Thursday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Liverpool and Newcastle are interested in 25-year-old Brentford and Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo. (Sun), external

Manchester City are the favourites to land Bayer Leverkusen's 21-year-old midfielder Florian Wirtz, with Real Madrid and Liverpool set to miss out on the Germany international. (Caught Offside), external

Santos left-back Joao Victor de Souza, 18, has emerged as a target for Chelsea but the Premier League club will face competition from Barcelona for the Brazilian. (AS - in Spanish), external

Sporting and Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, 20, has spoken with Manchester United's Ruben Amorim about reuniting with his former manager at Old Trafford. (Metro), external

Agent Jorge Mendes is trying to secure a major move for 17-year-old Sporting and Portugal U21s winger Geovany Quenda, with Manchester United a possible destination. (Teamtalk), external

Rosenborg's Norwegian midfielder Sverre Nypan, 17, will not join Manchester United unless he is given assurances over first-team football. (Give Me Sport), external

Former Manchester United interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy is keen to stay in the Premier League amid potential managerial opportunities at Southampton, Wolves and Crystal Palace. (Football Insider), external

West Ham are open to selling summer signing Guido Rodriguez, 30, in January, with a return to former club Real Betis on the cards for the Argentina midfielder. (Estadio Deportivo - in Spanish), external

Liverpool are likely to have a bid of £17m rejected for French midfielder Rayan Cherki, 21, with Lyon holding out for £29m. (TBR), external

Southampton, Brighton and Ipswich are considering a move for Vasco de Gama's Brazilian forward Rayan, 18, in January. (Give Me Sport), external

Nottingham Forest will demand in excess of £70m for Brazilian defender Murillo, who is wanted by Liverpool. (Football Insider), external

Manchester City are set to battle it out with Paris St-Germain and Juventus for 25-year-old Atalanta and Brazil midfielder Ederson. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Besiktas are hoping to sign Italy midfielder Jorginho, 32, on a free when his contract with Arsenal expires in the summer. (Sabah - in Turkish), external

West Ham, Brighton and Fulham are keeping tabs on English midfielder Josh Brownhill, 28, who is yet to sign a new deal with Burnley. (TBR)





Sky Paper Talk

THE SUN

Angel Gomes remains a major target for Manchester United under new boss Ruben Amorim as he is a long-time admirer of the midfielder.

England are set to be among the top seeds for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers after securing their return to Nations League A.

John Terry has revealed the moment that "broke" him three days after his infamous slip in the 2008 Champions League final.

 Manchester City are set to offer Erling Haaland a huge £100m package to persuade him to stay after Pep Guardiola's new deal.

Ruben Amorim was stunned by the size of the job on his hands after the first training sessions with Manchester United this week.

Regis Le Bris revealed Arsene Wenger's early work inspired him to become a boss.

Real Madrid are reportedly being sued for more than £13m over the flagship VIP hospitality suite at the Bernabeu.

Arsenal are plotting a January swoop for Real Madrid star Arda Guler, according to reports in Spain.

THE GUARDIAN

Pep Guardiola's new one-year contract with Manchester City does not contain a break clause should the club be relegated from the Premier League if found guilty of financial wrongdoing by an independent commission.

Julen Lopetegui is facing two make-or-break games at West Ham, who have used the international break to explore potential replacements.

Juan Mata has followed David Beckham in becoming the owner of an MLS team after he announced he was joining the investment group of San Diego FC.

Kosovo are preparing an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after UEFA handed them a 3-0 defeat for walking off the field during Friday's Nations League tie against Romania in Bucharest, which was eventually abandoned when they elected not to return.

LeBron James says he is taking a break from social media.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Wolves are looking to prioritise the signing of a new centre-back in the January transfer window to fix their leaky defence.

Thomas Tuchel has been given a boost before officially starting as England manager after Henrique Hilario handed in his resignation at Chelsea to become his goalkeeping coach.

The severity of Rodrigo Bentancur's ban and the process behind the decision has shocked Tottenham's rivals who feel the north Londoners have been made an example of.

Nassef Sawiris, the Aston Villa owner, says he is joining Manchester City in voting against associated-party transaction proposals because the "embattled" Premier League needs a "fresh start".

The Rugby Football Union is set to make a record loss which could approach £40m when its end-of-year accounts are published in the next month.

Warren Gatland has dismissed speculation of a break clause in his contract as Welsh rugby faces a bill in excess of £1m in the event he is sacked.

DAILY MAIL

Liverpool are reportedly set to enter a summer transfer battle with Newcastle United over one of the Premier League's current top scorers, Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo.
Manchester City have launched an ambitious project to move into children's television programmes.

Wrexham's Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are set to spend big once again in January, according to a club director.

Barcelona have confirmed the club will continue to play matches away from the Camp Nou until the new year, citing a UEFA rule as a key reason.

Xabi Alonso will decide on his Bayer Leverkusen future in March, according to a report.

Jack Draper will spend a week of his pre-season training camp with Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

THE TIMES

The vote on sponsorship rules that are central to the legal dispute between Manchester City and the Premier League is thought to be on a knife edge, with senior figures frantically lobbying before a meeting on Friday.

Jofra Archer is now expected to play in the Indian Premier League next year despite the ECB's attempts to prevent him from taking part in this weekend's player auction, renewing concerns over his workload and how prepared he will be for the next Ashes series.

England are working to improve Tom Curry's tackle technique to lower his risk of concussion.

