BBC
Manchester United's players have been stunned by manager Jose Mourinho's hands-off and distant approach and are surprised by some of the Portuguese's methods at the club's training ground. (The Times - subscription required).
Mourinho has told striker Wayne Rooney he must leave Old Trafford if the 31-year-old wants regular first-team football. (Sun)
And Mourinho has called on his players to prove they are "men and not kids" as the Manchester United manager attempts to halt the club's alarming slide. (Daily Telegraph)
Chelsea are keen on Roma's Antonio Rudiger, 23, in a potential £35m deal but Manchester United are also monitoring the German defender. (Daily Mail)
Juventus are keen on signing Oscar from Chelsea as the 25-year-old playmaker struggles to hold down a regular starting spot at Stamford Bridge. (Calciomercato via Goal)
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is lining up a £20m move for Bayern Munich's Spanish full-back Juan Bernat, 23. (Sun)
And City captain Vincent Kompany, 30, says he has made a commitment to the club's medical staff in a bid to overcome his persistent injuries. (Manchester Evening News)
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis claims the Gunners are beginning to compete with their leading rivals over player wages as they look to extend the contracts of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin. (London Evening Standard)
Manchester United's Spain midfielder Juan Mata, 28, has said the club's players "must remain strong" in his first blog post since their 4-0 defeat by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. (Juan Mata blog)
Watford are ready to cash in on Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo, 27, amid interest from Napoli. (Watford Observer)
Sunderland manager David Moyes says that he "understands" why some fans want him sacked after the club's failure to win a game in the Premier League this season. (The Times - subscription required)
Wolves boss Walter Zenga could be sacked if his side lose to Blackburn on Saturday despite the Italian retaining the support of the club's players. (Express and Star)
Leicester City captain Wes Morgan, 32, is at a loss to explain the champions' indifferent league form this season. (Leicester Mercury)
Marseille are keen to sign Swansea City striker Bafetimbi Gomis, 31, who is on a season-long loan with the French club, on a permanent deal. (Wales Online)
West Brom are set to make a £4m move for Leeds left-back Charlie Taylor in January. The 23-year-old has rejected an extension to his current deal at Elland Road that expires in the summer. (Daily Telegraph)
West Ham are preparing a £1.5m move for Millwall defender Mahlon Romeo, 21. (Daily Mirror)
Seventeen-year-old Atletico Penarol striker Agustin Davila is keen to sign for Liverpool after completing a two-week trial at the club. (IBTimes)
Arsenal are ahead of Paris St Germain and Manchester City in their attempts to lure promising 16-year-old striker Moise Kean away from Juventus. (Calciomercato)
Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has strongly criticised the attitude of the club's players in the aftermath of their 4-0 defeat at Chelsea on Sunday. (ESPN)
Borussia Monchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl is confident the Bundesliga club can keep on-loan Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen, 20, long-term. (Daily Mail)
Barcelona legend Xavi has told Jose Mourinho how to solve the crisis at Manchester United, warning the former Real Madrid manager not to "start a war". (Daily Mirror)
RB Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he held talks with the Football Association over the England job following Euro 2016, but added that the governing body had wanted to appoint an English manager. (Der Tagesspiegel via ESPN)
Leicester full-back Christian Fuchs, 30, still aims to finish his career in the United States despite signing a new three-year contract with the Premier League champions.(Daily Star)
And finally...
It's not just players who look at a move to the United States to prolong their careers. Former Premier League referee Howard Webb is to be interviewed for the role of head of Major League Soccer's officials. (The Sun)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Gerard Meagher
Just who does José Mourinho think he is? Coming over here, winning all those medals he’s so bashful about, taking charge of Manchester United and … wait for it … adopting a “distant, hands-off approach” to training. If work-experience’s Rui Faria is going to be left to look after proceedings on the training pitch, no wonder his side proved as useful as a blow-up dartboard at the Bridge on Sunday.
But José has had enough. After his methods were exposed, rubbished and downright poo-pooed he has reached for his conductor’s hat, waltzed into training and let out an almighty roar, “all aboard the Do One Express!”. And that means you too Wayne. In fact, there’s a seat with your name on it. You see, Mourinho – never one to throw the baby out with the bath water – wants Wayne Rooney out, so he’s done the diplomatic thing and told him he can leave. Fortunately for Wazza, Shanghai SIPG are ready and waiting, buckets of cash in tow, to reunite Rooney with Sven Goran Eriksson in China.
Sitting next to Wayne on the Do One Express will be Morgan Schneiderlin, whose stock has taken somewhat of a nose-dive. No one really knows where he is and sightings have become increasingly rare but Arsenal and Chelsea want a piece nonetheless.
The friction between Mourinho and Antonio Conte is also about the crank up a notch, what with both United and Chelsea setting their sights on Roma’s German defender Antonio Rudiger, who’ll cost a cool £35m. Chelsea are willing to send Oscar to Juventus to fund the move after falling out of favour with Conte, the former helmsman of the Old Lady no less.
