Manchester City are considering a loan move for Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 26, though current club Juventus are pressing for an obligation to buy to be included in the proposed deal. (Athletic)
Clubs in Saudi Arabia are still interested in bringing Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr, 24, to the country - with the league's chief executive saying a move is "a matter of time". (ESPN)
Santos are in talks to bring 32-year-old Brazil forward Neymar back to the club. He will be allowed to leave Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal immediately. (Sky Sports Germany)
AC Milan have contacted Chelsea about signing 25-year-old Portugal forward Joao Felix. (Calciomercato - in Italian)
Juventus are interested in two Chelsea players - Portugal defender Renato Veiga, 21, and 28-year-old England defender Ben Chilwell. (Football Italia)
Chelsea want £40m for English centre-back Trevoh Chalobah after recalling the 25-year-old defender from a loan spell at Crystal Palace. (Sun)
Another fringe Chelsea player, 22-year-old midfielder Cesare Casadei, could be on his way to Lazio after the two clubs moved closer on their valuations. (Sky Sports Italia)
Sunday's 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton is expected to be the last game for Brazil winger Antony, 24, in a Manchester United shirt, with a verbal agreement reached on a loan move to La Liga club Real Betis. (Fabrizio Romano)
Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag could replace Nuri Sahin as Borussia Dortmund boss if the club lose against Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday. (Florian Plettenberg, Sky Sports Germany)
Manchester United and Chelsea will compete with Bayern Munich for the signing of English midfielder Jamie Gittens, 20, this summer. (Florian Plettenberg, Sky Sports Germany)
Real Madrid are ready to give up on their pursuit of Canada left-back Alphonso Davies, 24, who is nearing an agreement to extend his contract at Bayern Munich. (AS - in Spanish)
Juventus are interested in bringing Newcastle defender Lloyd Kelly, 26, to Italy - just seven months after he arrived from Bournemouth on a free transfer. (Gianluca di Marzio)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Chelsea want a stunning £40m for centre-half Trevoh Chalobah after his recall from Crystal Palace.
Everton transfer supremo Kevin Thelwell and chief scout Dan Purdy face the chop from the new American owners.
Ange Postecoglou was left seething following an interview which suggested Tottenham's defeat to Everton was a "familiar story".
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Jamie George's miserable week was compounded when the hooker limped off with a hamstring problem late in Saracens' Champions Cup defeat by Castres.
Manchester United want to sign Chloe Kelly on a loan deal from rivals Manchester City, with the England forward having missed Sunday evening's derby game at the Etihad.
DAILY MAIL
Real Betis are closing in on an agreement with Manchester United over a subsidised loan for Antony.
THE TIMES
Manchester United are interested in signing Chloe Kelly on loan from Manchester City this month.
SCOTTISH SUN
Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin is closing in on the double loan captures of Ruari Paton and Lewis Fiorini.
DAILY RECORD
Alan Hutton saw Louie Barry up close and personal when he was coming through at Aston Villa and reckons Celtic could be landing another Patrick Roberts.
Noussair Mazraoui has warned his Manchester United team-mates about the threat of Hamza Igamane - and tipped the Gers striker for a Morocco call-up.
Guardian Rumour mill
Michael Butler
After failing to secure the services of Sheffield Wednesday’s Josh Windass – son of Dean – Santos are in for Neymar. Not a sentence the Rumour Mill thought it would be writing in 2025, but we are where we are. Sheffield may have long been known as the “São Paulo of Yorkshire” and Windass is among the top scorers in the Championship with 10 goals but a deal for Neymar is probably more desirable given the player’s long history with the club.
Neymar came through the academy at Santos, putting up silly numbers and scoring silly goals before his big-money move to Barcelona in 2013. Al-Hilal, Neymar’s current team, have not registered him for the rest of the Saudi season and are keen to get the injury-prone Brazilian’s gargantuan wages off the books, So Santos’s reported loan proposal is expected to be accepted, with other interest from Chicago Fire falling away.
If Neymar does leave Al-Hilal, that could open up more uncertainty for Liverpool with the Saudi club long-time admirers of Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian’s Anfield contract expires this summer, in case you haven’t heard.
Jamie Gittens, formerly Bynoe-Gittens, has been a bright spark for Dortmund in an underwhelming season for Borussia Dortmund, who are currently languishing in mid-table in the Bundesliga. Englishman Gittens has caught the eye of Bayern Munich, obviously, while Chelsea are already said to be interested despite having approximately 179 left wingers already in their squad. João Félix is one that could make way, with Milan exploring a loan move for Chelsea’s Portuguese playmaker.
