• Defender available on a free may be first signing in Maresca era
• Trevoh Chalobah understood to be Manchester United target

Chelsea are confident of beating Newcastle to the signing of the Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer.

Newcastle were leading the race for the former Manchester City defender and have been working on a deal for several weeks. But they have not been able to see off a late move from Chelsea, who are working to complete what would be the first signing of the Enzo Maresca era after offering Adarabioyo a bigger financial package than Eddie Howe’s team.

• 18-year-old is valued by his club at about £25m
• West Ham deal for defender Fabrício Bruno in balance

West Ham are in talks with Palmeiras over a deal to buy the 18-year-old attacker Luis Guilherme. The Brazil Under-20 international is valued by his club at about £25m.

Guilherme, who plays mainly on the right but can also operate on the left or as an attacking central midfielder, has made 17 appearances for Palmeiras since the turn of the year. On Thursday he played the full Copa Libertadores game against the Argentinian club San Lorenzo.

• Maresca set to join on five-year deal from Leicester
• Italian had secured promotion with Foxes in his first season

Chelsea have agreed terms on a five-year deal for Enzo Maresca to become their new head coach. The Italian is set to join from Leicester, whom he led to promotion to the Premier League as champions in April.

Maresca has had only that one full season in charge of a senior team but he has impressed the Chelsea hierarchy and takes over from Mauricio Pochettino, who left by mutual consent shortly after the club ended the season with five straight wins to finish sixth.

• Initial fee for Brazil international set at £12.5m
• Player is poised to be first signing of Lopetegui era

West Ham have agreed a deal to buy the defender Fabrício Bruno from Flamengo for £12.5m plus £2.5m in add-ons. The 28-year-old is in line to become the first signing since Julen Lopetegui was confirmed as head coach last week.

Fabrício Bruno made his Brazil debut against England at Wembley in March but has not been selected in the squad for this summer’s Copa América. The centre-back has not played for a club outside his homeland.

• Chelsea have been granted permission to speak to Italian
• Leicester will want around £10m to release their manager

Chelsea are ready to give Enzo Maresca a five-year deal after being granted permission to speak to the Leicester manager. Maresca, who is expected to agree to take the job, has emerged as the favoured candidate to succeed Mauricio Pochettino after an intense weekend of talks.

Chelsea and Kieran McKenna, who is poised to snub Brighton and sign a new deal at Ipswich, cooled their interest in each other and the Stamford Bridge club have not moved forward with Brentford’s Thomas Frank. Senior figures have repeatedly played down suggestions of interest in Roberto De Zerbi and believe that Maresca’s heavy focus on possession will suit a squad full of technically gifted players.

• Ten Hag says if club don’t want him he’ll ‘go to win trophies’
• Defeated Pep Guardiola admits: ‘The gameplan was not good’

Erik ten Hag says he will join another club and keep winning trophies if Manchester United press ahead with plans to sack him after their shock 2-1 triumph over Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Along with delivering what may be viewed as a final parting shot before he learns of his fate, Ten Hag was unable to offer any clarity on what the future holds for him. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the minority owner who controls United’s football policy, had earlier refused to say whether the victory over City would be enough for the Dutchman to stay.

• Move is most significant made by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his allies
• United’s eighth-placed league finish their lowest since 1990

Manchester United have decided to sack Erik ten Hag after the FA Cup final against Manchester City.

In an echo of United parting company with Louis van Gaal despite winning the FA Cup in 2016, it is understood that even beating City at Wembley on Saturday will not save Ten Hag.

• Leicester won Championship under the Italian
• Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna also of interest

Chelsea are set to ask Leicester for permission to speak to Enzo Maresca. The manager is competing with Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, who is also a target for Brighton and Manchester United, in the race to replace Mauricio Pochettino.

Chelsea are confident of making a swift appointment and McKenna, who inspired Ipswich’s astonishing promotion to the Premier League, has been viewed as the leading candidate. But the race remains open and there is support for Maresca, who led Leicester to the Championship title last season and is admired by the recruitment team at Stamford Bridge.

