Saturday newspapers (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

"BBC Manchester United are weighing up a move for Sevilla and Morocco striker Youssef En-Nesyri, 26, because another target, Stuttgart's 27-year-old Guinea international Serhou Guirassy, prefers a switch to Tottenham. (Sun) Tottenham could offer Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 28, to Chelsea as part of a deal to sign their England international Conor Gallagher, 23. (Sky Sports) Aston Villa want Germany forward Timo Werner, 27, on loan from RB Leipzig as they look to strengthen their attacking options. (Football Insider) Chelsea have approached Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon about the possibility of signing their Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, 20, and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 25, in January. (Evening Standard) Arsenal are interested Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi but the 24-year-old Spain international is reluctant to switch clubs in January. (Football.London) Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is close to being appointed as the new boss of Turkish top-flight side Besiktas. (NTV Spor, via Goal) Manchester United and Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek, 26, will join Eintracht Frankfurt on loan in January and the deal includes an €11m (£9.5m) plus add-ons option to make the switch permanent. (Athletic - subscription required) Inter Milan are preparing an offer for Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley - a loan in January with an obligation to buy at the end of the season - but Aston Villa and West Ham are also keen on the 23-year-old England-born Denmark international. (Sky Sports) Sunderland midfielder Pierre Ekwah, 21, is attracting attention from Crystal Palace, Fulham and Nottingham Forest, but the Black Cats are keen to keep the Frenchman as they target the Championship play-offs. (Evening Standard) Luton Town are considering cutting short the season-long loan of Arsenal and Belgium midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, 24, in order to reinforce other positions. (Teamtalk) European Super League organisers are still hopeful of persuading Premier League clubs to sign up to their new proposals despite several sides publicly distancing themselves from the latest plans. (The i) Everton are considering a move for Burnley's 28-year-old English midfielder Josh Brownhill in January. (Football Transfers) Fulham have agreed a deal with Fluminense for midfielder Andre and it is now up to the 22-year-old Brazil international to decide whether he wants to move to Craven Cottage. (Football Insider) Sevilla are considering a January loan move for Bournemouth's Ivory Coast midfielder Hamed Traore, 23. (AS - in Spanish) Sky Paper Talk THE SUN Manchester United are tracking Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri as a possible January signing after learning Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy would prefer a move to Tottenham. Cristiano Ronaldo's plans for a luxury £27m hotel in Manchester have been left in ruins after his planning permission was allowed to expire, leaving the Grade II listed building derelict. Eric Bailly could be handed an escape route from his Besiktas nightmare as he is being linked with a return to Villarreal. Man Utd side are tracking Moroccan striker Youssef En-Nesyri, as target Serhou Guirassy has his eye on a move to rivals Tottenham. Chloe Kelly showed off her glittering diamond ring after getting engaged under Northern Lights. Gareth Southgate has also shown great management off the pitch - with his property company adding £2.5million of assets in a year. EVENING STANDARD Chelsea have contacted Sporting Lisbon about signing defender Ousmane Diomande and striker Viktor Gyokeres but have been told a double deal will cost them £156m. DAILY MIRROR Napoli are close to agreeing a 12-month contract extension with striker Victor Osimhen which will include a £112m buyout clause to try and fend off Premier League interest. Injured Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he will be back in training early in the New Year after a hamstring issue curtailed a promising first season in the Premier League. Liverpool have PSV winger Johan Bakayoko on their list of transfer targets ahead of the January window. Luton could be about to cut short Albert Sambi Lokonga's loan. