Date published: Tuesday 2nd May 2023 8:53 – Ian Watson

Liverpool could be preparing for a double raid on France, while Arsenal are looking at Crystal Palace for a defender, and Ten Hag’s ‘perfect’ striker is available for £70million…

RENNES RIPE FOR REDS RAID

With a huge summer ahead, Liverpool are preparing to make their Jude Bellingham money stretch to multiple recruits. Part of which involves shopping for bargains in France…

The Reds scouts have been checking on a couple of the Ligue 1 stars. One of them, according to Fichajes, is Jean-Clair Todibo. The centre-back joined Nice from Barcelona in 2021 after loan spells back in France, where he began his career with Toulouse. His big move to Barca did not work out but Todibo has rebuilt his reputation at the heart of Nice’s defence, earning himself a call-up to the recent France squad.

Todibo could be available for a fee in region of £26million – twice what Rennes paid Barca two years ago.

Liverpool have also been monitoring Lovro Mejer. The Croatia midfielder joined Rennes in 2021, from Dinamo Zagreb, and earned himself a place in the Ligue 1 team of the season n his first campaign in France. This season hasn’t gone quite as swimmingly but that doesn’t seem to have put Liverpool off if the Daily Mail are to be believed. Apparently, Rennes will want around £30million, with Arsenal also said to be sniffing.

ARSENAL EYE ENGLAND DEFENDER

The same outlet also credits Arsenal with an interest in Marc Guehi.

The Gunners have been stretched in defence, with William Saliba’sScouser who played for Everton and Liverpool delivered Wrexham’s Hollywood ending injury highlighting a lack of depth at centre-back.

Guehi has been hugely impressive at Crystal Palace since moving across London from Chelsea for £18million in 2021. The defender has earned three England caps while making 78 appearances for the Eagles.

Palace haven’t yet made clear their asking price but it is likely to be around three times the amount they paid for the 22-year-old, especially with three years remaining on his contract.

Read more: Every Premier League club’s biggest out of contract star this summer

INTER MAKE MARTINEZ AVAILABLE

Manchester United desperately need a striker this summer. They’d like Harry Kane but the chances are remote of Daniel Levy selling Tottenham’s record goalscorer for anything other than silly money. The same goes for Victor Osimhen so United are having to consider alternatives.

Tammy Abraham is one. Lautaro Martinez is another, according to Football Insider. The Inter Milan striker has scored 17 goals this season, following his 21-goal haul last term.

But Inter have let it be known that the Argentina centre-forward is up for grabs for £70million this summer. Real Madrid and Arsenal are also credited with interest in the 25-year-old, who is said to be viewed as ‘the perfect striker’ for Erik ten Hag.

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Scouser who played for Everton and Liverpool delivered Wrexham’s Hollywood ending

Paul Mullin fired Wrexham into the Football League with two goals in a promotion-sealing 3-1 win over Boreham Wood.

The Merseyside-born striker scored 47 goals in all competitions this season as the North Wales side ended their non-league exile. Owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham finished first in the National League and will return to English football’s fourth tier for the first time since 2008.

Mullin has been among the club’s star men, leading It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor McElhenney making the bold claim of calling him “one of the greatest football players in the world” during an on-pitch interview at the end of the Boreham Wood game. Here, we look at Mullin’s journey from Merseyside to becoming friends with the stars.

READ MORE: Liverpool nurses ‘striking for your lives’ as action steps up

Mullin was born in Litherland in 1994. As a young footballer, he spent time in the Everton and Liverpool academies, playing in the same Reds youth side as Raheem Sterling.

In a recent Times interview, he said: “There was a school report, actually quite funny, the PE teacher put my predicted grade as F and said I should be getting A. How can it be an F? If I just play football and do no theory it should be a C. I was laughing but imagine doing that to a 15-year-old lad?”

He continued: “I have never had something in my head of trying to prove people wrong. I wanted to prove myself right and to become a footballer.

“I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I knew I was right all along. I still believed I could play for Liverpool at the point when I had been released two years earlier.”

After failing to make the grade at Everton or Liverpool, he then joined Huddersfield Town and spent time on loan at Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall Motors.

He was released by Huddersfield in 2014, without having made a first tram appearance. He then signed for Morecambe, where he spent three years, scoring 28 goals in 140 games. After an unremarkable season at Swindon Town, Mullin returned to Merseyside and joined Tranmere Rovers in 2018.

He won promotion to League One with Rovers in 2018/19, but then struggled for goals in England’s third tier. He scored three times in 20 league goals in the 2019/20 season, during which he also spent time on loan at Cambridge United.

The striker joined Cambridge permanently at the end of the 2019/20 season and enjoyed a prolific campaign at the Abbey Stadium. He scored 34 goals in 50 appearances and was named the division’s Player of the Year in 2021/21, as Cambridge were promoted from League Two.

However, Mullin rejected a contract offer from Cambridge to join Wrexham in July 2021. He dropped down the divisions to swap League One for the National League and the club’s Hollywood owners helped seal the deal.

On signing for Wrexham, he said: “I’m made up, it’s been a long summer for me and now I can look forward to the season ahead, and I’m excited to get going at Wrexham.

“The ambition of the club attracted me here. Rob McElhenney gave me – at that time, I wasn’t too sure about making the move – but once he outlined the plans for the club, and the plans for me in the future, it was something I really wanted to be a part of and something that just excited me that much that I had to come.

“He really sold the club to me. What they have planned for the club is magnificent and something I want to be a part of.”

He hit the ground running and scored 32 goals in 44 competitions in his first season at the Racecourse Ground. Mullin bagged a number of personal honours but Wrexham missed out on promotion from the play-offs.

The goals did not stop in the 2022/23 season, but Mullin landed himself in hot water with his club in October, when he revealed his new boots. His Nike Mercurial boots featured the message “F**k the Tories” along with pictures of Liverpool landmarks.