Lecce president Sticchi Damiani says the club is "trying to resist" Manchester United's pressure to sign 20-year-old Denmark left-back Patrick Dorgu, who the Italian club value at €40m (£33.8m). (Football Italia), external
Brazil forward Neymar, 32, is prepared to give up a large part of his salary to leave Al-Hilal and return to former club Santos in his homeland. (Footmercato - in French), external
Chelsea's Portugal centre-back Renato Veiga, 21, was on his way to Turin on Sunday to complete a loan move to Juventus, who do not have an option to buy once the deal runs out at the end of the season. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Argentina midfielder Emiliano Buendia, 28, has agreed a one-year contract extension to his current deal with Aston Villa, which was due to run out in 2026, amid interest from Germany, Italy and Saudi Arabia. (Athletic), external
Aston Villa are in talks to to sign Argentina defender Juan Foyth, 27, from Villarreal after failing to bring in French defender Loic Bade, 24, from Sevilla. (Talksport), external
Chelsea's French centre-back Axel Disasi, 26, is also a target for Aston Villa as they try to bring in a defender before the winter transfer window closes. (Football Insider), external
Arsenal are hopeful of holding off interest from fellow Premier League clubs to sign 18-year-old Norwegian starlet Sverre Nypan from Rosenborg. (Talksport), external
Germany forward Timo Werner, 28, on loan at Tottenham from RB Leipzig, is in talks about a move to Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls. (Footmercato - in French), external
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he does not know "what the future will bring", with the 33-year-old Dutch centre-back's contract with the Reds running out in the summer. (Liverpool Echo)
Brentford right-back Mads Roerslev, 25, will fly to Wolfsburg on Monday to complete a medical after the two clubs reached an agreement on a six-month loan deal for the Denmark defender, with an option to buy. (Sky Sports Germany), external
Strasbourg will make another move for Brentford's 22-year-old Portuguese forward Fabio Carvalho, having had an initial offer to take him on loan rejected by the Bees. (Footmercato - in French), external
AC Milan will make an improved bid of about €33-34m for Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez, although Feyenoord want €40m for the 23-year-old. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external
Leicester City and Bangladesh midfielder Hamza Choudhury, 27, is set to join Sheffield United on loan in a deal that includes an option to buy. (Athletic - subscription required) , external
Southampton will listen to offers for Kyle Walker-Peters after Galatasaray made an approach for the 27-year-old English defender, who is out of contract in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Angel Gomes' contract at Lille is set to expire in the summer but the England international is remaining calm about his future amid reported interest from Arsenal.
Chelsea defender Axel Disasi is being lined up for a move to Aston Villa.
Ange Postecoglou is set for a massive payout if Tottenham decide to sack him.
Former Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has sparked a row after sitting with Manchester City fans and appearing to brand his old club a circus.
Kyle Walker watched on from the stands as his AC Milan team-mates staged a dramatic fightback against Parma - and then began fighting among themselves.
A cage fighter says he is fed up of being teased by other hardmen - because he is called Taylor Swift.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Ange Postecoglou admitted he is in the dark about his future as Tottenham Hotspur head coach and described the latest defeat by Leicester City as his lowest point of the season.
Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 capacity stadium as the centrepiece of a major regeneration project have been given a huge boost after the Government threw its support behind the proposals.
Aryna Sabalenka has been criticised for appearing to pretend urinate on her runner-up trophy at the Australian Open.
THE TIMES
Ange Postecoglou admitted Tottenham Hotspur's defeat at home to Leicester City was a new low for his team but insisted that he still has the support of the players as he fights to save his job.
THE ATHLETIC
Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings is set to undergo a scan after sustaining an injury to his left knee during his side's 1-1 draw with West Ham United.
Ange Postecoglou says Pape Matar Sarr "shouldn't have played" in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 home defeat by Leicester City.
Aston Villa have reached an agreement with Emiliano Buendia over a one-year contract extension.
DAILY MAIL
Rangers boss Philippe Clement is on a collision course with the SFA over a controversial red card shown to Mohamed Diomande for violent conduct in his team's 3-1 win over Dundee United.
West Ham have asked Ajax about a loan for striker Brian Brobbey, with an obligation to buy in the summer but the Dutch side want cash now to reinvest.
