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BBC
Jose Mourinho has ordered his Manchester United team in for training at 4.30 in the afternoon on Christmas Day. (Sun)
Mourinho would like Paris St-Germain's Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani, 29, as a long-term replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 35. (Daily Express)
Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, 32, may want to leave Inter Milan if they fail to finish the season in a Champions League spot. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was interested in the Slovenian last summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Paris St-Germain may move for Real Madrid's Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez, 25, as they seek to make a statement signing in the summer. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian)
England winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has not held talks with Arsenal about extending his contract, despite manager Arsene Wenger saying negotiations had begun with the 23-year-old, who has 18 months left on his deal. (Daily Mirror)
England manager Gareth Southgate could persuade Liverpool youngster Ben Woodburn, 17, to switch allegiance from Wales, after Geraint Williams left the Welsh youth set-up. (Sun)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be given £20m to replace 31-year-old France left-back Gael Clichy in January. (Daily Mail)
Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher told 23-year-old Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius "to shut up and get on with his job" after the German criticised Carragher's colleague Gary Neville in an interview.(Sky Sports)
Stoke boss Mark Hughes is hopeful of making on-loan Porto defender Bruno Martins Indi a permanent member of his squad, describing the 24-year-old Dutchman as "a great guy". (Daily Mirror)
Burnley manager Sean Dyche is not concerned about January transfer bids for his top players. Defender Michael Keane, 23, is among those reported to be interesting other clubs. (Lancashire Telegraph)
Aston Villa could try to sign Arsenal and England right-back Carl Jenkinson, 24, on loan. (Birmingham Mail)
Rumoured Liverpool target Aaron Cresswell, 26, was pictured touching the Anfield sign as he walked on to the pitch to play for West Ham on Sunday. (Metro)
Former referee Keith Hackett believes the time has come for retrospective punishment for divers, after Hull winger Robert Snodgrass, 29, apologised for winning a penalty against Crystal Palace. (Daily Telegraph)
Justin Kluivert, the 17-year-old son of former Barcelona and Netherlands striker Patrick, has been called up to the Ajax senior squad. (Daily Mail)
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been given a boost in his pursuit of Everton's 26-year-old midfielder James McCarthy. (Daily Record)
Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke hinted he would be active in the transfer market amid speculation about goalkeeper Kelle Roos' future. The 24-year-old is on loan from Derby but was dropped for Saturday's win over Bury.(Bristol Post)
And finally...
Antonio Valencia won Manchester United's player of the month award for November - but the Old Trafford club didn't exactly stretch the budget to buy him a trophy. (Daily Mail)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Simon Burnton
As fans of the Harry Potter series will know, a bezoar is a solid mass found in the gastrointestinal tract of goats that is believed to have poison-curing properties and in JK Rowling’s books is used by the eponymous wizard to save Ron Weasley from some very nasty mead.
Soon we will discover if Arsène Wenger, a bespectacled professor of near-Dumbledorian age and wisdom, plans to use one to cure his poisoned midfield. The Ajax head coach, Peter Bosz, has kicked off something of a footballing whodoingit by revealing that Riechedly Bazoer is about to announce a move to somewhere, but refusing to say precisely where. “Riechedly reported that his transfer is in the final phase,” said Bosz. “He has a view to a new club, which is why we gave him freedom from training. We shook hands and parted in a good way.” Eagle-eyed Mill readers will remember Bazoer from various April tittle-tattle linking him with moves to Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham – just a Liverpool short of a full house – though it is Wenger whose interest has apparently been most sustained, making north London his most likely destination.
But the Dutch international midfielder should be warned that life at Arsenal isn’t always easy. Wenger’s claim last week that the club “have started talking to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain” about a new contract has left the player feeling “frustrated and bemused”, according to the Mirror, on the basis that no talks have taken place, and that he’s far from sure he wants a new contract anyway, given the fact that when he plays he’s nearly always either a substitute or substituted (just three of 21 appearances this season in all competitions have lasted 90 minutes). He’s got 18 months left on his current deal, after which he may well be tempted to flounce out of the Emirates for good and proper.
Edinson Cavani is very much of the same mind, and though the striker’s contract at Paris Saint-Germain doesn’t end until 2018 he is reportedly stalling on a new one, amid rumours that Manchester United will come a-knockin’ come the summer.
