Let them try. It's something that's always going to happen when a club has a buzz about them."Ethan Laird was in bullish mood - buzzing, even - as he looked forward to the start of the Championship season and the prospect of Birmingham City strutting their stuff in a week's time with large metaphorical targets on their there is a strut to Blues - a justified one - given the way they swept to the League One title last season in a record-breaking cruise with 34 wins and 111 targets will be there because of not only what the players have done on the pitch, but what the club are doing off rich owners Knighthead are bankrolling a charge to the Premier League along with a regeneration of the city's sporting are not messing about. Premier League ambitions As a result, the club's profile has gone through the roof and will only be pumped higher by their Amazon Prime documentary series, fronted by NFL legend and minority investor Tom Brady, which airs on is hard to think of a Championship club that has demanded more eyeballs on them in recent years. Defender Laird, who is used to life in the goldfish bowl of scrutiny having come through the youth system to play for Manchester United, says the chatter around Blues is understandable."I believe there's a difference between hype and buzz," he told BBC Midlands Today."Hype is around clubs where things could happen, buzz is because something is actually happening."And that why other clubs and fans are saying things - but that's part of football and we love it."When Sir Alex Ferguson took over success-starved Manchester United in 1986, he said knocking dominant rivals Liverpool "off their perch" was his ultimate driving force. Although Birmingham's perch is not as lofty as the Reds' was then, or now, Laird understands their league rivals will echo Ferguson's sentiment. "It's almost like fuel for us," he said."Because what Birmingham is made out of is a lot of heart and when we go out on to the pitch, it's 100% pedal to the metal."To be honest, it's not going to affect us because it's opinions and opinions are thrown everywhere - someone says something good and someone says something bad. "We all have a goal here. We want to be in the Premier League. "It's a matter of when, not if, and we're all driven - we're all wishing to be there and we're all working hard to be there." 'We want an amazing season' A return to the top flight is the number one priority of chairman Tom Wagner and one player in the Blues ranks who is arguably the posterboy of that ambition is striker Jay broke the League One transfer record to sign the England Under-21 international from Fulham and he repaid that faith by spearheading their promotion with 19 who scored 12 times during a season-long loan from the Cottagers when Blues were relegated from the Championship two years ago, says having such ambitious owners is an inspiration."Every young footballer wants to be a Premier League footballer so to be in a club where the owner's really ambitious to do that is special," Stansfield said."It gives us that extra drive to get to where they want to be."As players you want to do your best for them - they've backed you and showed faith and you want to give that back to them and the fans by giving them an amazing season."That campaign starts next Friday when they host the last team to go back-to-back from League One to the Premier League, Ipswich Town."Hopefully we'll be up there but, we've said many times, we're not getting ahead of ourselves," Stansfield added."Last season wasn't easy. We came though it in the end and did very well."But the season before we were relegated - the Championship's very hard, there are some very good teams coming down from the Premier League."It'll be a good benchmark to see whether we can challenge the best teams."
