BBC
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho is considering hijacking AC Milan's attempt to re-sign veteran Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 38, and bring him to north London. (Telegraph)
Mourinho will receive a £2m bonus if he can secure a top-four finish for Spurs this season. (Sun)
Lille coach Christopher Galtier has criticised Mourinho after he took two members of his coaching team to Spurs. (RMC Sport via Evening Standard)
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini says Mourinho is neither his friend nor his enemy. (Talksport)
Ex-Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is being considered by Bayern Munich to take over as their permanent boss. (Sky Sports)
Barcelona are also interested in the 47-year-old Argentine, who previously managed rivals Espanyol. (Sun)
Leicester City have started preliminary talks with England midfielder James Maddison, 22, over a new contract with the club. (Telegraph)
Arsenal's Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira, 23, has not ruled out a January exit from the club. (Sport 860 via Mirror)
Aston Villa, Sheffield United and West Ham are interested in 31-year-old former Argentina winger Nicolas Gaitan, whose contract at MLS side Chicago Fire runs out at the end of December. (Guardian)
A striker remains Manchester United's priority in January - and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been holding monthly meetings with his recruitment team in a bid to boil down a three-man shortlist. (Evening Standard)
Atletico Madrid have joined AC Milan in seeking to sign 31-year-old Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic from Manchester United. (ESPN)
Celtic's Norway winger Mohamed Elyounoussi, 25, says the Scottish club's former midfielder Stuart Armstrong was pivotal to his loan move from Southampton. (The Scotsman)
Sunderland are unlikely to make a move in January for 26-year-old English left-back Marcus Maddison because Peterborough refuse to lower their valuation. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Liverpool could lose Egypt winger Mohamed Salah for the start of the 2020-21 season as the 27-year-old's country have reached next year's Olympics in Tokyo, which take place from 24 July to 9 August. (Mirror)
Juventus and Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt, 20, has denied claims by former striker Patrick Kluivert that he regrets moving to the Italian club from Ajax in the summer. (Mirror)
Spain defender Gerard Pique, 32, says he will end in his career at Barcelona in 2022. (Mundo Deportivo)
Paris St-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel says he did not like his forward Neymar going to Madrid to attend the Davis Cup. (Marca)
Colombia midfielder Juan Cuadrado, 31, has signed a new contract that will keep him at Juventus until 2022. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian)
The agent of Real Madrid midfielder Gareth Bale says the player will not be worried about the Los Blancos fans' reaction to him posing alongside a banner that read, 'Wales. Golf. Real Madrid. In that order'. (ESPN)
Belgium have been charged by Uefa for the error that saw Hertha Berlin defender Dedryck Boyata wearing Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi's shirt during their Euro 2020 qualifying victory over Russia. (Daily Mail)
Watford have opted against changing their badge, despite sifting through more than 4,000 new designs. (Independent)
Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce is "quietly confident" English midfielder Matty Longstaff, 19, will sign a new contract. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Daily Express back page
Guardian Rumour Mill
Barry Glendenning
Olivier Giroud isn’t happy with his bit-part role at Chelsea, where the emergence of Tammy Abraham as first-choice striker means the Frenchman has featured in just four Premier League matches this season. Crystal Palace, Internazionale, Borussia Dortmund and several top-flight French clubs are all believed to be interested in acquiring his services, but the 33-year-old’s demands for a two-year deal worth £14m in wages are reported to be a bit too saucy.
With his contract with Chelsea due to expire in June, Stamford Bridge beancounters are also planning to ask for a £5m transfer fee from any club that tries to sign their man in January. While their priority is to lure Giroud to Selhurst Park, Palace are also interested in bringing Celtic striker Odsonne Édouard or his Rangers counterpart Alfredo Morelos down the road from Glasgow to London.
Fed up with life at Arsenal where he remains a bit-part player, Lucas Torreira may cut his losses and agitate for a return to Italy from whence he came. British tabloid reports suggest both Milan are interested in rescuing the former Sampdoria and Pescara player from his current Emirates purgatory.
