Friday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

The representatives of England winger Raheem Sterling, 31, who left Chelsea by mutual consent earlier this week, are in talks with seven Champions League level clubs who want to sign him. (Sky Sports), external

Tottenham are seriously considering signing Sterling, who is now a free agent, and manager Thomas Frank is "on board" with the move. (Teamtalk), external

Burnley, along with Italian Serie A sides Juventus and Napoli, are also interested in Sterling. (Mail), external

Manchester United will not be signing Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer, 23, this summer, as bosses know the England international is out of the club's price range. (Mirror), external

Chelsea are planning on spending 150m euros (£129m) on Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, 22, this summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Ajax are set to sign Ukraine midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko, 29, who is on loan at Nottingham Forest from Arsenal, on a permanent deal for about 1.5m euros (£1.3m), plus add-ons dependant on the Dutch side qualifying for the Champions League. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is on Real Madrid's shortlist to become their new manager this summer. (Sky Germany), external

Chelsea remain in talks with Rennes to sign 20-year-old French centre-back Jeremy Jacquet before the January transfer window closes. (Givemesport), external

Real Madrid want to sign Manchester United and Portugal full-back Diogo Dalot, 26, because of their defensive weaknesses. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Manchester City have agreed a deal to send 17-year-old English defender Stephen Mfuni on loan to Watford until the end of the season. (Fabrizio Romano)





Sky Paper Talk

PREMIER LEAGUE

Tottenham are exploring a move for former Aston Villa winger Moussa Diaby as they look to boost their attacking options before the January transfer deadline - The Independent

Tottenham Hotspur are one of a number of clubs weighing up the availability of Raheem Sterling as a free agent - Daily Mail

Arsenal are exploring a possible summer move for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez - Daily Mail

Axel Disasi is close to joining West Ham on loan from Chelsea - Fabrizio Romano

Newcastle are still hopeful of signing a defender during the final days of the window - Daily Mail

Nottingham Forest have had further offers turned down for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta - Daily Mail

Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is set to fly to Amsterdam to join Ajax on a permanent deal - Fabrizio Romano

The FA has written to Crystal Palace and Macclesfield to stop the Premier League side from handing their share of FA Cup gate receipts to the non-League club - The Times

Werder Bremen have approached Hjalmar Ekdal from Burnley over a potential transfer - Fabrizio Romano




Guardian Rumour mill

Dominic Booth

The January transfer window is about to close (surely it cannot slam shut with the same melodrama as its summer counterpart) and, as always, certain clubs are getting a little twitchy as the deadline looms. A fine example is Raheem Sterling who has not kicked a competitive football in eight months yet somehow finds himself on more wishlists than a Tamagotchi in the late nineties.

Seven “Champions League level” clubs are said to be keen on Sterling – now a free agent after he and Chelsea went their separate ways – most notably Tottenham, whose manager Thomas Frank is ‘on board’ with the idea of signing the 31-year-old. Heaven knows Frank needs a boost from somewhere. Having represented Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in a frankly remarkable career to date, a move to Spurs would leave Raheem with just one more to complete the big six set. Old Trafford in 2028, here we come. Napoli, Juventus and Burnley are also linked with Sterling, Champions League level clubs all.

Speaking of Spurs and Serie A sides, Radu Dragusin is wanted by a cohort of Italian clubs with Napoli leading that particular race, while Randal Kolo Muani – he of no Premier League goals this season – is coveted by Juventus despite being on loan at Tottenham from Paris Saint-Germain.

Talk of Manchester United signing a midfielder has gone unnervingly quiet in the past few days, with Rúben Neves likely to remain with Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. Wolves metronome João Gomes is the latest name to be mentioned in dispatches but it is looking increasing like United will wait until the summer before overhauling their engine room.

As Oleksandr Zinchenko bids farewell to the Emirates to join Ajax, former Arsenal youngster Brooke Norton-Cuffy is on the brink of a surprise move from Genoa to Inter. The Nerazzurri’s preference had been to re-sign Ivan Perisic, but PSV said no. The next logical step having missed out on a player who turns 37 on deadline day is naturally to get a 22-year-old former Lincoln loanee.

Barnsley winger Reyes Cleary is on the radar of many Championship clubs after a breakout season in League One (he was in the National League just last year) and Sheffield United are now favourites for his signature. Their city rivals Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, are braced to land Jerry Yates on loan from Luton.

Plenty of clubs have seemingly given up the ghost on the notoriously tricky January window and are already plotting their summer swoops. In totally-feasible transfer news, Chelsea want Jude Bellingham, Arsenal and Liverpool are chasing Eduardo Camavinga and Real Madrid, in this scenario having been gutted and stripped of their best assets, are targeting … Diogo Dalot.





Mail

Disasi nears London switch-up

Chelsea are considering whether to sanction a loan move for Axel Disasi rather than a permanent sale, with West Ham among those to have declared their interest in temporarily taking the central defender.

Talks are continuing between the two Premier League clubs over finding a solution, it is understood. While he has been welcomed back into first-team training at Cobham, Disasi is available to suitors before Monday’s deadline day.

West Ham have held an interest in Disasi ever since he was impressing at Monaco, the Ligue 1 side who sold him to Chelsea in 2023 for £38.8million.

The Hammers were also sniffing around Disasi last summer when they, along with Crystal Palace, Monaco and Marseille, enquired on the 27-year-old Frenchman after Chelsea let it know that he was surplus to requirements.

However, the figures involved meant Disasi, who is believed to earn slightly more than £100,000 per week, never secured a switch before the end of that window.

He stayed at Chelsea, where he trained separately from Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad, along with Raheem Sterling.

Like Sterling, whose lucrative contract was ripped up this week to end his exile, Disasi is now keen to get back to playing competitive football after too long spent on the sidelines.

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.

[Heavi995]

Cheers Alan