Paper Talk: Senegal star set for £55m United move; Casillas link

Manchester United could beat their Premier League rivals to a Napoli defender, while Newcastle are favourites to sign a Spain great, according to Thursday’s papers.

 

THREE-WAY BATTLE TO LAND NAPOLI STAR

There will be a three-way Premier League battle to land Napoli stopper Kalidou Koulibaly this summer, according to reports.

The Senegal international has developed into one of the finest defenders in Serie A during his four-year stint in Italy, and has been previously linked with both Arsenal and Chelsea.

But Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has now entered the race to land the 26-year-old, according to a report in the Daily Mirror.

The report goes on to state that potential suitors are keen to get a £55million deal done for the Senegal star before the World Cup, as his value is expected to rocket after the summer showpiece.

United’s hopes of landing the player have been boosted after it was revealed that he was discovered by ex-Genk chief scout Roland Janssen, who is now working at Old Trafford.

Janssen also plucked Wilfred Ndidi from obscurity to take him to Genk and spotted an 18-year-old Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who has also been linked with United, in Serbia.

 

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AND THE REST

Manchester United are set to re-open contract talks with forward Anthony Martial, whose current deal runs out in the summer of 2019 (Daily Star)

Lyon youngster Houssem Aouar is flattered by links with Premier League side Liverpool as he comes towards the end of his first full season in senior football (Daily Star)

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to receive his first senior England call for the friendlies with Italy and the Netherlands later this month (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle are the favourites to sign Porto’s 36-year-old former Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas on a free transfer this summer (Newcastle Chronicle)

Mauricio Pochettino’s record of developing young players is tempting Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon to join Tottenham in the summer (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson apologised and claimed his Twitter account had been hacked after an offensive message aimed at Tottenham’s Dele Alli appeared and was quickly deleted (Daily Mirror)

Barcelona have ended talks with Gremio over a deal to sign midfielder Arthur after refusing to meet his £45m release clause (The Sun)

David Gold claims West Ham were misled by the London Stadium architects over original seating for the ground (The Sun)

Stoke defender Kevin Wimmer has been placed on a special fitness regime after being deemed not fit enough for Paul Lambert’s pressing style of football (Daily Telegraph)

West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt is only two games away from triggering a one-year contract extension (Daily Telegraph)

Liverpool midfielder Emre Can’s agent has “blocked all negotiations” regarding the 24-year-old Germany international’s future (Daily Express)

Lazio are lining up a move for Real Betis midfielder Fabian Ruiz as they expect Manchester United target Sergey Milinkovic-Savic to leave in the summer (Daily Express)

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has hired a new agent ahead of a possible move away from Anfield (Daily Express)

Daniel Levy has taken personal charge of Tottenham’s search for a stadium sponsor after dispensing with the services of specialist sponsorship firm TRM (Daily Mail)

Brighton, Crystal Palace and West Ham are all interested in Lille defender Ibrahim Amadou (Croydon Advertiser)

West Brom are set to stick with boss Alan Pardew for the foreseeable future because of the paucity of possible replacements (Daily Mail)

Sunderland’s English defender Michael Ledger, 20, is set to sign a two-year deal with Norwegian side Notodden FK (Sunderland Echo)