Paper Talk: Chelsea to rebuff Barca approach; Isco’s exit hint

Andreas Christensen: Impressing while out on loan

Chelsea will resist any approach from Barcelona and Bayern Munich for one of their upcoming stars, while Isco has given his Premier League suitors hope of signing him, according to Tuesday’s newspapers.

 

CHELSEA VOW TO KEEP ‘BARCELONA TARGET’ CHRISTENSEN

Chelsea have no plans to sell defender Andreas Christensen. The Danish centre-back is impressing on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach where he has attracted attention from the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

However, Chelsea plan to integrate him back into their first-team squad once he returns in the summer especially with key figures such as John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic moving towards the end of their careers.

Christensen is classed as homegrown after joining Chelsea from Brondby in 2012. He is a ball-playing centre-back, with a passing accuracy average of 91 per cent this season, and has picked up good experience playing in the Champions League and has eight caps for Denmark.

Chelsea remain in the market for another defender despite signing David Luiz in the summer and will look to see who is available in January but their lack of Champions League football could work against them.

Centre-backs are also at a premium as the £50m-plus valuations on Leonardo Bonucci of Juventus and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly testify.

As a consequence, Chelsea value 20-year-old Christensen highly, they know he wants to continue his progression by playing regular first team football when he comes back and plan to reject any prospective offers from suitors.

He was player of the season for Gladbach last year who are willing to break their club record transfer to sign him on a permanent deal and he is a target for more of Europe’s elite but he has three years left on contract at Chelsea next summer and they intend to rebuff all offers, according to the Daily Mail.

ISCO WILL QUIT REAL IF SITUATION DOESN’T IMPROVE

Isco: Linked to Spurs and Man Utd

Isco has admitted he could leave Real Madrid amid reported interest from Manchester United, Tottenham and Juventus.

The 24-year-old was fallen down the pecking order under Zinedine Zidane at the Bernabeu and has started just once in La Liga so far this season.

And the Spain international, who has been linked with a move to Old Trafford, says he could be forced to quit the club he joined from Malaga in 2013 if he cannot secure a more regular role.

He said: “If I’ve still only made a few appearances by the end of the season, I’ll look elsewhere.

“At 24 years of age I have to right to better myself.”

Isco, who was linked with a move to Juventus in the Italian media over the weekend, has been mentioned as a possible target for Jose Mourinho as he ‘seeks a replacement for Wayne Rooney’.

The former Malaga star, meanwhile, is said to be Tottenham’s top target in January, with Mauricio Pochettino ‘crazy’ to bring in the playmaker.

 

AND THE REST

Neymar & Lionel Messi: Linked with Premier League moves

Paris Saint-Germain are set to launch a deal worth over £200m to land Neymar from Barcelona next summer (The Sun)

Manchester City want 13-year-old Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembele to add to their growing academy of young stars (The Sun)

West Ham’s injury curse has struck again after winger Gokhan Tore was ruled out for five weeks (The Sun)

Leicester City’s owners have been splashing the cash again – on a £11m super yacht (The Sun)

Manchester United are checking out Valencia starlet Fran Villalba (The Sun)

Jurgen Klinsmann has hit back at Swansea’s new boss Bob Bradley over claims that he was ‘jockeying’ for the USA manager job (The Sun)

Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of Georginio Wijnaldum for their clash with Manchester United (Daily Mirror)

Rio Ferdinand has been mocked over his fitness programme – by none other than former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo (Daily Mirror)

Paul Pogba silenced his doubters by scoring scored a 30-yard piledriver for France in their World Cup Qualifier against Holland (Daily Mirror)

Frank Lampard has admitted he wants to go into management once his playing days are over but only if it is at Chelsea (Daily Mirror)

Hull are ready to make Abel Hernandez the club’s highest earner in a hope to ward off any January suitors (Daily Mirror)

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, 29, will return from a groin injury to face Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday and will be fit for next week’s match against Manchester City in the Champions League (Mundo Deportivo)

Liverpool fans are unhappy after Mancunian official Anthony Taylor was appointed referee for the match against Manchester United (Daily Star)

Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero needs a scan for a calf injury picked up during a training session with Argentina (Daily Star)

Manchester United made a move to appoint Jose Mourinho three years earlier than they did – before having to settle for David Moyes, according to reports (Daily Express)

Leicester wanted Napoli striker Manolo Gabbiadini over the summer (Daily Express)

All Manchester City academy stars must wear black boots as they rise through the ranks in a bid to keep the players grounded as they are learning their trade (Daily Mail)

John Terry has offered his full backing of dropped England captain Wayne Rooney, calling for more respect to be shown to a ‘great player and man’ (Daily Mail)

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho feels fellow Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, 19, will have no difficulty in adapting to life at Manchester City when the new signing arrives in January (Manchester Evening News)

Phil Neville has turned down an approach to join Aston Villa’s new backroom staff and is focused on becoming a manager (Daily Telegraph)

The Football Association has not re-examined the findings of the multi-million pound Lord Stevens Report which raised questions about Sam Allardyce, despite sacking him for telling undercover journalists he could get around the governing body’s rules (The Independent)

Arsenal look set to have a fight on their hands if they are to keep hold of defender Hector Bellerin, with Barcelona putting him at the top of their transfer list (The Independent)

FIFA is facing legal action in the Swiss courts over its alleged complicity in the mistreatment of migrant workers in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup (The Guardian)