Sporting have reached agreement to allow manager Ruben Amorim to leave the club and join Manchester United during the November international break. (Telegraph - subscription required)
United will pay compensation to enable a number of Amorim's backroom staff to join him at Old Trafford. (ESPN)
Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres, 26, and Danish midfielder Morten Hjulmand, 25, are unhappy with Amorim's decision to leave Sporting after rejecting offers to leave the club themselves in the summer. (Ojogo - in Portuguese)
But Gyokeres is likely to join Amorim at Manchester United if a deal can be agreed. (Football365)
Bayern Munich and Germany forward Jamal Musiala, 21, says he is happy at the Bundesliga club amid links to Manchester City. (Goal)
Liverpool have expressed an interest in 25-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt and Egypt forward Omar Marmoush. (Bild - in German)
Manchester United could rival Liverpool for Wolves' 23-year-old Algeria wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri. (GiveMeSport)
Brentford will demand £60m for Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo, 25, in the January transfer window amid interest from Arsenal. (Football Insider)
Steven Gerrard is facing the sack from his role as Al-Ettifaq manager after the Saudi club's poor form was compounded by a shock cup exit this week. (Sun)
A global sports investment group are understood to have made an offer for a 45% stake in Crystal Palace. (Mail)
Aston Villa are in talks with English forward Morgan Rogers, 22, over a new deal. (Athletic - subscription required)
Real Madrid are considering moving on 24-year-old France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. (Relevo - in Spanish)
Real Madrid are willing to either pay £84m for Enzo Fernandez or offer Chelsea Tchouameni as part of a deal to sign the 23-year-old Argentina midfielder. (Fichajes, via TeamTalk)
Barcelona are monitoring Rafael Leao's situation at AC Milan with a view to making a summer move for the 25-year-old Portugal winger. (Sport - in Spanish)
Liverpool have identified Bournemouth and Hungary defender Milos Kerkez, 20, as a candidate in their search for a new left-back. (TeamTalk)
Athletic Bilbao hope to agree a new deal with 22-year-old Spain winger Nico Williams amid interest from Barcelona. (Sport - in Spanish)
Getafe are eyeing a move for Tottenham's Spanish defender Sergio Reguilon, 27, who is out of contract in June 2025. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Erik ten Hag has travelled back to his hometown after being left "ruined" by his Manchester United sacking.
Steven Gerrard is fighting for his job in the Saudi Pro League.
Lucas Paqueta is set to miss West Ham's Premier League clash with Leicester in December after being summoned to appear in front of a betting investigation in the Brazilian parliament.
John Textor is in talks to sell his Crystal Palace stake for £230m.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
English stadium safety worries have been raised as the family of a fan who died following a fall at Southampton called in police after learning the club were allegedly warned for years to install handrails.
An international consortium advised by the veteran football financier Keith Harris is among three leading contenders for a 45 per cent non-controlling stake at Crystal Palace.
The Welsh Rugby Union has become embroiled in a fresh sexism scandal after threatening to withdraw its women's team from next year's World Cup if players did not sign new contracts.
THE GUARDIAN
Liverpool have revealed they shut down 100,000 fake ticketing accounts and issued 75 lifetime bans and 136 indefinite suspensions last season as part of a crackdown on ticket touting.
Nottingham Forest's owner, Evangelos Marinakis, is suing a Greek football rival for more than £2.1m in a high court libel claim over an alleged "smear campaign" including "false" allegations of match-fixing.
THE ATHLETIC
Aston Villa are in talks with Morgan Rogers over a contract extension.
DAILY MAIL
Real Madrid are reportedly open to selling midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who has fallen out of favour at the Bernabeu.
The Spanish giants also expect Xabi Alonso to take over as manager next summer in a move that will see Carlo Ancelotti handed a role in the club's hierarchy.
Manchester United reportedly asked high-profile pundits to stop praising Jadon Sancho during the winger's loan stint at Borussia Dortmund.
A global sports investment group are understood to have made an offer for a 45 per cent stake in Crystal Palace.
DAILY RECORD
Under-fire Rangers boss Philippe Clement will be left teetering on the brink of the sack if his side slip up at Hampden this weekend, according to former Ibrox star Billy Dodds.
SCOTTISH SUN
'Europe's most innovative coach', Malmo's Henrik Rydstrom, becomes a shock next Rangers manager favourite.
Kevin van Veen has appeared in court charged with conducting a three-year campaign of abuse against an ex-partner.
St Mirren's Jaden Brown, who drove while banned faces the prospect of being tagged if he doesn't stay out of trouble, a court has warned.
Football talk
West Ham preparing to submit bid to sign Jobe Bellingham
West Ham United are reportedly preparing to launch a formal proposal to sign Sunderland star Jobe Bellingham, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.
After joining the Black Cats from Birmingham City last year, the 19-year-old enjoyed a promising debut campaign in the Championship last term. Now, he has started the new season brilliantly, helping his side mount a top-two finish to gain promotion automatically.
Sunderland are currently at the top of the Championship with 29 points from 12 games, sitting five points ahead of third-placed Leeds United. The youngster is the younger brother of Real Madrid and England star, Jude Bellingham, and he is a midfielder like his elder brother.
Now, Fichajes states that West Ham have registered their interest in Bellingham having been impressed by his progress at the Stadium of Light in recent times.
The Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui believes that the 19-year-old has everything in his armoury to cope with the intensity of the Premier League so the East London club are preparing to submit a £21m offer to secure his signature.
Bellingham to West Ham
After appointing Lopetegui as the new manager to succeed David Moyes, West Ham were active in the last transfer window to reinforce the squad. They even signed Guido Rodriguez and Carlos Soler to strengthen the midfield.