Dortmund’s season has been so underwhelming that head coach Nuri Sahin could be replaced by Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman keen on the job. One of Ten Hag’s failed signings at Manchester United, Antony, is close to joining Real Betis on loan. The Brazilian’s substitute appearance against Brighton is expected to be his last for United this season and the winger departs with zero goals and zero assists in eight Premier League appearances this campaign.
Wolves had been in talks with Vitória SC midfielder Manu Silva but the Premier League side have now been gazumped by Benfica, who have swooped with a €12m offer. Another team in gold, Hull City, have been very busy this window. Veteran winger Nordin Amrabat made his debut at the weekend, while Blackpool striker Kyle Joseph and Fenerbahce attacker Lincoln Henrique are also expected to join in the coming days. Hull have also reached an agreement for Monaco midfielder Eliot Matazo, with the Belgium Under-21 international costing less than £2m.
Juventus could save Ben Chilwell from his Chelsea purgatory but will need to offload a player or two in order to bring the Englishman to Serie A. Douglas Luiz, who signed for the Old Lady in the summer for £42.4m, could head back to England with Manchester City keen on a loan deal.
The Athletic
West Ham’s central defence isn’t working
By Roshane Thomas
Konstantinos Mavropanos untied the tape on his right wrist and walked dejectedly, head down, surveying the turf as he passed Crystal Palace’s fans. They were loving the schadenfreude. “Cheerio,” they chanted.
After Mavropanos was sent off for a second bookable offence and walked towards the tunnel he was not acknowledged by West Ham United’s new head coach Graham Potter. There were no comforting embraces from his team-mates.
Instead, the forlorn centre-back was left to reflect on his mistakes. His two yellow cards were for fouls on Jean-Philippe Mateta, the Greek defender’s chief tormenter during the 2-0 home loss.
Since joining from Stuttgart for £19million in August 2023, Mavropanos’s decision-making has remained a weakness. Against Palace he was deputising for the injured Jean-Clair Todibo, but he has not shown himself capable of being a first-choice defender at this level.
The defeat was a reminder of Mavropanos’ various imperfections and the need to augment defensive options. He will serve a one-match suspension for the next league game against Aston Villa. Edson Alvarez or Vladimir Coufal will likely fill the void at centre-back.
West Ham signed Mavropanos when a deal for Harry Maguire, the Manchester United defender, fell through. After switching their focus to other defensive targets — Bayer Leverkusen defenders Odilon Kossounou and Jonathan Tah — West Ham’s technical director, Tim Steidten, recommended Mavropanos. But he has not had a sustained positive impact, and he is error-prone with a penchant for risky challenges.
A summer spend of £120m on nine players felt demoralising when Palace also exposed Maximilian Kilman’s defensive struggles. The defender, who joined for £40m from Wolverhampton Wanderers, backed off Mateta before the opener. Kilman then lost possession in the lead-up to Palace winning their late penalty.
The regression of Mavropanos and Kilman’s performances has left West Ham lacking a solid centre-back partnership. Mateta had no problem out-sprinting either of them, even when they had a head start.
Seldom this season have they been able to produce an efficient man-marking performance. This is reflected in the lack of clean sheets, with only one in the last 11 matches. West Ham have conceded 43 goals in the league, the third-highest behind Southampton (50), Wolverhampton Wanderers (48) and Leicester City (48), who are all in the bottom four.
The loss against Palace was a reality check for Potter. Maybe it will quicken their pursuit of reinforcements.
“We’ve got a few challenges to fix, but that’s normally why you end up at a football club in January — because there’s things to do,” he said.
“We’ve got some options there internally. And then, of course, we’re always looking for options to help the team.
“JC (Todibo) is going to be a while before he comes back, so there’s no immediate solution there. It’s a calf strain and lower-limb issue. He’s going to be a bit of time yet. We have to look for what we have.”
On the performance, Potter said: “We were a little bit passive and looked a bit leggy. We were unable to play with any real intensity. Whilst the game was goalless, Crystal Palace were the better team. We were hanging on trying to do better.”
He added: “The substitutes made a bit of a difference and brought more energy. We were on the front foot a bit more but the sending-off affected us. We tried to get the equaliser at the end and that probably led to their penalty.”
