Thursday newspapers (includes West Ham)
Posted: 05 Oct 2023, 11:18
"BBC Manchester United and Manchester City will compete for the signing of Brighton's 26-year-old Japan winger Kaoru Mitoma in January. (Fichajes - in Spanish) But both Manchester clubs could miss out with Mitoma set to sign a new long-term contract with the Seagulls. (London World) Erik ten Hag's position as Manchester United manager is secure for the foreseeable future, despite the club's poor start to the season. (Guardian) Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg wants to leave Tottenham if the club cannot guarantee him first-team football, with Juventus interested in the 28-year-old. (Gazzetta, in Italian - subscription required) Chelsea want to sign New York Red Bulls' 15-year-old American winger Julian Hall, but face competition from Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich for the highly rated prospect. (Standard) Bayern Munich are set to offer 22-year-old Canada full-back Alphonso Davies a new contract to fend off interest from Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid. (90min) Bayern winger Leroy Sane could leave the club next summer, with Barcelona and Real Madrid likely destinations for the 27-year-old Germany forward. (Bild - in German) West Ham are among several clubs who are interested in signing England midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, 23, if he leaves Arsenal. (Football Insider) Fiorentina are set to offer Italy Under-19 defender Michael Kayode a new contract with Arsenal showing interest in the 19-year-old. (Calciomercato - in Italian) Chelsea are keeping a close eye on Brazil midfielder Andrey Santos' situation at Nottingham Forest and could recall the 19-year-old from his loan spell if he does not secure regular first-team football. (Athletic - subscription required) Barcelona wanted to sign Santos and are monitoring his situation. (Sport - in Spanish) Athletic Club's Spain midfielder Nico Williams is close to agreeing a new contract, ending Brighton and Aston Villa's hopes of signing the 21-year-old. (Sport - in Spanish) Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are among a host of Premier League clubs interested in Feyenoord's 22-year-old Dutch midfielder Quinten Timber. (90min) England striker Ivan Toney is considering leaving Brentford in January, with Tottenham or Chelsea likely destinations for the 27-year-old. (Football Insider) Burnley are interested in Millwall's 18-year-old England Under-19s midfielder Romain Esse. (Teamtalk) Sky Paper Talk DAILY MAIL The PGMOL's review into Luis Diaz's disallowed goal is damning in its evaluation of VAR Darren England, stating that he rushed a routine situation by prioritising 'efficiency' over 'accuracy' before 'inexplicably' robbing Liverpool of their opener at Tottenham. Everton's prospective new owners 777Partners have been accused of missing another payment to the British Basketball League last week raising further concerns about the company seeking to take control at Goodison Park. The revolving door at Chelsea continues to turn - with a trio of major, off-field new faces announced to staff this afternoon. Lionel Messi has no intention of renewing his contract with Inter Miami and will leave the club in 2025 to head back to Newell's Old Boys, according to reports in Spain. Mark Wood is set to give England a huge boost by signing a three-year central contract and committing to next year's Test tour of India. DAILY TELEGRAPH Darren England, the official at the centre of the VAR controversy that has plunged English referees into crisis, will not take charge of further Liverpool games this season but will not be sacked. Erik ten Hag insisted he has the backing of the Manchester United board to turn around their season after defeat to Galatasaray saw the club fall further into crisis. The VAR operator who can be heard on PGMOL's audio feed trying to stop the calamitous mistake that saw Luis Diaz's goal disallowed on Saturday is a Dutch graduate who would ordinarily not even speak during conversations between on-field officials and those in the VAR suite. DAILY MIRROR The Premier League cannot press ahead with plans to implement an automated offside system because of its contract with Nike. Shamed Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales continued to plead his innocence in Spain's National Court amid the ongoing probe over his kiss with national team striker Jenni Hermoso at the summer's Women's World Cup trophy presentation. Chelsea may have to do battle with several European giants to secure the services of 15-year-old MLS wonderkid Julian Hall, who is attracting interest from Real Madrid and Manchester City. David Beckham's mother Sandra has revealed she put Glenn Hoddle on a personal ""hit list"" for his treatment of the England star at the 1998 World Cup. THE TIMES Manchester United are investigating after around 1,000 Galatasaray fans obtained tickets to the home sections for their Champions League clash at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. Yasir