Gossip: Reds may move for Osimhen

Liverpool are considering a move for 26-year-old Napoli and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, who spent last season on loan at Galatasaray. (Givemesport), externalParis St-Germain will not allow France forward Bradley Barcola, 22, to leave this summer amid interest from Liverpool and Bayern Munich. (Foot Mercato - in French)Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen have made the Reds' £40m-rated centre-back Jarell Quansah a summer target. (Athletic - subscription required), externalWant more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Scotsman

26 minutes ago

• Scotsman

5-cap Scotland international and ex-Celtic target hailed for 'crucial' role in £116m Florian Wirtz transfer

The ex-Scotland international was targeted for a role at Celtic in 2021. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A former Scotland international has been praised for his 'crucial' role in Florian Wirtz's record breaking move to Liverpool this summer - just three years after a move to Celtic collapsed at the final hurdle. The 22-year-old had his £116million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen rubber stamped yesterday, with Wirtz now becoming the English Premier League's record signing, surpassing the previous record transfer of £115million, which Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in 2023. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to European sports outlet Bild, the German international is in line to earn a weekly salary of at least £325,000 at Anfield, and joins ex-Celtic full-back - and former Leverkusen teammate - Jeremie Frimpong as the Merseyside giants second major transfer of the summer window. Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz will hope to win further trophies at Liverpool after departing Bayer Leverkusen this summer. | Getty Images During his official unveiling by the English champions, Wirtz explained why head coach Arne Slot had played a big role in convincing him to move to Liverpool, but also reserved high praise for ex-Scotland international Richard Hughes, who has been hugely successful in his role as the club's sporting director since his appointment almost exactly a year ago. 'The talks with the coach and Richard [Hughes] and everybody were, from the start or from the very first time, so good,' Wirtz told Liverpool's official media channel. 'It just kept going like this. Every time I spoke to one of the [people from] the club I felt like, 'this is the place I want to be' and so in the end I was really 100 per cent convinced I want to join Liverpool and it was the best choice.' Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano also heaped praise on Hughes, writing on his official X account: 'The Liverpool director has been crucial to make the deal happen. Three months of hard work behind the scenes to get Florian's green light in May and close the deal with Leverkusen on Tuesday last week.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Glasgow-born Hughes, who won five caps for Scotland in the mid-noughties, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the game after landing the Liverpool the role last summer. Poached from a similar role at AFC Bournemouth, the 45-year-old has been lauded for his work in replacing popular former manager Jurgen Klopp with Dutch head coach Slot last summer. Richard Hughes battles for the ball as Scotland Under-21s take on Belgium Under-21s at Dunfermline FC's East End Park. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 Beginning his career with Atalanta's youth team, Hughes enjoyed a moderately successful playing career, making over 200 senior appearances for the likes of Portsmouth, AFC Bournemouth and Grimsby Town. However, it has been his work as a sporting director that has garnered the most attention. First joining the Cherries recruitment team following his retirement in 2014, he was appointed the club's technical director just two years later. Hughes found himself lined up for a similar role at Celtic in 2021, with the Hoops former managerial target Eddie Howe said to have been desperate to bring him to Glasgow if he was appointed manager at Celtic Park.

Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

Extraordinary moment former Premier League boss is told 'F*** YOU' by his own player in feisty Club World Cup spat - before SHUSHING riled-up star when his substitution paid off moments later

A former Premier League manager was caught in an astonishing X-rated spat with his own player after the star reacted furiously to being substituted at the Club World Cup on Friday. Benfica boss Bruno Lage, who previously managed Wolves between 2021 and 2022 in the Premier League, guided his side to a 6-0 win over New Zealand outfit Auckland City — but victory was overshadowed by an extraordinary row on the touchline midway through the second half. In the 62nd minute, with his side 2-0 ahead thanks to goals from Angel Di Maria and Vangelis Pavlidis, Lage opted to shuffle his pack and substituted midfield stalwart Orkun Kokcu for former Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain star Renato Sanches. Furious with his manager's decision, the Turkish midfielder left the pitch in a sulk and refused to shake Lage's hand, a gesture which is often performed between a player and his coach before heading for the substitutes' bench. According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Kokcu shouted 'f*** you' in Lage's direction as the row intensified, before reluctantly taking his seat alongside team-mates in the dugout. Lage angrily told his player to be quiet by shushing him in response. Midfielder Orkun Kokcu was furious at being hooked off and refused to shake his manager's hand (left) before igniting a fierce row between the pair on the substitutes' bench (right) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pedro Fonseca (@pedrofonsecaoficial) Moments later, to the manager's delight, substitute Sanches scored to put Benfica three ahead, and the 49-year-old coach could not resist taking a stab at Kokcu. Lage went over to say a few words to the player, covering his mouth with his hand. It is claimed he was telling Kokcu that he a good nose for the game. Visibly angered by his manager's words and actions, the 24-year-old leapt to his feet and scolded Lage, raising his index finger with a furious facial expression. In response, the Portuguese manager again put his finger to his mouth and shushed Kokcu, who needed to be held back by team-mate Kerem Akturkoglu as he went to leave the bench. Benfica went on to win the match 6-0, with Leandro Barreiro scoring twice and Di Maria netting his second penalty of the game deep into injury time. After the match, Lage addressed the furious row and explained why he hooked Kokcu off midway through the second half. 'Orkun Kokcu wanted to win and score more goals, but we decided that Renato should come on,' he said. 'Regardless of the players' form, I make the decisions. In the last game, we started with Renato, and Kokcu came on later and helped us. That's how it was today, too.' 'I saw the behavior of a consistently professional athlete. That was a unique experience. After the game, Lage admitted the midfielder's reaction and behaviour was out of character 'He has always behaved very well both on and off the field. He has the desire to help the team. 'I make the decisions I have to make, no matter who it is. I've proven that many times. I look at the player's current situation and make my decisions calmly.'

The Independent

an hour ago

• The Independent

Chelsea's Jackson given red card just minutes after coming off the bench

Nicolas Jackson apologized after receiving a straight red card during chelsea 's 3-1 Club World Cup defeat to Flamengo. Jackson was dismissed just four minutes after coming off the bench for a studs-up challenge on Ayrton Lucas. This was Jackson 's second red card in only four appearances, having also been sent off in a Premier League match last month. The sending-off occurred during a calamitous six-minute spell where chelsea conceded two goals, effectively ending their hopes in the game. Jackson expressed deep regret on Instagram, taking full responsibility for the incident and vowing to learn and come back stronger.