Paper Talk: Lindelof agrees Man Utd move; Liverpool target swap

Victor Lindelof: D-Day close

Manchester United look to have sealed a deal for Victor Lindelof, while Liverpool appear to have cooled their interest in a previous top target, according to Thursday’s newspapers.

 

MANCHESTER UNITED ‘AGREE DEAL’ TO SIGN LINDELOF

Manchester United have reportedly finalised a pre-contract agreement with Benfica to sign Victor Lindelof for a fee expected to be £38million this summer.

The two clubs had been in talks over a deal for the defender in January where it was reported United had failed to agree a deal to sign the Swede.

However, reports in Italy claim that while a deal to bring the defender to Old Trafford in January wasn’t finalised, a pre-contract agreement was, giving United first refusal for the player and a £38million summer swoop.

United acted fast to ‘tie down’ their man amid rival interest from Chelsea, while reports in the Daily Star on Thursday morning suggest Roma too are ready to enter the race to sign him – and will try and convince Benfica to sell to them.

They’re reportedly keen on the player as they look to replace Kostas Manolas.

However, United look to have the upper hand with a deal expected to be sealed in the summer.

 

LIVERPOOL INTEREST IN DAHOUD COOLS

Liverpool appear to have cooled their interest in Borussia Monchengladbach star Mahmoud Dahoud, according to reports on Thursday.

The player has long been linked with a move to Anfield under Jurgen Klopp and the Reds’ hopes appeared to have taken a big upturn earlier this week when the player’s price was revealed to be just £8.5m.

Liverpool tried to bring the player to Anfield last summer but with Monchengladbach refusing to sell, Klopp continued to trail the player and a summer 2017 swoop was expected.

But James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo believes the Reds have gone cold on Dahoud.

He wrote: “All gone very quiet on Dahoud. Liverpool were very keen last summer but Moenchengladbach didn’t want to sell.

“Since then I’ve not heard Dahoud mentioned. I’ll get on the case.”

It’s believed Klopp has instead made the signing of Leverkusen’s Julain Brandt his focus instead.

AND THE REST

West Ham will sell French left-back Arthur Masuaku, 23, in the summer – less than a year after he joined the Hammers on a four-year deal from Olympiakos (Daily Mirror)

Barcelona legend Xavi says his former boss Pep Guardiola will consider making a shock move for Jack Wilshere

Usain Bolt believes he would be as good as Wayne Rooney if Jose Mourinho signed him for Manchester United (The Sun)

Former Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski is leaving Galatasaray in the summer to join Japanese J. League side Vissel Kobe (The Sun)

Blackburn striker Anthony Stokes could be heading for the exit in a shock move to Polish top-flight side Jagiellonia Bialystok (The Sun)

Manchester United had an £85m bid for Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller, 27, turned down in the summer, says the German club’s chief financial officer

 

Real Madrid are considering a swoop for Manchester City flop Nicolas Otamendi (The Sun)

Mark Clattenburg will stun the Premier League by quitting before the next round of fixtures after growing frustrated by the lack of support from the officials governing body (The Sun)

A study has revealed that Real Madrid star Gareth Bale is the fastest footballer on the planet (The Sun)

Southampton remain confident of signing free agent Martin Caceres, 29, despite interest in the defender from Barcelona (Daily Echo)

John Terry has snubbed the chance to leave Chelsea for a move to MLS after rejecting three offers from three clubs (Daily Star)

Antonio Conte has put Juventus star Claudio Marchisio on his Chelsea shopping list (Daily Star)

Real Madrid star Luka Modric would be Slaven Bilic’s No1 transfer target at West Ham and not Lionel Messi (Daily Express)

Juventus striker Paulo Dybala says he is close to signing a new contract – despite reported interest from Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid (Daily Express)

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly told Real Madrid not to sell Karim Benzema this summer (Daily Express)

Luis Enrique is in the firing line at Barcelona after an angry bust-up following the PSG hammering (Daily Express)

Ronald Koeman is on Barcelona’s shortlist to become their next manager, should Luis Enrique be sacked. The Everton boss used to play at the Nou Camp but has always resisted leaving a managerial job after one year (Daily Mirror)

Dele Alli: Man City target

Tottenham star Dele Alli is a £100m player as he’s better than Manchester United’s world-record buy Paul Pogba, says former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp (Daily Mirror)

West Ham are resigned to taking a big hit on £6m flop Arthur Masuaku in the summer (Daily Mirror)

Bob Bradley concedes he could not find the answers in his time at Swansea and “failed” (Daily Mirror)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be the ideal signing for Napoli, according to the club’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis (Daily Mail)

Owen Coyle’s role as manager of Blackburn Rovers is under threat as they slipped to second from bottom of the Championship following Tuesday’s defeat at Sheffield Wednesday (Daily Mail)

Diego Maradona gave Napoli’s players a team talk ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie with Real Madrid on Wednesday night (Daily Mail)

Jorge Sampaoli: Snubbed by Chelsea

Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli, the man Chelsea almost appointed as head coach, is the leading contender to succeed Luis Enrique at Barcelona (Daily Telegraph)

Harry Kane says losing makes him feel embarrassed, but he’s happy the team are fighting on three fronts and he’s hoping they can win at least one trophy (Daily Telegraph)

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is hoping to raise £400m for the club’s new stadium through the naming rights (The Times)

 

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