Al-Rumayyan is set to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this week after initially entering the event under the pseudonym ""Andrew Waterman"", as negotiations continue between Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the PGA Tour and DP World Tour over a potential merger. INDEPENDENT An MP has written to the radio station TalkSport to condemn its presenter Simon Jordan over his use of the phrase ""victim culture"" in relation to Liverpool supporters. THE GUARDIAN Manchester United are investigating after around 1,000 Galatasaray fans obtained tickets to the home sections for their Champions League clash at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. DAILY STAR Manchester United are believed to be seriously concerned about Marcus Rashford's poor run of form - and Erik ten Hag may drop the England star. The man Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly wants to bring in as Manchester United's next sporting director is currently available for hire. Football Insider Door opens for West Ham and Smith Rowe There will be significant interest from Premier League clubs in West Ham summer target Emile Smith Rowe if he leaves Arsenal, sources have told Football Insider. Football Insider revealed in August that the Irons and Chelsea registered their interest in a late-window deal for the 23-year-old. However, a deal for Smith Rowe failed to materialise and he remains an Arsenal player until January – when the door could now open for interested sides such as West Ham. Football Insider has since revealed (2 October) that Smith Rowe is weighing up his options amid a continued lack of involvement at Arsenal. It is believed both club and player could agree the time is right to move on if more signings arrive in the coming windows. During the summer window, sources said the Gunners could accept a £35-40million offer for the England international – who has three years left on his contract. The midfielder has played 115 minutes of action across five appearances in the 2023-24 campaign. Arsenal are considering making further signings in the January window, which would only push the right-footer further down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium. It is believed a host of Premier League clubs are ready to pounce and sign Smith Rowe if he becomes available in 2024. Smith Rowe failed to start a single senior game for Arsenal in an injury-hit 2022-23 campaign but hit 10 top-flight goals in the previous season to prove his credentials at the top level. He helped England’s Under-21’s win the European Championships earlier this year but has also amassed four senior caps for the Three Lions – scoring once. RTE West Ham on brink of breaking English unbeaten record in Europe David Moyes can overtake two managerial greats if West Ham avoid defeat at SC Freiburg in the Europa League today. The Hammers would reach a notable milestone by making it 17 consecutive European matches unbeaten, a record for an English team, on the back of their Europa Conference League triumph last season. That would take them one clear of the records set by Don Revie's Leeds in the 1960s and Bill Nicholson’s 1970s Tottenham side. ""I didn’t know that. Not bad names then, are they?"" said Moyes. ""People who know football will tell you they were two incredibly gifted managers over a long period in English football. ""It would be a great achievement if we can do that. Let’s hope we can keep it going. We’ve done well in Europe over the last couple of seasons. We want to try to continue that."" Moyes will be without striker Michail Antonio, who has a tight adductor muscle which could also rule him out against Newcastle on Sunday, so Danny Ings is set to start in what is likely to be West Ham’s toughest outing in Group A. ""We’re playing a really good team who have had excellent success in the Bundesliga and did really well in Europe last year as well,"" added Moyes. ""From maybe not being the biggest name in Germany they’ve certainly grown and got themselves in a really good position."" There will be no away fans at the Europa Park Stadion due to a UEFA ban following incidents during June’s final in Prague. German defender Thilo Kehrer said: ""Not having our fans is unfortunate, they give us a big boost, but we have to be professionals and adapt. ""We all played during the pandemic, during games when no supporters were here, so we know we have to get the job done."" Freiburg lie eighth in the Bundesliga and beat Olympiakos 3-2 in Athens in their opening match. Coach Christian Streich said: ""I’m looking forward to the fact that we can now compete with such an established Premier League team. The Premier League is the strongest league of all. ""I’ve been in football for quite a while and have never played against an English team in a competitive game. That’s something very special. ""If you win a few challenges, the crowd are with you immediately. Every contest the players win tomorrow, they will be applauded. That’s the advantage of being the underdog."""