Friday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Borussia Dortmund have joined AC Milan in wanting to sign Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford, 27. (Florian Plettenberg, Sky Germany)  

AC Milan could move for Chelsea's 25-year-old Portugal forward Joao Felix as an alternative to Rashford. (Gazzetta - in Italian)

Everton are considering a move for former Chelsea and Brazil attacker Willian, 36, who is a free agent after leaving Olympiakos in December. (Telegraph - subscription required)

Manchester City would have to pay £67m for Juventus and Italy defender Andrea Cambiaso, 24, in the January transfer window. (Gianluca di Marzio - in Italian)  

Arsenal have agreed personal terms and a huge wage increase with 25-year-old Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi. (Football Transfers)  

West Ham and Tottenham are interested in signing Barcelona and Spain forward Ansu Fati, 22. (Sport - in Spanish)

Real Madrid are keen to sign 23-year-old Arsenal and France centre-back William Saliba in the summer. (Foot Mercato - in Spanish)  

Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal have reopened negotiations with the representatives of Liverpool and Egypt attacker Mohamed Salah. (L'Equipe)

West Ham are considering a move for 27-year-old Nottingham Forest and Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi. (Florian Plettenberg, Sky Germany)

Forest will target Brentford and DR Congo striker Yoane Wissa if Awoniyi leaves the club this month. (Telegraph)

Dortmund are interested in Brentford and Germany winger Kevin Schade, 23. (Bild - subscription required)

Atlanta United have offered £15m for Crystal Palace's French attacker Odsonne Edouard, currently on loan at Leicester City. (Mail)

Chelsea are in talks with Borussia Dortmund to sign 22-year-old Germany forward Karim Adeyemi this summer. (Bild, via Christian Falk)

Manchester United will move for Wolves' 23-year-old Algeria defender Rayan Ait-Nouri if their Netherlands defender Tyrell Malacia, 25, moves to Juventus. (Caught Offside)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY MIRROR

Manchester United have rejected a £40m offer from Napoli for Alejandro Garnacho.

Marcus Rashford has issued a strong statement after being notified that a tabloid newspaper was set to produce photos of the Manchester United star alongside a controversial rapper.

Al Hilal have entered talks with Mohamed Salah's representatives as they prepare an offer for the Liverpool star.

Sky Germany report Alphonso Davies has made new demands in negotiations over his contract with Bayern Munich.

Thomas Frank has shut down Arsenal's chances of signing Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo.

Chelsea's move for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi this month has failed to materialise due to concerns over how much a deal would cost.

Benjamin Sesko's agent has spoken out on the future of his client, indicating that he expects the Slovenian striker to remain at RB Leipzig this month.

Arsenal are reportedly ready to splash the cash on Viktor Gyokeres this month, with Mikel Arteta admitting the Gunners are "actively looking" to strengthen their squad.

DAILY MAIL

Celtic and Lens have made offers for Aston Villa striker Louie Barry but he looks likely to stay.

Real Madrid are already drafting next season's line-up and have reportedly made contact with Arsenal star William Saliba's representatives.

Tyson Fury's latest retirement will need to end within the next month if a summer fight with Anthony Joshua is to be salvaged, according to Eddie Hearn.

Louis Rees-Zammit's NFL contract with Jacksonville Jaguars has expired, leaving the former Wales rugby prodigy without a team.

Celtic have drafted former Tottenham manager David Pleat into their English scouting set-up.

 THE TIMES

Brentford forward Yoane Wissa is Nottingham Forest's main target if they decide to strengthen their squad this month.

The RFU has employed the help of a crisis management company at the cost of £5,000 a day to help it survive the reputational damage of its pay and bonus crisis.

Football, rugby and cricket are planning to surrender control of their drug-testing programmes to UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) as part of a radical overhaul of the system in this country.

THE SUN

Anthony Joshua is being lined up for a shock showdown with long-time rival Deontay Wilder following Tyson Fury's retirement.

Chelsea hope to finally lure 'Liverpool target' Karim Adeyemi to Stamford Bridge.

Rory McIlroy ticked off a "bucket list" experience by joining Borussia Dortmund's famous Yellow Wall - before hitting a bit of a brick wall at the Desert Classic.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Tony Mowbray is in line for an emotional return to West Bromwich Albion.

Everton are one of the clubs who have been offered Willian, the former Chelsea midfielder, who is now a free agent.

Wayne Barnes has launched a blistering attack on his own referees union as the Rugby Football Union bonuses scandal threatens to further plunge the sport into civil war.

THE ATHLETIC

Johannes Spors will become Southampton's new technical director and support Sport Republic on football matters, subject to being granted a work permit.

Pam Shriver's Grand Slam trophies were stolen during the LA wildfire evacuation.

THE STANDARD

West Ham are prepared to sell summer signing Luis Guilherme. The teenage forward only arrived at the club seven months ago following a move worth up to £26m from Palmeiras.

THE GUARDIAN

Everton's attempt to cut short Armando Broja's loan has hit ­complications with Chelsea ­wanting compensation to take the striker back.

