Newcastle United have held talks with Borussia Dortmund over a deal to sign Felix Nmecha as a replacement for Sandro Tonali, according to Craig Hope.

The Magpies have agreed a £100m deal with Tottenham Hotspur to sell the Italy international in a big-money deal, having already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona in a deal worth £70m earlier in the window.

Eddie Howe is now looking for ways to bolster and rebuild his squad ahead of the new season after missing out on European football, and has set his sights on a move for the Germany international.

Newcastle Hold Talks for Nmecha

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Nmecha, who shone at the World Cup for Germany before their surprise elimination against Paraguay in the Round of 32, has emerged as a potential target for a number of clubs after his performances.

Dortmund are understood to value the 25-year-old at a huge €120m (£103m) as they look to keep hold of him, and despite holding talks with Newcastle over a potential move, it’s not expected to progress much further as a result.

Newcastle are also aware of growing interest in captain Bruno Guimaraes from Premier League champions Arsenal, and that has seen them begin to look at potential options to replace him in case they are forced into a sale.

Howe and Newcastle do not want to lose the Brazilian, and are prepared to offer him a new contract to keep him at St James’ Park, but conversations have been had with the Bundesliga side about a potential deal in case they need it.

Nmecha Would Be Top Signing

via Reuters

Newcastle, obviously, don’t want to lose Guimaraes this summer if they can help it – especially after they already sold key players like Tonali and Gordon.

But the Brazil star is 28 and a huge offer could be something they simply can’t ignore, so it’s sensible that they are looking at potential options to replace him this summer, even if they don’t intend to pull the trigger at this stage.

With his physical profile, quality on the ball, and top-level experience, mixed with the fact he counts as homegrown, it would be a terrific signing if they could pull it off, but they’d rather bring him in alongside Bruno than to replace him.

With the 2026 World Cup now heading to the latter stages, England still have every hope of going all the way again for the first time since 1966. Their next opponents will be co-hosts Mexico, with the game set to take place Sunday 6pm local time (1am Monday morning in the United Kingdom).

Thomas Tuchel’s men topped their group with wins over Croatia and Panama, as well as a draw against Ghana. This led to a Last 32 tie against DR Congo, which nearly ended in disaster for the Three Lions.

Having fallen behind, England struggled to find their rhythm in the first half and did not get themselves back level until the 75th minute. It was Harry Kane who came to his nation’s rescue, bagging a winner just 11 minutes later.

After the game, the players walked through the mixed zone, but most appeared to ignore a World Cup journalist.

Only Two England Players Stop For Journalist

Having struggled to get past DR Congo, the England players would have felt relief more than anything in the aftermath of the match. That said, many didn’t seem that keen to take the time to talk to Venezuelan reporter Маnu Gutierrez in the mixed zone.

As footage appeared online, it appeared that only two players spoke to the journalist. The first was star midfielder Jude Bellingham, who spoke out on the deadly earthquakes which have ravaged the South American nation. As translated into English from Spanish via the Sun, he said:

Gutierrez also asked a number of England stars to stop for just one question, but got no response until Noni Madueke came along. The Arsenal star said of the comeback win against DR Congo:

“Yeah, very happy. I’m super happy.”

Watch the full clip below:

Fans Slam England Stars After Journalist Treatment

England players pose for a team group photo before the match vs DR Congo via REUTERS/Paul Childs

Fans online saw the clip but were far from impressed by those England stars who ignored the journalist. One wrote:

Another added: “Being nice doesn’t cost you anything.” While a third said: “Not acknowledging someone has nothing at all to do with pressure… Just terrible manners…”

Another went as far as to call it ‘Disgraceful’, while somebody else wrote: “That’s so rude of them!”

For the two players who stopped, however, fans were impressed by their actions. One said: “Absolute class from Jude and Noni.”

While another wrote: “That is a genuinely heartwarming gesture from both of them. It’s great to see players take a moment to connect like that.”

Following his team’s exit from the 2026 World Cup, Canada manager Jesse Marsch has caused a bit of a stir with his comments. The co-hosts fell to a 3-0 loss against Morocco, ending their tournament at the Last 16 stage.

Having never won a World Cup game before the competition began this summer, Canada made it further than ever before, as they finished second in their group, beat South Africa in the Round of 32, but could not progress any further. They actually started the game well, but were left to regret some key chances they missed in the first half.

Morocco capitalised on this to put on a clinical second-half display, scoring three times, with Azzedine Ounahi netting twice, while Soufiane Rahimi added the cherry on top in the 98th minute. Marsch’s immediate post-game claims have since drawn plenty of reaction.

Jesse Marsch: ‘I’d Rather Be Us Than Them’

Canada can be proud of their efforts, and coach Marsch certainly wanted to make that clear after the full-time whistle. He even went as far as to say that his team were better than Morocco on the day, insisting that he’d ‘rather be us than them’.

Speaking to the press, he said: “We were the better team. We were the better team, right?” They made a couple more plays than us, but cranking up the intensity was not the issue. It was just they have a little bit of quality in the final third, and we lacked a little ability to make a play when we needed to.”

Marsch added:

Matthew Childs via Reuters

Fox Sports Pundit Alexi Lalas was among those a little confused by the claim, as he said:

Fans online also picked up on the comments and were baffled by Marsch’s claim that he’d rather be Canada, knocked out of the World Cup, than Morocco, who have advanced into the quarter-finals. One supporter said: “Loser mentality, he’s a great fit for Canada.”

Another added: “Poor guy is in denial.” While a third wrote: “The same guy said ‘we were the better team’ what a joke.” And a fourth asked: “Loser talk quote of the year?”

A USMNT fan harshly said: ‘Thankful our federation selected Pochettino and not this clown.” While another wrote: “Thank goodness he doesn’t manage the USMNT.”

Someone called Marsch a ‘generational loser’, before a final fan summed up the reaction, asking: “He’s weird man. Why even say that?”