BBC
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be named the full-time manager of Manchester United - but the club may not announce it until the end of the season. (Sun)
Solskjaer has reassured Fred he will contribute to the Old Trafford side's run-in after the 25-year-old Brazil midfielder was omitted from the squad at Fulham. (Manchester Evening News)
Manchester United want to sign Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon, 18, with the left-sided England Under-21 player stalling on a new contract. (Mirror)
Manager Rafael Benitez has backed Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron, 25, to make an instant impact at Newcastle after his record move. (Guardian)
Peter Schmeichel says his son Kasper, 32, could leave Leicester because the Denmark goalkeeper is not happy under boss Claude Puel. (Sun)
Wolves are favourites to sign Portugal Under-21 player Joao Felix, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo keen on the 19-year-old Benfica midfielder. (Mirror)
Chelsea will demand Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie, 22, in return if AC Milan attempt to sign France midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, 24, permanently. (Daily Star)
A hamstring injury prevented Aston Villa from signing Netherlands midfielder Leroy Fer, 29, on deadline day from Swansea. (Birmingham Mail)
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson is ready to advise England boss Gareth Southgate about a potential international call-up for defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 21. (Independent)
Manchester City's Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, 24, and French defender Aymeric Laporte, 24, have both seen their estimated transfer values increase dramatically following their respective starts to the new campaign. (CIES Football via Manchester Evening News)
Manchester United and England defender Phil Jones, 26, says the club were a "laughing stock" at the beginning of the season. (Goal)
New Barcelona signing Kevin-Prince Boateng, 31, has reimbursed a fan who signed the Ghana midfielder for his Serie A fantasy football team shortly before he left Sassuolo in January. (Marca)
Former England defender Micah Richards, 30, says he does not have any regrets in his career despite not playing a game for current side Aston Villa since 2016. (Birmingham Mail)
Everton's players will be given an extended break this week before Marco Silva makes a decision on a warm weather training camp - despite the poor run of form. (Liverpool Echo)
French full-back Faitout Maouassa, 20, was "not ready" to move to Newcastle last month but says it would be a dream to play in the Premier League one day. (L'Equipe via Newcastle Chronicle)
Juventus are reportedly leading the pack for Ajax youngster Matthijs de Ligt, despite Barcelona, Manchester City and Liverpool chasing the 19-year-old defender. (Calciomercato)
The Serie A side will turn to Real Madrid's Spain playmaker Isco, 26, or 27-year-old Colombia player James Rodriguez - who is on loan at Bayern Munich from Real - to replace 25-year-old Argentina forward Paulo Dybala if he leaves in the summer. (Tuttosport)
Groningen and Morocco winger Mimoun Mahi, 24, who had been linked with a move to Leeds United, seems set to move instead to FC Zurich. (Fox Sports via Football Oranje)
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has identified Leeds' English winger Jack Clarke, 18, as a priority target for the summer transfer window. (Express)
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper has denied rumours he is being lined up as a Conservative Party mayoral candidate in the north east. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Barry Glendenning
With their nerves already jangling thanks to the white-knuckle ride that is the title race, Liverpool fans will be further traumatised by rumours suggesting Juventus have their beady eye on Mohamed Salah. Word on the outer reaches of cyberspace suggests the Italian champions have earmarked the Egyptian as a potential £175m replacement for Paolo Dybala, who has scored just twice in 20 appearances for the club this season. In more heartwarming news for Liverpool, the Old Lady may decide to hitch her skirts at Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio instead.
Out on loan at Sampdoria and Sassuolo, Juve goalkeeper Emil Audero and defender Rogério are wanted by Arsenal and Chelsea respectively, but seem more likely to stay in Italy and make their current situations a little more permanent come season’s end. Mainz midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin also remains a person of interest to Arsenal, who tried to sign him from the Bundesliga club last summer only to have their overtures rejected by the German club. Arsenal also sent scouts to monitor Norwich City starlet Ben Godfrey as his side piled the hurt on Ipswich Town in the Old Farm Derby at Carrow Road yesterday. The 21-year-old is also being scouted by Manchester United, Lyon and RB Leipzig.