DAILY RECORD

Celtic are reportedly showing an interest in Lille striker Mohamed Bayo this month.

Hibernian have reportedly tabled a bid worth around £720,000 for Finnish teenage star Matias Siltanen.

THE SCOTTISH SUN

Rangers have made the shock decision to scrap their B-team. Ibrox technical director Nils Koppen has been looking at the pathway for the club's rising stars.

Cyriel Dessers revealed his Rangers career could be over this month after losing his place to strike sensation Hamza Igamane.



Guardian Rumour mill

Michael Butler

The problem with selling a superstar winger for £70m is that everyone knows that you have £70m to spend. Napoli may have sent Khvicha Kvaratskhelia out of the door, with the Georgian coughing for the PSG doctors today before his big-money move, but now the Italian side have a Kvaratskhelia-shaped hole on the left side of their attack and a lot of money to spend.

Antonio Conte, Napoli’s manager, wants Alejandro Garnacho with Manchester United now rejecting an offer of £40m for the 20-year-old. The deal looks increasingly difficult, given the Argentinian played 90 minutes in United’s win over Southampton on Thursday, unless Napoli decide to up their offer from the spare £30m they have knocking about. “[Garnacho] has talent,” said Ruben Amorim after United’s 3-1 victory. “I think he changed the way he sees himself. He’s finding the best way to play in this system and is improving during training.”

Kvaratskhelia, for what it’s worth, issued a statement overnight, which should be read in the context of him trying to force a move away from Naples. “It’s truly difficult for me, but it’s time to say goodbye,” he sobbed. “I felt great here. We shared beautiful moments and thrilling experiences. This has been my home. My hope is to meet again. I know you are heartbroken now, but I’ll tell you everything one day.” How enticingly cryptic!

Speaking of young left wingers, former prodigy Ansu Fati can’t get in the Barcelona squad after returning from an underwhelming loan spell at Brighton last season. That hasn’t put off West Ham or Tottenham, who are in need of attacking reinforcement.

Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush will soon cross the Ts and dot the Is on his deal to join Manchester City, but that hasn’t stopped the English club giving Erling Haaland a new whopping nine-and-a-half-year contract. Crucially, City have removed a release clause and all they had to do was give Haaland one of the most lucrative contracts in sporting history, with the Norwegian set to earn half-a-million pounds a week as a basic wage.

Bad news for Brentford. Their excellent goalscoring form – only Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have scored more in the league – has meant there are a host of clubs sniffing around their forward line. Newcastle are hoping to nip in ahead of Arsenal to snaffle Bryan Mbeumo, Borussia Dortmund like the cut of Kevin Schade’s jib, while Nottingham Forest are eyeing Yoane Wissa but only if their own striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, leaves for West Ham.

Everton are interested in Lyon’s Ernest Nuamah, with the French club demanding £25m for the right winger. That might mean Everton pursue a loan deal with an option to buy, with David Moyes historically quite keen on that sort of deal: think Joseph Yobo to Everton (2002) or both Saïd Benrahma and Thomas Soucek to West Ham (2020).

And in touchline transfer news, another former Manchester United manager is set to join the Turkish Süper Lig, with Ole Gunnar Solksjær joining Besiktas on an 18-month deal. But leaving Turkey is Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha, who has agreed to go to MLS on loan, joining Charlotte FC.




The Athletic

West Ham have no plans to lose players in January – Graham Potter

By Roshane Thomas

West Ham United head coach Graham Potter says he does not expect to lose any of his players during the January transfer window.

Potter was confirmed as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement last Thursday and sealed his first league win against Fulham. West Ham are in the market for a forward and midfielder but additions to the squad will not be contingent on departures.

Luis Guilherme, 18, has been linked with a move to a Saudi Pro League club. The attacker, who joined for £25million from Palmeiras last summer, has played 43 minutes this season. Midfielder Edson Alvarez has been linked with a switch to French side Monaco but remains an important member of the squad.

“He (Guilherme) is in the squad,” Potter said in Thursday’s press conference. “He’s training every day and he’s another one that we’re trying to understand more and find out about and to help. I have no plans to lose anybody, but again, because it’s the window and because things can happen, and it’s because it’s football, you never know with any of the players, is the reality.

“But my focus is on helping, supporting and understanding them and trying to work out how we can get them to be themselves and play for West Ham. I think with every young player, you’ve got to strike the balance between training and playing because it’s not rocket science. Players get better when they play football and play football in a competitive situation.”

Guilherme previously featured for Mark Robson’s under-21s in September. The winger scored in the 2-2 draw against Benfica B but has struggled to force his way into the starting XI.

“At the same time, he’s settling in from another country,” said Potter. “It’s a big move and he’s understanding the club, the language, the culture and everything else. So it’s finding a balance. It doesn’t necessarily happen overnight.”

West Ham, 12th in the table after Tuesday’s win over Fulham, return to action at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

[twoleftfeet]

Thanks Alan.

I hope the Ansu Fati story isn't real, he was crap at Brighton.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.