Potter wants improvement in attack and defence, but it is the latter that should be the priority.
Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, was at the London Stadium ahead of World Cup qualifiers in March. Kilman, who played futsal for England on 25 occasions, aspires to international football, and such aspirations did not seem futile when he started his West Ham career in promising form.
Against Palace in August, Kilman showcased his offensive attributes when striding upfield to assist captain Jarrod Bowen in a 2-0 win. He was named man of the match on that occasion and received a warm embrace from Steidten afterwards.
It seemed he would be an upgrade on Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd, who both left in the summer on season-long loans, the former joining Saudi Pro League club Al Orobah and the latter joining Real Sociedad.
But while Kilman’s ball-playing ability is a strength, his decision-making, much like Mavropanos, appears to be a weakness.
After the match, Potter tempered expectations that 20-year-old academy prospect Kaelan Casey could make his Premier League start in Mavropanos’ absence. But an indication of his trust in youth was midfielder Lewis Orford making his first-team debut.
Orford’s skill set attracted interest from Aston Villa last summer, but West Ham rewarded the 18-year-old with a five-year contract. It was telling that Potter opted to bring on him and 19-year-old Ollie Scarles in the 56th minute instead of £25m signing Luis Guilherme, who was once more limited to fewer than 10 minutes of playing time.
Potter is deprived of attacking options Bowen, Michail Antonio, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug due to injury. The head coach is trying to find solutions for West Ham’s resultant lack of creativity, but it is in defence where attention must shift.
(Top photo: Konstantinos Mavropanos after being sent off; by Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images)
Sport Witness
West Ham and Bournemouth in for Noah Okafor – Medical drama sees move elsewhere collapse
By Naveen Ullal
West Ham United and AFC Bournemouth are ‘at the window’ for AC Milan’s Noah Okafor in the winter market.
That’s according to Monday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, who state West Ham and Bournemouth are showing interest in the forward.
Earlier in this window, he came close to joining RB Leipzig, who had a deal in place with the Serie A side. It was for a loan [€2m loan fee] with an option to buy for €26m, but the transfer collapsed after Okafor apparently failed an aspect of his medical with Leipzig.
The Switzerland international has returned to the San Siro, where he has no future and could still be on the way out before this window closes. The report says he doesn’t have ‘any physical problems’ and is working on regaining full fitness.
Gazzetta state there are several teams showing interest in the 24-year-old, with West Ham and Bournemouth in the ‘front row’.
Okafor has played 550 minutes from 16 games this season, managing a goal and two assists in the process.
Graham Potter is currently without Michail Antonio and Niclas Füllkrug while Andoni Iraola’s strikers, Evanilson and Enes Ünal, picked up injuries earlier this month. Therefore, West Ham and Bournemouth are looking for a striker in January.
The Milan player mainly operates on the left wing but can be used as a centre forward.
West Ham make offer via ‘historic intermediary’ – Hammers wary of growing competition
By Naveen Ullal
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush is set to join Manchester City, and this move could impact West Ham United.
Last week, L’Equipe stated the Hammers have identified Elye Wahi as a target for improve their attack in the winter market.
A fresh report from L’Equipe claims Eintracht Frankfurt have joined West Ham in the chase for the Marseille player.
Manchester City are keen on signing Marmoush and this has seen the Bundesliga side look for options in the market. Eintracht Frankfurt appreciate Wahi’s profile and West Ham are also on the lookout for him.
As well as the London club, AFC Bournemouth are another English club in the picture for the 22-year-old.
Graham Potter’s were the first to send a ‘concrete offer’ via a ‘historic intermediary’ last week. Their proposal includes a loan deal with a mandatory purchase option.
The Premier League duo have been in contact with his entourage and have to be wary of competition from the German club. The report states Eintracht Frankfurt have also made contact with Wahi’s camp and some sources mention talks with Marseille.
If Wahi were to request a move, Roberto De Zerbi’s side will sanction one if their demands are met. They invested €25m plus €5m bonuses last summer and need a fee close to this through a sale or loan with an obligation to buy.
Wahi has missed past few fixtures due to injury and when asked about his situation, De Zerbi said: “Unfortunately, this [last] week, with the sequence of matches, the absence of Elye Wahi really weighed on us. Regarding the transfer window, we will see what happens over the next two weeks. This remains open.”