• At least six signings wanted but budget will depend on sales
• Lopetegui arrives as head coach vowing to make ‘big, big noise’

West Ham’s plans to overhaul their squad after confirming the appointment of Julen Lopetegui, who wants the Wolves defender Maximilian Kilman among at least six signings, will be affected by the Football Association charging Lucas Paquetá with alleged betting breaches.

Paquetá has an £85m release clause and was a target for Manchester City. But he is unlikely to move this summer and West Ham had factored his potential sale into their budget. It is understood that they have been preparing for both scenarios but the absence of a big sale would leave Lopetegui will less money to spend. West Ham are determined to keep the Ghana attacker Mohammed Kudus, whose release clause becomes active next year.

• FA has looked at allegations Paquetá deliberately got bookings
• Brazilian says he ‘will fight with every breath to clear name’

West Ham fear Lucas Paquetá’s career could be over if he is found guilty of deliberately getting booked after the midfielder was charged by the Football Association in relation to alleged breaches of betting regulations.

The FA has been looking into allegations that Paquetá deliberately picked up yellow cards against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth in 2022 and 2023. The governing body said in a statement that the Brazil international was suspected of directly seeking to “influence the progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in these matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from the booking”.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Mark Langdon, Sanny Rudravajhala and Jacob Steinberg as Atalanta win the Europa League and Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: a stunning win for Atalanta, who win the Europa League. It’s manager Gian Piero ­Gasperini’s first major trophy and he was helped to it by a brilliant hat-trick from Ademola Lookman. Not only that, but with that win they put a stop to Leverkusen’s unbeaten season too.

Former Wolves coach is tasked with improving football at club after replacing David Moyes with fans far from convinced

West Ham have been putting the succession plan in place for a while. Tim Steidten was not long into his job as the technical director when he went to David Sullivan, the co-owner, and suggested Julen Lopetegui as a potential replacement for David Moyes. Contact was soon established, a video call with Sullivan last October giving Lopetegui an opportunity to develop a relationship with the key figure at the London Stadium. Moyes was already on borrowed time. Lopetegui was ready, unemployed and keen to work in the Premier League again. Although the job was not guaranteed to go to the Spaniard, there was a good chance that those early talks were going to result in him taking over from Moyes at the end of the season.

And so it has proved. Lopetegui, whose aim is to turn West Ham into contenders for Champions League qualification, is in on a two-year deal. Rúben Amorim, the Sporting manager, said no. Hansi Flick was overlooked. A host of homegrown names were barely considered. When it came down to it, Sullivan kept veering towards Lopetegui as the right person to replace West Ham’s most successful manager of the Premier League era.

• Burnley in talks with Bayern over compensation
• German club have struggled to replace Thomas Tuchel

Bayern Munich are close to ending their protracted search for a new manager with the club set to give the job to Burnley’s Vincent Kompany.

Bayern have encountered frustration in their hunt for a replacement for Thomas Tuchel, who departed after ending the season without winning a trophy. The German’s exit was agreed in February but the club’s desperation even meant they tried to persuade the former Chelsea manager to stay.

• Blues keen to make swift appointment after Pochettino exit
• Club check Leicester’s Enzo Maresca as alternative coach

Chelsea are confident of bringing their search for Mauricio Pochettino’s successor to a swift conclusion after notifying Ipswich of their interest in their favoured candidate, Kieran McKenna, and putting alternative plans in place by making checks on Leicester’s Enzo Maresca.

The Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership are working quickly after parting company with Pochettino by mutual consent – a development that has caused shock within the dressing room – and they are optimistic that the process will not take long.

• Jackson, Palmer and Caicedo among those to speak out
• John Terry calls for no transfers until replacement is found

Chelsea’s players have been left shocked by Mauricio Pochettino leaving his post as head coach by mutual consent after less than a year in the job.

Pochettino had strong support from his players after a positive end to his first season in charge and news of his departure has not gone down well in the dressing room. The mood was summed up by a senior player expressing concern at the constant upheaval at Chelsea, who have already been through five managers since being purchased by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital two years ago. A source close to another player said his client could not believe the news.

