Football news LIVE: Mourinho confronts English ref in car park, Mount agrees Man United terms, Kovacic set to swap Chelsea for Man City

Top stories:

Jose Mourinho brands English referee Anthony Taylor a 'f***ing disgrace' in car park after Roma's Europa League final defeat

Chelsea's Mason Mount agrees personal terms with Manchester United

Man City step up interest in Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic with personal terms discussed

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou emerges as leading contender for Tottenham job

Newcastle shut down Bruno Guimaraes exit talk amid Real Madrid interest

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Mason Mount is edging closer to joining Manchester United from Chelsea after agreeing personal terms, talkSPORT understands.

talkSPORT revealed last week how the Red Devils were keen to bring him to Old Trafford this summer.

Arsenal and Liverpool are also interested in the 24-year-old, but the England international now looks all set on a move to United.

United are now set to make a formal offer to sign Mount from Chelsea with Erik ten Hag pushing to get the deal done imminently.

Ten Hag sees Mount as a priority signing and also wants a new striker - with Tottenham's Harry Kane a leading target.

Meanwhile, another Chelsea star is heading for the exit with Mateo Kovacic in shock discussions to join Premier League champions Manchester City.

The Blues need to recoup funds after splashing £600million on new players since Todd Boehly assumed control last year, and new manager Mauricio Pochettino appears happy for Kovacic to go.

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Jose Mourinho confronted English referee Anthony Taylor in the car park after Roma's Europa League final defeat to Sevilla.

Footage has emerged of Mourinho berating Taylor before leaving the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

The 60-year-old cut a furious figure throughout the ill-tempered match, which saw Roma fall to a 4-1 defeat on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

It ended Mourinho's perfect record in Europeal finals and he was not willing to let it lie following the game as he was captured branding Taylor a 'f***ing disgrace' in the car park.

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Good morning and welcome to our live football blog.

Stay tuned for all the latest news, views and transfer gossip.

31st May 2023, 18:38

That's it for today on talkSPORT.com's football news blog.

We'll be back with the latest on all the big football stories, including reaction to tonight's Europa League final.

Speaking of which, talkSPORT has live and exclusive commentary of Roma vs Sevilla. Catch all the latest updates from the clash on our live blog here.

31st May 2023, 18:23

Darren Bent has suggested Celtic is a bigger club than Tottenham amid speculation surrounding Ange Postecoglou's future.

Postecoglou is a leading candidate to take the Spurs job, however, Bent suggested he would be departing for a smaller club should the move go ahead.

31st May 2023, 17:56

Man City have opened talks with Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, according to reports.

Fabrizio Romano claims 'concrete' discussions have taken place and 'positive' progress has been made over personal terms over the past week.

It is said Chelsea are open to selling the 29-year-old Croatian this summer as the Blues look to cut down their squad.

31st May 2023, 17:28

Liverpool are interested in signing Wolfsburg centre-back Micky van de Ven.

According to local newspaper Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, the Reds have turned their attention to the 22-year-old after baulking at RB Liepzig's €100million asking price for top target Josko Gvardiol.

The man who brought Van de Ven to Wolfsburg in 2021 for €3.5m now calls the shots on Merseyside - Liverpool's new sporting director Jorg Schmadtke.

Dutchman Van de Ven has been capped at Under-21 level but is yet to get a call-up to the senior team, but the reports suggest he could cost the Reds around €40m [£34m].

31st May 2023, 16:57

Borussia Dortmund director Sebastian Kehl has made his latest comments about Jude Bellingham's future.

"I can say that things will become clear in the next few days and weeks," he said, after the in-demand midfielder was pictured crying as Dortmund lost the Bundesliga title race on the final day of the season on Saturday, with arch rivals Bayern Munich crowned champions again.

"One of my tasks is to be prepared for everything. We would react accordingly. But nothing has happened at the moment".

31st May 2023, 16:15

Ange Postecoglou is a leading contender for the Tottenham job, talkSPORT can confirm.

The Australian coach is on a 12-month rolling contract at Celtic, which would work in Spurs' favour if they make an approach for the Hoops boss at the end of the season.

