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BBC
Chelsea and England defender Reece James, 23, has been earmarked by Real Madrid as a long-term replacement for Spain's Dani Carvajal, 31. James signed a six-year contract with the Blues in 2022. (Diario AS - in Spanish)
Manchester City have agreed a deal in principle to sign Boca Juniors' highly-rated 19-year-old Valentin Barco who predominantly plays at left-back. (German Garcia Grova on X)
Arsenal and Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard, 24, and England defender Ben White, 25, are set to commit their long-term futures to the Gunners by signing new contracts. (football.london)
Manchester United's Hannibal Mejbri is wanted by Besiktas on loan after the Turkish side recently had a permanent deal rejected for the Tunisia midfielder, 20. (Sun)
Manchester United and England winger Jadon Sancho, 23, needs to look at himself if he wants to salvage his career with the Red Devils after his fall-out with boss Erik ten Hag, says ex-United midfielder Gordon Strachan. (Mirror)
Former England midfielder Jesse Lingard, 30, continues to train with West Ham but has received offers from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and MLS since leaving Nottingham Forest. (90min)
Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha, 28, could still make a move to Bayern Munich despite signing a contract extension with Fulham. (Bild - in German)
Former Chelsea and Bosnia-Herzegovina keeper Asmir Begovic, 36, has labelled his old club a "mid table squad" and adds: "What has happened at Chelsea Football Club? It just beggars belief." (Byline podcast)
Liverpool have no intention of terminating Thiago Alcantara's contract to enable the Spain midfielder, 32, to secure a move to Turkey. (Football Insider)
Turkish side Trabzonspor want to sign Thiago on a three-year deal. (Tavkim)
Istanbul Basaksehir have agreed a loan deal to sign Nigeria striker Emmanuel Dennis, 25, from Nottingham Forest. (Fabrizio Romano)
Konyaspor have reached an agreement in principle with former England winger Andros Townsend, 32, after he left Everton this summer. (Ajansspor - in Turkish)
Saudi side Al-Shabab have opened talks with former Chelsea and England defender John Terry over a coaching role. (Nicolo Schira)
Former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter is holding out for an offer from a Champions League club after being sounded out by Rangers to replace Michael Beale. (Football Insider)
Adana Demirspor are in talks over re-signing former Italy striker Mario Balotelli, 33, from Swiss club Sion. (Ajansspor - in Turkish)
Barcelona are looking at making a move for Spain forward Nico Williams next summer but Athletic Bilbao are keen to extend the 21-year-old's deal with the club. (Sport - in Spanish)
Germany attacking midfielder Julian Draxler, 29, is set to move from Paris St-Germain to Qatari side Al-Ahli in a deal thought to be worth in excess of 20m euros (£17.1m). (Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sport Germany)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Rasmus Hojlund's first coach is full of praise for his former player but admits Nicklas Bendtner was more talented.
Ivan Toney is set to return to Brentford training next week as restrictions ease on his eight-month ban.
Burnley turned down the chance to sign Sergio Reguilon - three days before he joined Manchester United on loan.
Real Madrid have traced a boy who lost five family members in the Morocco earthquake and flown him to Spain to join their academy.
THE ATHLETIC
The NFL and Tottenham have extended their partnership until the 2029-30 season.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and CF Pachuca's Jenni Hermoso are among those nominated for The Best FIFA men's and women's awards 2023.
Spain's top-flight female players have ended their strike for the opening two matchdays of the Liga F season after an agreement was reached between the league and the players' unions over a new minimum wage.
DAILY MAIL
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is in advanced talks over a new contract, while key defender Ben White is set to open formal talks over an extension.
Premier League clubs could thwart a proposed relaunch of the Women's Super League next year due to disagreements over funding.
Barcelona's ongoing battle against their financial crisis has seen another twist, with LaLiga informing the Catalan side that their new wage cap will be reduced to €270m (£232m).
Asmir Begovic has delivered a brutally scathing assessment of Chelsea's recent transfer activity, branding Mauricio Pochettino's team as a 'mid table squad' before asking 'why the club is rebuilding?'
