07/05/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | MAY 7, 2026

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next manager. TOTTENHAM and Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, 29, and Liverpool’s England midfielder Curtis Jones, 25, are on Inter Milan’s radar.

BARCELONA in Bournemouth’s 19-year-old forward Junior Kroupi but will face competition from Manchester City and several other Premier League clubs for the France U-21 interna tional. NEWCASTLE UNITED boss Eddie Howe will get the chance to lead the club’s biggest rebuild since the 2021 takeover, with significant change expected at St James’ Park this summer. PORTUGAL and Juventus forward Francisco Conceicao, are interested

23, is being watched by a number of Premier League clubs. MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER sides LA Galaxy and Inter Miami lead the race to sign Man United’s Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 34, when his Old Trafford contract expires, despite interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. CASEMIRO’S desire to play with Lionel Messi means the 34-year-old is willing to reduce his salary demands to join the 38-year-old Argentina forward at Inter Miami. REAL MADRID and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr, 25, wants some things to change at the Bernabeu – not just his salary – before he signs a new contract with the club. BAYERN MUNICH’S honorary president Uli Hoeness says Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer, 28, is “not Maradona” as the two par ties struggle to agree a contract extension.

TOUCHLINES

NAPOLI say they will sign on-loan Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund, 23, on a permanent deal. The Serie A side are close to securing a Champions League spot which would trigger a £38m (RM204m) fee for the Denmark forward. WEST HAM attacker Crysencio Summerville, 24, is being monitored by a number of clubs across Europe, with the Dutch winger’s asking price set to drop if the Hammers are relegated. FORMER Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez is under consideration by Chelsea to be their

LIVERPOOL BOSS Arne Slot is set to stay at the club, despite Ajax being interested in the Dutchman.

LIVERPOOL are weighing up a move for 28-year-old Bournemouth and Argentina defender Marco Senesi, who has verbally agreed to join Tottenham if they avoid relegation from the Premier League. All or nothing

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06/05/2026 (WED)

Villa’s Ollie Watkins (bottom) in action with Forest’s Nicolás Domínguez during the Europa League semifinal first leg match last Friday. – REUTERSPIC

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V ITOR PEREIRA has urged Nottingham Forest to set up a “fan tastic” end to a rollercoaster season when they face Aston Villa tomorrow (3am Malaysian time), within touching dis tance of the Europa League final. Pereira’s side will defend a 1-0 lead from the semifinal first leg as they look to reach a European final for the first time in 46 years. Not since the halcyon days of Brian Clough, who masterminded the club’s European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980, have Forest played for a major continental tro phy. In their first European semifinal since 1983/84, Forest have a slender advantage thanks to Chris Wood’s penalty at the City Ground last week. If Pereira’s men can finish the job at Villa Park, they would face Portuguese side Braga or German club Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on May 20. Forest will go into the second leg on a high after a 3-1 win at Chelsea on Sunday moved them six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone. Pereira made eight changes against Chelsea, but the understudies secured a third successive league win as Forest’s unbeaten run in all competitions stretched to 10 matches. With his stars rested, Pereira believes that Forest can enjoy a golden end to the season. “I said to them: you are a special group because you work with four different manag ers, different ways to think football, different methodologies,” said Pereira, who took charge in February. “You faced a difficult season. Now you are in a moment we decide everything. We can finish the season in a fantastic way.” Winning the Europa League and ensuring Premier League survival would make Pereira part of Forest folklore. But he insisted that would not put him on a par with Clough, who also led Forest to the

English title and is immortalised with a statue in Nottingham city centre. “If we want to put our name in the history of this club, we need to get to the final, to win the final,” he said. “I don’t want my statue any where but we can imagine what he was in this city. For the new generations, for sure it’s an inspiration for us.” Forest are playing in Europe for the first time since 1995/96 as they chase a first major trophy since the 1990 League Cup. They have not been in any major final since losing to Manchester United in the 1992 League Cup. After the sackings of Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche, Pereira has revitalised a club starved of success over the past three decades. In contrast to Forest’s vibrant form, Villa slipped to a third successive defeat in all com petitions after Unai Emery made seven changes for Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to lowly Tottenham. Revealing he had been forced to remind his players of the principles of his reign, a visi bly agitated Emery said: “I am here for more than three years, and how we have done eve rything, I don’t forget it. “We spoke in the dressing room after the first half about it. We can perform better or worse, but I am not losing my mind and my point of view about how I want to get it.” Emery has a well-earned reputation as a Europa League specialist after winning the competition three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, as well as finishing as a runner up with Arsenal. But Villa have been semifinal flops under Emery, losing in the last four against Olympiakos in the 2023/24 Uefa Conference League and to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup last season. Villa have not won a major trophy since the 1996 League Cup, while their last major conti nental final was the 1982 European Cup tri umph against Bayern Munich. – AFP

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