Paris St-Germain have joined Real Madrid in the race to sign Liverpool's 26-year-old England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Liverpool, meanwhile, have enquired about RB Salzburg's 22-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina right-back Amar Dedic, a potential replacement for Alexander-Arnold. (Caught Offside)
Wolves have made Watford's Georgia attacking midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze, 25, a primary target in January. (Sun)
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is preparing the groundwork to replace manager Carlo Ancelotti next season with Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso. (Sport - in Spanish)
Former Italy striker Mario Balotelli has a medical booked on Monday before signing for Serie A side Genoa. The 24-year-old is a free agent after leaving Turkish side Adana Demirspor. (Fabrizio Romano)
West Ham are interested in Atalanta and Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman, 27, as manager Julen Lopetegui hopes to boost his attacking options in January. (Teamtalk)
Manchester City are set to offer Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol, 22, an improved contract worth £150,000 a week to extend his stay at Etihad Stadium by two years until 2030. (Star)
England and Chelsea attacking midfielder Cole Palmer, 22, remains committed to the Blues despite being linked with a move away, including a return to Manchester City. (Football Insider)
AC Milan are interested in offering 27-year-old Liverpool and Italy winger Federico Chiesa a route back to Serie A. (Caught Offside)
Former Germany defender Mats Hummels, 35, could leave Roma in January despite only joining the Serie A club as a free agent in the summer. (Nicolo Schira)
AC Milan will look to extend the contract of midfielder Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, amid interest from Manchester City and Barcelona. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian)
Daniele de Rossi could be in line for a shock management return to Roma just over a month after being sacked by the club with the current boss Ivan Juric under pressure after a 5-1 thrashing by Fiorentina. (RAI Sport via Football Italia)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MIRROR
Real Madrid have kickstarted plans to replace manager Carlo Ancelotti after being left "furious" at their humiliating 4-0 defeat to bitter rivals Barcelona - with Xabi Alonso a top target.
Alan Shearer called out Michel Oliver for getting involved in the penalty which decided West Ham's win over Manchester United.
Lisandro Martinez focused on the glut of chances Manchester United missed in their damaging defeat to West Ham rather than the Premier League's latest VAR controversy.
THE SUN
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's rigid "back to work" policy is costing Man Utd money as the club are paying to convert Old Trafford hospitalty suites into temporary offices and back again every week.
THE INDEPENDENT
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou called for more composure after his side slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
Ruben Dias believes the sides at the bottom of the Premier League have shown Manchester City how tough it will be to defend their title this season.
DAILY MAIL
Steven Gerrard says he hopes Mohamed Salah will stay at Liverpool beyond the current season.
Arsenal's defensive crisis has reached new lows after Gabriel and Jakub Kiwior both trudged off injured in a chaotic second half against Liverpool, which saw the Reds seize a dramatic equaliser.
Jordan Henderson has been urged to go full circle by sealing an emotional return to Sunderland.
Kieran McKenna has hit out at 'nonsense' rumours that Ipswich will cut short Kalvin Phillips' loan spell in January.
THE GUARDIAN
Erik ten Hag cried injustice after a controversial video assistant referee decision led to a 2-1 defeat for Manchester United against West Ham at the London Stadium.
DAILY STAR
Jude Bellingham was heavily criticised by the Spanish press following Real Madrid's 4-0 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday.
SCOTTISH SUN
Leyton Orient are making an ambitious enquiry for former Rangers winger Ryan Kent after Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho let him leave the Turkish club.
Guardian
Jarrod Bowen piles pain on Manchester United with late winner for West Ham
Jarrod Bowen leaps into the air after his stoppage-time penalty put West Ham 2-1 ahead of Manchester United. Photograph: John Walton/PA
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
There are some Sunday afternoons when the national sport is laying into Manchester United’s latest capitulation under Erik ten Hag. On this occasion, though, United’s inability to take their chances and sustain a performance was only one part of the story. The other, unfortunately for Ten Hag, centred around the cold, interfering hand of a video assistant referee stepping in with the advice that ended with West Ham being awarded the penalty that brought Julen Lopetegui a baffling but precious 2-1 win.
Good luck to anyone trying to draw definitive conclusions from this mess. West Ham were awful before Lopetegui impressively took decisive action at half-time, a triple substitution tilting the contest in his side’s favour, but they still needed an almighty helping hand from the officials to claim the points. It had looked little more than a coming together when Matthijs de Ligt and Danny Ings challenged for a bouncing ball in United’s area in the dying stages. There was not much of an appeal from the home crowd and there were not many complaints from West Ham when David Coote, the on-pitch referee, decided there was insufficient contact to blow up.
Yet it was not long before Michael Oliver, one of the game’s leading officials, was checking in from Stockley Park to tell Coote to check the pitchside monitor. Incredulity fell over United at the technological creep, for they knew what was coming. De Ligt pleaded his case, insisting that Ings had dived, but the outcome was inevitable and Jarrod Bowen, West Ham’s captain, stayed cool from the spot to hand Ten Hag a third consecutive defeat in this corner of east London.
