Manchester United have already held talks with several managerial candidates as further pressure mounts on Dutchman Erik ten Hag, with Xavi Hernandez and Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim among them. (Daily Mail)
Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 33, could be on the move to Major League Soccer with San Diego FC as the Belgian's contract expires in June. (GiveMeSport)
Eintracht Frankfurt have set a value of between 50-60m euros (£41.6m-50m) for 25-year-old Egypt forward Omar Marmoush, whose representatives have held talks with Liverpool. (Sky Germany)
Arsenal have drawn up a shortlist of world-class striker targets and Newcastle and Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, is top of the list. (TeamTalk)
West Ham is a possible destination for Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell, 27, as the Englishman continues to struggle for playing time under Enzo Maresca. (Metro)
Inter Milan are interested in Athletic Bilbao's 24-year-old Spanish attacking midfielder Oihan Sancet, who has also been linked with Aston Villa. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Tottenham are determined to prevent 25-year-old Spanish right-back Pedro Porro from joining Manchester City, who see him as a replacement for England defender Kyle Walker, 34. (Football Insider)
Liverpool and Arsenal are contenders to sign Spain and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, 17, as the La Liga club could be forced to sell their teenage forward amid ongoing financial difficulties. (Miguel Delaney via TeamTalk)
Brazil winger Raphinha, 27, says he considered leaving Barcelona more than once in his first two seasons with the club following his move from Leeds. (ESPN)
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to remain at the club in the January transfer window despite interest from a number of clubs in the 27-year-old Englishman. (Mirror)
Former Manchester City and Italy striker Mario Balotelli, 34, is close to a Serie A return with Genoa after spending the last four months as a free agent. (Sun)
Liverpool are planning a move for Celta Vigo's Spanish defender Oscar Mingueza, 25, to replace Englishman Trent Alexander-Arnold, 26. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Manchester United are keen on Championship side Sunderland's English midfielder Chris Rigg, 17. (GiveMeSport)
Interest in Bayern Munich's Canada defender Alphonso Davies is also becoming more concrete from Manchester United after gathering information on the 23-year-old for several days. (Sky Germany)
Real Madrid and Chelsea are also interested in full-back Davies, whose contract expires next summer. (Express)
Manchester City are monitoring RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba, 21, although the Frenchman recently signed a new deal with the Bundesliga side. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
AC Milan have opened talks with the representatives of 26-year-old Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders over an extension on his deal. (Fabrizio Romano)
Portugal midfielder Samu Costa, 23, has been offered to Atletico Madrid by his agent, despite having a contract with Mallorca until 2028. (Okdiario, via Estadio Deportivo - in Spanish)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MAIL
Manchester United have held more "secret meetings" with multiple managers about replacing Erik ten Hag as the Dutchman again fights to save his job at Old Trafford.
Kevin De Bruyne has, according to reports, opened talks with MLS franchise San Diego FC over a future transfer as he prefers the USA to a possible Saudi Arabia move.
Enzo Maresca has told Reece James he needs to become a better leader with the Chelsea manager admitting he expected more from the England defender on his return from long-term injury.
Roberto Mancini is set to receive an incredible severance package worth almost £17m after having his contract to manage Saudi Arabia's national team terminated earlier this week.
Genoa are reported to be close to a deal to bring Mario Balotelli back to Serie A.
THE SUN
Mikel Arteta admits there have been sleepless nights as injuries and suspensions make his decision over a team to face Liverpool on Sunday a tricky one.
Pep Guardiola is certain Manchester City will not end up in turmoil if he decides to leave the club at the end of the season along with director of football Txiki Begiristain.
DAILY EXPRESS
Reports in Italy have suggested Liverpool are considering loaning Federico Chiesa back to a Serie A club in January to get more playing time before reassessing his long-term future at Anfield.
Erik ten Hag's past comments about Alphonso Davies being "not a good defender" could come back to haunt him as the left-back continues to be linked with a move to Manchester United.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
David Dein is lobbying football lawmakers IFAB to make penalty shootouts fairer by staging them at both ends of the pitch.
