Wednesday news (includes West ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester United would consider selling England forward Marcus Rashford, 27, in the January transfer window. (Sky Sport Germany)

United were open to selling academy graduate Rashford last summer and are receptive to new bids. (Telegraph - subscription required)

The Red Devils could also be tempted to cash in on Lisandro Martinez if Real Madrid step up their interest in the Argentina defender, 26. (Talksport)

Arsenal are considering a January move for 24-year-old Serbia forward Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus. (TeamTalk)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has suggested they could try to strengthen in the January transfer window if their injury issues do not improve. (Times - subscription required)

Arteta has also ruled out 27-year-old Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus leaving the club in January. (Standard)

Netherlands centre-back Virgil van Dijk, 33, is willing to sign a new contract with Liverpool despite rejecting an initial offer. (Football Insider)

Newcastle United are tracking PSV Eindhoven's Belgium winger Johan Bakayoko, 21, before the January transfer window opens. (Telegraph - subscription required)

Barcelona might only register summer signing Dani Olmo to play in La Liga until 31 December, but the Spain forward, 26, would become a free agent if Barca do not register him again in January. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)

Arsenal are interested in recruiting Dan Ashworth as their new sporting director following his departure from Manchester United. (ESPN)

Liverpool's negotiations over a new deal with Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, 32, are progressing with the two parties getting closer over the structure of payments. (Sky Sports)

Marseille are considering a move for French midfielder Paul Pogba but have yet to hold talks with the 31-year-old, whose ban for a doping offence will end in March. (RMC Sport - in French)

AC Milan are open to letting captain Theo Hernandez leave the club but will demand a fee of about £41m for the 27-year-old France left-back. (Calciomercato - in Italian)

Chelsea will not consider letting 27-year-old English centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo leave on loan in January amid reported interest from West Ham. (Football Insider)

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, 32, is expected to leave Manchester United at the end of the season. (Fabrizio Romano)

Aston Villa are considering recalling Louie Barry, 21, from his loan at League One Stockport County to send the 14-goal English forward to a club at a higher level. (TeamTalk)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY MIRROR

Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has rejected the chance to manage Norwegian side Molde for the third time.

 Alan Shearer doubts Pep Guardiola's claim that he knew Cole Palmer was a star in the making.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's radical cost-cutting at Manchester United has included the staff's £100 Christmas bonus being replaced by a £40 voucher for Marks & Spencer.

Marcus Rashford is fighting to save his Manchester United career after Telegraph Sport learnt the club were open to selling him last summer and remain receptive to bids being made.

Todd Boehly, the American billionaire who co-owns Chelsea, has discussed a deal to invest in The Telegraph.

THE TIMES

Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero appeared to criticise the club's hierarchy for a lack of investment in the team after his side's 4-3 home defeat by Chelsea on Sunday.

DAILY EXPRESS

Manchester United would not rule out selling Lisandro Martinez if Real Madrid are willing to cough up for the defender, according to reports.

Pep Guardiola has admitted that taking some time away from football will do him 'good' despite only recently penning a new contract with Manchester City. The six-time Premier League-winning head coach says he will not manage another club team when he departs the reigning champions.

DAILY STAR

Manchester United might be ready to let Marcus Rashford go as soon as the January transfer window, having reportedly agreed that he is not off-limits for sale.

THE SUN

Millwall fans are calling on Jose Mourinho to keep his word after he jokingly suggested he would be keen to take over at The Den.

Arne Slot was furious with his Liverpool players - despite them continuing their perfect Champions League record.

THE GUARDIAN

Aston Villa are considering the future of their women's first-team manager Robert de Pauw.

Kieran Tierney is set to feature for Arsenal for the first time in more than 16 months after Mikel Arteta revealed he expected to be without several key defenders for Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Monaco.

Gary O'Neil will remain in charge for Wolves' match against Ipswich on Saturday, with the club determined to give him a chance to turn things around.

