Monday newspapers (includes West Ham)
Posted: 23 Oct 2023, 13:03
"BBC Arsenal are looking to make a move for Fluminense's 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder Andre in the January transfer window. (Fichajes - in Spanish) Manchester City are exploring a potential deal for Bayern Munich and Germany attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala, with Liverpool also long-time admirers of the 20-year-old. (Football Insider) Inter Miami's Argentine forward Lionel Messi, 36, is not considering any loan deal from now until the new MLS season starts in February despite his links to Barcelona. (Fabrizio Romano) Chelsea are continuing to keep a watching brief on Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen's ongoing status at Napoli, despite rumours of a move to Liverpool being agreed for the 24-year-old. (TeamTalk) Signing a central midfielder is a top priority for Newcastle manager Eddie Howe in January with Italy international Sandro Tonali, 23, part of an investigation into illegal betting. (Football Insider) Liverpool have been scouting Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio, 22, as they look to beat Manchester United to a deal for the Portugal international. (Mirror) Arsenal are hoping to sell Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, 30, and Italy international Jorginho, 31, as they attempt to bring in Fluminense's 22-year-old Brazil international Andre. (Football Insider) Bayern Munich and Canada left back Alphonso Davies will cost Real Madrid at least £40m if the La Liga side want to sign the 22-year-old. (Bild) Luton will have to pay at least £5.5m for 19-year-old Ecuadorian midfielder Oscar Zambrano with his club LDU Quito holding out for the best offer. (Sun) Rangers would want offers of at least £5m to sell their English goalkeeper Jack Butland, 30. (TeamTalk) Former Spurs defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, 25, is in no rush to head back to the Premier League, with the American, who is currently at Celtic, continuing to generate transfer talk. (Goal) Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 31, may not be offered a contract renewal at Manchester City if his injury record worsens. (Football Insider) Brazilian side Fluminense are preparing a move for Chelsea defender Thiago Silva amid speculation the 39-year-old Brazilian will leave Stamford Bridge at the end of this season. (Fichajes - in Spanish) Sky Paper Talk DAILY MIRROR Casemiro has regrets over joining Manchester United with the club wanting to sign Benfica's teenage midfield star Joao Neves. Sandro Tonali's lawyers are allegedly hoping to deploy the same strategy as Nicolo Fagioli's team to ensure their client avoids a lengthy ban for gambling. Arsenal insist the club continues to strive for 'greater diversity' after a photo of their women's squad sparked a race row. Mohamed Salah has been urged to stay at Anfield for many more years by Liverpool team-mate Alisson. Liverpool have sent scouts to evaluate Sporting CP defender Goncalo Inacio - who is also a transfer target for Manchester United. Conor Gallagher has lifted the lid on the pressures of playing alongside £100m midfielders at Chelsea - admitting he enjoys the challenge of ""proving his point"". Roma boss Jose Mourinho was sent off on Sunday after telling Monza counterpart Raffaele Palladino: ""You talk a lot and then you cry."" Jesse Lingard has been left in transfer limbo with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq now minded not to sign him following a trial. DAILY MAIL Stephan El Shaarawy has issued an emotional response to recent accusations claiming that he had been involved in illegal gambling activities after he scored a last-minute goal to help Roma beat Monza 1-0 on Sunday. Expect Bournemouth to pull the trigger on the first Premier League managerial sacking this season with Andoni Iraola working on borrowed time after just nine matches. Marc Guiu was thrilled with his 'perfect' moment after the 17-year-old scored the winner on his Barcelona debut - as coach Xavi hailed his impact. While future-planning is difficult given the uncertainty over the takeover saga, Manchester United are looking into ways to bring back standing into the heart of the Stretford End. Former England international Andy Carroll scored a stunning 40-yard effort for French side Amiens SC in their 1-1 draw with Annecy. Following the sell-out against Scotland at Sunderland, Sarina Wiegman's England side will again enjoy a full house when they take on Belgium at Leicester's King Power Stadium on Friday. Courtney Lawes revealed in the aftermath of England's defeat on Saturday night that he will be retiring from Test rugby after this World Cup - ending a stellar international career. Insiders disclosed that World Rugby did their World Cup seedings three years out, as organisers believed that they would be selling tickets to the same market as next year's Paris Olympics and wanted to get theirs out first. THE SUN Former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter is waiting on Napoli to make an official move - but keeping an ear out for Manchester United to call should Sir Jim Ratcliffe decide to sack Erik ten Hag. Luton will have to pay £5.5m for Ecuadorian midfielder Oscar Zambrano - and LDU Quito could yet want even more. Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr has praised Sevilla for removing a fan that allegedly displayed ""xenophobic and racist behaviour"" on Saturday. Manchester United and Arsenal will go head-to-head for Sacha Boey, according to reports. A Greek Super League clash between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos was abandoned after a player was struck by a firework. Police are investigating after Notts County goalkeeper Sam Slocombe was left with a cut head after being struck by an object thrown by a yob in the crowd. DAILY STAR Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho has reportedly been offered a career lifeline from Turkey ahead of the upcoming January transfer window. Manchester City will allow Kalvin Phillips to leave the club in the January transfer window. THE TIMES Manchester City have apologised to Manchester United and the family of Sir Bobby Charlton after some of their fans were filmed celebrating the death of the England and United legend during Saturday's win over Brighton & Hove Albion. The England head coach, Matthew Mott, has admitted that he would have loved the team to have played more ODI cricket before the World Cup and that a lack of game time meant the management were ""guessing a bit"" when it came to the squad's selection. DAILY EXPRESS Three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has shut down reports of a feud in the Red Bull camp involving team principal Christian Horner and Helmut Marko. Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou could allow Eric Dier to leave for Bayern Munich following the summer exit of Harry Kane. Chelsea have been presented with a swap deal opportunity with Barcelona, having reportedly expressed an interest in signing young defender Pau Cubarsi. DAILY TELEGRAPH Celtic supporters doubled down against criticism from their own club over Palestinian support by waving 60 or more flags in the away end against Hearts. LIV Golf is in talks with the R&A to try to ensure more of its players appear at next year's Open Championship. Wayne Barnes, the most experienced referee in the history of Test rugby, is set to take charge of the World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa. THE ATHLETIC Major League Soccer introduced a temporary measure last week prohibiting fans attending matches from bringing signs, banners, flags or Tifos that reference the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. USMNT manager Gregg Berhalther said Christian Pulisic, Timothy Weah, Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah all starting in the AC Milan v Juventus game is a ""turning point in U.S. soccer history"". DAILY RECORD Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has admitted he would like to see Ryan Christie extend his contract at the club with the former Celtic playmaker being tipped for a return to Parkhead. Matt O'Riley admits it's a while since he's bettered the brilliant volley that set Celtic on their way at Tynecastle. But the Parkhead goal hero insists he's not for teasing top-gun Kyogo Furuhashi after racing back to the top of the Premiership scoring charts. Scotland number one Angus Gunn will be sent for a scan after picking up an injury for Norwich City. The Athletic Ollie Watkins' elite attacking display shows West Ham what they are missing The Aston Villa forward is in the form of his life and offers a threat David Moyes' team do not have at the moment Roshane Thomas It was in January 2020 when West Ham United first expressed interest in signing Ollie Watkins. West Ham wanted to bolster their striking options with then club record signing Sebastien Haller struggling to adapt. Watkins played for Brentford at that point but the Championship side were reluctant to sell. West Ham ended up signing Jarrod Bowen from Hull City instead and, while he has developed into a valuable member of the team, Watkins’ performance in Sunday’s 4-1 loss away to Aston Villa was a reminder of what West Ham could have had. Watkins, 27, who joined Aston Villa eight months after West Ham’s initial interest, has been directly involved in 27 goals across 33 appearances in the Premier League since since Unai Emery’s first game in charge (18 goals, 9 assists); only Mohamed Salah (35), of Liverpool, and Manchester City forward Erling Haaland (33) have contributed to more goals in this time. The England international, who scored and registered an assist against David Moyes’ side, was Aston Villa’s chief tormentor and did not give Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd a moment’s rest. “Yeah (Watkins was a target) when he was at Brentford,” said Moyes. “He scored a good goal. Aston Villa are probably just behind the top three or four big name teams in the Premier League. Aston Villa are one of those sides at the moment and today was a big challenge to see where we’re at at the moment. I thought we fell below that. “I thought we should have given them a much closer, tighter game as we did against Newcastle. They might be in the top four now, Newcastle, but I see Villa as being one of those teams just on the coat tails of those teams above them.” A concern for Moyes will be Antonio’s recent struggles. The 33-year-old started the season in promising form, scoring in wins against Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion. But the Jamaica international came into Sunday’s game having not scored in his previous five league games and was ineffective against Aston Villa. Antonio’s performance was a far cry from how effectively Watkins operated in the final third. Antonio rarely tested Aston Villa’s defensive duo of Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres. The forward (below) had six touches in Villa’s box, but none were in a central position. Watkins, in contrast, linked-up well with his teammates and demonstrated the attributes of an elite forward who can run the channels so effectively. That used to be Antonio’s strength but he is no longer able to do it consistently. Watkins had nine touches in the opposition box, most of which were central. Unai Emery’s faith in Watkins saw Aston Villa sell Danny Ings to West Ham in January. The 31-year-old left as their top scorer with seven goals in 21 appearances in all competitions. But Ings has struggled to adapt to David Moyes’ 4-2-3-1 system. The striker has not scored a Premier League goal since grabbing two in the 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in February. Moyes wants his team to challenge for a top six spot. Such ambitions have been boosted by the additions of Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mohammed Kudus. But the missing piece of Moyes’ jigsaw is a clinical forward. It is the one position West Ham have perennially struggled to fill. Teddy Sheringham is the last striker to score 20 goals in a league campaign (2004-05) for West Ham, while Tony Cottee is the last forward to score 20 goals or more in a top-flight season (1986-87) for the club. Kudus may not be a recognised forward but he has shown glimpses of his offensive skills since joining from Ajax in the summer. Against Aston Villa, Moyes named the same starting XI for a fifth successive Premier League match — the first time West Ham have done that since a six-game run from December 1993 to January 1994 under Billy Bonds. But despite scoring a late equaliser against Newcastle United, Kudus still awaits his first Premier League start.“I’m tempted to start Kudus every game but I have to be fair and say that the team’s played quite well,” said Moyes. “Obviously, we’ve got a balance that we’re trying to find and get that right as well. Sometimes our balance has been very good and got us some good results. Now and again sometimes it can cause you problems as well. “The scoreline will not look good but there are things today I could say we did quite well. But the sort of things we’ve done week in, week out over the last two or three years at West Ham, we didn’t do well enough today.” Aside from Antonio’s struggles, other key members of the team struggled to perform. A poor pass from Lucas Paqueta put Alvarez under pressure and led to him conceding a penalty, while Tomas Soucek was underwhelming in the No 10 position. Ultimately, Ward-Prowse’s verdict was most telling. “This club wants to be in (the top 6) of the table, challenging,” he said. “I think today is a good realisation of what it takes to be at that level.”"