Paper Talk: Liverpool chase France U21 star; Rooney pay hike

Jordan Amavi: Linked with Liverpool switch

Jordan Amavi: Linked with Liverpool switch

Wayne Rooney will be offered a world-record wage to move to China, while Liverpool will rival Marseille for a highly-rated Aston Villa star in January, according to the Christmas Eve newspapers.

 

CHINESE CLUBS PREPARED TO PAY ROONEY WORLD’S BEST PAID PLAYER

Wayne Rooney will be offered £700,000-a-week to move to the Chinese Super League with two clubs in China keen on the striker, according to reports on Christmas Eve.

The money being offered to Rooney would represent close to a 200% pay rise for the Manchester United skipper, who is currently thought to be on £235,000 a week at Old Trafford, and would also make him the world’s highest-paid player.

According to the Daily Mirror, clubs Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao – the richest club in China – and Beijing Guoan have targeted 31-year-old Rooney as the stellar signing to take Chinese football to the next level.

And they are stepping up efforts to raise the profile of the CSL with Chelsea star Oscar the latest name to join their growing list of stars with the Brazilian joining Shanghai SIPG in a £52million deal worth £400,000 a week.

Former Manchester United and City star Carlos Tevez is also on his way to Shanghai Shenhua on a staggering £615,000-a-week.

But any deal for Rooney would shatter those sums being paid, and it’s claimed Rooney – who currently has two years left on his deal at Old Trafford – would give the offers serious consideration after finding his game time at United limited this season.

Rooney, who would cost around £10million, is, however, unlikely to quit United in the January window.

He stands just two goals away from breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time scoring record and is determined to pass that marker. Rooney is on 248 goals – one short of Charlton’s milestone which has stood for over 43 years.

 

LIVERPOOL TO RIVAL MARSEILLE FOR AMAVI

Liverpool are set to rival Marseille in the race to sign Jordan Amavi after making the Aston Villa full-back their top target, according to reports in France.

The French club’s sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has made the 22-year-old his top January priority.

However, French publication Foot Mercato claims Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is also keen on Amavi and a move to Anfield would be favoured by the Villa star.

Amavi became an instant fans’ favourite at Aston Villa despite being part of one of their worst squads in living memory.

Villa finished bottom of the league with just 17 points last season, although Amavi sat out most of the campaign after rupturing his cruciate ligaments in November.

But the £10m signing has been much improved in this season’s Championship campaign, starring in Steve Bruce’s side’s push up the table.

Liverpool have so far been forced to play midfielder James Milner as a makeshift left-back, and although the former England star has impressed, the Reds’ leaky defence has prompted Klopp to try and sign more specialists – and Amavi is seen an attainable target.

It’s thought Villa would let the player go if they received an offer of around £15million.

 

AND THE REST

Everton are poised to make a formal approach for Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, the out-of-favour Manchester United players (Daily Telegraph)

Southampton have moved to ward off suitors by placing a £60m valuation on their Dutch centre-back and captain Virgil van Dijk (Daily Telegraph)

Everton manager Ronald Koeman is weighing up a possible swap deal involving Ross Barkley and Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo has emerged as a £14m target for Valencia (Daily Mirror)

Southampton and West Brom are both keen on signing Hoffenheim defender Fabian Schar in January (Daily Mirror)

Barcelona swooped for a nine-year-old Scottish footballer playing for Paisley – but got rejected (Daily Mirror)

Everton are set to bid £4m for Ipswich centre-back Adam Webster (Daily Mirror)

Benfica centre-back Victor Lindelof has been seen signing a fan’s Manchester United shirt in his home town of Vasteras in Sweden, ahead of his reported switch to Old Trafford (The Sun)

Barcelona’s contract talks with Lionel Messi have hit a brick wall, with the Argentine star aiming to become the world’s highest-paid player (The Sun)

Burnley are ready to turn their backs on a deal for Joey Barton as their former midfielder faces a 10-match ban for betting (The Sun)

Toni Kroos: Faces spell on the sidelines

Juventus want Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos in a £76m deal as the Serie A champions hunt for the new Andrea Pirlo (The Sun)

Manchester United will offer Zlatan Ibrahimovic a coaching role to try to keep the 35-year-old Swedish striker at the club (Daily Star)

Chelsea and Tottenham are ready to raid Barcelona’s academy with a swoop for promising 18-year-old left-back Marc Cucurella (The Sun)

Nigerian striker Henry Onyekuru wants to join Arsenal after a blistering start to the season for Belgian side KAS Eupen (The Sun)

Crystal Palace will pay new boss Sam Allardyce £4m if he keeps the Eagles in the Premier League (Daily Mail)

Former Manchester United manager David Moyes claims Gareth Bale was his No 1 target during his time at Old Trafford (Daily Mail)

Danny Welbeck has returned to Arsenal training after a seven month lay-off but manager Arsene Wenger has urged caution with his injury-prone striker (Daily Mail)

Hull boss Mike Phelan is hopeful winger Robert Snodgrass and five other key players will commit themselves to the club beyond their one-year contract extensions (The Guardian)

Julian Draxler says he is ready to move as Liverpool consider swooping for the Wolfsburg star (Daily Star)

Sam Allardyce will be handed a £20m war chest to keep Crystal Palace in the Premier League (Daily Star)

Jordan Rhodes and David Nugent could be on their way from Teesside in a Middlesbrough January clear-out (Daily Star)

Arsenal are reportedly lining up a shock January move for Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford

Ryan Giggs claims he got the lowdown on Antonio Conte from Manchester United star Matteo Darmian (Daily Star)

Claude Puel insists Southampton will resist whatever cash is waved in front of them for defender Virgil van Dijk next month (Daily Express)

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson says he talks to Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho regularly as he seeks to gain experience at Wolves (Daily Express)

John Barnes believes Jurgen Klopp has brought a swagger to Liverpool that could aid their Premier League title challenge – but they do need to defend better (Daily Express)

Man City manager Pep Guardiola says he has “no plans for a major signing” in January and would happily complete the season with his current squad (The Guardian)

Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday insists their Ibrox squad is good enough to challenge Celtic without any new signings (Daily Record)

West Ham have been linked with a £8.5m move for Serbian midfielder Luka Milivojevic from Greek champions Olympiakos (Daily Record)