Paul Pogba has called for counter analysis on the test that came back positive for doping, according to reports.
Nike have yet to inform the FA or England number one Mary Earps when her goalkeeping shirt will be made available commercially.
UFC boss Dana White has revealed that Conor McGregor is expected to make his return to the organisation 'next year'.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Kyle Sinckler is set to play England's World Cup game against Japan after being included alongside No 8 Billy Vunipola in England's squad for their second pool game.
Luke Comer, the billionaire Irish property developer, trainer and big-race sponsor, has been banned for three years and ordered to pay costs of 755,754 euros (£650,000) after a dozen of his horses tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2021.
Xander Schauffele has declared that it will take "nothing special" for Team USA to win the Ryder Cup, despite the Americans not prevailing on European soil for 30 years.
THE TIMES
A Football League manager who placed bets on matches has escaped with a formal warning after being investigated by the FA.
Premier League clubs are expected to be asked next week to agree a financial settlement worth more than £130m extra a year to the EFL, along with radical new spending controls.
The verbal abuse meted out to Harry Maguire across football was started by supporters at Manchester United, according to his former manager Brendan Rodgers.
Wimbledon organisers came under ridicule from neighbouring residents for their refusal to attend a public meeting about the tournament's controversial expansion.
Billy Vunipola is set to return to the England bench for their World Cup match against Japan on Sunday after serving his ban, with Lewis Ludlam starting instead of the suspended Tom Curry.
The Scotland hooker Dave Cherry has been ruled out of the rest of the Rugby World Cup after suffering a concussion in a fall on stairs at the team hotel in Valbonne, near Nice.
THE GUARDIAN
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is facing a potential legal challenge after seemingly ignoring its own regulations on multi-club ownership to allow three clubs owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) to take part in the Asian Champions League.
DAILY EXPRESS
Arsenal are reportedly bracing themselves for Juventus to try and poach Thomas Partey in January as a replacement for Paul Pogba.
A scientist who analysed a hair sample from Simona Halep disputed her ban from tennis.
Jurgen Klopp will resume his pursuit of Fluminese star Andre in January after having an approach for the 22-year-old knocked back by the Brazilian club in June.
DAILY MIRROR
Rob Edwards has angrily hit back at Garth Crooks and accused the BBC pundit of trying to turn Luton into a "laughing stock."
Takehiro Tomiyasu has admitted that he needs to be more confident once he returns to Arsenal following the international break.
Ibrahima Konate is back in training for Liverpool - giving manager Jurgen Klopp a solution to another defensive headache this weekend.
DAILY RECORD
Jota continues to face an anxious wait over his future with Nuno Espirito Santo no closer to revealing his next steps.
SCOTTISH SUN
St Johnstone chief Stan Harris insists he's had no choice but to dramatically slash their budget - after they posted a huge £1.5million loss.
Brendan Rodgers has told Liel Abada to learn from the mistake which has ruined his Champions League dream.
Sport Witness
Barcelona have competition from West Ham for youngster – Hammers had scout watching player
By Lucas Sposito
West Ham United are now briefly mentioned in the race for Royal Antwerp youngster Arthur Vermeeren.
The news comes from Spain, where Mundo Deportivo feature a story about Barcelona’s interest in the 18-year-old.
The outlet claims the Camp Nou side’s chase started back in January, when their scout David Fernandez travelled to Belgium to watch Vermeeren.
There, the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and West Ham also had representatives watching.
Vermeeren isn’t expected to be an expensive signing, with Mundo Deportivo claiming that Royal Antwerp should demand between €15m and €20m for him.
What West Ham and Barcelona should probably be more concerned about is the list of Premier League sides who’ve been interested in him as well.
The likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion have all been recently linked to him, not to mention other European sides such as Ajax and RB Leipzig.
So a big battle for the youngster is expected, and it seems clear that moving quickly in the talks is important to beat all that competition.
The Athletic
Jesse Lingard and David Moyes have a special bond – a West Ham return would make sense
By Roshane Thomas
It is January 2021 and David Moyes needs a favour.