The Argentinian’s great mistake was failing to realise that this is not a club conditioned to serve a manager

It would have been different if Mauricio Pochettino had been willing to trust Chelsea’s great restructuring is going to work. In the end, the problem for the Argentinian was that he joined a club who do not want a manager who has all the power. It is clear by now that anyone who hopes to last under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital has to collaborate with the board on everything, be open-minded about constructive criticism and remember not to rock the boat too much when it comes to recruitment.

Unfortunately that was never going to be Pochettino – just as it was never going to be Thomas Tuchel, who lasted seven games before being fired. Pochettino is 52. He is a big, magnetic character and an experienced coach who believes his way is best. He was never going to listen to suggestions that he could ease Chelsea’s injury problems by reviewing and altering his training methods.

Provisional picks for Euro 2024 show manager is not afraid to take chances – and hint he may stay beyond this tournament

It is not exactly the kind of squad a manager names when he is thinking of quitting at the end of a tournament. Then again, before anyone gets ahead of themselves, it is worth pointing out there has always been a bold streak to Gareth Southgate. Those who accuse him of caution and favouritism are probably forgetting this is the England manager who ditched Joe Hart for Jordan Pickford at the 2018 World Cup and threw a 19-year-old Bukayo Saka into the team against Germany at Euro 2020.

Even so, there was a sense the latest stage of England’s evolution is upon us when Southgate named his provisional squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday. In picking Adam Wharton, Curtis Jones, Kobbie Mainoo, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah, James Trafford and Anthony Gordon in the 33, Southgate will have left the Football Association wondering whether he has half an eye on the future.

• Blues prepared to fight Brighton for Tractor Boys manager
• Argentinian departs after talks with club over two days

Chelsea are prepared to rival Brighton for the appointment of Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna after ­reaching an agreement to part company with Mauricio Pochettino by mutual consent on Tuesday.

Pochettino, who led the club to sixth after a strong end to his only season in charge, has left after ­holding talks with the co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul ­Winstanley, and the co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali over the course of two days.

• Provisional squad has Shaw and Branthwaite but no Chilwell
• Guéhi, Quansah, Bowen, Eze, Toney and Maddison picked

Gareth Southgate has made a string of huge decisions in naming England’s 33-player training squad for Euro 2024, with Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson the most eye-catching omissions.

Adam Wharton and Curtis Jones have been surprisingly selected over Henderson in midfield, Ivan Toney has been included in attack and Ben Chilwell has been left out despite major doubts over Luke Shaw’s fitness at left-back.

• Club face competition from Chelsea and Manchester United
• Robert De Zerbi left Amex Stadium by mutual consent

Brighton are pushing to complete a deal to appoint Kieran ­McKenna as Roberto De Zerbi’s replacement, but they still face competition from Chelsea and Manchester United for the Ipswich manager.

McKenna, who has emerged as one of the brightest young managers in the country after masterminding Ipswich’s promotion to the Premier League, is in line to move to the Amex Stadium if all the pieces fall in place. It is understood that certain obstacles have to be overcome if McKenna is to join Brighton, who have a vacancy to fill after parting company with De Zerbi by mutual consent.

• Owners undecided on whether to keep Pochettino
• Brighton want McKenna as replacement for De Zerbi

Chelsea have identified Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna as one of the leading  candidates to take over from Mauricio Pochettino, whose future is up in the air before his end-of-season review with the club’s hierarchy.

While some key figures at Stamford Bridge are in favour of Pochettino staying, the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership is yet to reach a consensus on whether a change is required.

• Teenage winger considered one of the top talents in Brazil
• Transfer fee will be broken up into initial €34m plus add-ons

Chelsea are set to complete the signing of the Palmeiras prodigy Estêvão Willian for a fee in the region of €60m (£51.4m).

The 17-year-old winger is regarded as one of the best talents in Brazil and Chelsea were determined not to miss out on him.