But the Uruguayan international forward should be warned that life at United isn’t always easy. In the Sun, a source laments that José Mourinho “has effectively cancelled Chrimbo” by scheduling an afternoon training session on the big day, instead of following Manchester United tradition by letting his players train in the morning before going home to spend the rest of the day wearing embarrassing jumpers and paper party hats and putting on their best fake smile like the rest of us.
Mark Hughes has dropped a subtle hint that Stoke would like to complete a permanent deal for on-loan Porto defender Bruno Martins Indi. “If we can, yes. He wants to do well in the Premier League and we want that to be with us.” In rumourmongering, as in football itself Hughes, it seems, is all about the end result and not so keen on nuance.
Everton have sent scouts to watch CSKA Moscow’s Alan Dzagoev, and could be tempted to splash £15m on the 26-year-old in January as Ronald Koeman looks to make Ross Barkley feel even more peripheral and unwelcome. West Brom are going to hand Tony Pulis an enormous January warchest and tell him to make his team – inasmuch as the idea is even feasible – better than they already are, and the resulting spree is going to see the Baggies bid for Manchester City’s Fabian Delph and Bournemouth’s Benik Afobe.
Sunderland and Nottingham Forest have both got designs on 17-year-old St Mirren winger Kyle McAllister, who has also been scouted by Leicester and Aston Villa as well as a variety of Scottish sides. And Reading would like to sign Jordon Mutch from Crystal Palace.
Guardian
Divock Origi earns Liverpool point after West Ham turn tables at Anfield
Andy Hunter at Anfield
Ray Clemence and Bruce Grobbelaar were sat together at Anfield and it was no stretch to re-imagine the former Liverpool goalkeepers as those old curmudgeons from the Muppet Show, Waldorf and Statler, ripping into the failings of today’s generation. Loris Karius’s teething troubles continued while Darren Randolph reacted to the final whistle by burying his head in a towel. The West Ham United keeper’s despair was understandable but, for his manager, humiliation has given way to hope.
Slaven Bilic has been under intense scrutiny since the 5-1 home defeat by Arsenal and endured an ominous start at Anfield when Adam Lallana swept Liverpool into an early lead. West Ham’s reaction was not that of a team calling time on their manager. Bilic’s name resonated several times from the away end and his players gave what they could to alleviate the pressure. No cause was lost as Dimitri Payet and Michail Antonio edged the visitors ahead by the interval. They were under siege throughout the second half and cracked when Randolph gifted an equaliser to Divock Origi but, with Winston Reid and the goalkeeper impeccable thereafter, they held firm.
It was Jürgen Klopp who had cause for concern after Liverpool’s latest suspect defensive display. The Liverpool manager may have been enraged by Steve Cook’s admission that Bournemouth targeted Karius as the weak link in last Sunday’s 4-3 reverse but his goalkeeper’s struggle to convince otherwise is the bigger problem. His 23-year-old’s positioning at Payet’s free-kick was questionable and his reactions slow for Antonio’s goal – though he was not the only Liverpool player culpable on that score.
Klopp pinned Liverpool’s failure to win at home for only the second time this season on a collective rather than individual issue. “1-0 up, all good,” he said. “Then we got a little bit too excited, I would say. We had not a real formation for protection in these moments, nearly everybody was involved in our offensive situations and we had two centre-backs and sometimes Hendo behind the ball, and nearly everybody else the other side. We had a problem with second balls, but not too often and the goals weren’t in situations like that. But we let the game go a little bit away in these moments. We were not completely in control like we could have been.”
West Ham started like a team shorn of confidence and their defensive organisation was non-existent as Liverpool prospered from their first meaningful attack. Sadio Mané exchanged passes with Origi and reached the byline without a challenge in sight. The Belgium international forward just failed to connect with an inviting cross but it dropped to Lallana who, with Angelo Ogbonna ineffectual and Reid static, had time to control and beat Randolph with a low left foot finish.
