Tottenham Hotspur are now ‘very close’ to agreeing terms to sign West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes, according to Matteo Moretto, as they look to land the Portugal international and Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.

Tottenham have been making some hugely ambitious moves in the summer transfer window having narrowly avoided dropping into the Championship.

Now, under Roberto De Zerbi, Spurs are making a huge splash in the summer transfer window with moves for Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi already completed and announced.

The north London outfit are now concentrating on strengthening the team further forward, with midfield becoming a key area in recent days.

Firstly, it was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano that they are pushing to sign Tonali from Newcastle, in what would be a huge statement of intent given the Italy international has been targeted by Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United as well.

Then, it emerged from David Ornstein that the club wanted to sign Fernandes alongside the Italian, after the Irons suffered relegation.

Tottenham are also looking at the forward positions as they look to complete seven summer signings for their Italian manager.

Mateus Fernandes Open to Signing for Tottenham

via Reuters

Fernandes is Manchester United’s top midfield target as things stand after finding deals to sign Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni too difficult to do, but they now face stiff competition from Tottenham.

According to Moretto, posting on X on Saturday afternoon, Spurs are now ‘very close’ to reaching an agreement with the 21-year-old ‘superstar’ on personal terms to make the move across the capital.

The Portugal international is open to signing for Tottenham as he looks to avoid playing in England’s second tier, although there has been no club-to-club contact between them and West Ham yet.

Getting the buy-in from the player is important, but they will also be aware that it has been widely reported that the youngster is keen on a move to Old Trafford to link up with compatriot Bruno.

Another Tottenham source claimed earlier this week that the club also has an agreement on personal terms to sign Tonali.

West Ham Want £80m to Sell Fernandes

via Reuters

The big issue facing both Tottenham and Man United is West Ham’s demands for Fernandes.

Recognising both his talent now and the huge potential he has for the future, the Irons are ready to demand £80-85m for their prized asset this summer, even though they are now a Championship club.

United will already be trying to negotiate that fee down, and then Spurs can do the same if they get confirmation that the player is willing to join them.

Despite the latest breakthrough, it feels like the Fernandes transfer saga still has a long way to go this summer.

After retiring two seasons ago, former England and Manchester City goalkeeper, Joe Hart, immediately set to work as a pundit for the BBC for Euro 2024.

He remains with them covering the World Cup and it appears that he’s clocked something that could prove decisive as the tournament unfolds.

The World Cup is a slightly sore subject for Hart. He only ever played at one World Cup himself, in 2014, when Roy Hodgson’s side finished bottom of their group. He also travelled to South Africa in 2010, though Fabio Capello chose Rob Green and David James ahead of him. That tournament put the chaos of the Jabulani on full display, and Hart believes this summer’s competition has thrown up an eerily similar problem.

What Joe Hart Spotted With the World Cup Ball

Speaking on the BBC after analysing Martin Baturina’s equaliser for Croatia against England, Hart seemed to think the ball, the Trianda, which is supplied by Adidas, could be catching goalkeepers out: “I honestly feel like this ball is coming onto the goalkeepers a lot faster than they feel it is off the foot. Now, what you notice with this is Jordan Pickford flies at this ball, and he just doesn’t. You’ll ask, ‘Why has he gone with his thumb rather than his hand? It just feels like it is on him.”

Hart went through more examples from the tournament, including Lionel Messi’s opener against Algeria, pointing out that goalkeepers are consistently misjudging their timing on shots from distance, suggesting that in normal circumstances, some shots would have a higher chance of being saved.

Unlike anything used before it, the Trianda is fitted with live sensors that feed data straight to VAR, helping officials judge touches and track movement, and it even requires charging before a match. It’s also built with just four panels rather than 32, a design change that alters how the ball moves through the air.

See what Hart had to say in full below:

Fans Buy Into Joe Hart’s Theory

Hart’s breakdown went down well online, with multiple fans praising the fresh insight he’s brought to the punditry desk, and the representation provides for goalkeepers.

With Hart’s explanation now out there, backed up by what looks like visual evidence to support it, don’t be surprised if outfield players start sensing an opportunity, and long-range efforts could become a lot more common for the rest of the tournament.

It has been quite the year for Brock Lesnar in WWE, from pretty much retiring at WrestleMania 42 to coming back and destroying up-and-coming talent Oba Femi in their rematch at Clash in Italy.

However, according to recent claims, The Beast Incarnate has been playing matchmaker for his own creative plans, outright refusing to get into a storyline with one current Superstar, forcing WWE to make changes to their original plans.

Of course, this is all hearsay, and it comes from wrestling veteran Vince Russo, but Lesnar has been accused of refusing to share the ring with certain Superstars before. In fact, it was Kevin Owens who he wasn’t willing to get into a storyline with not too long ago.

Brock Lesnar’s Refusal Led to WWE Changing Plans

Lesnar has recently been in a storyline with Oba Femi, with the two expected to do battle once again at SummerSlam later in the summer, but all could’ve been different if Russo is to be believed.

The Beast Incarnate was buried by Femi at ‘Mania 42, losing in a matter of minutes, but he got his revenge in Italy, delivering several finishing moves on The Ruler to level the score at 1-1 between the pair.

Now, the two are expected to settle the score once and for all at SummerSlam, which is being held in Lesnar’s hometown of Minnesota, and it’s there where he is expected to retire once and for all.

However, according to Russo, Lesnar was originally slated to be retired by Gunther, who is going through a little retirement streak of his own right now.

Russo said on a recent episode of his podcast: “Gunther’s supposed to retire people. He retired John Cena. He retired AJ Styles. Didn’t he retire Goldberg, too?

“What have they [WWE] done with Gunther? Absolutely nothing. Which I’m assuming is behind the Brock Lesnar retirement. Because they wanted Brock to put Gunther over, and Brock said no, because they put Gunther over John Cena, and then they didn’t do anything with him.

Of course, we must take Russo’s opinion with a pinch of salt, given some of the stuff he’s come out with over the years, but it does sort of make sense.

It explains why Lesnar is now feuding with relative newcomer Oba Femi instead, and it also explains why Gunther is now in the world title picture with Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn.