Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond. Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez will stay at the club, as he explained on Thursday, 89 days after announcing his departure, and after 12 separate press conferences in which he said that his decision would not be changed. In a press conference with President Joan Laporta, the pair explained that Xavi was feeling the confidence of the players, fans and board, while also finding renewed energy to carry on. Both ..read more

Newcastle United have been among the clubs linked with transfer interest in Rennes wonderkid Desire Doue in recent times, and Jonathan Johnson has confirmed that top clubs are looking at him ahead of this summer. Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Johnson explained that European football could be crucial to determining Doue’s future amid interest from the likes of Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund, which has been reported by L’Equipe. Doue, 18, looks like a fine young talent and could be an exciting addition to top clubs this summer, but Johnson expects t ..read more

Eddie Howe admits that Tino Livramento is still not totally fit and expresses uncertainty about the defender’s availability for Newcastle United’s match against Sheffield United this coming weekend. At Selhurst Park, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s double in the second half doomed the Magpies to a 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace. Livramento was an unused substitute in the match against the Eagles. The full-back, who started the game on the bench in Newcastle’s victory against Tottenham, is still dealing with an ankle issue that has kept him out of the game for the majority of the second half of the season ..read more

Whether or not Arsenal go on to win their first Premier League title in 20 years, the Gunners will strengthen their first-team squad in the summer. Having bought well before the beginning of the current campaign, the North Londoners rightly find themselves in amongst it at the business end of the season and, with four games of their 2023/24 left to play, it’s still all to play for. Man City can still overhaul them if they win their games in hand, and it’s Pep Guardiola’s side that remain in the box seat. Win all of their games and the title stays at the Etihad Stadium for a fourth consecutive ..read more

Newcastle United have reportedly overtaken Liverpool in the race for Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande. Diomande is just 20 years old and is attracting the interest of some of Europe’s biggest clubs following his impressive performances for Sporting. The Ivorian has established himself as one of the best defenders in Portugal, making 34 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring three goals. Newcastle leapfrog Liverpool in race for Diamonde? There have been plenty of links between the Reds and Sporting in recent weeks with manager Ruben Amorim widely tipped to replace Jurgen ..read more

Chelsea defender Lewis Hall is set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer as Newcastle have triggered the obligation-to-buy clause in the full-backs loan deal at St James’ Park. The left-back joined the Magpies on loan for the 2023/24 campaign but things have not gone perfectly for Hall. The 19-year-old has only played 500 minutes this season as he has struggled to get into Eddie Howe’s team. However, being so young, there is a lot of room for development in the Chelsea loanee. Hall is now set to join Newcastle permanently this summer after the obligation-to-buy clause was activated after t ..read more

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive transfer news via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io Arne Slot a strong candidate for Liverpool, with further talks planned An important update on the Liverpool job to start with, as Feyenoord manager Arne Slot is now a strong candidate for the job of replacing Jurgen Klopp this summer. He’s considered already an excellent manager with a very good style, but al ..read more

Manchester United and Newcastle United are reportedly both interested in the potential free transfer of Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot this summer. The experienced France international is nearing the end of his contract at Juve, so could be a free agent in the coming weeks if he doesn’t decide to renew with the Serie A giants. Rabiot’s situation is now seemingly attracting the interest of both Man Utd and Newcastle, who are waiting to see what the 29-year-old will decide to do, according to Todo Fichajes. Rabiot has had a fine career in Europe, and it would be interesting to see what kind o ..read more

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has not given a clear indication yet about the future of loaned-out youngster Yankuba Minteh as he impresses in his spell at Feyenoord. The 19-year-old winger is making a real impression in the Eredivisie, but it remains to be seen if he’ll quite be ready to make the step up to playing for a club like Newcastle, who will no doubt be eager to try again for a top four finish next season. Howe admits he’s keeping a close eye on how Minteh is progressing, and he sounds positive about the Gambia international, even if he’s not yet committing to using him regularl ..read more

Aston Villa look to be under growing pressure to sell Jacob Ramsey this summer amid interest from Newcastle United in a potential £50million transfer deal. Ramsey has impressed in his time at Villa Park and there have also been occasional links with Arsenal, Tottenham and other big clubs, but it now seems the strongest interest is coming from Newcastle. Ramsey is a homegrown talent and therefore Villa could benefit from the pure profit from his potential sale due to Financial Fair Play concerns. We’ve seen Everton and Nottingham Forest docked points for breaking FFP rules this season, and Vill ..read more