DAILY MIRROR
Manchester United have moved a step closer to building one of the biggest stadiums in Europe after Government approval was finally granted.
Ange Postecoglou returned to confront a furious Tottenham Hotspur fan who was berating the beleaguered Australian as he went down the tunnel after their latest damaging defeat against Leicester City.
Leicester forward Jamie Vardy wound up Tottenham fans by reminding them how the Foxes beat the London outfit to the Premier League title in 2016 after scoring in their surprise 2-1 win on Sunday.
Newcastle are planning to resurrect contract talks with Alexander Isak in the summer - indicating that Arsenal's hopes of landing the sought-after Swedish striker are slim.
DAILY RECORD
Celtic could finalise the £9m return of Jota on Monday. The Portuguese winger is poised to make a Parkhead comeback just 18 months after leaving for Saudi Arabia.
Guardian Rumour mill
Niall McVeigh
Deadline day is a week away, and Marcus Rashford is still at Manchester United, and not even kicking his heels on the subs’ bench – with Ruben Amorim claiming that he would rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach, Jorge Vital, in the matchday squad than Rashford at his current level of application. Which makes us wonder – could Vital really be as ineffectual up front as Rasmus Højlund or Joshua Zirkzee? Perhaps he’s worth a shot. As for Rashford, his latest possible destination is Barcelona, and he is reportedly willing to take a pay cut to get a move done. Given that Barça have struggled to register players they already own, it looks unlikely – but Andreas Christensen or Ansu Fati, who is on José Mourinho’s radar at Fenerbahce, could be moved on to free up a squad place.
With Chelsea still very much interested in Alejandro Garnacho, ESPN report that United “have asked to be kept informed of developments regarding Christopher Nkunku’s future,” which is an odd turn of phrase. Sky Sports think the future is now, and Nkunku could join on loan this very week. United are also keen on Wolves striker Matheus Cunha, but then again, so are Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, former £86m signing Antony has left Old Trafford and joined Real Betis on loan, as this David Lynch-inspired video clip confirms.
United are also hunting for a new left-back, but Lecce claim they are “trying to resist” interest in Patrick Dorgu, holding out for €40m (£33.8m) after rejecting an initial £25m bid. Quite how much longer the Italian club, who bought Dorgu for €200,000 and whose record sale is €1.5m for Liam Henderson, will hold out remains to be seen. Other options for United include Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell, Wolves wing-back Rayan Aït-Nouri, PSG’s Nuno Mendes and Bournemouth flyer Milos Kerkez – but any move before summer will be tricky. Maybe give Vital, who is surely at least a decent dead-ball striker, a run at left-back? It’s worth a try, is all we’re saying.
Moving on, and Arsenal may not get any business done this week, but the summer could be more fruitful. RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko is thought to favour a move to the Gunners over Chelsea or Manchester United – and who can blame him? – while England midfielder Angel Gomes, out of contract at Lille this summer, could be a canny addition to Mikel Arteta’s engine room. Arsenal have also had eyes on Alexander Isak, but Newcastle are planning to offer their Swedish hot-shot a new long-term contract to keep him at the club. One talented Scandinavian who could be on the move is Rosenborg’s Sverre Nypan. The teenage midfielder has reportedly held talks with Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa this week.
Staying with Villa, and Unai Emery is hoping to keep hold of Jhon Dúran this week amid interest from Real Madrid, PSG and Al-Nassr. The Mill fears that the combustible Colombian might struggle for game time at the Bernabéu, but then again, it’s not really our problem. Villa also need a new centre-back but have failed in their efforts to sign Sevilla’s Loïc Badé – so could instead move for Chelsea’s Axel Disasi or former Spurs man Juan Foyth, who played for Emery at Villarreal. Villa have also agreed a contract extension with Emi Buendía, and may loan him out to Bayer Leverkusen.
Brentford are a club often overlooked by the gossip pages, but not today: the Mill can report that defender Mads Roerslev is heading to Wolfsburg on loan, but the Bees have turned down Strasbourg’s loan approach for Fabio Carvalho. Elsewhere, Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury is heading to Sheffield United; Everton and West Ham want to sign Ajax forward Brian Brobbey on loan; and former Hammer Saïd Benrahma will choose between a move to Ipswich Town or Saudi side Neom SC, a team named after the Gulf state’s desert megacity project. Decisions, decisions.