Is José Mourinho plotting a move to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Tottenham Hotspur? Yes he is, claims the Telegraph, although your humble Rumour Mill is taking the news with a shovel-full of salt. The 38-year-old has been strongly linked with Milan, but has an ardent admirer in Mourinho, who the broadsheet claims is “considering highjacking” any potential deal.
Out of contract with MLS side Chicago Fire and available on a free transfer at the end of December, Argentina midfielder Nicolás Gaitán has got antennae twitching at Sheffield United, Aston Villa and West Ham. The Guardian says “initial talks are understood to have taken place” between West Ham and the player’s agent, which is good enough for us.
Nemanja Matic’s days at Manchester United look numbered, what with the midfielder having made just five appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjær so far this season. A firm favourite of José Mourinho’s, he has already been linked with a move to Tottenham, although Milan or Atlético Madrid look more likely destinations.
On loan at Italian side Parma from Atalanta, 19-year-old Swedish midfielder Dejan Kulusevski has addressed speculation linking him with Arsenal and Manchester United, fuelled by his contribution of five assists and one goal in 12 Serie A appearances this season. “‘I’m fine at Parma, I’m happy to be here, I’ve found the perfect club,” said the young whippersnapper. “The market? I’m playing well, so it’s normal to write about other clubs, but I don’t think about [a move] because I have an annual deal with Parma.”
And finally, expect no end of schoolboy sniggering from headline writers on newspaper sports desks the length and breadth of the UK if Leicester City are successful in their bid to sign 23-year-old centre-back Robin Koch from Freiberg.
Guardian
West Ham and Aston Villa interested in signing free agent Nicolás Gaitán
• Sheffield United also in frame for 31-year-old winger
• Gaitán’s contract at Chicago Fire expires in December
Ed Aarons
Nicolás Gaitán will be a free agent in January when his contract with Chicago Fire expires. Photograph: Mike Dinovo/USA Today Sports
Nicolás Gaitán could be on his way to the Premier League in January, with West Ham, Aston Villa and Sheffield United interested in signing the former Argentina winger on a two-year deal.
The 31-year-old is available on a free transfer with his contract at MLS side Chicago Fire due to expire at the end of December. Gaitán, who was perennially linked with a move to Manchester United during his spell at Benfica, has an option to remain in the United States for another year but is understood to favour a return to Europe. He spent the previous season at Chinese side Dalian Yifang.
His return of four goals and 11 assists in 27 MLS appearances has alerted West Ham, with initial talks understood to have taken place between the sporting director, Mario Husillos, and the player’s representative, Matias Lipman, over a January move.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side are struggling in the lower half of the table as they prepare to face Tottenham on Saturday in José Mourinho’s first match since taking over from Mauricio Pochettino.
Resolving West Ham’s defensive issues is the priority for the transfer window, although the manager is believed to have requested more attacking reinforcements as well.
West Ham are expected to face competition from Villa for Gaitán’s signature, while Chris Wilder’s United have also registered an interest. The former Atlético Madrid player has won 16 caps for Argentina but has not made an international appearance since 2016.
C&H
Hammers respond to free midfielder signing rumour
West Ham have denied reported interest in free agent attacking midfielder Nicolas Gaitan.
Our sources are claiming to have no knowledge of such moves reported to have been made by Mario Husillos in The Guardian.
At 31 the Chicago Fire player and member of the Argentine national team who counts Boca Juniors, Benfica Juniors and Athletico Madrid among his teams.
However, since last season it appears to have been all down hill with just one season in China at Dalian Yafing before arriving in America earlier thisyear.
The Guardian is saying that Husillos has started discussions with Matias Lipman over a potential move in the January transfer window.
But we were told by a well placed source on e mail: “That’s a new one and we really don’t need a 31 year old attacking midfielder anyway.
ClaretandHugh says: Looks like a very bad rumour on a player who is on the slide. When did we sign a free agent that was successful.
