Transfer news: Eze linked with Arsenal, Elanga & Barry latest

BBC Sport’s senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel reported last week that Eberechi Eze is in fact on Arsenal’s list of targets, and the 27-year-old is open to the move.

As mentioned, the England international has a release clause of £60m plus £8m in potential add-ons in his contract, which has two years left to run and Crystal Palace representatives have, according to sources, been made aware of Arsenal’s interest.

Sources insist Palace would demand the full release clause should any club formalise their interest – but whether that stance softens towards the end of the window remains to be seen.

The Sun is reporting that Arsenalare prepared to offer a player to sweeten the deal for Crystal Palacemidfielder Eberechi Eze.

The 27-year-old has been also been linked to Tottenham Hotspur this summer but it seems their North London rivals are set to beat them to the Englishman’s signature.

Eze has a release clause of £60m plus £8m in potential add-ons.

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Let’s start with a couple of this morning’s top transfer stories.

They involve one of Arsenal’s key targets – no, not Viktor Gyokeres – and what looks to be an imminent signing for Everton…

Right, I think we’ve boxed off the Club World Cup for now, haven’t we?

Next we’ll be switching our attention to some of today’s biggest transfer news.

With players returning for pre-season this week, we *normally* see things speed up on the transfer side of things at this stage of the summer.

We’ll be taking a look at Arsenal’s interest in Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze, Everton’s imminent capture of Villarreal striker Thierno Barry and Newcastle United-bound winger Anthony Elanga.

Enzo Maresca will be hoping not to repeat that 2012 defeat when he leads his Chelsea side out in New Jersey for Sunday’s final.

It will be a 63rd game of a gruelling season for Maresca’s side.

It has been a campaign of highs and lows, but ultimately successful, regardless of Sunday’s result.

The former Leicester manager has led Chelsea to the Uefa Conference League title and secured qualification for the Champions League next season via a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.

Can they go a step further to be crowned world champions?

Tune into our live text coverage on Sunday to find out.

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea’s victory against Fluminense, which sets up a final against Paris St-Germain or Real Madrid, guarantees European sides will extend their stranglehold over the Club World Cup.

While there have been several notable results for South American and Asian teams at this summer’s expanded tournament, including Al-Hilal eliminating Manchester City, this will be the 12th time in a row a European club has been crowned champions.

The last winners from outside of Uefa were Brazilian outfit Corinthians in 2012, who coincidentally beat Chelsea in the final.

Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport

Joao Pedro registered 26 touches of the ball against Fluminense.

The Brazilian was involved all over the pitch in Tuesday’s semi-final, with seven of his touches coming inside his own half.

“The good thing about Joao is that we knew already how good he was,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca after the game, also revealing he spoke to ex-Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi prior to signing the former Seagulls forward.

“Today he played deep but we know he is able to drop deep and link up the play. That’s why we decided to bring him in.”

By contrast, fellow summer signing, Liam Delap, only touched the ball twice inside his own half after starting Chelsea’s final group game against Tunis.

Joao Pedro also made more of an impact in wide areas, regularly popping up on both flanks in an effort to influence Chelsea’s build-up play.

The majority of Delap’s touches, meanwhile, were in central areas in the final third of the pitch, highlighting the marked differences in playing styles between Chelsea’s two new forwards.

Jackson missed two open goals essentially, whereas Pedro scored two Nani-esque screamers. It’s a no brainer.

Ryan

It looks like the majority are in agreement with you Ryan. We asked readers earlier if Joao Pedro should start the final. At the last count, 778 gave the Brazil forward the thumbs up, compared to just 47 thumbs down.

Speaking after his side’s semi-final victory against Fluminense, Enzo Maresca said he was “proud” of his side’s achievement in making the final of the Club World Cup, which has been extended to include 32 teams.

‘We are happy,” said Maresca. “We are very proud to make the final on Sunday. The reason why is this is the Club World Cup first edition.

“The best clubs in the world are here. For us to be there on Sunday, we have to be proud.”

Ben Collins
BBC Sport journalist

US president Donald Trump has confirmed he will attend Sunday’s Club World Cup final in New Jersey.

The news came a day after Fifa, world football’s governing body, announced it has opened an office in New York’s Trump Tower.

The United States is hosting the first edition of an expanded Club World Cup and will be a co-host for next year’s World Cup, along with Canada and Mexico.

Chelsea will face either Paris St-Germain or Real Madrid in the Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, which will also host next year’s World Cup final.

Trump, who attended the Super Bowl in February, is chair of a taskforce he established to oversee preparations for each tournament.

“We have received such a big support from the government and from the president with the White House taskforce for the Fifa Club World Cup and for the Fifa World Cup next year,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

“Fifa is a global organisation and to be global you have to be local, you have to be everywhere, so we have to be in New York.”

Infantino has assured fans they will be welcomed to the US, despite Trump’s immigration crackdown and a travel ban on 12 countries.

However, Trump is reportedly considering expanding travel restrictions to as many as 36 additional countries.

If you’ve been locked in to the Club World Cup, well done.

If you’re just tuning in now for the business end of the competition, we understand and we’ve got you covered.

When is the final?

Sunday 13 July @ 20:00 BST.

Where is it being played?

The MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, which has a capacity of 82,500.

Hold on, isn’t the final in New York?

No. The MetLife Stadium may be home to the New York Giants and the New York Jets, but the stadium is situated in New Jersey – across the Hudson River from New York City.