The West Ham United manager has identified Jesse Lingard as a transfer target. The attacking midfielder and former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has agreed Lingard can go out on loan due to his lack of playing time.
Moyes, who briefly managed the attacker during his season as United boss in 2013-14, phones Lingard’s father, Roy, and outlines his intention of signing Lingard for the remainder of the season. With Newcastle United vying for his signature, Moyes hopes his relationship with the family gives him the edge. It works perfectly for all parties.
He scored nine goals and amassed six assists in 16 appearances. It was a move which re-energised Lingard and played a key role in Moyes’ side qualifying for the Europa League. He earned a first England call in two years in March 2021 and featured in World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland.
Another factor behind Lingard’s goalscoring form is that West Ham allowed him time off to visit his young daughter, Hope, back in the north west of England. Moyes was there for Lingard when he needed a change of environment to flourish. Their relationship extends far beyond player and coach.
This summer, Lingard was the one who needed the favour. Released by Nottingham Forest at the end of last season, after a disappointing campaign in which he scored twice in 20 games, he was without a club and out of shape.
The England international turned down a return to West Ham last summer for a lucrative one-year deal at Forest but Moyes did not hold any grudges. Such is their relationship the Scotsman was happy to invite the 29-year-old back so he could work on his fitness.
Lingard has been training with the squad for three weeks and Moyes has been impressed with his desire to improve his conditioning. Lingard has worked alongside fitness coaches Josh Ewens and Nick Davies.
West Ham’s summer signings were Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mohammed Kudus. But Lingard could be another addition if he continues to impress. On September 11, the attacking midfielder played 70 minutes in a behind-closed-door game against Championship side Ipswich Town.
“He’s in really good condition — much better condition than he was when he first came in,” Moyes told talkSPORT. “I want to give him every opportunity to get himself back in condition and see how he does. So there’s no real update on it, just to say that he’s back and getting much closer to the levels of fitness where you’d hope he would be.”
West Ham had to submit their 25-man squad for the Premier League season up to January — there were only 24 names on it and room for Lingard to earn a deal.
The playmaker would struggle to get into the starting XI with Said Benrahma, Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta ahead of him but Moyes will be short of attacking options in January. Benrahma (Algeria), Kudus (Ghana) and Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast) will depart for the Africa Cup of Nations along with Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd.
Just like in January 2021, Lingard could prove to be a valuable addition. Moyes and Lingard’s special bond may be a factor in determining his future. It was during a training drill when the players got their first real insight into Moyes’ soft spot for Lingard in his first spell.
They were doing “boxes”, a small-sided drill where players must use their first touch to pass to a team-mate, while those in the middle have to make an interception. Lingard had not completed his pass in time and had to go in the middle.
Moyes altered the rules. “Jesse doesn’t have to go in the middle. He’s our golden boy,” the manager deadpanned to the squad. The players jokingly referred to Lingard as being Moyes’ favourite. Lingard and Moyes lived in the same apartment complex and there was one occasion when the manager thanked him in front of the squad for bringing him a bottle of wine.
But unbeknown to Moyes, in Lingard’s apartment laid the foundation for his new-found motivation: Project Jesse 2.0. With the help of football coach Alexandros Alexiadis, Lingard wrote down motivational targets on his whiteboard. It ranged from the number of goals he would score, the number of assists, how many shots he would attempt per game, the need to be consistent and if he could earn a place in England’s Euro 2020 squad. Lingard narrowly missed out on a place.
It has likely been an encouraging sign for Moyes that Lingard has been willing to put himself on trial at West Ham rather than entertain interest from clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
There are a few similarities between the manager and player. Moyes had an interim spell at the London Stadium in 2017-18, but the hierarchy appointed Manuel Pellegrini as his successor. Moyes replaced the ex-Manchester City manager in December 2019 and had a point to prove upon his return.
Since leaving West Ham, Lingard’s career has stalled (same as Moyes’ during his spells at Real Sociedad and Sunderland) but, just like in 2021, Lingard could be ready for redemption.
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