OLUWOLE FRANCIS
· Timo Werner’s move to Liverpool is a step closer after his RB Leipzig manager conceded defeat in the fight to keep him.
· Football stars throughout the English game face the prospect of being asked to take mass pay cuts next season.
· QPR’s director of football, Les Ferdinand, fears the bombshell plan to restart the Championship in just 18 days poses a bigger risk to players than COVID-19.
. The Premier League are facing dissent from several clubs over a number of proposed rule changes for the resumption of the season.
· The Premier League have told their clubs they are hoping no more than four matches will be held at neutral venues – and have acknowledged Liverpool may well win the title at Anfield.
· Manchester United will pay £10.5m to keep Odion Ighalo until January with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to pick up just under half of his £300,000-a-week wages.
· The Premier League’s coronavirus snoop squad have made the bizarre request for clubs to routinely wash their training ground gates.
· Chelsea have submitted a formal proposal to increase the maximum number of subs permitted on the bench from seven to nine for the remainder of the season.
· Premier League clubs are paying for the families of football personnel who have been infected with coronavirus to be tested.
· English rugby’s belated salary cap revolution will go ahead after Premiership clubs reached a unanimous agreement to implement the proposals contained in the Myners report.
. Premier League stars may have to get changed in Portakabins as part of new safety protocols.
· Arsenal are ready to offer David Luiz a new one-year extension – but it could be on reduced terms.
· Real Madrid have rejected the chance to sign Brazilian star, Willian on a free transfer.
· Liverpool have agreed loan extensions with Bournemouth and Swansea for Harry Wilson and Rhian Brewster, respectively.
· Real Madrid will not play their remaining La Liga home games at the Santiago Bernabeu and will instead finish the 2019-20 campaign at their training complex.
. England boss, Gareth Southgate, will ban himself from going to games when the Premier League season resumes.
. The chances of Australia touring England this summer have been boosted by the UK government’s willingness to relax quarantine rules for elite sport.
· Premier League clubs will discuss whether managers can change their 25-man squads when the season resumes.
· EFL players with expiring contracts have been warned clubs may trick them into short-term extensions with the promise of a new deal.
. Hearts face the agony of having their fate sealed by email this week – despite Tynecastle backer, James Anderson, confirming he is willing to plough millions into clubs all over the country.
. Celtic stopper, Kristoffer Ajer, has binned his long-term agent – as AC Milan continue to track him.
· Kilmarnock duo, Jamie MacDonald and Ally Taylor, have rejected new deals and will leave Rugby Park.