These marginal calls are not why VAR was introduced. They warp games, although it should also be acknowledged that United could have made sure they would not be vulnerable to the whims of a referee. There were some glaring misses from Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Højlund and Diogo Dalot at 0-0 and it also did not reflect well on Ten Hag that his team were unable to respond to West Ham’s second-half improvement.
Ultimately United are 14th for a reason. They faded when West Ham finally imposed themselves, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s surges up the right flank a constant feature, and it was not a surprise when Crysencio Summerville opened the scoring with his first goal in a claret and blue shirt. “We deserved to win the second half,” Lopetegui said.
The Spaniard was spot-on and he was delighted West Ham’s heads did not drop after Casemiro headed in an equaliser with 10 minutes left. For Lopetegui, this needs to be a turning point. West Ham were fast and aggressive after waking up, with Michail Antonio bullying United’s centre-backs, Edson Álvarez, Guido Rodríguez and Tomas Soucek dominating midfield and Summerville, a surprise omission from the starting lineup, superb after his introduction.
Not that Ten Hag was wrong to insist it should have played out differently. West Ham seemed caught between two stools at first, their approach neither to seize the initiative nor to break at speed. Carlos Soler was an odd selection over Summerville with Mohammed Kudus suspended and there was rarely much pressure on United’s buildup play.
This was how Casemiro and Christian Eriksen like it – nice and sedate – and the chances duly followed. Garnacho, a lively if erratic presence on the left, hit the bar and bent a shot wide inside the opening eight minutes.
The Argentinian had space because of Wan-Bissaka drifting inside to operate as an inverted full‑back and United continued to create. Lukasz Fabianski, in for Alphonse Areola after the thrashing at Tottenham, denied Højlund and Casemiro. Fernandes headed over and Marcus Rashford dithered when through on goal. Álvarez almost scored an own goal.
United kept pushing, some of their passing sequences catching the eye, and the opener looked certain when Dalot rounded Fabianski after breaking on to Fernandes’s pass. Perhaps, though, defeat was inevitable after the right-back fired high and wide of the gaping net.
A stretching Crysencio Summerville breaks the deadlock to put West Ham ahead. Photograph: Tony O Brien/Reuters
West Ham could not continue to play so badly. Lopetegui reacted, Summerville, Soucek and Jean‑Clair Todibo on for Lucas Páqueta, Soler and the injured Konstantinos Mavrapanos, and the mood changed. Wan-Bissaka began to overwhelm Noussair Mazraoui. Emerson Palmieri missed a sitter.
United were flailing, Rashford flimsy before making way for Amad Diallo, and they were punished. Garnacho lost possession, Rodríguez stepped in and Bowen darted forward. The winger found Ings, who had just come on, and his scuffed shot was turned in by Summerville at the far post.
Ahead through their first shot on target, West Ham sat back. It was a mistake. United were level when Diallo recycled a set piece. Dalot and Joshua Zirkzee, on as a substitute, headed on for Casemiro to score the goal that looked set to earn Ten Hag some respite – until Oliver took over.
The Athletic
Lopetegui’s triple change turned the tide against United. Could it prove a turning point in West Ham’s season?
By Roshane Thomas
Resilience and commitment have become Julen Lopetegui’s favourite bywords for West Ham United and for 45 minutes against Manchester United, his side showed that in abundance.
After an uninspiring first half that saw United squander five goalscoring opportunities, Lopetegui reemerged from the tunnel with Jean-Clair Todibo, Tomas Soucek and Crysencio Summerville summoned to replace Konstantinos Mavropanos, Lucas Paqueta and Carlos Soler.
The triple substitution had the desired effect and was a key factor behind Sunday’s 2-1 win.
West Ham markedly improved offensively and played with energy, confidence and flair. Todibo and defensive partner Maximilian Kilman made key contributions at the back, Soucek brought more stability to the midfield, and Summerville, who scored the game’s opener in the 74th minute, tormented United full-back Diogo Dalot.
West Ham were without the suspended Mohammed Kudus and had lacked an attacking presence down the left flank until Summerville’s introduction. Before his introduction, Summerville had promised Kudus that he would score, so the 22-year-old ran to the bench and embraced the Ghana international after his opener.
The match was undoubtedly a tale of two halves and against better opposition, West Ham would likely have been punished. But Lopetegui’s side at least improved on last weekend’s 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur to move above United, to 13th, in the league table.
Come full time, there were smiles as Tim Steidten, the technical director, and Mark Noble, the sporting director, emerged from the home dressing room.
The 4-1 home win over Ipswich Town at the beginning of this month was supposed to be the turning point after a poor start to the season, but a chastening defeat to Spurs followed. Ahead of upcoming games against Nottingham Forest and Everton, Kilman hopes Sunday’s win will lead to consistency.
“West Ham is a massive club and we need to be performing better,” he told The Athletic. “We’ve not started the best, but we have so many games to push on. We can’t let it (recent performances) affect us because we have a lot of games coming on.