Chelsea are being linked with Everton winger Richarlison, but will have to pay almost double the £40m everyone thought the Toffees were bonkers to shell out for the Brazilian when they bought him from Watford. Wolves are favourites to add 19-year-old Benfica midfielder João Félix to their Portuguese enclave, while Brighton have made a bid for Bolton teenager Luca Connell.
Manchester United’s owners have shelved their fiendish plan to lure Mauricio Pochettino from Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford as they have already decided Ole Gunnar Solskjær is the right man to for the job, according to The Sun. While Solskjær is about to face seriously stiff tests in the form of potentially season-defining matches against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Liverpool, the United hierarchy have apparently seen enough to convince them to appoint him but will make no announcement until the end of the season.
And finally, in the slightly less glamorous environs of Boundary Park, Oldham are preparing to announce the appointment of Ole’s former Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes as their new gaffer. Despite Scholes being a 10% shareholder in Salford City, the Football League have decided there is no conflict of interest as long as Oldham under Scholes don’t buy or sell players from or to the National League club.
Evening Standard
West Ham hoping Malaga break will boost recovery of key stars ahead of run in
GIUSEPPE MURO
Timely boost | West Ham are hoping some winter sun can aid the recovery of key stars such as Manuel Lanzini ( West Ham United via Getty Images )
West Ham will take advantage of a 12-day break before they play Fulham on Friday week by travelling to Spain for warm-weather training.
The squad fly to Malaga tomorrow, where they will spend four days before returning to London. The break will help provide recovery time for some of the club’s injured players and Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini expects to have Samir Nasri back from his calf injury against Fulham, while Manuel Lanzini and Fabian Balbuena could also return in that game.
Pellegrini hopes Lanzini could be on the bench when Fulham visit and make his comeback after seven months out with a serious knee injury. Balbuena might need a few more weeks to overcome the knee problem he suffered before Christmas, but the defender is close to a return.
"I said after we lost at Wimbledon that we wanted to continue in the FA Cup, that was our intention but we couldn’t do it," Pellegrini said of the break.
"But in another way I think it is good for some players that are playing too many games from the beginning of the season - we continue with eight players injured - so I think that this stop next weekend will be very useful for us.
"We are not going on holiday, we are going to work. Maybe better weather than here but also to take them out some days it is good for the group, so there is a lot of things that I decided why to take the team there."
The camp will also help Marko Arnautovic build up his fitness. He was left on the bench against Crystal Palace on Saturday after he missed the 1-1 draw with Liverpool last week because of heavy bruising on his foot.
C&H
Fredericks proving his point
Given that Ryan Fredericks has probably faced the two liveliest wingers in the PL since returning to the Hammers team I’d say the lad’s done pretty well.
Sadio Mane and Wilfried Zaha are extremely significant players and it would be a huge surprise to me were the latter to still be at Selhurst Park next season.
Regardless of that Fredericks with little match action behind him looked business to me and I’m sure by the end of the season he will of course have improved further.
Let me make it clear to those who haven’t yet realised it, I am a huge Zaba fan and have been since his Man City days. That he was still representing Argentine unto his 30s speaks volumes for the man who has probably been the Hammers best freebie in many moons.
However, sadly he may now be coming to the end of a fabulous career and quite rightly the boss has to let Fredericks show what he’s got.
For me, as a free signing on – as I understand it at around £45k – a week the arrival of Fredericks was shrewd business and I personally will be tracking his progress with interest over the remainder of the season.
After the Palace game he told www.whufc.com: “We’re looking more solid at the back and we’ve got quality players who are always going to score goals.
The gaffer has been pressing home in the last few weeks that we need to have a solid base starting at the back, and if we keep clean sheets or concede only one then the majority of the time we’re going to draw or win games.
“It doesn’t get much harder than what I’ve faced this last week. As left wingers come, Mane and then Zaha are two of the best there are is the Premier League.
“I feel like I stood up to the test and got the better of the battle.”