Newcastle are braced for interest in striker Alexander Isak but are confident he will stay despite being in no rush to reward him with fresh terms.
USA rugby union superstar Ilona Maher is in talks with Bristol Bears and Gloucester-Hartpury as she considers a move to Premiership Women's Rugby ahead of the World Cup.
THE GUARDIAN
England players, including captain Jamie George, have voiced extensive concerns about their workload to the Rugby Football Union and raised player welfare issues facing international stars before agreeing their new contract.
DAILY RECORD
Rangers are set to shelve plans for further upgrade works at Ibrox next summer with the club's hierarchy set to concentrate on improving their playing squad instead.
Former Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha is in the running to take over as manager of state champions Gremio.
GiveMeSport
West Ham Lead Race to Sign Exciting Forward With 'Blistering Pace'
West Ham United, Aston Villa, and Brighton are reportedly leading the chase for Hammarby’s 18-year-old winger Bazoumana Toure, Aftonbladet has revealed.
The promising Ivorian starlet is said to be on the radar of several Premier League clubs, as well as top European sides, including Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, with a possible pursuit expected in January.
Since joining the Swedish top flight from Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas in March, the 18-year-old has enjoyed a superb start, scoring seven goals and registering three assists in 20 appearances for Hammarby this season.
The versatile winger, renowned for his ‘blistering pace’, can operate on either flank but has primarily played on the left this term, amassing 1,498 minutes in the league so far.
Toure’s potential departure in 2025 could secure a substantial profit for Hammarby, who signed the exciting winger for just £370,000 earlier this year.
A graduate of the ASEC academy, the 18-year-old could soon follow in the footsteps of Premier League icons like Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, and Salomon Kalou, all of whom came through the youth ranks at the Ivory Coast club.
Toure’s arrival at West Ham would mark another promising acquisition under Julen Lopetegui, who welcomed Palmeiras starlet Luis Guilherme in the summer.
The Brazilian has had limited opportunities so far, playing just four minutes in West Ham’s 4-1 win over Ipswich Town earlier this month.
The Hammers were one of the most active clubs in the summer transfer market, bringing in nine new signings to support Lopetegui in his first season in charge.
However, the investments have yet to bear fruit, as the club sits 15th in the Premier League with eight points from eight games.
Following a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham last week, Lopetegui’s side will look to return to winning ways when they host Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Athletic
Why Lopetegui’s use of Jarrod Bowen out wide could pay dividends against Manchester United
By Anantaajith Raghuraman
“His best position? On the pitch. But it depends. He can play different positions, on the right, as a striker, number 10 too. Good players can always adapt. The smart players even more.”
Julen Lopetegui’s comments on Jarrod Bowen in a September 13 interview with the Evening Standard prompted questions over whether a new role was in the offing for West Ham United’s newly-elected captain. A week prior to that interview, Bowen had twice featured as a centre-forward off the bench for England, replacing Harry Kane in the second half of 2-0 wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
West Ham’s first game after that saw Bowen return to the right wing and assist for Danny Ings’ stoppage-time equaliser at Fulham. He then played as a centre-forward when Chelsea visited the London Stadium and was one of their only bright spots in a 3-0 defeat. Bowen has since returned to the right flank, even delivering a stellar display in West Ham’s best performance of the season — a 4-1 win against Ipswich on October 5.
While the 27-year-old has displayed an ability to do well centrally, Lopetegui’s West Ham may benefit most from playing him out wide then they host Manchester United tomorrow.
How has Bowen’s role changed under Lopetegui?
Under David Moyes last season, Bowen was allowed far more freedom to drift inside onto his strong left foot and roam all over the pitch. Flexibility may rarely be associated with Moyes’ management style but having personnel who could interchange positions with Bowen in Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and to a degree, Michail Antonio, allowed Bowen this freedom.
Lopetegui, meanwhile, has struggled so far to generate the same fluidity from this team. Paqueta and Kudus have suffered drops in form, while the need to replace Antonio seems more evident than ever. Niclas Fullkrug’s arrival may have also dictated Lopetegui’s tactical demands from Bowen, who has become West Ham’s chief creator from out wide rather than the inside goalscorer he was last season.