“We have a massive squad with a lot of new players, a new manager — and things take time (to gel). Sometimes it takes longer than other occasions, but we’re in a position where we know we can improve. Hopefully, today is a stepping stone. It’s been a tough start but we showed a lot of resilience and character.
“You could see in the second-half performance with the way we pushed. The boys that came on did a great job. That’s what we need from the whole squad to push us on. The manager said we had to improve on our performance from the first half. We pressed really high, got the ball in good areas and the fans pushed us on.”
Lopetegui made four changes to his XI after the loss at Tottenham — Lukasz Fabianski, Mavropanos, Soler and Edson Alvarez replaced Alphonse Areola, Todibo, Soucek and Kudus respectively — but West Ham were still vulnerable in defence.
They were often stretched by United’s attacking duo of Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund. Whenever full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka vacated his defensive positions, Garnacho looked to exploit space down the left, and when the winger’s strike cannoned off the crossbar after just two minutes, it seemed as if West Ham were going to make another poor start to a game.
The hosts looked unsettled and the game plan was not working.
An unmarked Bruno Fernandes missed a header from close range as he darted in between Mavropanos and Wan-Bissaka. Fabianski, who made his first league start since the 5-2 defeat at Crystal Palace in April, justified his position when he saved Casemiro’s header on the stroke of half-time. West Ham were too exposed, which culminated in a smattering of fans booing at the interval.
That led to Lopetegui’s triple change — his sixth, seventh and eighth at half-time in the Premier League this season, the highest in the league.
Of the changes, Summerville’s was the most impactful, bringing much-needed efficiency to West Ham’s attack. His sole league start was in the 3-0 loss to Chelsea in September, but he has impressed in cameo league appearances — one of the loudest cheers came when the stadium announcer introduced the winger — and he has showcased why he merits a start against Nottingham Forest next Saturday.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said the best team did not deserve to lose; the embattled boss shook his head in frustration as he walked towards Lopetegui at full time.
“I respect his opinion, but there were two different halves,” said Lopetegui in response to Ten Hag’s comment. “The first half they were better, but the second half we changed, were better and deserved to win. They had chances and that’s why we made changes. But we were better than them in the second half.
“We thought for this second half, with Manchester playing on Thursday, that we would have more energy with Summerville playing. Fortunately, it worked very well. The players played with commitment and energy. Our heads didn’t drop when we conceded.”
Many things would have frustrated both managers. For Lopetegui, it was West Ham’s inability to hold onto a lead. They have conceded shortly after scoring in consecutive games and Casemiro’s 81st-minute header gave the away side hope when they capitalised on West Ham being reduced to 10 men as Alvarez waited to be reintroduced by the referee.
But, sometimes, you need a bit of luck and that came when West Ham were awarded a controversial penalty. VAR deemed there was sufficient contact following Matthijs de Ligt’s foul on Danny Ings. Jarrod Bowen converted the penalty in front of England’s interim head coach Lee Carsley.
Lopetegui is usually the first person to head down the tunnel when a match is over, but this time he opted to savour the moment.
Guido Rodriguez was the first player he embraced before he then celebrated with members of his backroom staff. It was an important victory, an improved second-half performance, but the team will need to show this is just the start of something and not a fluke.
Sport Witness
Excitement over Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and West Ham links – Manager backs player for PL move
By Naveen Ullal
Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion are among the clubs chasing Hammarby IF star Bazoumana Touré.
On October 17th, Expressen reported Crystal Palace are preparing a bid to get ahead of the competitors. A week later, Fotbollskanalen stated Aston Villa, West Ham and Brighton are leading the ‘hunt’ for the forward.
Claims of Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and West Ham’s interest in the 18-year-old is relayed by Göteborgs-Posten.
As well as the Premier League sides, Atlético Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen are showing interest in him. These clubs are said to be looking at Touré for January and there’s been talks of a club-record sale.
Touré has regularly impressed for Hammarby since joining them from Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas in March. He scored nine goals and registered four assists from 21 games. At the weekend, he managed a brace and an assist in his side’s 3-0 win over IK Sirus.
Hammarby captain Nahir Besara has now responded to the reports linking the youngster to Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, West Ham and other clubs.
“There are a lot of rumours about him to extremely big clubs, but we all see how hard he has worked and how good he is. We are very happy as long as we can keep him here,” he said, relayed by Göteborgs-Posten.
The Ivorian’s contract lasts until December 2028. Hammarby manager Kim Hellberg had a chat with Fotbollskanalen, where he backed Touré to make a move to a top league.
“I think he can play at the highest level possible. I don’t see why he shouldn’t have the chance to get there. There have been many players who have had the opportunity to get there but have not taken that route,” Hellberg explained.
“He is unique in the way he learns things and picks things up. Now he scored two goals on his head… and we have worked so much on how he should get into the box and how he should position himself to create advantages linked to the fact that he is not a big player.”
Without mentioning any clubs, the manager was asked about the Premier League links. He said: “I would almost be surprised if it didn’t. There we are somewhere.”