Mourinho isn’t the only one feeling the heat in Manchester of course, Pep Guardiola has had the temerity to draw a couple of times in the Premier League but he has an answer to City’s woes … full-backs, thousands of ‘em. First up is Juan Bernat, he who was taken to Bayern Munich from Valencia by none other than Pep himself. Next is David Alaba, another former charge of Guardiola’s. He’ll stump up about £60m for the pair – small beer for the Citizens.
According to L’Equipe meanwhile, Neymar was all set to sign on the dotted line for Paris Saint-Germain, who had met his £170m release clause, only for one final request from the Brazilian to put the mockers on the move. In a tale uncannily similar to that of Paul Gascoigne asking for a sunbed from Irving Scholar, Neymar wanted his £40m debts settled and £22m a year. Hmmm.
Elsewhere, it sounds like Watford aren’t having the best of days and things may get worse – the cold, hard realisation that they were offered, and rejected, £37.5m for Odion Ighalo has taken hold, and now they want to play ball. The Chinese Super League looks like the best bet.
In other news, Bristol City goal machine Tammy Abraham, on loan from Chelsea, has been urged to leave his parent club by, er, Jermaine Jenas, and Peter Odemwingie has signed for Rotherham on short-term deal until January 2017, when he’ll be jumping in his car and coming to a club near you.
Mirror
West Ham eyeing £1.5million move for Millwall starlet Mahlon Romeo
By Darren Witcoop
The Antigua and Barbuda right-back, 21, began his career with Arsenal before dropping down the divisions to play first-team football
Mahlon Romeo has impressed for Millwall this season
West Ham are preparing a £1.5million move for Millwall defender Mahlon Romeo.
The Hammers sent scouts to run the rule over Romeo in Millwall’s 2-1 victory over Fleetwood on Saturday.
It was the third time Romeo has been watched by their east London rivals this season.
The Antigua and Barbuda right-back, 21, began his career with Arsenal before dropping down the divisions to play first-team football.
Now West Ham are keen to hand Romeo a route back to the top in January.
Alvaro Arbeloa, Sam Byram and Michail Antoniou have featured at right-back for Slaven Bilic's side this season.
Mail
West Ham United want Morton striker Jai Quitongo as Hammers become latest Premier League club to chase the teenage talent
Morton forward Jai Quitongo, 19, is wanted by a group of English clubs
West Ham, Crystal Palace and Swansea City among Quitongo's suitors
Teenager has scored six goals this season in the Scottish Championship
His contract ends next summer so he can speak to English clubs in January
By Simon Jones
West Ham United have become the latest club to check on Morton's highly-rated forward Jai Quitongo.
The 19-year-old has already caught the eye of Crystal Palace and Swansea City, and the Hammers sent scouts to watch him impress against Aberdeen at Hampden Park last Saturday.
Morton went down 2-0 in the Scottish League Cup semi-final but the teenager was still among the game's standout performers.
Jai Quitongo (right) is reportedly on the wishlist of West Ham, Crystal Palace and Swansea
He has scored six goals this season and can play either left wing or as a striker. Portugal are keen to cap him at U21 level though he also qualifies for Scotland.
Doncaster Rovers had a £100,000 bid for him rejected in the summer while Brighton, Preston and Wigan have also expressed interest in Quitongo.
The young striker is out of contract in the summer, meaning he can talk to foreign clubs from January, including those in England.
He joined Morton on a free transfer in August 2015, having been released by Aberdeen’s academy, with Dons manager Derek McInnes telling a press conference before the weekend’s game that he was pleased to see Quitongo’s improvement.
He said: “Jai wasn’t as happy as he could have been, so we gave him the opportunity to make a fresh start.
“He had confidence and pace but was only with us for a couple of months. He’d probably not done enough at the time for us to go to war to keep him.
“As bizarre as it seems, I’m really pleased for him.”
Morton are currently seventh in the Scottish Championship with 12 points from nine games.
Sport Witness
€40m price set for West Ham’s summer target
Alassane Plea, reportedly a summer target for West Ham, has had his release clause in his contract at Nice revealed by L’Equipe.
Now, the Hammers fans are interested to see what the young striker could bring to their club.
Plea has scored four goals in his last two games for the side from the south of France with a hat-trick coming against Metz at the weekend.
Nice are currently four points clear of local rivals Monaco at the top of Ligue 1 and it is believed that should West Ham want to rekindle their interest in the striker, they’d have to pay €40m for his services.
The striker has been alongside the infamous Mario Balotelli this season and his recent goals have seen him overtake the Italian in the scoring charts for the club.
He has less than two years left on his current deal with the Ligue 1 outfit and should the Irons take him he’d be competing with the likes of Simone Zaza for the starting berth.
