Manchester United are willing to spend big to lure a midfield lynchpin to Old Trafford in January, while a report has detailed just how close Arsenal came to landing Antoine Griezmann two years ago – all in Wednesday’s newspapers.
MAN UTD MAKE SOLID BID FOR GERMANY STAR
Manchester United are reported to have contacted Real Madrid to register their interest in Toni Kroos.
That’s the inside track from German newspaper SportBild, who reports United have informed Los Blancos they are willing to spend £64.9m (€75m) to finally snare a player who almost signed for the club back in 2013 when David Moyes took charge.
And while it’s claimed Real are finally ready to relent and cash-in on the 29-year-old, it’s suggested they will use United’s wish to sign Kroos as leverage in their own pursuit of Paul Pogba.
United, however, have no interest in selling Pogba mid-season but it’s suggested they could arrange to grant Pogba the move at the end of the season, should Real let them sign Kroos when the January window reopens.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been told he has money to spend this winter and while he is intent on signing upcoming, talented British stars, he also recognises their need to add more guile and experience to their side – and midfield engine Kroos is seen as the ideal candidate.
United have also been linked with a swoop for Juventus’ former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can.
Reports in Spain, meanwhile, claim Real are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic and will look to include Isco in their offer for the Bosnia & Herzegovina schemer.
AND THE REST
Arsenal’s failure to qualify for the Champions League at the end of the 2016/17 campaign cost them the chance to sign France forward Antoine Griezmann, who was then with Atletico Madrid (Daily Star)
Arsenal youth coach Freddie Ljungberg is in line to take over as manager should Unai Emery get sacked (Daily Star)
Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann wanted to join Arsenal over the Reds (Daily Star)
Manchester United have been linked with a January move for former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can (Daily Express)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly passed on the chance to sign Mario Mandzukic and Fernando Llorente after Romelu Lukaku’s move to Inter Milan (Daily Express)
Tottenham have upped their pursuit of Jose Mourinho amid uncertainty over the position of Manchester United target Mauricio Pochettino (Daily Express)
Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has pleaded with his Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale to stay at the club after the Wales forward almost left the club last summer (The Independent)
Barcelona are reportedly willing to sell Ivan Rakitic but the Croatia midfielder is not thought to be keen on a move to Manchester United (Daily Mirror)
Jermaine Jenas says he can recall 12 occasions where “racism was rife” when he played for England (Daily Mirror)
Bournemouth are lining up Fenerbahce striker Vedat Muriqi as a potential replacement for Manchester United target Callum Wilson (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool’s Champions League triumph could be the catalyst for them winning a very first Premier League title this season, according to former midfielder Paul Ince (Daily Mirror)
Olivier Giroud has warned Chelsea he will not think twice about leaving unless he gets more game time (The Sun)
Chelsea are keen on Linfield teenager Charlie Allen but face a battle with Spurs and Southampton to sign the midfielder (The Sun)
PSG striker Edinson Cavani is reportedly being lined up for a free transfer to Juventus despite interest from Manchester United (The Sun)
FIFA are likely to delay the selection process to decide which country hosts the 2030 World Cup until 2023 (The Sun)
Gary Rowett, Adam Barrett, and Gareth Ainsworth are on the shortlist for the Millwall manager’s job (The Sun)
Claudio Ranieri has accused Fulham of using algorithms to conduct their transfer business (The Sun)
Far-right ultras could be seen disguised as match stewards in the Vasil Levski stadium in Sofia as racist incidents marred England’s win against Bulgaria (The Times)
Dundee United boss Robbie Neilson is on the verge of signing a new deal within 48 hours (The Times)
Barcelona are set ‘to make January swoop’ for 17-year-old Salzburg starlet Karim Adeyemi to continue their youth revolution (Daily Mail)
Neymar wanted to join Real Madrid in the summer and only considered a return to Barcelona when Madrid pulled out of the race to sign him (Daily Mail)
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