DAILY MIRROR

Viktor Gyokeres has been advised to snub Manchester United for Arsenal.

Manchester United have the highest net spend of any club in the world over the past 10 years - but have just five major trophies to show for it.

Liverpool have included Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk in their official calendar for 2025 - but all three appear only in the opening four months of the year as doubts grow around their futures at Anfield.

Steve Holland is poised to step out of Gareth Southgate's orbit and take the job as manager of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos.

THE ATHLETIC

Newcastle United are "seriously" considering building a new stadium "that wouldn't be far away", alongside further exploring a potential renovation of St James' Park, according to the club's chief operating officer.

Italian club Piacenza sacked two head coaches on Tuesday, with Simone Bentivoglio hired and fired on the same day.

THE INDEPENDENT

Professional football is failing to apply required safety standards and so is violating legal frameworks at both European and global level, a report says.

DAILY RECORD

Hearts have officially struck a deal with the analytics firm behind English Premier League outfit Brighton's success.

Rangers legend Ian Durrant reckons John Souttar would be the perfect pick to take over as Ibrox skipper once James Tavernier hangs up his armband.

Crisis-hit Dumbarton have turned to an online fundraiser in a bid to ensure players and staff get paid this month.

SCOTTISH SUN

Former Rangers winger Ryan Kent has been tipped to make a stunning move to Ajax.

Celtic made a request to the Honduran FA to limit the minutes of Luis Palma because of concerns over their pitch in their international break, according to local reports.

Celtic and Rangers reps were joined by scouts from Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa to watch Motherwell's Lennon Miller in Scotland's U19s match against France this week.



TBR

£17m striker opens door to West Ham or Newcastle with Premier League switch a ‘priority’

Dan Owen

Not for the first time, West Ham United are pursuing a centre-forward they tried and failed to bring to the Premier League back in 2023.

And they are not alone, either, in keeping tabs on the in-form striker.

TBR understands that Everton, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United are chasing Yuri Alberto too, alongside a Brentford outfit who are yet to field record signing Igor Thiago during an injury hit first few months in West London.

But while long-time admirers West Ham may have had their fingers burned before – Corinthians’ president confirmed that he rejected a £14 million bid from The Hammers in the summer of 2023 – Yuri Alberto is throwing open the doors for Julen Lopetegui’s struggling side to finally get their man some 18 months later.

The £17 million-rated Alberto got cold feet regarding a move to Southampton before the September deadline.

But with the Brazil international admits that he is open to leaving Corinthians in the New Year, Alberto’s latest comments on a potential transfer will be music to West Ham’s ears.

Yuri Alberto opens door to Newcastle United or West Ham transfer

Alberto spent a brief period in Russia with Zenit St Petersburg during the 2022/23 season.

And, speaking to the media this week, the 23-year-old admits that he is keen on a second stab at life in Europe, with the Premier League his top ‘priority’.

“I have a big dream of playing in Europe,” Alberto says. “I stayed at Zenit and ended up coming back because I couldn’t compete in European tournaments due to the war. I am very happy here at Corinthians but, if an opportunity arises that benefits both Corinthians and myself, I am open to [leaving].

“My priority is England. I really like it there.”

Yuri Alberto has scored 27 goals in all competitions during the calendar year, while netting in six successive Brazilian Serie A matches.

The former Internacional youngster has almost single-handedly dragged Corinthians away from the relegation zone, with only a few weeks remaining in the 2024 campaign.

Fabinho Soldado, a director at Corinthians, is determined to retain Alberto’s services, however, even if his contract has just two years remaining.

“Our intention is to keep the entire squad,” Soldado tells reporters. “It is premature for me to talk about arrivals and departures. I hope to count on all the players in the squad.

“[But] of course, if an important proposal comes in, the club also needs to sit down and listen.”

West Ham and Everton have struggled for goals in the Premier League

While West Ham have found goals hard to come by during an injury-hit debut season for Niclas Fullkrug, Everton are also in the market for a number nine with neither Dominic Calvert-Lewin nor Beto looking like reliable centre-forwards at Premier League level.

Nottingham Forest do have one of the division’s most in-form frontmen in Chris Wood, however. Newcastle, meanwhile, remain reliant on Alexander Isak due to Callum Wilson’s injury issues.

“I’ve decided over the last few months that I’m going to take it one day at a time,” Alberto said recently. “I’m very happy here but, if an offer comes along that’s positive for me and Corinthians and we can reach an agreement for the sale to happen, great.

“If not, I’m happy too. I have a dream and I believe that the longer I stay here, the more mature I’ll be to be able to live in the best way possible.”




Sport Witness

Club will still have to pay €10m to sacked manager even if West Ham appoint him – Won’t impact compensation

Julen Lopetegui arrived at West Ham United in the summer and his future at the London club is already uncertain, after their poor start to this season.

West Ham secured their first league win of the season against Crystal Palace in August and since then, they picked up nine points from nine league games and were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Liverpool.

Recent claims in the English press have talked about the possibility of West Ham replacing their manager, depending on their results against Newcastle United and Arsenal. Roger Schmidt has been named as one of the candidates for the job.

These claims have reached the Portuguese press and more specifically O Jogo, who share their input on the German.

Schmidt was in charge of Benfica for more than two years and they showed him the exit door on August 31st, replacing him with Bruno Lage.

If West Ham were to appoint Schmidt as their new manager, O Jogo state Benfica will still have to pay him €10m as compensation. This won’t be impacted even if he were to move to a new club.

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