Guardian
Emerson’s header earns draw for West Ham as loss of Mings hurts Aston Villa
Peter Lansley at Villa Park
Emerson Palmieri’s headed goal gave West Ham an equaliser in the second half. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
Unai Emery’s need to buy a new defender was exacerbated after Tyrone Mings, who only returned from more than a year out with an ACL injury in October, departed the field in tears in the first half to leave Ezri Konsa as Aston Villa’s only recognised senior centre-half for the last hour of this tetchy draw.
The Villa manager will have to make do and mend for this Wednesday’s crucial European game here against Celtic as, with Pau Torres out with a fractured foot and Diego Carlos having forced through a £10m move to Fenerbahce, the left-back Lucas Digne was asked to partner Konsa.
Although Mings returned to sit on the bench without crutches in the second half, he looked to be fearing the worst as he injured his left knee in a fair first-half tackle by Mohammed Kudus. West Ham, who lost here in the FA Cup in Graham Potter’s first game in charge a fortnight ago, capitalised on Villa’s strange decision to play the diminutive Digne at centre-back thereon in and deserved their headed equaliser from Emerson.
Emery reported that the initial reports were promising. “The first test we did I think it’s not a really bad injury for a long time. Tomorrow we will test again and we will know how bad his injury is.”
It was a feisty encounter; perhaps relations between the clubs had been affected by Villa’s irritation with West Ham’s £57m bid for Jhon Durán, their supersub, on the eve of last Tuesday’s defeat in Monaco.
Emery has been linked with a move for Juan Foyth, the former Tottenham defender whom Emery managed at Villarreal. “We are trying to be intelligent and make the relevant transfer window,” the Villa manager said afterwards. “I know Foyth because I worked with him, he has quality and the performance we want to add in the squad.”
This is the sixth successive time following Champions League action that Villa have failed to win in the league. Jacob Ramsey, the only change to the XI who kicked off the lacklustre defeat in Monaco on Tuesday, gave Villa the lead in the eighth minute with his first goal in the Premier League for 16 months.
Villa were already on the front foot when Ramsey played the ball in to Ollie Watkins and surged onto the return, his momentum taking him clean past Vladimir Coufal to strike a crisp, left-footed shot into the far bottom corner. “He’s one of our own,” sang the Holte End.
West Ham had not had more than a sniff of Villa’s goal in the opening half hour and, after a run of one win and four defeats in the last six games, looked set for a long and painful evening. The loss of Mings extracted the stuffing out of Villa, however.
They seemed to lose their cohesion, spirit and shape after he went off. Having started six games in a row, after returning from 446 days out with his last ACL injury, the England centre-back rocked his left knee when challenged, fairly but firmly, by Kudus, and fell awkwardly.
Although the former Villa captain carried on for a couple of minutes, he was clearly in discomfort, and, with his arms down on his thighs in despair, Villa Park stood to acclaim the unfortunate player as he made his way down the touchline, with his shirt held over his face to hide his dismay. He re-emerged to sit on the bench in the second half.
A win over Celtic here on Wednesday should enable Villa to finish in the top eight of the Champions League, thus saving them two playoff games next month before the last 16.
Potter felt his side had already been coming back more into the game but acknowledged Mings’s departure was a turning point. “I thought we just grew into the game a little bit more,” the West Ham manager said. “Villa have to adjust so it affects them, obviously. But I thought from it was a period before that where we were starting to get a bit more of a foothold in the game.”
The second half continued in stop-start fashion before West Ham gradually took control. There was not much subtlety about their approach – nor did there need to be – as they worked the play as often as possible to cross from the right flank towards the back post.
Konsa had to clear off the line from Carlos Soler after Emiliano Martínez dropped Kudus’s cross; Emerson had already arrived late to miss one golden chance before he did score. Edson Álvarez clipped a ball from the inside-right channel and, sure enough, in came one of West Ham’s four starting full-backs to head in their equaliser.
The game finished in a frenetic, tired mess of end-to-end playground football, with West Ham looking the likelier to steal the extra points as Tomas Soucek headed over, Danny Ings, the former Villa striker, shot just wide, and Soucek was correctly given offside before he passed for Lucas Paquetá to turn the ball over the line.
