Paper Talk: Lukaku in demand; Turkish side want Chelsea striker

Tammy Abraham: Wanted by Galatasaray

Four leading clubs have emerged as contenders to sign £75m-rated Romelu Lukaku from Everton, while Galatasaray are in for a Chelsea forward, according to Wednesday’s newspapers.

 

QUARTET SQUARE OFF AS LUKAKU PLANS EVERTON EXIT

Romelu Lukaku’s refusal to sign a new deal at Everton means four clubs are likely to square off in the battle to sign him this summer.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus and PSG are ready to square off and battle to sign the Belgian, who the Daily Telegraph claims, has rejected an offer worth £140,000 a week – double his current wage – to stay at Goodison Park.

Lukaku’s former club Chelsea believe they are frontrunners to sign the striker, according to the Daily Mirror, though their hopes of re-signing him could hinge on selling Diego Costa first with the striker refusing to play second fiddle at Stamford Bridge again.

The Blues saw a £57million bid turned down last summer – but it’s likely his fee will fetch nearer £75million should Everton be forced to sell this summer.

Manchester United, PSG and Juventus are also keen to sign the striker, though United would likely only swoop for him if a deal for long-term target Antoine Griezmann doesn’t come off. PSG could certainly compete and give the player the CL football he craves, while it’s not sure if Juventus would go as high as £75million.

All the same, the player’s departure from Goodison Park now seems certain after his refusal to sign a new deal at Goodison – a deal which just two weeks ago his agent had claimed was “99.9999% agreed”.

 

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MARKO GRUJIC OFFERED LIVERPOOL ESCAPE

Dinamo Zagreb are targeting a loan move for Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic, who has failed to make the breakthrough at Liverpool this season.

The Serbian was Jurgen Klopp’s first signing at Anfield in January 2016, his £5.1million transfer eventually going through in the summer.

However, after earning rave reviews at his previous club, Grujic has featured just four times for the Reds this season after an injury-hit campaign.

That’s not say Liverpool don’t want to keep him or see him as a decent long-term prospect, but a loan move where he could continue his development looks to be on the cards, with Champions League regulars Zagreb ready to offer it.

Dinamo manager Zdravko Mamic, speaking to Croatian outlet index, said: “I wanted to sign Andrija Zivkovic, but I could not. Now I’m trying to loan from Liverpool Marko Grujic.”

Zagreb fared terribly in this season’s Champions League, finishing bottom of their group and losing all six of their matches against Juventus, Sevilla and Lyon.

 

AND THE REST

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is not interested in returning to Barcelona. The Spanish champions are looking for a replacement for Luis Enrique, who has announced he is leaving at the end of the season (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, 19, who has scored 18 times in 32 Championship games on loan at Bristol City, is wanted by Turkish club Galatasaray (The Sun)

Marseille teenager Maxime Lopez says Liverpool approached him last year, telling him he could be Philippe Coutinho’s successor

Aitor Karanka faces a make-or-break clash with Manchester United at the Riverside on Sunday (Daily Mirror)

Gareth Southgate is considering an England recall for Andy Carroll (Daily Mirror)

Slaven Bilic’s future will not be decided before the end of the season, despite claims last week that a new deal was close for the popular West Ham boss (Daily Mirror)

West Ham have enquired about signing unsettled Arsenal striker Lucas Perez in the summer (The Sun)

Arsenal are still in the hunt to sign the Scottish defender Kieran Tierney as Arsene Wenger looks to bolster his defence (The Sun)

Southampton are battling old boss Ronald Koeman and Everton for Sporting Lisbon defender Ruben Semedo (The Sun)

West Ham are considering making a summer bid to sign Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic (The Sun)

Swansea have completed a surprise swoop for the teenage half-brother of Chelsea icon Eidur Gudjohnsen – 16-year-old Arnor Borg Gudjohnsen

Neil Warnock has sensationally claimed he doesn’t care if he is sacked as Cardiff City manager as he can walk into another job straightaway

Liverpool starlet Ben Woodburn looks set to commit his future to Wales and is in line for a call-up to their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland next week (Daily Star)

Harry Kane: Continued his recent goal haul

Harry Kane expects to face Arsenal next month – despite damaging ankle ligaments (Daily Star)

Former Liverpool and Tottenham striker Ronny Rosenthal is fronting a consortium looking to take over at troubled League One club Charlton (Daily Express)

Jose Mourinho was left seething as Manchester United’s scheduled flight failed to show up on time after Chelsea defeat on Monday (Daily Mail)

Arsenal stars face losing bonuses worth millions if they fail to qualify for the Champions League (Daily Mail)

Diego Costa is enjoying life at Chelsea but fears Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois could be set for summer moves to Real Madrid

Manchester United checked in on Benfica centre back Victor Lindelof again on Monday night, as Jose Mourinho pushes ahead with plans to stiffen up his back line (Daily Mail)

Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis is in the closing stages of a deal to buy Nottingham Forest (Daily Mail)

West Ham defender Winston Reid will be offered a double-your-money new contact this summer (Daily Mail)

Bayern Munich will take on two English opponents in pre-season next summer after lining up friendlies against Arsenal and Chelsea in China and Singapore (Daily Mail)

Pedro Caixinha began his Rangers rebuild yesterday by axeing veteran goalkeeping coach Jim Stewart (Daily Record)

 

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