Euro Paper Talk: Liverpool ask about veteran star; Man Utd make first move for ‘dream’ Mourinho signing
Manchester United have set the wheels in motion to sign their No 1 midfield target, while Liverpool have enquired about a veteran star, according to Thursday’s European papers.
UNITED MAKE HUGE CONTRACT OFFER ON TABLE TO TEMPT KROOS
Manchester United have contacted Toni Kroos’ representatives to see if they can tempt him to move to Old Trafford this summer.
United are in the market for new central midfielders this summer and it’s suggested Kroos and Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have emerged as Jose Mourinho’s prime targets.
The Red Devils know a deal for Kroos will be tough given he is seen as one of Real Madrid’s untouchable stars, but a report in Spain claims the club has at least tried to set some wheels in motion.
According to Don Balon, United have offered to seriously up Kroos’ current £200,000 a week package at the Bernabeu with figures of £350,000 a week being bandied about.
However, the report adds that persuading Kroos will be only half the battle for United. With the player settled in the Spanish capital and seemingly content to honour his current contract, Real Madrid are seemingly unwilling to enter negotiations on a sale and would only consider a move should the player come to them first and push for a transfer.
With that in mind, United and Mourinho are also said to have lined up a number of other midfield targets, with the likes of Jorginho and Fred also on their radar.
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AND THE REST
Liverpool have asked Real Madrid about the availability of Luka Modric this summer after Jurgen Klopp outlined the 33-year-old Croatian as a key midfield addition (Diario Gol)
Barcelona are confident of agreeing a new deal for Samuel Umtiti – raising the Manchester United target’s buy-out to €250million (Mundo Deportivo)
Barcelona will, however, prioritise a move for Sevilla’s Clement Langlet should they lose Umtiti this summer (Mundo Deportivo)
PSG are willing to sell Neymar to Manchester United for £350million after taking the view that his sale is the answer to their Financial Fair Play concerns and allow them to keep the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler (Don Balon)
PSG will sign Cristiano Ronaldo as a replacement for Neymar with the profit they make from his sale (Don Balon)
Manchester United are willing to offload David De Gea, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to generate the funds needed to meet the £157m exit clause in Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s Barcelona deal (Don Balon)
Manchester United have shortlisted highly-rated Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler as a prime target this summer (Sport)
Lazio have made contact with Everton over the availability of defender Ramiro Funes Mori (Corriere dello Sport)
Atletico Madrid are growing increasingly confident Antoine Griezmann will perform a U-turn and opt to stay at the club this summer (AS)
Juventus are monitoring Dennis Praet and Andre Gomes amid fears top target Emre Can has agreed to join Bayern Munich (Corriere dello Sport)
Inter Milan will extend Luciano Spalletti’s contract if he earns Champions League qualification (Calciomercato)
AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu could be facing several months out after suffering a serious knee injury (Tuttosport)
Radja Nainggolan has warned Liverpool that Roma cannot be taken lightly when they face off in the Champions League semi-finals (UEFA)
Real Betis defender Rafa Navarro is set to join Sporting Gijon (El Comercio)
Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has reiterated his happiness at the club after rejecting a move to Real Madrid and renewing his contract this year (Cadena Cope)
Arsenal are readying a €60m bid for PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot, while Juventus are also keen (Tuttosport)