Just as defensive frailties persisted in the visitors, the same was true of the hosts. Karius and the defenders around him were again vulnerable under minimal pressure, as in the late collapse at Bournemouth, and Bilic’s forwards found encouragement to haul their team back into the contest. A routine clearance from Reid was sufficient to give Antonio the visitors’ first shot on goal with Liverpool wide open at the back. Karius saved on that occasion but was found wanting when West Ham levelled through Payet.
The intentions of the France international were abundantly clear as soon as Lallana tripped Pedro Obiang 25 yards from Liverpool’s goal. Not that being forewarned aided the Liverpool goalkeeper. Having sized up the free-kick in a central position Payet curled his effort over the wall and a yard inside Karius’ right hand post. The Germany under-21 international got a hand to the free-kick but, having positioned himself too far to the left, was unable to deny the set-piece specialist.
West Ham’s second was far worse from a Liverpool defensive perspective. Bilic’s side were the more threatening team as the first half wore on and their prodigious work-rate, typified by Mark Noble chasing down a lost cause and winning a corner from James Milner, was impressive. But they were gifted the lead when Havard Nordtveit’s cross deflected off Jordan Henderson’s head and wrong-footed the otherwise commanding Joël Matip. Neither Karius or Nathaniel Clyne reacted quickly enough to the danger and Antonio was given the freedom of Liverpool’s penalty area to flick the ball around the keeper and watch it trickle over the line.
To their credit, Liverpool dominated thereafter with Roberto Firmino twice going close before the interval and Payet fortunate not to concede a penalty with a risky push on Lallana. They drew level courtesy of the biggest goalkeeping error of the game when Mané crossed from the left and Randolph, coming to claim at full stretch, let the ball fall from his grasp on to the toes of Origi. The Liverpool striker could barely believe his luck as he converted via the inside of a post from four yards out.
Klopp’s team laid siege to the visiting defence for the majority of the second half. Georginio Wijnaldum twice went close, Clyne drove over from 18 yards and Randolph atoned for his error with a stunning save to prevent Henderson finding the top corner from fully 30 yards. “That was a crucial moment for us,” Bilic said. “Liverpool play a risky game and I expected us to hurt them more than we did in the second half, but it was a great point for us and a positive situation before a crucial week.”
Telegraph
Liverpool 2 West Ham 2: Divock Origi salvages point for hosts after Loris Karius blunder further dents title challenge
Chris Bascombe
It is no wonder Jürgen Klopp spends so much time in the technical area. He will never sit in comfort watching his Liverpool side until their goalkeeper radically improves.
Loris Karius still needs to prove as adequate in deflecting shots as he is criticism. At the moment he is not handling either especially well, with yet another error surrendering Liverpool’s advantage as they dropped two points to West Ham.
Slaven Bilic could also argue his side would have won but for a mistake from his No 1, although Darren Randolph would make amends with a world-class save to deny Jordan Henderson later in the game.
But as former Anfield great Ray Clemence watched on, you could only imagine him silently weeping at the drop in goalkeeper standards. Yet again the Premier League delivered on excitement, but that was due to the low quality shot-stopping as much as thrilling attacking play.
Karius needs to work on his timing as much as his reflexes. The cheerleaders gleefully erupted when the German stopper opted to play to the Merseyside gallery by singling out Gary Neville for criticism after Bournemouth last week. Quite what Neville – or indeed anyone who watched that game and concluded the keeper was at fault for two goals – said wrong is baffling. It is understandable his manager will defend him and dismiss detractors – that is the siege mentality they all employ – but it does not disguise the fact that opponents are not having to work hard enough to score against Liverpool.
Re-watch the last six goals they have conceded and ask how many were preventable? At least three. Probably four.
Karius needed a performance to back up his pre-match self-assurance. Instead he was again unimpressive, failing to shove away Dmitri Payet’s 28th-minute free-kick. He can spend the week finding another former Manchester United player working in the media to respond to if it makes him feel better, but it does not alter that he is partially responsible for Liverpool dropping five of their last six points.
He may get better. Longer term, he could become the most assured Liverpool keeper since Clemence. But Liverpool are a side still capable of winning the title this year, so spare us the high-ground lectures against those justifiably infuriated that such an obvious flaw is undermining their latest challenge.
It was more exasperating for the Kop because, just as at Bournemouth, they had watched their side start as if they were in the mood for a rampage.
