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BBC
Real Madrid are set to revive their interest in Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 26, and Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard, 26, next summer. (Don Balon, via Goal)
However, Spain goalkeeper De Gea has hinted at a long-term Manchester United stay - by moving into a new house. (Sun)
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, 28, will reject a move to Real Madrid in order to join the Gunners' Premier League rivals Manchester City. (Daily Mirror)
Sanchez is on a short-list of forwards Real are interested in, which also includes Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, 29, Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 28, and Torino's Andrea Belotti, 23. (Don Balon, via Sun)
Liverpool will look to sign Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij, 25, in January. (Calicomercato, via Talksport)
Leicester City boss Craig Shakespeare hopes to soon have some news on the future of midfielder Adrien Silva, 28, whose registration following a transfer deadline day move from Sporting Lisbon has been refused by Fifa. (Daily Mail)
Newcastle are to give captain and English defender Jamaal Lascelles, 23, a new five-year deal. (Telegraph)
Liverpool target Timo Werner, 21, has told RB Leipzig he wants to "play for a big club at some point". The forward is also wanted by Real Madrid. (Bild, via Yahoo)
Neymar's world-record £200m move from Barcelona to Paris-St-Germain is worth nearly £8m to the 25-year-old forward's former club Santos, according to the Brazilian club's president. (Esporte, via ESPN)
Tottenham forward Vincent Janssen, on loan at Fenerbahce, did not reject a move to West Brom, as the Baggies did not bid for the 23-year-old. (Birmingham Mail)
Real Madrid are set to sign 17-year-old Ricardo Rodrigues from Brazilian club Gremio Novorizontino on a six-year deal. (AS, via Daily Star)
Manchester United have agreed to sign 15-year-old midfielder Charlie McCann from Coventry City. (Daily Mail)
Birmingham City boss Harry Redknapp insists he not under pressure, despite a poor start to the Championship season in which they have won just one of their opening seven league games. (Talksport)
Paris St-Germain have committed 15-year-old former Barcelona playmaker Kays Ruiz to a youth contract until 2020. (ESPN)
Sheffield Wednesday have ruled out the possibility of signing free agents to boost their injury-hit squad. (Sheffield Star)
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is furious at his French international midfielder Paul Pogba, 24, who faces up to six weeks out, for ignoring medical advice over his long-standing hamstring issues. (Sun)
Spain midfielder Isco's new contract with Real Madrid features a €700million (£622m) buyout clause. (Mirror)
Meanwhile...
Fernando Llorente says Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino convinced the 32-year-old forward to join Spurs instead of rivals Chelsea. (Daily Express)
Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard appears to be overcoming injury nicely as he shared a video of skills from training with fans on social media. (Instagram)
Jesse Lingard says Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku can become as big an icon as former team-mate Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford. (Daily Express)
Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki says the idea keepers should not be beaten at their near post "is a myth", having conceded three goals against Tottenham. (London Evening Standard)
The best of Thursday's gossip...
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, 28, is wanted by Real Madrid. (Don Balon - in Spanish)
New Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson is considering a January move for Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere, 25. (Daily Mail)
Palace have promised Hodgson £40m to spend in January. (Daily Star)
Atletico Madrid are increasingly confident they have made a breakthrough in negotiations to re-sign 28-year-old forward Diego Costa from Chelsea. (Sky Sports)
Atletico are hopeful of concluding the deal for Costa within the next fortnight. (Daily Mail)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Simon Burnton
According to Don Balón, Zinedine Zidane has his greedy eye on Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, who could be part of a wide-scale rebuilding project at the end of this season if it looks like Real Madrid’s current squad – and in particular their “BBC” attacking trident – are on a downward slope. David de Gea (inevitably), Paulo Dybala and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also mentioned, with the newspaper suggesting that “if Real’s performance is sub-optimal over this campaign, after two quiet transfer windows we could see a very busy summer in 2018”, adding that Zidane has given the current side until Christmas to impress him, after which he will begin serious planning for next season.
There is news, though, about David de Gea’s immediate future. In April his £3.85m home was put up for sale (not by De Gea himself, mind – he was only renting) sparking rumours that he was about to leave Manchester for Madrid. Then in June, after the sale of the property was completed and just in time for the transfer window, he moved out. Now, three weeks after that window ended without an outbound transfer, he has moved into a new place just 500 yards from the first, a development the Sun has interpreted as “hinting at a long-term Manchester United stay”.
You will notice, going back to the list of players Real Madrid are keen on, that there is nary a mention of Alexis Sánchez. That is perhaps because the Chilean has decided that Manchester City will be his next destination, no matter who else comes in for him, according to the Mirror. City fans may consider this encouraging, but would do well to remember that Sánchez originally joined Arsenal because “I thought they were the perfect club for me, the perfect club to win titles and compete in every competition”, since when they have indeed won titles and competed, but only in the FA Cup. His success-predicting skills therefore appear a little wobbly.
RB Leipzig hope to shut down talk of Timo Werner’s departure by tying him to a new contract, a move their chairman, Oliver Mintzlaff, admits “is certainly a priority”. Perhaps it’s just as well, as the player’s mind is certainly straying – so far this week he has told one interviewer that though “I do not think what is ahead in one, two or three years,” he does “of course want to play at a big club”. On that occasion he went as far as listing the big clubs he might want to play at: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético or any of England’s top six. Then after RB Leipzig’s draw with Monaco on Wednesday, he admitted that “of course it is a pleasure to read that Real Madrid are interested” and that “it would be a mistake to say that I am not interested” but that “I’m not thinking about Real Madrid or any other big club, just RB Leipzig”.
Talking of big-name signings from Germany, Manchester United are preparing to have another go at signing Thomas Müller next summer, according to the Sun. An attempt to sign the player two years ago came to nothing but, the paper writes, “sources close to Bayern say Müller accepts he may now need a new challenge”. In other German player news, Benedikt Höwedes’ agent has revealed that Arsenal were among the clubs that tried to get his man in the summer – along with Roma and Leicester – before the 29-year-old defender opted to join Juventus from Schalke instead. And in other Italy-based defender news, Liverpool want Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij to sort out their rickety backline.
Back in Germany, André Breitenreiter, manager of Bundesliga side Hannover 96, has his eye on a surprise deal – for Robbie Williams, who back in July played a concert at the team’s HDI Arena and was so impressive the club’s scouts think they should let him entertain them on a regular basis – with boots on and with a ball at his feet. “We’ve got a space going up front. Robbie Williams can definitely pop by and join in a training session with the boys. Let’s see what he can do,” Breitenreiter said, after Williams enthused that Hannover had become “my favourite place in Germany” and was so bowled over by the city that “I want to start supporting their football team”.
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