Liverpool and PSG are closing in on a deal for Bradley Barcola to move to the Premier League, according to reports coming out of France.
Loic Tanzi reports for L'Equipe that the France international is "expected to become the biggest transfer of a Ligue 1 player to a foreign club".
The Merseysiders are understood to be in the market for a minimum of two offensive signings, including the 23-year-old, and may push for a third transfer beyond that.
(Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images)
It seems that PSG won't make it entirely easy for the Reds' negotiators, however, with the Parisians sitting firm on their €140m [£119.7m] valuation.

#loic

A three-goal-scorer night for the Chrome & Azul sealed the 3-0 Snapdragon Stadium victory against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night, remaining in striking distance of an MLS Cup Playoff position.
Revenge was on the minds of SDFC coming into the game day, with their previous battle at ******* 's Sporting Goods Park back on July 22 ending in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the Rapids off the back of a Loïc Williams 90+6-minute winner.
San Diego FC looked to improve from their midweek performance at Providence Park, as their playoff hopes took another hit on Wednesday night, falling 3-1 to the Portland Timbers.
Coming into their twenty-first matchday of the MLS Regular Season, SDFC sat in 13th place in the Western Conference, with Saturday holding crucial points in their tight postseason race, trailing only three points of the final Wild Card position.
The biggest changes to the starting SDFC XI came with newly signed Tusinan winger Elias Achouri, making his first start for the Chrome & Azul after his first two appearances off the substitute bench.

#park

Newcastle United has been linked with yet another potential attacking addition as Matthias Jaissle continues **** sing a squad that struggled for consistent goals last season.
According to L'Équipe's Flavien Trésarrieu, Thomas Doucet and Loïc Tanzi, Newcastle has been closely monitoring Monaco striker Folarin Balogun since the beginning of the summer, although Tottenham has already made a move for the United States international and could beat the Magpies to the American.
"Since the start of the summer, several English [clubs] like Newcastle and Spanish clubs have been closely monitoring the player," L'Équipe reported. "Tottenham have made their move in recent hours. The London club has laid the groundwork for discussions regarding a transfer estimated at €60 million."
Balogun is represented by Jorge Mendes and remains under contract at Monaco through 2028, leaving the Ligue 1 club in a relatively strong position if Newcastle or another interested side decides to challenge Tottenham.
The 25-year-old is coming off his strongest campaign since moving permanently from **** nal to Monaco in 2023, scoring 19 goals in 45 matches across all competitions.

#newcastle

Rennes qualified for European football last season, which was a big improvement on the 10th and 12th-place finishes in the two seasons prior. How would you summarise last season and how it went for the club?
Those two seasons you mention were very bad, but the previous six were very good and Rennes were in Europe every time.
The new sporting director Loïc Désiré did a very good job last summer and had very good ideas, like bringing in Esteban Lepaul, who finished as Ligue 1's top goalscorer.
But, last season, there were a few phases; sometimes they were very good, then very bad. It was complicated in the beginning with the coach Habib Beye because some of the players in the squad really did not like him.
Some big names like Brice Samba and Seko Fofana had problems with Beye personally. He struggled, but he had his good moments, too.

#rennes #european

Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images
Regis Testelin and Loic Tanzi report for L'Equipe that Matias Fernandez-Pardo would like to leave Lille this summer, and **** nal are on a list of clubs with an interest in him.
The Gunners aren't the only ones in the race, with Liverpool, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid also all reportedly after the striker. But it may not matter, as Lille president Olivier Letang is insisting Fernandez-Pardo isn't leaving.
"The player is under contract until 2029, and his departure is not an issue," Letang said. "We are counting on him, he knows that, and we have been very clear with him."
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images

#getty #fernandez #regis

Bayer Leverkusen continued their perfect pre-season start with a 4-0 win over Belgian side Genk on Wednesday. Summer signing Afonso Moreira maintained his record of scoring in every game before providing the **** ist for the fourth goal.
Unlike their first two friendlies, Leverkusen played the game at their home ground for the youth teams, Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian opened the scoring after Edmond Tapsoba's incisive through pass before fellow French defender Loïc Badé saw his perfect goal cancelled for an offside.
Nathan Tella doubled Leverkusen's advantage before the break, with the **** ist provided by Jonas Hofmann after Carles Martínez's boys won back possession in the final third. Before the Spaniard coach changed the entire lineup at the hour mark, Die Werkself added two quickfire second-half goals.
Former Lyon attacker Moreira scored his fourth pre-season goal with a clinical finish before a well-worked **** ist for Christian Kofane's goal a couple of minutes later. While Kerim Alajbegovic and Martin Terrier are standing at the exit door from the club, Moreira is showing more than enough quality to be trusted as the starting left winger ahead of the season start.
Meanwhile, Patrik Schick played his first pre-season minutes as he played alongside Victor Boniface in the scoreless last half an hour. Leverkusen will face 3. Liga side Rot-Weiss Essen in their next friendly game at Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on August 1st.

