Conte lashing out, looking for an out?

Good Morning,

Slow day today for fixtures. Conte lashes out, Ten Hag getting new deal, Barca’s situation worsens, Sheffield United’s in trouble too, Haaland’s historic tear, Chelsea wants to share, Zlatan makes history, and Grealish went a bit to far.

Let’s get on with it.

Table Tops

Fixtures We’re Watching

• No games of note

Full schedule + where to watch

Starting Lineup

• Conte lashes out at Spurs ownership after Southampton draw (CO)

• Spain and Portugal set to DUMP Ukraine from World Cup 2030 bid and announce completely new country (SUN)

• Liverpool and Man Utd most involved in Super League plans (WST)

• Thierry Henry 'IS interested in becoming manager of the USMNT' (DM)

• Erik ten Hag set to be offered new Manchester United deal (M)

• Chinese football stars and officials held in Xi’s corruption crackdown (TG)

• Former FOX executive convicted in World Cup bribery case (WST)

• Lionel Messi’s dad breaks silence on rumours of staggering offer to quit PSG and move to Saudi Arabia (SUN)

• Barcelona financial outlook is bleak as LaLiga gets tough and European Super League dream dies (DM)

• Sheffield United taking drastic steps to avoid administration (WST)

Transfer Rumors

• Newcastle “very interested” in beating Arsenal to £62m signing of Moussa Diaby (CO)

• Nicolas Pepe open to Nice stay but French club yet to decide move for Arsenal winger (M)

• Report: Jurrien Timber could be back on Bayern Munich’s radar (BFW)

• Real Madrid are considering a surprise move for Chelsea striker, Lukaku (CO)

• Inter Milan are 'keen to sign' West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca 'to replace' Edin Dzeko (DM)

• Tottenham ‘keeping tabs on Watford whiz Adrian Blake, 17, ahead of free transfer but face competition from rivals’ (SUN)

• Wolves ‘resigned to losing’ Neves and set £40m price-tag with Premier League trio circling (365)

• Celtic set to receive £20m transfer offer for 'outstanding' player who Ange Postecoglou loves (TT)

• Everton plot transfer swoop for West Ham striker Michail Antonio but ONLY if they survive relegation (SUN)

• Bundesliga outfit know they’ll lose key midfielder, Manu Kone, this summer amid Chelsea interest (CO)

Data Based

Erling Haaland’s on a history making tear, scoring 8 goals last week across two games, including tying the record for most goals in a Champions League match with 5. These goals have propelled him beyond the Mo Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy goal-scoring record debate and into Dixie Dean territory. Can he catch the Everton legend?

The graphs below from Opta Analyst were made before the FA Cup match against Burnley on Saturday when Haaland added 3 more goals to his season tally. He currently stands at 42 goals, 2 goals off the record.

Dixie Dean? Well that’s another story entirely. Back in 1927-28, Dean scored 63 goals in 41 games for Everton. He scored 1.53 goals per game that season. That record won't be matched, surely, but Haaland might have 63 goals in his sights and at his current pace will likely be in touching distance of the nearly 100-year old record.

Check out this piece for more of Erling Haaland’s ridiculous career stats.

Offsides

Jack Grealish quickly deleted this post from his account, but not before people made screenshots and reshared…

On The Ball

• Chelsea ‘hold talks’ with Premier League rival to share stadium during £2bn Stamford Bridge upgrade (SUN)

• Liverpool secures lucrative four-year deal with sleeve sponsors worth £60m (CO)

• French government open to selling the Stade de France to a foreign group (GFFN)

Fantasyland

Throw Ins

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic makes history as Serie A’s oldest-ever goalscorer at 41 with penalty for Milan (TS)

• Will Still: I'm not just a Football Manager geek (FM)

• NWSL player ratings for FIFA 23: USWNT stars dominate top spots (ESPN)

Meme Brace