I actually like the Club World Cup. Seeing clubs from different continents play each other is more fun than the usual European elite vs European elite we’re used to. Especially Auckland getting to meet and play Bayern Munich. Dreams came true.

Ben, Northumberland

Fluminese, Benfica, Palmeiras, ES Tunis, LAFC and Flamengo. Chelsea haven’t played a single team that anyone would rank in the Top 20 best teams in the world. That’s not their fault. They’ve made a fortune and got their name back out there on the global stage.
But it underlines the farcical nature of this competition. And ask Bayern and Musiala if they think it was worth it.

Lawler, Huyton

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

The much-fabled American dream is the concept of hard work delivering riches.

In Chelsea’s case, this is true of their players at the Club World Cup. They have extended their season by seven matches in brutal temperatures with additional travel, but may soon have silverware to show for taking it seriously.

They will bank bonuses because the club have earned more than £80m, which could stretch to almost £100m if they lift the trophy.

Whoever Chelsea face in the final – current European champions Paris St-Germain or 12-time Club World Cup winners Real Madrid – it will represent their toughest test of the tournament.

It has not all been plain sailing for Enzo Maresca’s side en route to the final.

They were soundly beaten in their second group game – collapsing to a 3-1 defeat against Brazilian side Flamengo after taking an early lead.

The Blues also conceded a stoppage-time equaliser against Benfica in the last 16 before recovering to win 4-1 in extra-time.

But Chelsea have found a way through, showing the kind of resilience along the way that led them to Champions League glory in 2021, which sealed their qualification for this tournament.

Chelsea’s Club World Cup results:

Group stages

• Chelsea 2-0 Los Angeles
• Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea
• ES Tunis 0-3 Chelsea

Last 16

• Benfica 1-4 Chelsea (AET)

Quarter-finals

• Palmeiras 1-2 Chelsea

Semi-finals

• Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea

Final – Sunday, 13 July (20:00 BST)

• Chelsea v Paris St-Germain/Real Madrid

It couldn’t get much tougher in terms of who Chelsea will face in the Club World Cup final.

Champions League holders Paris St-Germain and 15-times winners Real Madrid will battle it out in the other semi-final on Wednesday (20:00 BST) for the chance to play Chelsea.

Luis Enrique’s side beat Bayern Munich in the last round, despite being reduced to nine players late on.

Madrid had some disciplinary problems of their own as former Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen was sent off in a narrow 3-2 win against Dortmund in the quarter-finals.

Joao Pedro is one of 19 forwards to have signed for Chelsea under their American owners, who have now spent £600m on attacking players since assuming control of the club in 2022.

The question is, should he now be a guaranteed starter in Sunday’s Club World Cup final?

Thumbs up for yes, down for no.

Maybe you feel Liam Delap should be given another chance after his return from suspension?

Or would you start with last season’s leading striker Nicolas Jackson?

Could Enzo Maresca even find space to pair two of his forwards up front?

Get in touch with your thoughts via:

• WhatsApp on 03301231826
• Or text 81111 (UK only, standard rates apply)

Chelsea were forced to act quickly in the transfer market this summer to ensure new players were eligible for the Club World Cup.

Liam Delap arrived from Ipswich in a £30m deal before the competition started, allowing him to play in the group stages, while Joao Pedro completed his £55m move from Brighton in time to feature in the quarter-finals.

Fans have been given an early glimpse of what they can bring to the team.

Delap scored his first goal for the club in a 3-0 win over ES Tunis, while Joao Pedro got off the mark with stunning effect against Fluminense.

Their respective touch maps from those two performances reflect the differences in their games…

The CWC has passed me by even though I’m a Chelsea FC supporter. The TV coverage has been very poor and reports of the conditions the teams are playing under does not instill confidence for the coming season. Give the players and staff a proper break

Anon

Most supporters will watch their teams whenever, where ever and all want their team to win cups and competitions. Is it worth it for the club? Yes because of the money it inputs back into the club. But we will see if it has a knock on effect to the beginning of the season and player fitness. Chelsea players will have less rest and possibly no pre-season build up.

Ian

The competition is the result of the ongoing macho muscle-flexing of both FIFA and Uefa…Driven by egos, but also by the way they are structured with smaller member countries constantly pressuring them for a bigger share of the pie. And the big clubs striving to get bigger (in line with their spiralling wage bills ). It’s symptomatic of fundamental problems facing the game. Ironically, player power may ultimately be the only salvation.

Claire, WHU

Former Wales captain Gareth Bale and England striker Callum Wilson both praised Joao Pedro’s performance for Chelsea against Fluminense.

Bale told DAZN: “It’s not just the goals, it’s the link-up play, it’s the passing, it’s the vision. It was a great all-round performance.

“This is the next step up in his career. He’s on the right trajectory. We can see the ability he’s got and hopefully he can keep kicking on.”

Wilson added: “He’s already a player with confidence but he will have wanted to hit the ground running straight away and that’s exactly what he has done.

“What a signing he could turn out to be.”

“It was a dream,” Joao Pedro told broadcaster DAZN after scoring his first two goals for Chelsea in his second appearance for the Blues.

“I don’t think it could have gone any better.

“I’m happy to have scored my first goals. [The Club World Cup] would be my first title as well. I only came here a week ago, and now I’m going to play the final.”