Paper Talk: Man Utd man has pick of six; £35m Newcastle splurge
Manchester United winger Ashley Young has the choice of six clubs as he looks to leave Old Trafford, while Newcastle are keen to spend £35m on a pair of Croatian talents, according to Tuesday’s newspapers.
Add Sky Sports for just £18 extra a month, if you already have Sky Cinema
SIX SUITORS FOR YOUNG AS WINGER ASKS TO LEAVE MAN UTD
Ashley Young is reported to have asked Jose Mourinho if he can leave Manchester United on a loan deal after becoming frustrated by a lack of regular first-team football.
The 31-year-old, however, is highly regarded by Mourinho and his coaching staff, despite last starting a Premier League game during November’s win at Swansea.
West Ham, West Brom, Watford, Crystal Palace and Swansea are all believed to have made enquiries for Young, while the Daily Mail also claims Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng remain interested.
The paper, however, claims that Mourinho would prefer to keep Young and use him in their FA Cup and Europa League campaigns, but will still, nonetheless, consider Young’s request.
NEWCASTLE TIPPED FOR DOUBLE RAID ON ZAGREB
Newcastle have reportedly asked Dynamo Zagreb about Ante Coric and Filip Benkovic as part of a transfer push that could see the Magpies spend £35m before deadline day.
Magpies boss Rafa Benitez is said to be keen on landing the duo, both aged 19, by next Tuesday.
Coric is a regular in Zagreb’s midfield, having made his debut for the club back in 2014.
He earned his Croatia debut last year and was called up to their Euro 2016 squad; he was also the subject of our Scout feature, having drawn comparisons with Real Madrid star Luka Modric.
The player has long been linked with Liverpool and is also a reported target for Everton.
Meanwhile, Croatian newspaper Sportske claim the Magpies see Benkovic as a viable defensive target.
However, Benkovic would likely cost £25m, which may be beyond Newcastle’s limit.
Benkovic is yet to play for the national team but does boast a handful of Croatia youth caps.
He has picked up two yellow cards in 19 games for Zagreb this season.
AND THE REST
Chelsea are ready to go head-to-head with Manchester United for Benfica defender Victor Lindelof in the summer (Daily Mirror)
Yaya Toure insists he would never move to China for money. The Manchester City midfielder wants to stay in England after snubbing a blockbuster offer (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool have opened talks with Philippe Coutinho as they look to reward the Brazilian for his scintillating displays this season (The Times)
Steve Gibson has rejected a Chinese consortium bid to buy into Middlesbrough (Daily Mirror)
Sunderland have offered a short-term deal to Joleon Lescott as Patrick van Aanholt closes in on a move to Crystal Palace (Daily Mirror)
Southampton have made a fresh enquiry for Napoli striker Manolo Gabbiadini (Daily Mirror)
PFA chief Ritchie Humphreys insists the incident involving Ryan Mason must be used to ensure players’ welfare is never taken for granted (Daily Mirror)
Sunderland defender Papy Djilobodji is set to be handed a four-game ban – meaning David Moyes will be without thirteen first-team players (Daily Mirror)
Sheffield Wednesday plan to outbid Aston Villa and pay £8m plus add-ons for Middlesbrough ace Jordan Rhodes (Daily Mirror)
Juventus star and former Barcelona defender Dani Alves is a target for three Chinese Super League clubs, according to reports (The Sun)
Marcus Rashford will be handed another Manchester United pay rise next season after winning over boss Jose Mourinho (The Sun)
Arsenal’s attacking midfielder Gedion Zelalem is set to join Dutch outfit VVV Venlo on loan until the end of the season (The Sun)
Thibaut Courtois says he is happy at Stamford Bridge which is a huge boost for boss Antonio Conte (The Sun)
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has won the race for Barnsley’s £3m right-back James Bree (The Sun)
Arsene Wenger is considering a £34.5m move for Porto’s Euro 2016-winning midfielder Danilo Pereira (The Sun)
Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani are set for a welcome return to relegation-threatened Leicester after Algeria are knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (The Sun)
Ashley Young has asked Jose Mourinho if he can leave Manchester United on loan (Daily Mail)
Barcelona have made a surprise check on Falkirk’s 17-year-old left back Tony Gallacher but face competition from Liverpool, Celtic and Manchester City (Daily Mail)
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce is keen on loaning Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom (Daily Mail)
Derby are interested in signing Villa frontman Ross McCormack (Daily Mail)
Everton defender Phil Jagielka will weigh up his options this week with several clubs keen to take him. Everton are monitoring Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea as a replacement (Daily Mail)
‘Acousticians’ have aided the design of Tottenham’s new 61,000-capacity stadium in order to help fan chants sound even louder and more clear, say architectural firm Populous (Daily Mail)
Chelsea players have told manager Antonio Conte to sign Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, 29, should their 24-year-old Belgium international Thibaut Courtois leave this summer. Hart is on a season-long loan at Italian side Torino (The Sun)
Steven Taylor, the former Newcastle defender, will start training with Ipswich Town next week (Daily Mail)
Watch Batman v Superman on Sky Cinema this month. Only £8.50 extra a month if you have Sky Sports
Aston Villa are set to complete the signing of Conor Hourihane (Daily Star)
Chelsea are weighing up a move for Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul as a replacement for Asmir Begovic, according to reports (Daily Express)
Chelsea’s Pedro says Diego Costa is the team’s star player and one of the very best he’s ever played with (Daily Express)
Brighton have signed Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori on loan until the end of the season (Daily Express)
Rangers star Barrie McKay has been backed to put his RB Leipzig transfer links behind him (Daily Express)
Crystal Palace are close to an agreement with Sunderland to sign Patrick van Aanholt in a deal that could rise to £12m, with Sam Allardyce hoping the Dutch full-back will be the first of two new arrivals this week (The Guardian / Daily Telegraph)
Bournemouth’s hopes of securing goalkeeper Asmir Begovic hinge on Chelsea being able to find a replacement to act as backup to Thibaut Courtois (The Guardian)
Tottenham’s absent star Erik Lamela is struggling to get over the death of his dog Simba as he continues his rehabilitation from a hip injury in Rome (Daily Telegraph)
West Ham are poised to make an improved £8m offer for Robert Snodgrass and still hope to sign the Hull City winger before the transfer window shuts next week (Daily Telegraph)
Southampton are watching Molla Wague, the Udinese central defender, and have made an inquiry for Manolo Gabbiadini, but have been put off by Napoli’s £15m valuation of the striker. Watford and Crystal Palace have also considered Wague (The Times)
Newcastle appear unlikely to re-sign Andros Townsend despite Crystal Palace seemingly being prepared to sell the winger (The Times)
Everton have ruled out the departure of midfielder James McCarthy after he rejected a move to Sunderland (The Times)
Marseille are expected to make a fourth offer for Dimitri Payet but still short of West Ham’s £35m valuation (The Times)
Watford are interested in Robin Quaison, Palermo’s attacking midfielder, who is also wanted by Birmingham City (The Times)
Lee Clark is set for talks with the Kilmarnock board to discover if he’ll be handed cash to replace Souleymane Coulibaly – with the striker on the verge of a £1m move to Egypt (Daily Record)