Adam Lallana was able to return to the starting line-up for the first time since being injured playing for England against Spain. He immediately demonstrated what Liverpool have lacked in his absence, controlling exquisitely before drilling the home side ahead on five minutes after Sadio Mané’s cross and some inadequate defending.
After West Ham’s mauling by Arsenal a week ago, Bilic must have feared the worst. Instead, his clever use of Michail Antonio as a striker in the first half bothered Dejan Lovren and, to a lesser extent, Joel Matip on the counter-attacks. There was an early warning when he scurried clear on eight minutes, his shot pushed over by Karius prior to the goalkeeper’s travails from Payet’s set-piece.
There was more fortune about West Ham’s second six minutes before the interval. Havard Nordtveit’s long ball was inadvertently flicked on by Jordan Henderson; it wrong-footed Matip who, that aside, was outstanding. In the clear, Antonio directed the ball beyond Karius, who was again unimposing.
But Randolph returned the favour three minutes into the second half, dropping Mané’s cross to enable Divock Origi to tap in. The festive gift exchanges ended there with the visitors defending more resolutely the longer the game progressed.
Not for the first time, a fixture list many presumed had Bilic staring into the abyss may have led to his salvation, a point at Old Trafford and Anfield makes that 5-1 humiliation against Arsenal an oddity.
“We showed great reaction after the goal,” said Bilic, who as a former Besiktas coach dedicated the point to victims of Saturday’s terrorist attack in Turkey. “It’s a really great point for us before a crucial week.”
For Klopp there is worrying momentum to reverse. Top of the league before the last international break, Liverpool now find themselves hanging onto the coat-tails of Chelsea heading into the festive period. The loss of Philippe Coutinho is not helping, and the squad suddenly looks much thinner at the busiest, tiring stage. He has a bench full of teenagers and needs the senior men to return.
“It is difficult to stay in the title race with Chelsea when they win everything,” said Klopp. “This is the moment to collect as many points as possible. It’s a negative we didn’t win but it is still a point. We are still on a very good way. We are third. Come on – a lot of teams should feel worse.”
Bilic left Merseyside feeling the vote of confidence in him expressed by the West Ham board had gone some way to being validated.
We must wait a while longer for Karius to demonstrate the show of faith in his skills from Klopp will be similarly rewarded.
OS
Manager on Monday
Slaven Bilic says the Hammers’ point at Anfield on Sunday gives them the perfect platform to build on in what he calls a ‘crucial week’ for his team.
The east Londoners follow the 2-2 draw with Liverpool by taking on Burnley and Hull City at London Stadium – two games which the manager wants to use to climb up the Premier League table.
But he knows the challenge both will present will be a significant one and the boss needs the Hammers to show the same mental fortitude they displayed on Merseyside.
He explained: “I was pleased with the character shown by the team. After the loss last week, 5-1 to Arsenal, and then making a start that couldn’t be worse, we showed a great reaction.
“It’s a really great point for us, a positive situation before this crucial week for us.
“We tried to get as many points as possible from these four, on paper, very difficult fixtures and now we have Burnley and Hull at home.
“Those games will be extremely difficult in every way and we will have to show the character again, but also the quality, togetherness, patience, because they will be very mentally demanding games. We have to be ready for them.”
The boss also had praise for how his goalkeeper Darren Randolph bounced back from the error which led to Divock Origi’s leveller early in the second half, springing to his left to make a terrific stop from Jordan Henderson and preserve the visitors’ point.
He continued: “Darren is more than okay. It’s the nature of the goalkeeper’s job. He made a mistake for the equaliser, it’s true, but before and after that he showed a great individual reaction. He was there in the moments we needed our goalkeeper.
“He showed his quality, his composure and he made a couple of great saves – that strike from Henderson was a crucial moment for us.”
The manager concluded by offering his condolences to the victims of the bombings in Istanbul this weekend – outside the stadium of his former club Besiktas, where he spent two years prior to joining the Hammers.
He said: “I’d like to dedicate this point to the people in Turkey. I was there with my staff for two years and I feel for them.
“My prayers go out to them, it is very sad what is happening in one of the best cities and one of the best countries – because of the nature of the people, being so friendly and so warm – that it’s tearing me apart what happened there.
“[I send] big condolences to the families of the victims.”
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