A quick glance at his attacking touch-maps from this league season and the last suggest the same. Bowen has been tasked with getting to the byline more often rather than cut inside and is using his right foot a lot more to dig out crosses and cutbacks.
He has attempted six ground crosses from open play in eight games after recording just 14 in 34 outings in 2023-24. Bowen is also averaging 3.8 take-ons per 90 minutes with a 41 per cent success rate, up from 2.9 and 35 per cent respectively last season.
Under Lopetegui, West Ham have averaged 45 per cent possession, a four per cent increase on Moyes’ 2023-24 team. This has resulted in more touches for Bowen.
Apart from Lopetegui’s own tactical demands — possibly with the idea of having Fullkrug consistently available as a box threat — this seems partially forced by necessity.
Much of West Ham’s creative burden has been taken on by Bowen, whose 20 chances created is the joint fifth highest among all Premier League players and comfortably higher than any of his team-mates. Paqueta and Tomas Soucek are next with nine each.
It is more than half of the 32 Bowen managed in 34 matches last season. James Ward-Prowse, now on loan at Nottingham Forest, led the charts with 64, while Paqueta and Vladimir Coufal followed with 43 and 33, respectively. Coufal has been replaced by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and while the Englishman has gone forward enthusiastically, he has created just seven chances in seven games.
While a part of this individual increase is down to Bowen being tasked with taking corners by Lopetegui, a comparison of his open-play chance creation maps from 2023-24 and 2024-25 suggests it is a strategy too.
This combination of a change in tactics, drops in form and different personnel have resulted in Bowen becoming the creative fulcrum of this team and his goalscoring looks set to suffer as a result. While he has scored twice this season, Bowen is averaging fewer shots per game and the ones he is having are further away from goal and lower in quality.
Whether that is ideal for West Ham’s season going forward is a question mark. Their 11 league goals scored is four short of the 15 they managed in their first eight matches in 2023-24, but their xG is not too far behind (11.7 this season vs 12.5 in 2023-24).
Some of this is down to collective poor finishing as they have directed just 31 per cent of their shots on target with a conversion rate of nine per cent, both of which are significantly lower than the 42 and 17 per cent respectively that they managed last season.
Why Bowen playing on the right against Manchester United makes sense
West Ham will be without Kudus on Sunday, which could see Crysencio Summerville receive his second league start of the season, but the rest of the team will likely remain the same, with Paqueta in the No 10 role, Antonio upfront and Bowen playing on the right.
West Ham have had Manchester United’s number at the London Stadium in recent Premier League seasons. Kudus and Bowen scored in this fixture last season to give the hosts a 2-0 win, while Said Benrahma scored the only goal in a May 2023 meeting.
It’s not only West Ham who have struggled in attack this season. Erik ten Hag’s side have scored just seven league goals with only the bottom three of Southampton, Ipswich Town (six each) and Crystal Palace (five) scoring less frequently. Three of those goals came against Southampton on September 14 and they have scored just twice in four league games since.
As a result, one moment of brilliance might well be enough to secure all three points for either team on Sunday. West Ham have several players to generate that moment, but only Bowen has done so with any semblance of consistency this season.
Additionally, playing him on the right-wing would put him face-to-face with one of the major problem areas in this Manchester United team.
Left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are unavailable, which has led to Lisandro Martinez operating in that position in recent weeks. As The Athletic’s Carl Anka explained, Martinez did well to nullify Brentford’s Bryan Mbuemo last week by getting touch-tight with him on every opportunity he got. However, the Argentina international has understandably shown deficiencies against wingers who beat him with a burst of pace or trickery to get outside of him in what is an unfamiliar role.
Bowen has shown that he can do exactly this on multiple occasions this season, most notably in matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
Manchester United could alternately deploy Diogo Dalot or Noussair Mazraoui at left-back, which would make things more challenging for Bowen. But when this happens United’s opponents invariably attack the left side of their defence, as both Dalot and Mazraoui tend to be aggressive in their bid to win the ball and leave space in behind.
Bowen being “on the pitch” will give West Ham a chance. Him putting in a good performance on the right wing might just make the difference for them too.
