The Sun reports that Garnacho is eager to join Chelsea in a £50 million move. The Argentina winger would prefer to remain in the Premier League instead of heading to Serie A, where clubs like Napoli are also interested.
Recently, CaughtOffside reports, citing sources, that Aston Villa are among the clubs showing interest in Alejandro Garnacho this summer. The winger is also wanted by his former manager Erik ten Hag, who recently took over at Bayer Leverkusen after being sacked by Manchester United in October last year.
Ten Hag is already facing the possibility of losing star midfielder Florian Wirtz, and he is understood to view Garnacho as a potential replacement. Leverkusen are targeting the Argentine international on a loan deal, but Manchester United reportedly prefer a permanent transfer.
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With just two days to go until Manchester United kick off their 2025/2026 campaign, Alejandro Garnacho is still a member of Ruben Amorim’s squad. While he won’t be used in the opening fixtures due to his ongoing exile from the first team, questions will start being raised in the closing stages of the transfer window if he has not secured his desired transfer to Chelsea. It was revealed earlier this week that Garnacho’s message to the United board was along the lines of ‘it’s Chelsea or I stay here and don’t play football for 6-12 months’. Yet, given that that’s exactly what Jadon Sancho did when he first fell out with Erik ten Hag back in September 2023, United perhaps haven’t ruled out the prospect of letting the Argentine sit in the reserves rather than jumping to cater to his wishes. Alejandro Garnacho: The state of play this summer Chelsea do have confirmed interest in Garnacho this summer. However, it’s thought that they are unwilling to meet United’s price tag of £50 million. Even though the youngster’s questionable attitude has seen him fall out of favour with Amorim, it’s clear to see why the club must stand firm in their demands. At just 21 years old, Garnacho has accumulated 144 senior appearances for United, scoring 26 goals and assisting a further 22. He has won both the League Cup and FA Cup, having a direct impact in the latter triumph by scoring the opening goal in the final against Manchester City, and is a Copa America winner with Argentina, for whom he’s earned 13 caps. Who else was interested in Garnacho? This morning, Samuel Luckhurst disclosed that three Champions League sides had considered making a move for the winger in recent weeks but, after doing their ‘due diligence’, opted against any pursuit. Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur had all shortlisted Garnacho, although he would’ve rebuffed any potential approach from the Spaniards, as he is only interested in continuing in the Premier League.
The Kansas City Chiefs appeared to receive an early gift from the NFL regarding wide receiver Rashee Rice's looming suspension. The third-year receiver is set to have a disciplinary hearing on Sept. 30 after he pleaded guilty to collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation. The timing of Rice's hearing is curious because he pleaded guilty to his charges on the same day Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge connected to his arrest for alleged DUI. The league has already suspended Addison for the first three games of the upcoming season. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, a league source told him that the NFL doesn't typically delay hearings as it has in the case of Rice, preferring to finalize a punishment before Week 1. “Maybe I’m a conspiracy theorist, but this is odd," said the unnamed source, via Florio. “You hardly ever see players get suspended in season unless they did something in season like a drug test or something.” The suspicion from the source and Florio is that the league is keeping Rice available for marquee matchups in the early season. The Chiefs begin their season in Sao Paulo, Brazil, playing the Los Angeles Chargers. Kansas City then plays the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants ("Sunday Night Football") and Baltimore Ravens. Florio suggested that with a hearing date of Sept. 30, Rice would likely start any suspension the Chiefs' Week 5 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars on "Monday Night Football." "At a time when many think the league favors the Chiefs, situations like this will not become evidence to the contrary," Florio said. While the early slate of games is impressive for the Chiefs, their schedule is jam-packed with heavyweight matchups. The next four games after Week 5 include the Detroit Lions ("Sunday Night Football"), Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders ("Monday Night Football" and Buffalo Bills. While the league has some explaining to do as to why it chose Sept. 30 as the date, it's hard to see why the Chiefs would have an advantage by losing Rice for those games.
The Golden State Warriors have had their free agency headlines dominated by one individual name, Jonathan Kuminga. For what feels like an eternity, the Warriors have been stuck in a standstill with Kuminga. The 22-year-old forward believes he's capable of being a max contract player, but the Warriors don't seem to have maximizing him in their current timeline - that much was evident after the team traded for Jimmy Butler. It's clear that Kuminga does not want to be a member of the Golden State Warriors any longer. Every day, a new headline emerges coming from either side of the camp, but no resolution has been found. As the headlines have been growing, Kuminga gave a simple message on social media. "And at the buzzer, the Golden State Warriors will say, 'Alright, well, we can't afford to lose him for nothing, and Malik Monk and a protected pick, that's much better than nothing. So let's go ahead, do the deal, and be done with it.' " While the Bulls and Bucks have trade interest, it seems like the package that they want from the Golden State Warriors may not work financially. Does Kuminga Staying With the Warriors Make Sense? Realistically, Jonathan Kuminga staying with the Golden State Warriors does not make sense. He does not want to play for the team, and the team did not play him consistently after acquiring Jimmy Butler. Even during the playoffs, he was only really used as an emergency scenario. For a team as serious about winning as the Warriors, it does not make sense to keep a younger player who could potentially disrupt the chemistry. At the same time, it makes sense for the team to want to get the maximum value out of Kuminga and not trade him hastily.
JJ McCarthy is preparing for the second season of his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings. After seeing his first year end early due to injury, he is back to play in his first-ever campaign as he got importance advice from star receiver Justin Jefferson. McCarthy made his preseason debut in the Vikings’ 20-10 win over the Houston Texans. He completed four passes out of seven attempts for 30 yards. While he practices with the team to finish up training camp and the preseason, McCarthy recalled a recent conversation he had with Jefferson. What the star receiver said to the young quarterback shows the awareness he already has about how opposing defenses will play against him. “I was talking to Jets the other day in the locker room and telling him the situation, and he’s like, ‘Dude, there’s going to be a lot of teams this year that are going to show one thing on and film, and then when they come play us, when they play me, they’re going to show a different thing.’ So yeah, it was great to get exposed to that early on,” McCarthy said. “Just like training camp has been this entire time, great learning lessons and capitalizing on situations.” What’s next for JJ McCarthy, Vikings It will be a big season for JJ McCarthy, being the Vikings’ starting quarterback for the 2025 season. McCarthy didn’t get his chance in 2024 after tearing his meniscus during the preseason. He successfully underwent surgery, which he seems to have made a full recovery as he looks to continue where he left off. Minnesota exceeded expectations by finishing with a 14-3 record last year, clinching a playoff berth with Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback amid McCarthy’s absence. However, they crashed out early after losing 27-9 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card round. The Vikings will hope to have a similar record in the regular season this year. They will start the campaign on the road, facing the Chicago Bears on Sept. 8 at 7:15 p.m. ET.
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