#moreira #ulrich #haberland

Interest in FC Lorient's Pablo Pagis (23) is continuing to grow, as RC Strasbourg Alsace join the race to sign the playmaker, as per a report fromOuest-France.
Pagis, who came through the academy at Lorient, is coming off the back of a breakthrough season in which he scored 10 goals in 28 appearances in Ligue 1. The Frenchman has announced a desire to leave Les Merlus, however, the Breton club won't simply be giving him away, even if he has just one year remaining on his deal.
A price tag of €10m was initially floated, but that was denied by president Loic Féry, who said that it would take €20m to lure Pagis away from the Moustoir. Given the level of interest, that may be an attainable fee for FCL.
Paris FC are in for Pagis, as are RC Lens, Olympique Lyonnais, and BlueCo-owned Strasbourg. An unnamed English side and an unnamed German side are also contenders for his signature.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle

As Arthur Fery has raced around the baseline at Wimbledon this week, coming up with the sort of backs-to-the-wall points that have defined his remarkable run to the semi-finals, he has often celebrated with a defiant shout of “allez!”
Wimbledon may have a homegrown hope in the 23-year-old British wildcard, but from growing up just five minutes down the road from the All England Club, Fery’s journey has also been developed elsewhere: the son of French parents, educated at an American college, now playing under a Dutch coach. But not everyone is surprised by his sudden emergence onto the big stage.
Born in Sevres, a Parisian suburb in the southwest of the city that lies a 20-minute drive away from Roland Garros, Fery speaks French as fluently as English. His mother, Olivia Fery (née Gravereaux), was a former professional tennis player who played in the 1991 French Open and represented France in the team tournament that is now known as the Billie Jean King Cup.
His father, Loic Fery, is one of the wealthiest men in France, making his fortune as a private investor and hedge fund manager. In 2009, Fery also moved into sport as he bought second-division French football team FC Lorient. He remains the Ligue 1’s team’s president after their takeover by the Bournemouth owner Bill Foley.
Drawing inspiration from his mother and the annual Championships, Fery was drawn to tennis after his parents moved to Wimbledon when he was young. He attended King’s College in Wimbledon, a public school that currently charges tuition fees of up to £11,940 per term, and briefly represented France in tennis at under-12 level, with his mother travelling with him to tournaments.

As Arthur Fery has raced around the baseline at Wimbledon this week, coming up with the sort of backs-to-the-wall points that have defined his remarkable run to the quarter-finals, he has often celebrated with a defiant shout of “allez!”
Wimbledon may have a homegrown hope in the 23-year-old British wildcard, but from growing up just five minutes down the road from the All England Club, Fery’s journey has also been developed elsewhere: the son of French parents, educated at an American college, now playing under a Dutch coach. But not everyone is surprised by his sudden emergence onto the big stage.
Born in Sevres, a Parisian suburb in the south west of the city that lies a 20-minute drive away from Roland Garros, Fery speaks French as fluently as English. His mother, Olivia Fery (née Gravereaux), was a former professional tennis player who played in the 1991 French Open and represented France in the team tournament that is now known as the Billie Jean King Cup.
His father, Loic Fery, is one of the wealthiest men in France, making his fortune as a private investor and hedge fund manager. In 2009, Fery also moved into sport as he bought second-division French football team FC Lorient. He remains the Ligue 1’s team’s president after their takeover by the Bournemouth owner Bill Foley.
Drawing inspiration from his mother and the annual Championships, Fery was drawn to tennis after his parents moved to Wimbledon when he was young. He attended King’s College in Wimbledon, a public school that currently charges tuition fees of up to £11,940 per term, and briefly represented France in tennis at under-12 level, with his mother travelling with him to tournaments.

Serving to stay in the biggest match of his life, as the shadows began to lengthen across Wimbledon’s Court 18 and fans climbed onto fold-out seats on the balcony and clambered onto benches to look down below, Arthur Fery was suddenly ground to a halt. A third nosebleed of the match stopped Fery in the his tracks and forced him to think. He had been battling Belgium’s Zizou Bergs for over four hours for a place in the last-16, scrapping from the brink after being a double-break down in the fourth set and a single break down in the fifth. Fery trailed 4-1 in both sets, but the deeper a hole the British wildcard faced, the tougher he fought, and the higher he climbed.
Once again, Fery managed to block out the distractions, with his epic 2-6 7-5 2-6 7-6 (3) 7-6 (10/5) over Bergs ensuring there will be a British player in the fourth round of Wimbledon. With his victory, Fery will enter the world’s top 100 for the first time. His decision to remain on the bearpit of Court 18, with its capacity for around 750 fans, rather than one of Wimbledon’s bigger showcourts, was justified as he whipped up a raucous atmosphere. “No words for it, honestly,’ he said. “With that support, it is unbelievable. I requested to play on this court and the club made it happen which was awesome. I love this court and had a great time on it.”
But the path to becoming the last British player left in the singles at Wimbledon has been an unusual one for a player who was born in France. His mother, Olivia Fery, was a professional tennis player who played at the 1991 French Open. His father, Loic Fery, is the wealthy owner of Ligue 1 football club FC Lorient. Fery briefly played for France at under-12 level, but grew up 10 minutes down the road from Wimbledon. There was no choice to make when deciding between the two countries. He sounds like a south Londoner. His home tournament was to be played on grass, not clay.
The contentious subject of British wildcards has been a theme throughout the opening week of Wimbledon, particularly after the dismal Monday that brought 10 defeats and the snubbing of Dan Evans from singles ahead of his final tournament before retirement. But it is clear the decision to award Fery direct entry into the main draw, offering him a fourth appearance at the Championships, was a sound one. His run at Queen’s, when he reached the quarter-finals, also as a wildcard, brought his ranking to a career-high 118th in the world. Having also qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open in January, where he defeated an ill Flavio Cobolli, Fery could walk through the gates of the All England Club and feel like he could belong there.
It has, as Fery said following his round one win over Damir Dzumhur, made Wimbledon feel more “normal”, less daunting. And perhaps that is the trick, shutting out the prestige and primness of the oldest and most famous tennis tournament in the world and treating it like any other competition. Fery carries an eye mask and earplugs i