Wednesday news (includes West ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Borussia Dortmund and Juventus have joined AC Milan in weighing up a move for Manchester United's out-of-favour English forward Marcus Rashford, 27. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester City are interested in a deal to sign 25-year-old Egypt forward Omar Marmoush, who is valued at £50m by Eintracht Frankfurt. (Espn), external

Eintracht are yet to receive an offer from City for Marmoush. (Sky Germany), external

Manchester United are among a host of clubs considering a loan move for Paris St-Germain's 26-year-old France striker Randal Kolo Muani. (Telegraph - subscription), external

Chelsea are leading the race to sign 19-year-old England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, whose contract talks with Manchester United have reached a stalemate. (Mail), external

Mainoo, who is under contract until 2027, is unhappy with Manchester United's initial offer. (Manchester Evening News), external

United are willing to listen to serious offers for any of their players, including Mainoo, 20-year-old Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho and Denmark forward Rasmus Hojlund, 21. (Guardian)

Nottingham Forest are in talks to extend the deal of 22-year-old Brazilian centre-back Murillo, which currently ends in 2028. (Athletic - subscription), external

Palmeiras are interested in signing Brazilian attacking midfielder Andreas Pereira, 29, but are yet to agree terms with Fulham. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Manchester United want to sign Hungary left-back Milos Kerkez but Bournemouth's £40m asking price for the 22-year-old could be a stumbling block. (Teamtalk), external

Borussia Dortmund are monitoring Chelsea's 21-year-old Austrian-English attacking midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka. (Sky Germany), external

Arsenal are interested in Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, 22, but will be unable to move for the Spaniard this month because of financial constraints. (Talksport), external

Everton have opened talks with Aston Villa over a permanent deal for 22-year-old English winger Jaden Philogene. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Crystal Palace and Ipswich are set to make improved bids worth £20m for Liverpool's 19-year-old Scotland midfielder Ben Doak, who is on loan at Middlesbrough. (Guardian), external

Wolves and Bournemouth are interested in Chelsea's 21-year-old Portugal defender Renato Veiga. (Mail), external

Southampton are expecting to receive cut-price bids this month for 27-year-old English full-back Kyle Walker-Peters, whose contract expires this summer. (Football Insider), external

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui cancelled a team bonding meal that had been planned for Tuesday night as he waited to hear if he had been sacked by the club. (Telegraph - subscription), external

Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group have not received any approaches for the club after Elon Musk's father Errol said his son was interested in buying the Reds. (Sky Sports)




Sky Paper Talk

TELEGRAPH

Manchester United are one of several clubs exploring a loan move for PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani and the deal would not hinge on exits.

Julen Lopetegui cancelled a team bonding meal that had been planned for Tuesday night as he waited for confirmation that he had been sacked by West Ham United.

Chelsea could fund a move for a central defender with a host of sales this month as the club weigh up a number of options including Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi.

Elon Musk's father has claimed his billionaire son is interested in buying Liverpool.

MIRROR

Saudi Pro League sides are expecting to be busy in the January transfer window as they look to attract elite talent to the Middle East.

Crystal Palace's £70m valuation of captain Marc Guehi is much higher than what Chelsea are willing to pay for the defender.

ATHLETIC

Marcus Rashford's representatives have held exploratory talks with AC Milan about loaning the Manchester United forward in the January transfer window.

Brighton & Hove Albion will be without Ferdi Kadioglu for an extended period after a toe injury suffered by the Turkey international required an operation.

DAILY MAIL

Chelsea are leading the race to sign Kobbie Mainoo in a sensational deal if the Manchester United midfielder leaves Old Trafford.

Manchester City are progressing towards a £50m agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt for forward Omar Marmoush.

Liverpool forward Lewis Koumas is drawing enquiries from Championship sides Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion.

Chelsea defender Renato Veiga is attracting interest from Premier League sides Wolves and Bournemouth.

Manchester United's ticket row with Arsenal has escalated - with the visitors now asking for the missing part of their allocation for Sunday's FA Cup tie to go to neutrals.

THE SUN

Liverpool starlet Ben Doak is being tracked by four Premier League clubs.

David Luiz is in talks to return to European football during the January transfer window, with Olympiakos keen to sign him.

THE GUARDIAN

Bournemouth have joined West Ham and Stuttgart in the race to sign the Brighton striker Evan Ferguson after Evanilson had surgery on a broken foot.

Manchester United will listen to serious offers for any player in Ruben Amorim's side, including Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund, who had been viewed as untouchable in the past.

Julen Lopetegui is in limbo after West Ham's move to replace their manager stalled over Graham Potter's demand for a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Crystal Palace and Ipswich are set to test Liverpool's resolve to keep Ben Doak by making improved bids worth £20m for the Scotland forward.

DAILY RECORD

Dundee are closing in on a deal to re-sign Aaron Donnelly from Nottingham Forest.

Former Ibrox hero Niko Katic is ready to return to Glasgow and answer Philippe Clement's Rangers defensive crisis.




Guardian Rumour mill

Niall McVeigh

Manchester United fans’ 48-hour reprieve from a historically miserable season came to an end last night, as news emerged that the club would listen to offers for young guns Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Højlund. Mainoo is thought to be underwhelmed by the new contract being inched across the table towards him – and Chelsea are thought to be monitoring developments closely.

