GM, Free Agents. Thursday, thursday. Weekend junior.

Welcome to the The Free Transfer— the 5-min daily newsletter making you smarter about football.

Well, we can’t say the UEL Final wasn’t entertaining. Sevilla are really the kings of Europa.

Today’s agenda:

• UEL Final was a riot 💥 🏆️ 

  • Sevilla win their SEVENTH UEL 👑 

  • Jose Mourinho goes ballistic 😡 

• Transfer news in under 60s ⏱️ 

  • Mason Mount ✍️ 

  • James Maddison ✈️ 

  • Manchester City update ❄️ 

  • Newcastle update 🔲 

  • Liverpool update 🔴 

UEL FINAL WAS A RIOT 💥 🏆️ 

Sevilla picked up their seventh (YES, SEVENTH) Europa League trophy last night, handing Jose Mourinho his first ever loss in a European final. Mourinho did not handle the loss well…

Match report—TLDR; ⏩️ 

Roma came out swinging. Their gameplan was clearly to score first, then defend that lead for the rest of the match.

They got off to a great start. Dybala scored to make it 1-0 in the 35’.

From there, Roma fell back into a defensive shell.

Rakitic fired a longshot off the post just before halftime. This was a sign of what was to come for Mourinho’s men.

Sevilla dominated the ball & created many chances in the first 15 minutes of the second half. They were rewarded after a dangerous cross from Jesus Navas bounced off of Roma defender Gianluca Mancini into his own net for a goal. Roma 1-1 Sevilla.

From there, Roma created two big chances— near misses from Tammy Abraham & Andrea Belotti. Things started getting extremely chippy. To extra time!

Extra time became even chippier. Both teams were rolling on the ground, diving, starting fights, etc. Many yellow cards were dished out to both teams and benches. Neither team had a great chance in ET. On to PKs!

Mancini & Ibanez missed their PKs for Roma. One was a great save from Bono. Sevilla wins 4-2 on PKs.

Sevilla win their 7th Europa League 👑 🏆️ 

At this point, we have to call them the Real Madrid of Europa League. The kings of Europa League. Something. To win seven Europa League finals is just crazy. That makes 5 in the last 15 years. This truly is their tournament.

The only negative for Sevilla is that they have to play UCL next year. Hopefully they can come third in their group, & drop back down to UEL for the KOs…

The many faces of Mourinho 😐️ 😑 🤨 😠 😡 

Let’s see how Jose Mourinho’s mood evolved last night ⤵️ 

Say what you want about the man, but you can’t say he’s not an entertainer.

To be fair, he does not have a lot of experience losing in finals.

He even recreated his own “I’ll wait for you in the parking lot” meme last night, confronting Anthony Taylor after the match 😂

He’s an icon.

Last night’s recreation ⤵️ 

Long live Jose and his shenanigans. 👑 

60 SECOND TRANSFER UPDATE ⏱️ 

Mason Mount 🟦→ 🟥 

Mount to United seems but a matter of time now. Check out exactly how he will fit in to Erik Ten Hag’s set-up here.

There is apparently a gap in valuations though— United value him at £60mm while Chelsea value him at £85mm. Let’s see what he ends up going for.

James Maddison 🦊 ✈️ 

After relegation, Maddison will surely leave Leicester. Fabrizio Romano says Arsenal & Newcastle are the most interested. Newcastle do not have a #10 like Maddison in the team to give them a different option, so it could make sense.

At Arsenal, on the other hand, it seems a bit crowded in attacking midfield with Odegaard, Smith-Rowe, & Vieira already there.

Mateo Kovacic 🔵 → ❄️ 

Can we already crown this “the most random transfer of the summer”?

What does this mean for City’s squad? Is he a Bernardo or Gundogan replacement?

Let’s see where the dominoes fall…

Liverpool midfield movement 🆕 

Mac Allister seems all but done. He will be the more attacking of the midfield, probably in the left CM role in their 433.

Manu Kone looks to be the next piece of the puzzle, potentially as Fabinho’s replacement. He plays CDM/#6 for Gladbach. The 22yo Frenchman has strong defensive positioning & is great in duels.

Summer is off to a quick & efficient start. A good sign for Liverpool.

Newcastle target McTominay as new #6 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 

The 26yo defensive midfielder looks to be leaving Manchester United this summer. His physical qualities & positional discipline are perfect for Eddie Howe’s set-up.

Could he bring the perfect balance to a midfield trio of Bruno Guimaraes & a more attacking midfielder like Joe Willock, Joelinton, James Maddison, or Gabri Veiga? 🔍️ 👀 

Yesterday’s rumors of Gabri Veiga’s imminent arrival at Newcastle were dispelled by Fabrizio Romano who said that they are premature. But there is interest from multiple PL clubs, including Arsenal & Manchester City.

Veiga is an attacking midfielder who is very direct & productive (13 G+A in LaLiga this season for Celta Vigo). One to watch.

Quick one today. Transfer season is #HeatingUp. Once they start being confirmed we can talk tactical fit. For now, let’s see who everyone lands.

Have good one.

—The Gaffer

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