Paper Talk
Real Madrid are lining up a £25m move to make Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea their new long-term number one.
Roy Hodgson leapt to the defence of Raheem Sterling after the Liverpool teenager claimed he was too tired to play for England.
England captain Wayne Rooney insisted he proved it would have been the wrong decision to substitute him before his winner against Estonia.
Jose Mourinho has revealed he has twice turned down the manager's job at PSG - and admitted he could yet go to the French champions when he is sacked at Chelsea.
Liverpool hope to sign starlet Fabio Sturgeon from Portuguese side Belenenses.
Tottenham are looking at Toulouse striker Wissam Ben Yedder to bolster their attacking options.
Arsenal target Pedro is set to be offered a new contract by Barcelona despite slipping down the pecking order.
Mesut Ozil wants to quit Arsenal as soon as January and the Gunners are ready to do business.
Raheem Sterling has appeared to hit back at those criticising him after England manager Roy Hodgson revealed the 19-year-old said he was too tired to start against Estonia.
Jose Mourinho claims he was approached to take over as Paris Saint-Germain manager twice - including being the 'first choice' for the job ahead of Carlo Ancelotti in December 2011.
Arsenal face a nervous wait to see if their growing injury crisis has deepened even further after Danny Welbeck hobbled off during England's 1-0 win over Estonia.
Wayne Rooney saved sleepy England after Raheem Sterling claimed he was too tired to play in the 1-0 victory over Estonia.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has finally apologised to Jose Mourinho - a week after shoving the Chelsea boss on the Stamford Bridge touchline.
Roy Keane has refused to rule out a return to Manchester United as a future boss.
Chris Coleman has told Gareth Bale to play through the pain barrier and keep Wales on the road towards Euro 2016.
Roy Hodgson launched a stout defence of Raheem Sterling after the teenager complained of tiredness and was left out of England's starting line-up for the Euro 2016 win over Estonia.
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has defended his club's handling of his head injury during the Premier League game against Arsenal eight days ago.
Liverpool are closing in on MK Dons wonderkid Dele Alli with a £9million deal nearly agreed.
Manchester United will need to fend off competition from Real Madrid in their bid to sign Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he has no regrets over his decision not to bring Cesc Fabregas back to the club this summer.
Roy Hodgson last night revealed he left Raheem Sterling out of his England team after the 19-year-old complained of feeling tired.
BBC
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, 23, is wanted by Real Madrid as the replacement for captain and Bernabeu icon Iker Casillas, 33. (Daily Mirror)
Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil, 25, wants to leave Arsenal in January - with the club willing to sell him to Bayern Munich for £30m. (Daily Mail)
Midfielder Juan Mata's days at Manchester United could be numbered with manager Louis van Gaal looking to use the Spaniard as part of a deal to sign Arturo Vidal, 27, from Juventus. (Daily Star)
Tottenham are watching Toulouse's prolific £5m-rated goalscorer Wissam Ben Yedder, 24, with new boss Mauricio Pochettino underwhelmed by Roberto Soldado, 29, and Emmanuel Adebayor, 30. (Daily Mirror)
Newcastle will be offered the chance to re-sign England striker Andy Carroll, 25, in January for as little as £6m after an injury-hit spell at West Ham. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Liverpool are considering a move for Benfica's 20-year-old Portuguese midfielder Fabio Sturgeon - who is eligible to play for England, where his father was born. (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to keep striker Lukas Podolski, 29, amid reports that he is ready to leave. (Daily Express)
Newcastle winger Shane Ferguson, 23, wants a loan move after failing to get any games at St James' Park this season. (Shields Gazette)
OTHER GOSSIP
Goalkeeper Joe Hart was voted man of the match on an online poll for the second game running - despite barely touching the ball in England's 1-0 win in Estonia. (Daily Mail)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has apologised for his part in last weekend's touchline confrontation with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho - but insists he was provoked. (Guardian)
Mourinho says he has rejected two offers to take charge at Paris St-Germain - and that he was first choice for the job before Carlo Ancelotti's appointment in December 2011. (Sun - subscription required)
Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois has defended the club's treatment of his head injury during their 2-0 win over Arsenal - insisting he was not knocked unconscious. (Daily Telegraph)
West Brom forward Saido Berahino, 21, says England's under-21 players are prepared for the possibility of racial intimidation when they play their European Championship qualifying play-off second leg in Croatia on Tuesday. (Independent)
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, 25, will battle through the pain of a back problem to help Wales in their Euro 2016 qualifier against Cyprus on Monday. (Guardian)
Liverpool will consider selling the naming rights to their main stand at Anfield in order to pay for its £75m expansion. (Liverpool Echo)
Huddersfield boss Chris Powell says he supports the idea of bringing more black coaches and managers into English football by introducing an equivalent to NFL's Rooney Rule. (Talksport)
West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace wants rules in place to prevent young Premier League players from frittering away their million-pound pay packets . (Daily Mail)
Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says the Premier League champions are still relying on the players he bought before he was sacked in 2013. (Four Four Two)
Billy McKinlay has admitted to feeling disillusioned over his treatment at Watford - where he was replaced as boss by Slavisa Jokanovic after just eight days in the role. (Sky Sports)
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul, 26, is battling to be fit to face Leicester next Saturday, while his club face an anxious wait on their other internationals. (Northern Echo)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
AC Milan midfielder Michael Essien has responded to a hoax claiming that he had contracted the Ebola virus. He tweeted: "No truth in internet rumours that I have contracted Ebola. I'm very well... & will be training as usual tomorrow. #falsenews"
Former England captain Rio Ferdinand tweeted his thoughts on Sunday's 1-0 win in Estonia: "Away games for England were always tough....until you got the 1st goal, then the game opened up and everyone would relax more & tension lifts."
But England's goalscorer Wayne Rooney is "average" and "past his best" according to former Nottingham Forest striker Nigel Jemson, who tweeted: "Showed in the World Cup he's not top class and his place is under threat. Good Premiership player at times but not world class #pasthisbest"
Millwall captain Alan Dunne made the most of a trip home to Dublin by getting in some darts practice with world number one Michael van Gerwen at the World Grand Prix.
Derby captain Shaun Barker said he's not about to retire despite being out for almost two and a half years with a knee injury, tweeting: "Just to clarify, I'm not 'looking to call time' on my injury. As tough as it's been at times, I've never considered giving up!"
Liverpool defender Jose Enrique kept his Twitter followers updated on his holiday in Dubai by posting a picture of his trip to an aquarium with girlfriend Amy Jaine.
AND FINALLY
One Direction star Louis Tomlinson's unsuccessful bid to buy Doncaster Rovers hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for the club - as he showed by going out to dinner with manager Paul Dickov. (Manchester Evening News)
A plea to fund a film about the life of former West Brom, Real Madrid and England winger Laurie Cunningham has soared past its £1.4m target by £250,000. (Birmingham Mail)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Barry Glendenning
Has Mesut Özil played his last game for Arsenal? The Rumour Mill wouldn’t presume to know, but talk elsewhere suggests the German international is fed up with being played out of position by his manager Arsène Wenger and wants to move elsewhere in January. Currently sidelined for up to three months with a knee injury, reports suggest the 25-year-old from Gelsenkirchen could be the subject of a £30m bid from Bayern Munich during the next transfer window.
Should Arsenal sell their record signing, various reports suggest they’ll attempt to sign one or all of Real Madrid defensive midfielder Sami Khedira, Borussia Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels and Schalke No10 Julian Draxler. Alternatively, they’ll bank the cash and bring in some promising 14-year-old French full-back they don’t really need from Lille or Metz instead. In other news pertaining to Arsenal, French newspaper L’Equipe reports that the club will face competition from Ajax in their quest to secure the signature and services of Paris Saint-Germain defensive midfielder Adrian Rabiot in January.
Spanish daily Marca claims that Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is hankering after a move back to his native Madrid, where he began his career with Spanish champions Atlético, but is now wanted by their bitter city rivals Real. De Gea has failed to convince many more parochial British pundits of his class since arriving in England in 2011, thanks largely to the fact that he’s foreign, isn’t named Joe Hart and looks more like a whey-faced college stoner than a professional athlete. But with Iker Casillas having let in another soft goal in defeat against Slovakia before making way for his compatriot before Spain’s 4-0 Euro 2016 qualifier win over Luxembourg on Sunday night, it looks like the 33-year-old may also end up surrendering his place at Real Madrid to De Gea.
Having offloaded Andy Carroll to Liverpool for a preposterously large fee of £35m a little under four years ago, Newcastle could be on the verge of welcoming their lanky, injury prone cash cow home for just £6m in January. Currently a fixture in the treatment room at West Ham, who signed him from Liverpool for £15.5m, Carroll may be open to a return to his native Tyneside and is apparently on Alan Pardew’s fairly short shopping list.
Tottenham Hotspur are keeping an eye on 24-year-old Toulouse striker Wissam Ben Yedder. Fast and nimble, decent shooting off either foot and fond of a step-over, the forward’s finest hour to date came when he was one of five France players punished for taking a taxi 200 kilometres from a training camp to a Paris nightclub just two evenings before an important France under-21 international against Norway. It seems the striker’s sense of industry and endeavour extends beyond the dance-floor, as he has scored six goals in nine appearances for Toulouse already this season after registering a none-too-shabby 16 in 38 in the last campaign.
Born in Lisbon to a Portuguese mother and English dad, 20-year-old Belenenses midfielder Fabio Sturgeon has got antennae twitching at Liverpool and Benfica, who are both rumoured to be interested in signing him up.
Sacrificial lamb Juan Mata will be unceremoniously turfed out the exit door at Old Trafford and put on the first available flight to Turin if Louis van Gaal feels it will increase his chances of getting unsettled Juventus and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal to sign up with Manchester United. In slightly less encouraging news for United’s Dutch manager, Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport claims Vidal’s “people” are in talks with Real Madrid.
OS
Skipper Nolan thrilled to be back
Kevin Nolan has been delighted to return from a shoulder injury ahead of schedule
With two substitute appearances and two 90 minute run-outs for the Development Squad under his belt since returning from a fractured shoulder, West Ham United skipper Kevin Nolan is already well ahead of schedule.
When he suffered the injury in training in mid-August, he was told to expect at least a six week spell before being able to return.
But having already featured in two Barclays Premier League matches, his hard work has been rewarded and now he is looking forward to being able to contribute more.
He told whufc.com: "When I first suffered the injury, the timeframe was six to eight weeks before I could get on the pitch and do anything, so I'm three or four weeks ahead of it in that respect.
"At the end of the day I've got every confidence in myself - I work hard at everything I do and I've got a great team around me in the physios and coaching staff who have supported me.
"That makes it easier, with the boys' support too, and it makes you want to be back as quickly as possible and I'm delighted to be back amongst it."
With no first team game at the weekend owing to the international break, Nolan has been glad of the opportunity to get the other injured players, such at Matt Jarvis, up to speed ahead of the 18 October trip to Burnley.
He added: "The international break was timed well for us, especially after the result we got last weekend. Coming into Burnley next week we're going to have virtually everybody training.
"That's fantastic and it's going to raise everything for us, so the future's looking good."
London24
West Ham assistant: This is our best squad
Dave Evans
West Ham assistant boss Neil McDonald
West Ham have their best squad since the arrival of Sam Allardyce to Upton Park. That is the view of his assistant Neil McDonald.
The Hammers sit seventh in the Premier League going into Saturday’s game at winless Burnley and they could have gleaned even more points with some good fortune at Hull City and Manchester United.
McDonald is certainly pleased with the way things are going.
“We are pleased,” he said. “Overall with the points on the board and the way we have been playing, there are loads of positives.
“The new players have come in and settled well which is a real bonus.
“I think this is our best squad. We have been here three years and in the third year your team should be a lot stronger and I think that is proving to be right at the moment.
“We have great competition for places. Whoever the manager picks, it is going to be a good team and if a player gets in, he will keep his place if he is playing well.”
It seems to be the competition for places that has elevated West Ham this season, although that can cause different problems.
“It creates good problems because everyone has to play well and consistently to keep hold of the shirt,” McDonald explained.
“If they don’t, it is not a question of them thinking a young kid is not going to take their place, behind them are experienced professionals.
“Mark Noble has dropped out because he has a calf injury and Alex Song has come in and Mark must be thinking ‘am I going to get my position back?’
“Cheikhou Kouyate took the place by storm when he first came, now he has dropped out through injury, is he going to get his place back?
“It is a fantastic situation to be in. It does create problems in trying to keep everybody happy. That is a situation we have dealt with in the past wherever me and Sam have been.
“It is a lovely problem to have rather than last season when we struggled because we didn’t have enough players.”
So if West Ham have their best squad since Allardyce’s arrival, how high can the finish?
McDonald is guarded, but seems optimistic.
“Privately we will keep that to ourselves, but publicly we want to finish in the top 10 – we want to be higher than we have been before,” he said.
“We have to break it down into little sections and look to be ahead of schedule in all of them and if we do that we will certainly finish higher than 10th.”
Europe?
“There is a long way to go for that,” said McDonald. “I think we have to concentrate on our own goals and if we can beat the 46 points we got in the first season back then that is a good achievement.
“To do that we need clean sheets, you need to score more goals, get more away wins.”
The Hammers will look for one of those away wins on Saturday at Turf Moor, but McDonald knows it won’t be easy.
“The fact that haven’t won a game is worrying of course,” he said. “But we have already won away at Crystal Palace this season, we should have beaten Hull City and we could have got something out of Manchester United so our away form is good.”
“We proved we are strong when we played QPR and we have to be just as strong and ready for Burnley because they will come out of the traps very fast and will want to try and impose themselves on us.
“They will see West Ham as an ideal opportunity to try and get their first win and we have got to try and make sure that they don’t do that.”
