Crystal Palace have made a formal offer to Augsburg to sign defender Chrislain Matsima, according to Sky Sports Germany.

The Eagles are looking to be active in the market for their new manager Pierre Sage, as they prepare to enter a new era at Selhurst Park following the departure of Oliver Glasner when his contract expired at the end of the last campaign.

The club have already agreed a deal to allow defender Maxence Lacroix to join Chelsea for around £52m, with a medical scheduled to take place today (Friday 24 July), and now the south London club have made their move to bring in his replacement.

Crystal Palace Make Matsima Bid

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Matsima, who has been described as ‘exceptional’, has been identified as Crystal Palace’s top target to replace the France international, and the club have now made their first formal bid to Bundesliga outfit Augsburg for his services.

According to Florian Plettenberg, Palace have tabled a €20m (£17m) offer for the 24-year-old, but Augsburg have immediately rejected. It’s currently unclear what their valuation for the defender is, but it’s stated that they are expecting Palace to return with a fresh offer later today, suggesting a deal is not far from being done.

In fact, Crystal Palace already have a full agreement in place with the defender about bringing him to the Premier League, and the player is very keen on making the move.

Matsima was a regular starter under Thierry Henry for the French Olympics team in 2022, as they reached the final and earned a silver medal, and he has continued to develop in recent years. Having come through the ranks at Monaco, Matsima has spent the last two seasons with Augsburg, and he is now ready to follow Lacroix from the WWK Arena to Selhurst Park.

Sage Needs Ready-Made Stars

Hannah Mckay via Reuters

Palace are in a big summer of change currently, having lost Glasner and Lacroix this summer, which follows losing Marc Guehi in January. A new manager will have his own ideas and philosophies, but if he is going to continue the club’s progress in recent years then he needs to be backed.

So far the club have brought in Oscar Mingueza on a free transfer, but Sage will need more than that to be successful, and bringing in a player like Matsima to replace Lacroix will help bridge that gap.

Steve Parish is keen to keep hold of top stars like Adam Wharton in the rest of the window, and it’s clear that they are now ready to start making moves to bring in fresh blood to the squad.

Former boxing world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has revealed the real reason why he will fight Poland’s Mariusz Wach in Thailand today for the inaugural WBC Metta Humanitarian Belt.

The bout is set to take place at the Max Muay Thai Stadium in Pattaya at around 10pm local time, or around 4pm in the UK. Unusually, Fury is set to fight first on the six-fight card and the entire event will not be broadcast.

The match-up is viewed as a tune-up before a slated all-British superfight against rival Anthony Joshua in November.

That November bout is, however, contingent on both men winning their respective fights this weekend, with AJ scheduled to compete against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga on Saturday at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia.

The 37-year-old Manchester-born fighter has said that he wanted to give something back to Thailand and its people as he has been training there since December.

Fury has announced he will donate $250,000 to the Father Ray Foundation in Thailand to support disadvantaged young people.

Tyson Fury Explains Thailand & No Broadcast Decision

“Yeah, it’s for the WBC Humanitarian Belt, that’s all the funds that we receive for the fight, from the tickets and what have you,” the Gypsy King said in an exclusive interview with SunSport.

“They’ll go to a charity called the Father Ray Foundation, supporting children with mental health, mental disorders, mental problems, starving kids, homeless, all that sort of stuff, whatever they’ve got,” he said. “A very good cause, for sure.

“I’ve been training here since December. Great people, good place, give something back,” he added. “I thought on a big show, I’d never had a proper fight, never had a big fight here, a boxing fight.”

Fury’s last fight was broadcast live on Netflix in April. In the bout, he beat Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov via unanimous decision. However, this fight is viewed very much as a formality. Wach is 46 years old and has won only three of his last 10 fights.

The World Boxing Council specially created the WBC Metta Humanitarian Belt for the fight to recognise the ‘extraordinary humanitarian service and the positive impact boxing has beyond the ring.’

“Fury’s humanitarian work in Thailand has become a defining part of his legacy. His upcoming boxing event in Pattaya has been transformed into a major charitable initiative, with the British champion donating 100% of the proceeds from 1,500 VIP ticket sales to organisations supporting starving, underprivileged, and homeless children throughout Pattaya,” the WBC said in a statement.

Manchester United have made a surprise enquiry to Bologna over a deal to sign forward Jonathan Rowe this summer, according to TEAMtalk.

The Red Devils have made the midfield rebuild a priority and have secured deals to sign Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, while they have also completed moved for veteran goalkeeper Karl Darlow and young winger Tynan Thompson.

But Michael Carrick is keen to bring in another forward to add more firepower to the squad, and a surprise new target has emerged as a potential option.

Rowe, who has been compared to Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, made the move to Serie A from Marseille last summer, having previously been at Norwich, and quickly became a key player.

His performances, scoring eight goals and registering five assists in 44 appearances in all competitions, have caught the eye of a number of Premier League clubs who are keen to bring him back to England, including Man Utd.

It’s understood that the Reds have made a surprise enquiry to Bologna to find out the terms of any potential deal, as they assess their options to bolster the forward line.

Any deal is unlikely to happen unless Man Utd move Marcus Rashford on, after he returned to the club following his loan at Barcelona last season, where he scored 14 goals and registered 14 assists.

As it stands, the England international is expected to return to pre-season training and be reintegrated to the squad, but all parties are open to a transfer away should they receive an acceptable offer. Crysencio Summerville had been earmarked as a replacement, but he has now joined Saudi side Al Hilal in a shock £68m move.

Man Utd Better Off Keeping Rashford

via Reuters

While there are clearly behind-the-scenes issues that need to be fixed between Man Utd and Rashford, there’s no doubting the talent and quality that he has as a footballer.

With the club set to return to the Champions League next season, having a player of his ability would be a huge boost to the forward line, and he would easily be able to compete for a starting spot alongside the likes of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, and Amad.

Rowe has talent and some fine attributes, but he is a tier or two below Rashford at this stage in his career, and he has hardly been ripping up trees while playing abroad. Rather than splashing the cash on a lesser talent, United would be smarter to find a way to make it work with Rashford and save that money.