Liverpool are believed to be leading the chase to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund this summer. Real Madrid and Manchester City are also keen. (Sky Sports Germany)

Arsenal could join Chelsea in the bidding to sign Moises Caicedo this summer, with Brighton valuing him at around £100m. The Blues had an offer worth just over half of that sum knocked back this month. (Evening Standard)

While Caicedo is on their radar, the midfielder at the top of Arsenal’s wish list is Declan Rice, who could spurn interest from Real Madrid in order to join the Gunners. (El Nacional)
Manchester United are willing to rival Real Madrid and Tottenham for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, though it could cost €140m to sign him this summer. (RaiSport)

Tottenham have at long last agreed to pay Pedro Porro’s €45m release clause and will communicate this in a meeting with Sporting CP on Wednesday. (Record)

Kylian Mbappe will instruct the PSG hierarchy to make a move for Bernardo Silva at the end of the season having previously played with him at Monaco. Barcelona have long held an interest in the Portugal star, too. (The Sun)

Juventus are open to letting Weston McKennie leave the club this window, with Arsenal and Leeds interested in a deal. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Anthony Gordon is nearing a move to Newcastle this month, with the Magpies pulling away from Chelsea in the race to sign the Everton winger. Eddie Howe’s men would also like to take Hakim Ziyech off the Blues’ hands. (Daily Telegraph)

However, Chelsea are likely to use Ziyech as a makeweight in one final attempt to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica before next week’s transfer deadline. (Calciomercatoweb)

Bayern Munich will not allow Ryan Gravenberch to leave on loan this month. The Dutchman joined the club in the summer from Ajax, turning down the chance to reunite with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, but has struggled for game time at the Allianz Arena. (Sky Sports Germany)

Tottenham are set to complete the initial loan signing of Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal before the weekend after hijacking his move from Everton. (Football Insider)

Lionel Messi, fully robed up, rubs his hands in anticipation of finally – finally – lifting the World Cup. The Emir of Qatar and Fifa president Gianni Infantino hand over the golden prize. Messi takes possession of the holy grail, ekes out the moment by bobbing lightly along the podium, in front of his team-mates … then hoists the World Cup high into the air! Fireworks! Dancing! Glee! Argentina are champions of the world!

Football unites people when politics divides them”: the relations between Tunisia and Morocco may be in crisis, but the Tunisian Wissam Sultani will encourage the Atlas Lions on Wednesday against France in the semi-final of the World Cup in Qatar.

“On the pitch, politics has nothing to do. Supporting an Arab country, whatever it is, is a duty when it reaches this stage of the competition,” said Sultani, 41, who runs a fruit and vegetable stall in the central market of Tunis.

After breaking a glass ceiling by becoming the first African or Arab team to reach the last four of a World Cup, Morocco can indeed count on the support of an entire continent whose hopes it carries, by challenging the French title holders for a place in the final.

Morocco’s run, which eliminated the Spanish giants in the round of 16 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarterfinals, has sparked a surge of pride and excitement among neighbors Tunisia and Algeria, transcending political squabbles in the Maghreb, as well as in the rest of Africa.

In downtown Tunis, a sports store’s sound system blares Moroccan folk songs to attract customers. The red Atlas Lions jersey is the highlight of the display.

“Stand up”

The country is however in cold with Morocco, which reproaches him for having aligned with the position of Algeria in the Western Sahara issue, at the heart of extreme tensions between the two neighbors of the Maghreb.

In Algeria, if the official media have virtually ignored the performance of the Moroccans, sometimes content with the dry result, the private press has welcomed their achievements.

“It is quite normal that Algerians support Morocco, which is a Muslim country, brother and neighbor,” says Madjid, 58 years.

For Salim, 45 years old, employee of a public company, “Algerians are with the Moroccan team because it represents a Maghreb country and Amazigh” (Berber).

In the Maghreb as elsewhere in the Arab world, fans say their support for Morocco is increased tenfold when they see its supporters and players waving the Palestinian flag, showing their attachment to the Palestinian cause even though Rabat normalized relations with Israel in December 2020.

According to Tunisian sociologist Mohamed Jouili, this support for Morocco, which is becoming more and more apparent as the match against Les Bleus approaches, can also be explained by “France’s colonial past in the Maghreb.

“The countries of the region can not compete with France economically, militarily or geopolitically, but can stand up to 90 minutes on a soccer field and even beat it,” he added, recalling the victory of Tunisia in the group stage against the men of Didier Deschamps.