Celtic are hoping to persuade the coach to stay, after leading the Scottish giants to two Premiership titles in his two seasons in charge.

But his contract situation means they would be almost powerless to stop him if he wants to depart for a job in the Premier League.

31st May 2023, 15:55

Liverpool are reportedly close to securing a deal to buy back their former Melwood training ground for their women's team.

According to The Athletic, the Reds are in advanced talks with Torus to buy back the site they sold to the affordable housing developer for £10million in 2019.

The developers had unveiled plans to build 162 houses and apartments on part of the site, while Anfield legends Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler agreed a long-term lease to start their own youth academy there.

But those housing plans will now be scrapped with Liverpool set to buy Melwood back.

Liverpool Women currently use Tranmere Rovers' training ground, but the club is keen to provide them with their own dedicated facility now they are back in the Women's Super League, where they finished seventh this season.

Carragher and Fowler's academies have been using Melwood since September and will continue to do so under the new plans, sharing the training ground with the Liverpool Women squad.

31st May 2023, 15:38

Manchester United have now confirmed Dalot's new deal, with the defender penning a contract until 2028.

31st May 2023, 15:30

Diogo Dalot has agreed a new long-term deal at Manchester United, talkSPORT understands.

Dalot had been on the wanted list of several big European sides ahead of the summer transfer window.

But the 24-year-old Portugal international has decided to commit to the Red Devils with a new contract, after a season which saw him make 42 appearances for the club - the most since his arrival from Porto in 2018.

31st May 2023, 15:18

Southend United have secured an urgent court order allowing the payment of players and accountants before deadlines that threaten the club's survival.

The Shrimpers needed a 'validation order' to unfreeze a bank account and make the payments by today.

Players could have walked away from their contracts at Roots Hall if they did not receive their salaries due at the end of this month, while the National League had said it would withdraw the club's membership if accounts were not filed 'by close of business'.

A lawyer for the National League side told a specialist judge they would "simply cease to exist" if payments to playing staff and for the filing of overdue accounts were not made in time, and therefore the order was granted that allowed the club to pay up.

The insolvency and companies court hearing comes after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) issued a winding-up petition against the non-league club over a £275,000 tax debt.

Earlier this month, Southend - who dropped out of the English Football League at the end of the 2020/21 season - were given more time to clear the debt as the owners look into the sale of the club.

Barrister Hilary Stonefrost said the validation order was granted "to ensure the business of the company can survive under its present ownership long enough for a sale of the company's shares to new owners".

In March, it was reported that the club's parent company - run by unpopular owner Ron Martin - had appointed American agency General Sports Worldwide to explore the market for potential buyers or fresh investment.

31st May 2023, 15:04

Wiegman admitted she had had a stressful week making 'hard decisions' when selecting her squad.

The head coach said: "The last week was a little stressful. We had to make hard decisions.

"It's nice for the ones that are in and not nice for those who aren't.

"Lucy Bronze is fit and is fully in training, Millie Bright is in a good place and positive. She is still building but it looks good."

On Mead's omission from the squad, Wiegman added: "She is so positive and she's going really well. But we set the time schedule she had.

"We would have taken so many risks to try and get her to the World Cup. [But] to push her too much [could mean] she gets injured again."

Wiegman said it was 'sad' that top players Mead, Kirby and Williamson had all missed out and confirmed Bright would captain the Lionesses during the tournament.

"Of course, most of all for Williamson, it is very sad but that is the same for Fran [Kirby] and Beth [Mead]. You have to move on too. Unfortunately this is a part of top sport. You can get injured," Wiegman added.

"I think of our opportunities and how we get prepared. We have some injuries, but we still have a very good squad and good squad depth.

"We are talking about the 23 we have and we will get ready with this team."

Wiegman's European champions get their campaign at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand under way by facing Haiti in Brisbane on July 22 and will also take on Denmark and China in Group D.

31st May 2023, 14:31

Boss Sarina Wiegman is confident this Lionesses squad will compete for World Cup glory this summer, despite the absence of some key names.

"I have huge belief in this squad and we're very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia," said the England Women manager.

"We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on 22 July. We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer.

"It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready.