Paper Talk
Louis van Gaal will be handed the £100m necessary to lure Gareth Bale to Manchester United this summer if the Wales winger signals an intention to leave Real Madrid.
Arsenal are ready to challenge Manchester United for the signature of Ilkay Gundogan.
Tottenham are determined to keep Hugo Lloris for at least one more season but will listen to offers for Erik Lamela.
Nathanial Clyne has been given a 10-day deadline to decide his Southampton future.
Didier Drogba is expected to receive an offer to follow Frank Lampard to the MLS if Chelsea do not offer him a contract extension.
Manchester United's ever-increasing financial muscle means manager Louis van Gaal can pursue his major summer transfer targets and still have enough for Gareth Bale if he becomes available before next season.
United are desperate to keep David De Gea and will not consider using him as leverage to get Bale.
West Ham are weighing up an offer for Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson.
Tottenham have held further talks with Marseille over a deal for midfielder Florian Thauvin.
Stoke City are challenging West Ham for Sampdoria midfielder Pedro Oblang.
Leicester City are watching Hadjuk Split midfielder Tino-Sven Susic.
Liverpool have checked on Real Madrid winger Denis Cheryshev - currently on loan at Villarreal - as an alternative to Memphis Depay.
Christian Benteke's last game for Aston Villa could be the FA Cup final. Liverpool look certain to be in the chase but will need to raise funds.
Barnet's Martin Allen is a candidate to be Leeds boss.
Newcastle are looking to sign three strikers this summer, with Papiss Cisse's future increasingly unclear.
Morgan Schneiderlin's knee injury means he may have played his last game for Southampton.
Petr Cech will leave Chelsea in the summer, with Arsenal and PSG possible destinations.
Manchester City will step up their interest in four strikers - including Raheem Sterling - as they plan to ditch Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic to revamp their strike force. Sterling, Wolfsburg's Kevin de Bruyne, Burnley's Danny Ings and Southampton's Jay Rodriguez are all on Manuel Pellegrini's transfer radar.
Phil Jones and Ashley Young are set to sign new contracts with Manchester United this summer.
Liverpool are closing on a £22m deal for Real Madrid midfielder Denis Cheryshev, who is currently on loan at Villarreal.
David De Gea will be given an ultimatum by Real Madrid: It's now or never. The Spanish giants are not prepared to wait another season to land Manchester United's £50m-rated keeper.
Tottenham will make a double swoop on Southampton for Jay Rodriguez and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Liverpool's hopes of landing James Milner could be over if they fail to grab a European slot.
Arsenal will let flop Lukas Podolski leave for nothing this summer - just to get him off the wage bill.
Bournemouth are desperate for Callum Wilson to commit to them. West Ham, Spurs and Southampton are keen on the striker.
Bournemouth hope to make Celtic's Charlie Mulgrew one of their first signings after confirming their promotion to the Premier League.
Manchester City are set to offer Patrick Vieira a new contract to fend off interest from Marseille.
BBC
Liverpool could sign Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, 24, PSV Eindhoven forward Memphis Depay, 21, and Manchester City midfielder James Milner, 29, if 20-year-old forward Raheem Sterling goes to Manchester City. (Daily Mirror)
City want to sign two more forwards and are considering Liverpool's Sterling, Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne, 23, Burnley's Danny Ings, 22, and Southampton's Jay Rodriguez, 25. (Daily Express)
City should have been docked points for breaking financial fair play rules, says Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. (Daily Mail).
Manchester United are preparing a £100m deal to sign Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, 25. The former Tottenham player cost Real £85.3m when he joined them in September 2013. (Daily Telegraph)
Liverpool are closing in on a £22m deal for Real Madrid's Russia midfielder Denis Cheryshev, 24, who is on loan at Villarreal. (Daily Express)
Arsenal will compete with Manchester United to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, 24, for £20m this summer. (Daily Telegraph)
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has set a 10-day deadline for Manchester United target Nathaniel Clyne to decide on his future as the 24-year-old England right-back stalls over a new contract. (Daily Mail)
Real Madrid have told Manchester United's David De Gea, 24, they will find another goalkeeper to sign if he does not agree to join them this summer. (Sun - subscription needed)
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, 32, will leave the club at the end of the season and move to either Arsenal or Paris St-Germain. (Daily Mirror)
Chelsea are set to sign 19-year-old Brazilian midfielder Nathan for £4.5m from Brazilian side Atletico Paranaense. (London Evening Standard)
Bournemouth hope to sign 29-year-old Celtic and Scotland defender Charlie Mulgrew this summer for a relatively small fee as his contract ends next year. (Times - subscription needed)
Newcastle United have not denied rumours linking them with Rayo Vallecano boss Paco Jemez. (The Chronicle)
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has denied claims he has opened talks over a new contract. Allardyce's deal expires at the end of the season. (Sky Sports)
Former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet wants to return to Premier League management less than two months after being sacked by the Black Cats. (Sunderland Echo)
Marseille want Patrick Vieira, Manchester City's elite development squad boss, to be their next head coach. However City will not let Vieira leave. (Manchester Evening News)
In fact City will offer the 38-year-old a new contract to stay, because they see him as a potential future manager. (Daily Star)
Swansea City are interested in signing 22-year-old Dutch forward Luc Castaignos from FC Twente. Castaignos has represented Netherlands at under-21 level. (South Wales Evening Post)
West Brom defender Gareth McAuley, 35, whose contract expires in the summer, deserves a new deal, says team-mate Chris Brunt. (Birmingham Mail)
Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic says he would be "very happy" to sign a contract extension. Jokanovic, who has taken the Hornets into the Premier League, is set to be offered a one-year rolling deal. (Sky Sports)
Everton are set to sign Manchester United and Belgium winger Adnan Januzaj, 20, on a season-long loan deal. (Sun - subscription needed)
QPR centre-half Richard Dunne, 35, hopes to be playing for the club next season, even if they are relegated to the Championship. (London Evening Standard)
Paul Scholes wonders if him coming out of retirement was a reason Paul Pogba left Manchester United, and does not think his old club should re-sign the 22-year-old Juventus midfielder. (Independent)
Tottenham midfielder Erik Lamela, 23, says he has no plans to return to Italy at the end of the season. (Talksport)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Tottenham full-back Ben Davies, who will not play again this season after dislocating a shoulder, posts a picture on Twitter and says: "Operation went well and now on the mend. Thanks for all your kind messages."
Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin hopes to feature again this campaign, despite manager Ronald Koeman saying he would miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury. Schneiderlin writes on Twitter: "Sad about my injury. I am not giving up on coming back before the end of the season. Thanks to everyone for their support."
Everton's Romelu Lukaku, Liverpool's Simon Mignolet, Aston Villa's Christian Benteke and Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois all post messages on Twitter to pay tribute to former Belgium Under-21 international Gregory Mertens, who died aged 24 three days after collapsing during a match.
AND FINALLY
An Aston Villa fan has cut a planned family holiday to Dubai short so he and his two sons can watch the FA Cup final on television. The man's wife will stay on holiday on her own for the last day of the trip - 30 May, the day Villa play Arsenal in the Wembley final. (Daily Star)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Jacob Steinberg
Barcelona suits have been strolling around the Northern Quarter and living it up in Deansgate and have decided that they like Manchester so much that they want to take a few souvenirs home with them. But whether they can stuff Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata and Manchester City’s David Silva into their suitcases remains to be seen. We’ll just ignore that transfer ban that prevents Barça from registering any players until next January.
Yet if it sounds like a long shot, it might just come off, what with United preparing a £100m bid for Gareth Bale and moves for Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan, Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris and Sevilla’s Carlos Bacca in the pipeline. United might need the cash.
Tim Sherwood has said that he will not stand in Christian Benteke’s way if he wants to leave Aston Villa this summer. Probably wise. Liverpool are thinking about a £30m bid and signing Benteke will soothe the pain of losing Raheem Sterling to City.
Rabona rascal Erik Lamela has no plans to leave Tottenham, despite reports linking him with Internazionale, while Swansea City are making eyes at FC Twente’s Luc Castaignos.
Finally, prospective Newcastle manager Steve McClaren, whose Derby County side are in danger of slipping and sliding out of the Championship play-off places, has had a chat with current Newcastle manager John Carver. “We had a good talk,” Carver said. “But we didn’t discuss anything other than my situation and what my players are doing on the pitch. It was all about me and how I had to cope with it. “He said: ‘It’s been a difficult thing for you, John, I understand that. But you’ve handled it quite well. You’ve had to cope with it.’ He didn’t mention this job, absolutely 100% not, he just asked how I was dealing with it.” Bless.
Express
EXCLUSIVE: Reece Burke can make the grade at West Ham – Tony Carr
TONY CARR, the mastermind behind some of England’s most prominent footballers, has backed England under-19 star Reece Burke to make the grade at West Ham.
By Rob Maul
Hammers manager Sam Allardyce yesterday confirmed that central defender Burke would make his Premier League home debut against Burnley tomorrow.
The 18-year-old excelled on his first league start, alongside James Collins in defence, when the East Londoners drew 0-0 at QPR last weekend.
Carr, formerly Academy Director at the club’s Chadwell Heath training HQ, has overseen the development of the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson over the past two decades.
“He’s a level-headed kid and I feel he won’t get carried away (with the attention). He will apply himself to be successful.
“Reece has always been naturally aggressive in his play but the key is that he has to get stronger now.
“He’ll have to develop his upper body into a man’s body. Remember he is still developing.”
Allardyce, criticised for playing several youngsters in the 5-0 FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest last season, believes it is hard for Premier League clubs to justify fielding under-21s players when results are paramount.
“Saying there’s too much pressure on managers these days is an absolute understatement!” Allardyce added.
“It’s hard to play young players. But we are all striving to find a better way to give them as much first-team experience as we can.”
HITC
Report: West Ham scouting Tino-Sven Susic, face Premier League competition
West Ham are reportedly interested in signing Hajduk Split midfielder Tino-Sven Susic.
Olly Dawes
According to the Daily Mail, West Ham United have sent scouts to watch Hajduk Split midfielder Tino-Sven Susic - but face competition for his signature.
The Hammers are likely to let Alex Song return to Barcelona at the end of his loan deal this summer, meaning Sam Allardyce - or whoever is in charge next season - will need to bring in another midfielder.
The Daily Mail believe that West Ham have recently been scouting 22-year-old Susic ahead of a possible move to sign him this summer.
The Bosnian international featured for his country at last summer's World Cup, and is currently playing in Croatia for Hajduk Split, where is making quite the name for himself.
A versatile, left-footed midfielder who can play in central midfield, out wide or as an attacking midfielder, Susic has scored six goals in 30 games this season as his reputation grows.
The report suggests that whilst West Ham are interested, so are Premier League rivals Leicester City and Swansea City, as well as Italian giants Inter Milan.
Competition is fierce for Susic's signature, with the former Standard Liege youngster seemingly outgrowing his surroundings in Croatia - and with West Ham needing a midfielder this summer, they could well make a move to bring Susic to the Premier League.