However, the East London club endured a dire start to this season. They were even knocked out of the Carabao Cup after losing to Liverpool in the third round.
But, after earning seven points in the last four Premier League games, Lopetegui’s side have climbed up the table a bit and the pressure has eased from the Spanish boss’ shoulder.
West Ham would be hoping to continue adding reinforcements to the squad over the upcoming transfer windows to continue the rebuild under Lopetegui’s guidance.
Bellingham is comfortable playing anywhere across the middle of the park. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet, can play threading passes between the lines and also has the ability to chip-in with some important goals.
It is going to be interesting to see whether West Ham eventually decide to make a concrete approach to sign the Sunderland star next year to strengthen the midfield department.
The Athletic
Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham midfield has been struggling – why?
By Roshane Thomas
West Ham United have an unsettled midfield and Julen Lopetegui missing out on two of his prime transfer targets could offer an explanation.
In July, West Ham failed to sign Aleix Garcia, who joined Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen from Girona for €18million (£15.2m; $19.9m). Speaking on the Jijantes Twitch channel, Garcia said his priority was playing in the Champions League, something West Ham could not offer. It meant that Lopetegui missed out on an experienced player who could play as an attacking or defensive midfielder. Garcia, now 27, helped Girona seal a surprise third-placed finish in La Liga last season, scoring three goals and providing six assists in 37 league games.
That same month, a verbal offer of £15million ($19.3m) for midfielder N’Golo Kante was rejected by Al Ittihad. The Saudi Pro League side were looking for £25m, which West Ham deemed too high due to the 33-year-old’s lack of resale value. In August, after failed moves for Kante and Garcia, head coach Lopetegui brought in free transfer Guido Rodriguez, who signed a two-year deal from Real Betis. Former West Ham midfielder Pablo Fornals had advised the 30-year-old to join.
Lopetegui also signed midfielder Carlos Soler, who joined on a season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain. The 14-cap Spain international is versatile, an attribute Lopetegui and technical director Tim Steidten admired. The decision to sign Soler was only made in August, once James Ward-Prowse had been informed he was not part of Lopetegui’s plans. On deadline day, Ward-Prowse joined Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan.
But after nine league games, Lopetegui is yet to field a settled midfield pairing. Although Rodriguez has started every league match, he is still adjusting to life in a new country and has not made a significant impact. The nadir of his season was his withdrawal in the 38th minute in the 3-0 home loss to Chelsea in September.
Rodriguez’s loss of form was reflected in his absence from Argentina’s squad for the recent 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia, the first time he has missed an international camp since 2019.
West Ham’s other central midfield options are Lucas Paqueta, Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez and Andy Irving. Soler has been limited to cameo appearances and was ineffective in his first league start against Manchester United. Irving has only played 19 minutes of league football this season.
Lopetegui is still searching for his best starting XI and he has made the most half-time changes of any Premier League manager. He has favoured pairing Rodriguez and Soucek (five starts as a midfield duo) but they lack pace. Soucek is not known for his technical ability, but rather his penchant for crucial goals — take his equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Brentford. Last season, five of the Czech Republic international’s 10 goals were scored in the 82nd minute or later, including two stoppage-time strikes when the scores were level.
Those late goals help justify Soucek’s place in the team, but his lack of understanding with Rodriguez was exposed in the chastening 4-1 loss away to Tottenham Hotspur. Below, we see Soucek’s attempt to win the ball in a 50-50 battle with striker Dominic Solanke.
The forward pokes the ball to James Maddison, who is in acres of space. West Ham looking exposed in midfield has become a theme this season. There is a noticeable gap between the defence and midfield, leaving them vulnerable on the break.
Another concern is the gap between Rodriguez and Soucek, as Maddison advances unchallenged. Emerson Palmieri’s advanced position forces Rodriguez to cover for the left-back. Maddison finds Dejan Kulusevski, who cuts inside and fires his shot low into the right corner.
In the games against Liverpool and Chelsea, West Ham conceded straight after the restart. Their loss to Tottenham was no different. Spurs capitalised on Soucek and Rodriguez’s disjointed display. There is a gap between them as Soucek attempts to close down Pape Matar Sarr.
The space becomes bigger, with Rodriguez focusing on tracking Solanke’s run. Forward Michail Antonio is loosely marking Yves Bissouma.
But like Maddison’s advancing run, Bissouma is in acres of space before he slots his strike past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
West Ham could not deal with Tottenham’s counter-attacks. Positioning issues were a contributing factor, with the most noticeable coming just before the hour mark. When Sarr threads a pass to Tottenham captain Son Heung-min, he easily bypasses Soucek and Rodriguez.
As Son advances, Jean-Clair Todibo is isolated as the last defender. There is no cover from Soucek or Rodriguez, who have been taken out of the play with a single pass. Son subjects West Ham to further misery, making it 4-1.
The only game in which Soucek and Rodriguez seldom had issues was the victory over Ipswich Town but they have not managed a similar showing together against better opposition. Lopetegui fielded a defensive duo of Rodriguez and Alvarez in last Sunday’s 2-1 win over Manchester United.
This was an interesting selection, as Rodriguez and Alvarez played more than 70 games together at Mexican side Club America. While there, they won titles in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Their display against Manchester United was encouraging, with their pre-existing understanding evident, but they also struggled against Fulham and Chelsea. As a pairing, they haven’t found consistency.
Lopetegui is yet to field Alvarez and Soucek together, even though they played large parts of last season together.
For upcoming games against Nottingham Forest and Everton, Lopetegui needs to find a solution to their midfield. Of the many options, few have impressed.