United may need to clear out the drawer containing Antony, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford in order to spend in January, or add a couple of zeroes to Mainoo’s deal. Milan are in the running for Rashford, but they have been joined by Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, who fancy a Sancho-esque six-month loan revival. Dortmund are also interested in Chelsea’s Carney Chukwuemeka, who is available this month along with forgotten footballer Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Is there any better news for Manchester United? Well, Casemiro might be off to stroll around behind Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, while Juve are considering the inclusion of Dusan Vlahovic in what sounds like a too-good-to-be-true swap deal for Joshua Zirkzee. United are also in the market for a speedy left-back, with Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, PSG’s Nuno Mendes and Lecce’s Danish international, Patrick Dorgu, all sprinting up the shortlist.

Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta just wants to find a player that can keep a regulation Size 5 football on target, and is interested in Nico Williams – even if the Athletic Bilbao winger is out of the club’s January price range. Liverpool have eyes on Feyenoord winger Anis Hadj-Moussa, and could cut their losses on Darwin Núñez, who is wanted by a number of Saudi sides. Another mercurial striker who could be on the move is Jhon Durán, on the radar at PSG and Barcelona. We imagine the combustible Colombian would flourish in a Dani Olmo-esque registration stand-off in Spain.

What else? Well, Brighton only sign players we’ve never heard of, and could continue that trend with a move for Palmeiras defender Vitor Reis. Palmeiras, in turn, would like to bring Andreas Pereira back to Brazil – a prospect that would become a lot more likely if James Rodríguez, freshly released by Rayo Vallecano, signs up with Fulham. Another popular South American playmaker, Miguel Almirón, is weighing up offers from Greece, Brazil and MLS, while keeper Martin Dubravka looks set to join Saudi outfit Al-Shabab, having potentially waved goodbye to Newcastle fans last night.

Crystal Palace are looking for another big January window to kick clear of relegation trouble, with Liverpool youngster Ben Doak, Sunderland star sibling Jobe Bellingham and Lyon winger Rayan Cherki on their shortlist. Just below them in the table, Everton are eyeing a loan move for Aston Villa winger Jaden Philogene while Wolves are closing in on Reims centre-back Emmanuel Agbadou and also pursuing a loan deal for Chelsea wing-back Renato Veiga.

Wolves may face competition for Veiga from Bournemouth, who also want to wrap up a loan deal for Brighton forward Evan Ferguson, with almost-namesake Evanilson out for a while after foot surgery. If they’re looking for a striker who likes the beach, perhaps they should call Neymar. The Brazilian has admitted he fancies jetting off to Inter Miami and reviving the “MSN” frontline with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. And who can blame him?





Guardian

West Ham poised to sack Lopetegui after agreeing longer contract for Potter

Jacob Steinberg

West Ham are poised to sack Julen Lopetegui after talks progressed positively with Graham Potter, who is close to agreeing a two-and-a-half-year contract to take over as the club’s manager.

A press conference with Lopetegui scheduled for Wednesday lunchtime was cancelled on Wednesday morning and, barring an unexpected hiccup, Potter will replace him before Friday’s FA Cup tie at Aston Villa.

The process stalled on Tuesday because West Ham’s preference was for Potter to take over until the end of the season, whereas the former Brighton and Chelsea manager was pushing for a longer deal.

West Ham have agreed in principle to Potter’s demand for a contract to 2027, and although a deal has not been sealed the way is clear for him to return to coaching for the first time since he left Chelsea after seven months in April 2023.

Lopetegui is understood to have attended work as usual on Wednesday morning as he awaits confirmation of his departure. He took training on Tuesday despite knowing West Ham had decided to sack him but cancelled a team meal scheduled for Tuesday night.

The Spaniard has taken charge of only 20 league games and two Carabao Cup ties since replacing David Moyes. He was close to losing his job last month – at which point West Ham also had discussions with Potter – but a four-match unbeaten run, including wins against Wolves and Southampton, gave him a short-term reprieve.

Two heavy defeats, 5-0 at home to Liverpool and 4-1 at Manchester City, sealed his fate. West Ham, seven points above the relegation zone, have home league games against Fulham and Crystal Palace next week.



Sport Witness

West Ham told to turn buying option into obligation if they want loan offer accepting

By Naveen Ullal

On Tuesday, UOL reported West Ham United have made a loan offer with a purchase option to sign Arthur Cabral, but Benfica have turned it down.

It was also reported the Portuguese club would only consider letting the striker leave on a permanent transfer in the winter market.

Wednesday’s edition of A Bola and O Jogo back up West Ham tabling a loan proposal for the 26-year-old.

A Bola state the Premier League side and Torino offered loan deals with an option to buy the Brazilian, and Benfica have rejected both of them.

It’s claimed the Eagles are looking for a permanent sale or a mandatory purchase obligation as part of a loan deal. They invested €20m to buy Cabral from Fiorentina in 2023 and A Bola state Benfica want a €15m buying obligation to sanction a loan move in January.

Over at O Jogo, they report Benfica president Rui Costa has defined the conditions to sanction a move for Cabral and those haven’t been met by West Ham or Torino so far.

Benfica want €15m for Cabral and therefore, rejected the loan offers made by West Ham and Torino.

A Bola or O Jogo make no mention if the Hammers are willing to meet Benfica’s request to sign Cabral.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

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Thanks Alan.