DAILY MAIL

Marc Cucurella's costly slips in Chelsea's London derby with Tottenham on Sunday look set to be a marketing disaster for Puma and their new £220 boots.

Former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal made a surprise appearance at an Ajax training session on Tuesday.

Barcelona could lose their £51m summer signing Dani Olmo for free in January, it has emerged.

SCOTTISH SUN

Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen have performed a huge U-turn and shelved plans for a new £80m stadium.

DAILY RECORD

Bullish Todd Cantwell insists he is "proud" of the transfer request that sparked his Rangers escape to Blackburn Rovers as he doubled down on his verdict on Philippe Clement.

Defiant Dinamo Zagreb boss Nenad Bjelica insisted only his side deserved to win their Champions League stalemate with Celtic.





Sport Witness

“I’m very happy here” – Longer West Ham stay looks on cards, player really enjoying Hammers life

Carlos Soler arrived at West Ham United in the summer transfer window on an initial loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain.

He was only a bit-part player at PSG, where the midfielder played less than 25 times in Ligue 1 in the 2023/24 season. Soler arrived at West Ham in search of more game time and after a slow start, he has started the last four games in the Premier League.

He featured in the Hammers’ 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday and after the victory, the Spain international spoke to AS about his time at the London club so far.

Speaking of his game time in the last few weeks, the 27-year-old said: “Obviously, a footballer always wants to play from the start, but I have had to be patient because there have been games in which I have played very little. I have now started four games in a row, four games as a starter. I knew that if they gave me the opportunity I have a lot of confidence in myself, and then in the games I try to give my best.”

Expressing further contentment, he said: “This situation has coincided with two wins and two losses. I don’t know if this is West Ham’s best moment of the season, but personally it is because I am starting to play from the start and that is what I wanted when I came here.”

He went on to state that he is very happy at West Ham and playing in the Premier League has always been a dream for him.

“I want to continue gaining confidence, playing games and minutes, which is what I like and makes me happy.”

“Living in a city like London is also magnificent. Imagine Paris, Valencia I won’t even tell you about. But I am very happy here, to be honest.”

After starting the last four league games, Soler will be keen to keep up the momentum.

The next step will be to get more involved in goals, especially considering he scored 11 times in each of his last two seasons at Valencia.



Football Talk

West Ham likely to pursue a January loan for Brighton’s Evan Ferguson

West Ham have been expected to land a new striker in January with goals proving hard to come by in the final third. Michail Antonio’s car accident, which consequently led to him having a surgery, will sideline him for a significant time and thus, the Hammers’ pursuit of a central forward has accelerated.

According to Football Insider, they are pondering over a loan move for Brighton & Hove Albion star Evan Ferguson. The Irishman is keen on departing the Amex Stadium for regular minutes and the Hammers are keen on providing him with the game time he desires, though there is expected to be competition from Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.

Ferguson was the cream of the crop among the younger Premier League strikers and had garnered interest from the likes of Chelsea, with Brighton also being bullish about his potential and slapping him with a £100 million price tag. It seems as though West Ham can sign the player at a superb bargain, albeit temporarily.
West Ham will be favourites for Ferguson

If Evan Ferguson ends up leaving Brighton on loan in January, the Seagulls as well as the player are likely to want a Premier League club to acquire him. That would rule Leeds United out of the equation. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest have Chris Wood leading their line and thus, Ferguson may not get consistent minutes under Nuno Espirito Santo.

At West Ham, however, there is a serious need for a centre forward with Niklas Fullkrug struggling with fitness, whereas Danny Ings has also been facing a goal drought. Ferguson would be a terrific new addition and help the Hammers find their feet for the second half of the season as they look to overcome an extremely poor few months since the campaign got underway.

It will be interesting to see if any club is keen on his permanent signing, however, in which case West Ham’s bid to land him on a loan could be at risk.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers..

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.