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is prepared to sanction Jean-Clair Todibo's move from Nice to Tottenham, despite interest from Man Utd in the defender. Roma have enquired about the possibility of signing Trevoh Chalobah from Chelsea in January. DAILY TELEGRAPH Lasse Lempainen, the surgeon who operated on Chelsea defender Reece James' hamstring, is convinced he will be in top shape by the time Euro 2024 gets under way in Germany this summer. Saudi Arabia is set to rule out a LIV Golf-style financial backing for any European Super League despite monitoring the project closely when it was first mooted in 2021. Justin Kluivert has admitted he had flashbacks to what happened to close friend Abdelhak Nouri, who was left in a coma for a year and emerged with limited cognitive ability after waking up, when Luton skipper Tom Lockyer collapsed during their game with Bournemouth last weekend. England are set to bring in West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard as a consultant coach for the Twenty20 World Cup, which is being co-hosted in the Caribbean and United States. Clubs in rugby union's Championship have firmly rejected RFU plans for a ""Premiership 2"" competition saying they are not interested in a league which ""follows a franchise or selection-based model"". DAILY MAIL Games in the FA Cup third round being played at Premier League grounds will have a third VAR official - a Support VAR - joining the officiating team rather than the usual two. Crystal Palace's head of sports medicine Zafar Iqbal is leaving the club at the end of the season to join Premier League rivals Arsenal. TALKSPORT Bournemouth are remaining strong in their stance striker Dominic Solanke will stay at the club in the long-term. THE ATHLETIC Scouts working for then Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer valued winger Antony at only £25m months before his arrival at the club for £85m. DAILY EXPRESS Manchester United are willing to pay Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo more than seven times what he is earning in Spain to secure his signature in January. DAILY RECORD Celtic are reported to have an interest in Ipswich Town's former St Mirren goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky but his agent says their focus is firmly on helping his club into the Premier League. Lee McCulloch has urged Rangers to go all out in January for Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland to boost their Scottish Premiership title bid. TeamTalk West Ham incredibly overtake Bayern Munich in race for Bundesliga star thanks to one crucial factor West Ham United are one of the main suitors for a Bayer Leverkusen star, having surprisingly moved past Bayern Munich in the chase for him, according to reports emerging from Germany. West Ham are prioritising a striker signing in the January transfer window, with David Moyes clearly lacking suitable players in the position. Michail Antonio has been out since late November with a knee problem, forcing Moyes to use winger Jarrod Bowen up front. The Scot does not feel Danny Ings is the right profile to start every game for him, while teenager Divin Mubama lacks the experience needed to score regular goals in the Premier League. Bowen has done brilliantly at centre-forward, having registered five goals and three assists in 10 appearances while operating as West Ham’s main focal point in attack. But West Ham must sign a new striker if they are to continue on their upward trajectory, and Stuttgart goal machine Serhou Guirassy is one concrete target. But attack is not the only area West Ham look set to bolster next month. When discussing their transfer plans recently, Fabrizio Romano revealed that club chiefs are hoping for a big transfer window involving several new arrivals. And that could see a centre-back move to the London Stadium in addition to Guirassy. The player in question is Jonathan Tah, who has been on Leverkusen’s books since July 2015. According to German sources Bild and Fussball Transfers (via Sport Witness), West Ham and Bayern have both expressed an interest in Tah’s capture. Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel wants a new centre-half to arrive at the Allianz Arena this winter, and this has seen him land on the 27-year-old as a target. Indeed, Tuchel has ‘taken a closer look’ at Tah by watching some of his recent performances. West Ham in strong position to land Jonathan Tah While West Ham would normally struggle to convince a player to join them over Bayern, given how often the German giants win major trophies, that is not the case here. The reports suggest that Tah is unlikely to sign for Bayern, as he is instead pushing to move to England. The Premier League has always been his ‘dream destination’, and he could well fulfil that desire in January. West Ham are hoping to benefit from the player’s stance, having ‘put the feelers out’ over a possible transfer. It would make a lot of sense for the Irons to begin negotiations in January rather than the summer, too. As part of the German’s contract, he has an €18million (£15.6m) release clause. Although, that only becomes active in the summer. As such, it may make sense for West Ham to try and sign him before then, so they can try and negotiate a lower price. Signing Tah would add plenty of experience to the West Ham backline. He has represented Leverkusen, Hamburger and Fortuna Dusseldorf in the Bundesliga, while also representing the German national team on 21 occasions."

[mallard]

TAH Alan